How can I reduce my electricity bill? - Page 2

[Tizzy]

Never put just one item in the oven or use the toaster oven instead.
Use the BBQ more often.
Don't use the clothes dryer.
Replace all lightbulbs with CFL's and turn lights off.
Any lights you want on, put them on a timer. DH was particularly bad for this - leaving the hallway lights on in the evening. Even though it's just four CFL's, I cut it down to one lamp on a timer.

Don't use A/C. We open the windows up at night, get the house to cool off then close them before the heat of the day in the morning.


Somehow our hydro bill was down to $29/mo this summer - that's the bare minimum. We used 3kw/day.

That's just running the washing machine for 30 loads/month, one fridge, one giant chest freezer, the water pump for the well, hot water heater, two heat lamps for chicks and one fish filter.

[painefaria]

Originally Posted by Little grey mare

Don't use A/C. We open the windows up at night, get the house to cool off then close them before the heat of the day in the morning.

This has saved us... we have a huge exhaust fan in the upper floor window and it blowes OUT. We have other windows in the house open so the vacuum effect pulls the cooler air in. I make sure that I close down the house, ALL windows closed and blinds and drapes closed, by 8am. Depending on ambient temp during the night I can reduce the house temp by 10 - 20 degrees. We have used the air conditioner maybe 4 times this summer, we have one in our bedroom, and we probably could have used it less (if I had taken a quick cold shower and been patient for the room to cool off . I love the fan!!!

[EmsMom]

I just hung a little wall lamp in my kitchen. I did it purely because it was cute! But I put a relatively low voltage compact flourescent in it. After I hung it I realized that I actually preferred just the little light to having the overhead (which uses 4 higher wattage bulbs). The kitchen is quite dark even during the day and it also serves as a kind of hallway so none of us really remember to turn out the light every time we go through. So, really I just cut the electric use in that room by 75% and the lighting is nicer anyway. I only need the brighter lighting when I am cooking.

[rockportmama]

Where I live, we're not allowed a clothesline, so the dryer is a must here. However, I have read that the electric you use actually costs more during peak times -- afternoon for hot summertime. So I never run my dryer from noon to 6ish. I keep the lights turned off then, too. If if gets too dark I'll open a curtain (which are usually shut during the day to keep some of the hot summer sun out.)

[Kyamo]

Originally Posted by rockportmama

However, I have read that the electric you use actually costs more during peak times -- afternoon for hot summertime.

That may not be true for everyone, it depends on your electric company. Ours is switching to the time-of-use pricing in october and there will be 3 price levels.

[EcoFriendlyMommy]

I also hang dry as much as possible. I use laundry magnets and dryer balls. The laundry magnets replace laundry detergent, so there aren't any chemicals to be rinsed out of my clothes, so I can skip the rinse cycle. These are so cool, just by doing this I save money on my power bill and water bill because it takes about 20 gallons of water to run just the rinse cycle. And when I don't line dry the dryer balls are excellent because they shorten the dryer time by about 35-30% which is a huge savings because we all know dryers guzzle electricity.

I don't have any real tips for a/c because we don't really use them where I live, but I have heard that keeping the filters clean and new saves a lot of electricity.

[Kismet_fw]

One big killer is trickle amounts of electricity - almost anything that is plugged in (even when it's powered off) has a "warm up" amount of electricity it uses unless it is all the way unplugged. Since plugging and unplugging are a pain, you might consider appliance-grade surge protectors to help. I have a window a/c unit in one room that doesn't need alot of use, so I go step on the button and no more trickle charge. This also works for the tv, stereo, game console, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, anything that isn't in full time use.

If you decide to put your entertainment stuff on a surge protector, then you would want to make sure to power off correctly before shutting off the surge. Also wait about 20 seconds from turning it on to hit the power button on the item you will use.

Also keep an eye open for the latest in lights. Bulbs using LEDs use even less power than the CFL's, and no mercury! The prices are still a little high, but since the word is getting out about them, the prices will continue to come down. We've had them for cars for ages, now they are available to replace household lights.

[MtBikeLover]

This is the first year we have gone without AC and it had a huge effect on our electric bill. Last month, our bill was $75 for a 2,600 square foot house.

Other things I do - use a front load washer and dryer. It takes only about 35-40 minutes to dry our clothes. I didn't realize how much less time it takes to dry clothes until I had to use a regular washer/dryer on vacation a few weeks ago. It took close to 2 hours to dry our clothes.

I also open all the blinds in the house so we use as much natural light as possible. No lights really go on in the house until night time.

[Kyamo]

Originally Posted by MtBikeLover

Other things I do - use a front load washer and dryer. It takes only about 35-40 minutes to dry our clothes. I didn't realize how much less time it takes to dry clothes until I had to use a regular washer/dryer on vacation a few weeks ago. It took close to 2 hours to dry our clothes.

2 hours!!! I have a regular dryer which looks really old (I don't know how old - came with the house) and it takes about 1 hour for a the largest load our washer can hold, less for a smaller load. Have you tried clearing the lint trap out? Do it every time you run a load, the dryer is a lot less efficient with a full lint trap. If its not the lint trap it could be the duct to the outside, it might be partially clogged. Try cleaning that.

[MtBikeLover]

Originally Posted by Kyamo

2 hours!!! I have a regular dryer which looks really old (I don't know how old - came with the house) and it takes about 1 hour for a the largest load our washer can hold, less for a smaller load. Have you tried clearing the lint trap out? Do it every time you run a load, the dryer is a lot less efficient with a full lint trap. If its not the lint trap it could be the duct to the outside, it might be partially clogged. Try cleaning that.

The lint trap was definitely cleaned out. We were only renting the place for vacation so we only had to deal with it for a week.

[PlayaMama]

okay, i was totally on the no dryer bandwagon but my mate dropped our bill by about $30 using the dryer for every load by drying at night. he would run it from probably 9-12 pm and i couldn't believe our bill dropped by so much.

[russsk]

Depending on where you live, you may be able to shop around for different energy suppliers. We did that two years ago and locked in a lower rate (for wind power, no less) than the utility charges.

[SleeplessMommy]

Originally Posted by lisalulu

I'm wondering the same thing. Does anyone here use a "blanket" for the hot water heater? I've heard that can save (if yours is electric of course) but haven't bought one yet myself.

only useful for an older electric water heater. newer ones (energy star) have all the insulation you need built in.

I would start with the Kill-a-watt (electricity usage tester) Costs about $25 from amazon.

Test these items:
* all fridges and freezers
* computers
* TVs, stereo stacks, and "game" devices
* window ac units, dehumidifiers

unplug or replace as needed

If you have electric hot water, install low flow showerheads, turn down hot water heater temperature and do all non-dipe laundry on "cold". Consider an upgrade to solar hot water ($8,000 to $10,000 but there are many state and federal incentive programs to lower the cost.)

To lower AC usage:
* check your attic insulation
* install window shades (exterior or interior) especially on the south side.
* consider HRV (heat recovery ventilation) or whole house fan (if you are doing an upgrade to your house, go with the HRV)
* use your kitchen fan (should vent to outside) when cooking
* plant trees
* when your roof needs replacement, go with a light roof color - reflective metal shingles are the best bet.

[Satori]

There's a couple things that have lowered our elec bill.

Shut off computers at night, saves about $6 per computer per month so $18 in savings.

Switched to CFL bulbs, saved about $7 mo

The biggest help though has been enrolling in the CARE program which gives us a 20% discount for being low income and the 2nd biggest help is we qualify for medical baseline which is really easy to qualify for. We ran the A/C 24/7 last summer (2 units, one 10,000 BTUs and I think the other is 4000 BTUs) and our highest bill last summer was $54. Were replacing the A/C with a single bigger window unit for this summer since we had trouble keeping the house below 84F and my little one can't handle the heat very well. I'm wondering how its going to effect our bill.

To help keep us cool outside I installed a misting system outside about about $25 which allowed us to spend time outside and feel cooler. This summer I'm installing a lawn and hoping that helps with the cooling as well since the clay dirt here gets really hot and just holds the heat forever and seeps though the apt. Speaking of which, I need to get out there and start pulling the weeds that are quickly popping up.