How do you save on the electric bill

[pennywise]

I read an article in the wall street journal about phantom electricity. Leaving items plugged in pulls usage. I went around my house and could not believe the number of clock radios that I unplugged and put away. I pull the plug on the microwave when not in use. Put most on a surge protector that takes a flip of the button to turn on. Just looked at the fridge/freezer and turned it down (it was running continuous over the past few days). Limit TV watching to only shows worth it - do not just put it on for background noise. You can lower the watage in your bulbs, if you would like. Average bill: 28 dollars per month.

[Bruce Wayne]

You can save vast sums of money by doing this sort of thing, and of course you help the environment an awful lot too. Simple things like not leaving your tv on standby or your computer on when you're not using it can save alot of energy.

Do you have a link to the article?

[jhd815]

I have my electricy go out on the hottest day of the year for 29 hours - can't wait to see how much I saved, lol.

[PrincessPerky]

I did that awhile back, I do still have a clock in each room(or the ones that already had them) but I put all the big stuff on surge protectors so every morning I turn on the net and computer. I can't say how much I saved since I did it at the same time as the summer need for fans came on. But the bill went down the first month, and that is unusual for spring.

[terry1156]

We simply get out of the house during the day. The local mall is air conditioned with a lot of benches to people watch or just walk around to get some exercise. We also have a small movie theater that offers weekday $1.00 matinees on Tuesdays. It costs a dollar to get in, but we save more than that on air conditioning costs.

[Fern]

If you have old kitchen appliances, like a fridge that's more than 10 years old, they're considered real energy guzzlers and should be replaced with more energy-efficient models.

[Bruce Wayne]

And you can always dispose of your old fridges at Freecycle so it isn't sent directly to the landfill.

[akaivyleaf]

I save by washing clothes and using the dryer after midnight- but I'm a person whose up all times of day and night. I understand that energy is cheaper the later it is at night. I'm also not home during the day so my A/C (nor heat when the weather dictates) is never on. I have to do better about the TV watching me, and my computer being on all weekend long.

Sharon

[gakline]

I use fluorescent lightbulbs in all my lamps. Definately an energy saver. I also turn my a/c up to 80ish during the day.

[DivaJen]

Originally Posted by Fern

If you have old kitchen appliances, like a fridge that's more than 10 years old, they're considered real energy guzzlers and should be replaced with more energy-efficient models.

DH and I have talked about this. I think I got this frig that we have back in 1994.

And I like the freecycle idea for getting rid of it, too!

[PRICEPLUS]

Most of my appliances are energy efficient. I have installed energy saver bulbs where possible. I keep the AC at a reasonable setting. I try to get more than one days wear out of some clothing items in order to cut down on washing machine useage. I line dry my clothes whenever possible.

Turn lights off when leaving the room. Turn off radio and/or TV if no one is listening or watching.

Every little bit helps so I use as little as I possibly can.

[mjrube94]

akaivyleaf, if you haven't already done so, you may want to call your electric/gas company to make sure that they offer a lower rate for non-peak usage. After reading someone else's recommendation to do this, I was all gung ho, but neither of those companies in my area offer that discount.

[akaivyleaf]

I hadn't thought to call and ask them if they offered a "true" non-peak usage rate. Since that is when I have time to do it, thats when it will be done anyway. I guess I was maybe fooling myself into thinking it was cheaper. I will make the cal and report back on my findings.

[fultron]

a few suggestions for lowering your energy bill, some already mentioned:

Replace old appliances with newer models that are more energy efficient.
Use energy-efficient light bulbs (they only use about a third of the power as regular bulbs)
Use drapes to keep the sun out during the day.
Lower the temperature on your hot water heater a couple of degrees.
Hang dry your clothes instead of using a dryer.
Ask if your electric provider offers free energy-audits. They may come to your house and offer suggestions on how to improve efficiency.

[lisasayzhi]

I just bought a low flow showerhead yesterday. Here are the claims from the package:

-Enjoy all the force of an ordinary shower with all the savings of a low flow showerhead. Feels like tons of water!
-Saves up to 70% in energy and water.
-Saves energy - less water must be heated.
-Saves water - flows at 2.5 G.P.M. Max.
-Less sewage produced, prolongs septic field life.
-Builds pressure in low pressure situations


And it cost $4.97 at Wal-Mart. I hope it helps.

[Jorge]

$28 per month is great. I'm pretty good at turning off lights and unplugging things (like the electricity guzzling dehumidifier), but my son and SO like to keep the house cool in summer and warm in winter. Personally, the heat doesn't bother me, so I usually sweat it out when I'm home alone (drink lots of water, wear shorts, try not to do anything that takes a lot of effort) and in the winter, you'll always see me with a wool sweater on. Not using the dryer is something I can really improve upon! We have an automatic thermostat that helps with the regulation of temps... we have the system totally off usually during the days/nights when we're not home. Almost all of our lamps are flourescent and I try to only use the grill (with a lot of lava rocks) in the summer. The lava rocks help to retain the heat MUCH better and then we don't have to use as much gas (and we're not using the electricity for stove/oven).

[PrincessPerky]

What is a lava rock?

On the shower, let me know please if the low flow thing works, I tried an old one long ago (as a teen) and I most certainly noticed the difference.

[Jorge]

Lava rocks can be found at any Kmart, Target, etc. where the charcoal is. Basically, it's natural (volcano) rock (I assume - I've never read the ingredients. ) that retains heat.

[Tree0164]

Lisa Let us know about the low flow.

I am really trying to get my electricity bill down and it doesn't help that DH wants to keep the house like an igloo today. Thank fully he works during the week so I atleast keep the ac down.

[sonj]

I got my dryer vent cleaned and I swear after 2 weeks of AC usage adn washing laundry my electric bill went down $12.00. My clothes dry SO much faster now.



****I work for a air duct cleaner so the dry vent cleaning was free