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What do you do to save electric bills?
Posted by celticmusicfan • 7/09/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: bills, utilities
Looks like my electric bills have skyrocketed lately. It's really hard if you are also paying for other utilities. What do you do to save your electric bills and what would be the reasons behind the increase?
User Comments
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I fry eggs on the car bonnet-
Yes I heard the temperature there can get really hot during summer.
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Spouse and I bath together, me when the water is boiling hot, him when the water has cooled down to below body temperature. Plus we hand-wash all our shirts, stockings, socks and undies in our communal bath.
This procedure saves electricity (one washing load a week instead of two), saves heating up two lots of hot water and builds marital closeness.-
Wow this sounds very romantic. thanks !
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I live under a bridge. Folks always said I was a bit like a troll...-
Hmmm yeah. running water 24 hours a day
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Not to mention being close to nature and the constant fresh air one gets... and when I step out from under the bridge, instant solar heating!
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I do little things like keeping my freezer and refrigerator full and putting in a clothes line. I keep a few freezer bags full of styrofoam peanuts and where we're in between meat market runs I fill the freezer shelves with those bags and when we're in between grocery store runs, I fill the shelves with the bags. It's cheaper to run a full fridge and freezer than empty ones.-
ah ok my freezer has few stuff...i guess it explains.
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turn off lights and appliances that you are not using, turn the AC down to 75, do you laundry at a coin operated place, sit in the dark more and burn candles, turn off your computer when not in use (if it is here that is never) Now some one tell me how to save on a water bill that is $100 a month.-
Good suggestion!
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Saving water is an absolute necessity in drought-ravaged places. Here are my efforts so far.
1. Install a roof tank to catch rain water. The tanks are well subsidised by our government.
2. Sink a bore into the artesian well below the city. This is expensive, but the water is great for everything except drinking (i.e watering the garden, flushing toilets, washing machine)
3. Strictly three-minute showers
4. Baths only if shared by two people. Drain the bath out onto the garden outside the bathroom window.
5. Strictly one laundry session per week, with the machine full. (Not suitable for families with young children).
6. The government banned washing cars by hose and gardening by fixed sprinklers. Twice a week you may hand-wash your car or water your garden at night, during a fixed 2 hour period.
7. The government banned filling up swimming pools. So we covered the pool with a sealed cover that stops the water from evaporting.
8. Dry scrape dishes before putting them into the dish washer; don't pre wash them. Don't use dishwasher until it is full.
A couple of these suggestions save a great deal of electricity as well. -
Take short showers instead of baths, run your dishwasher only when it's full, and on the lowest water setting (same goes for your washing machines) get a rain barrel to store water for watering the yard/garden and washing your car - turn off running water while brushing your teeth or washing dishes - only water your lawn in the early AM or late PM. If you run a dehumidifier use the water it pulls from the air for watering and other cleaning needs.
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I bathe in the dark with candlelights and all.
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Wow that's wonderful. Just like in the movies.
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i thought this was the appropriate place to....
jananimanoharan.blogspot.com/2009/04/save-planet.html
plz do read tat post,it'll help u n d planet..
bravo to u for wanting to take the step:) [if it is for reasons more than just saving money]-
Thanks for the tips
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@morinn...tats a super cool way:)thanx for the tip!
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Some of the things I currently do/have done is to replace all the lightbulbs that I use daily with the 13 watt economy bulbs (they burn just as brightly, but save on energy consumption) we recently had all energy star appliances brought in, we turn off lights and appliances when not in use. We do not use air conditioners, instead we either open or close the windows to let in cool air or keep out warm air (depends on the day/week), in conjunction with the use of low energy fans in appropriate places, used sparingly to keep the heat down in the house.
Also, when doing laundry, if you run the machines (particularly the dryer) in rapid succession rather than doing one load at a time or sporadically after the dryer has cooled down you save energy - same goes for your stove/oven. Keeping the fridge stocked well also saves on energy.
Depending on where we wind up, we would like to purchase and install solar panels and other forms of alternative, renewable energy sources.-
Thanks for the tip on economy bulb, the dryer and the stove. Wow solar panel. we still don't have that here.That should be cool.
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Even in cooler climates, solar panels work well. But they take much longer to pay their own way, compared to warm climates. However government subsidies go a long way to help all families (where governments are committed to saving energy).
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There are ways to build your own solar panels, but it's difficult and time consuming. You can also save money on solar panels by purchasing them, and then assembling them yourself - which is less difficult, and less time consuming - but money saving
Some places are offering financial incentives towards the purchase of solar panels and windmills - so check out what your government offers, plus online to see who is offering what. You could be in for quite a bargain!
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My landlord pays electricity so I actually leave everything on all the time.-
hahahaha you funny guy. ok thanks
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Im serious.
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That's awesome, used to live in a place like that. Had the computer on all day, showers all the time.
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I save all my electric bills in a folder in a file cabinet. Every year I transfer the bills to a box with all that years tax records.
Actually, I built an energy efficient home about 7 years ago. One of the cheapest energy saving devices you can use--it is called "white paint." That, with the addition of lots of south facing windows provides light and heat to the house most of the winter. Long overhanging eves keep the windows shaded in summer--so it stays cool. The house if earth bermed on three sides, so heating bills are lower.
Edit: The first year we lived here, I kept all heating and utility bills. It amounted to less than $900 for the year. That included water and heating for the horses all winter. It can also be -40 in the winter and 100 F in the summer.
But I do save my bills.-
I already have my eco-hobbit-house plans drawn up, and I'm just waiting on finding the right bit of land to build it on.
It'll be awesome -
Thank you. i threw some of the bills away which i shouldn't do but i forget them all the time. thanks for the input.
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www.mdpub.com/SolarPanel/
Build your own solar panels. -
All electrical items go off at night, when they aren't being used, except for the fridge/freezer for obvious reasons.
Only the computer stays on 24 hour a day, whether it is being used or not. Does anyone know how much electricity is wasted by computers being left on? -
I use my own poo to produce biogas.-
yeah he even has a diagram of it in his blog.
But..can we have a turbine attached to it..and then produce own electricity?
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At home I use our 1000watt solar power cell during daytime and in the evening we are using 3hp-generator set. I am using a 10kva uninterruptible power supply (UPS)as well to ensure continuous power for my laptop and especially in watching movie with my mini home theater.
I only use the commercial electricity in cooking and for my washing machine!
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