Ways to cut your electricity bill

[Spewer]

Move to the North West.

 

[devilof76]

Or the Northeast. My electric bill is $30 a month.

 

[Red]

Solar is the way to go.............

Easy start is to use compact fluorescent bulbs as uses up to 80% less energy. Dont have appliances on standby as that can end up being around 20% of the overall usage. One or two degrees on an AC can also make a huge difference. A cold wash on your washing machine over warm or hot can reduce your energy use by up to 90% on some machines.

All just simple things really but if you really want to save you'll find a way......yes i currently work for an energy provider.

Hope this helps Buff.

 

[The Craw]

my total utility bill is about $90 a month all summer up here in MN. winter is what kills me. the gas to run the furnace ups my winter bills to about $200 a month. and that's with the heat down to 65.



no matter what anybody says, those flourescent bulbs make a difference and are worth it. and you really shouldn't be messing with the thermostat. set it at 1 temp and leave if you want the best efficiency.

 

[dr_teng]

Big time fan of CFL lights, if you don't get the absolute bargain basement kind, they should last an incredibly long time and I prefer the light (and the energy savings are significant).

Killing off power strips adds up fast, and getting a good ceiling fan helps reduce AC usage significantly. I have both a laptop/desktop computer for work reasons, but I've taken to using the laptop as my primary and turning on the desktop to backup files, render stuff, or play games, simply because the laptop is powerful enough to do most of my work, uses significantly less energy too.

 

[KitFisto]

I like it cold so I don't use much heat in the winter. My bill runs around $60-$75 Oct-May in a 3 level townhouse and about $145 in the Summer months due to the AC.

 

[BuffyGirl]

Big time fan of CFL lights, if you don't get the absolute bargain basement kind, they should last an incredibly long time and I prefer the light (and the energy savings are significant).

Killing off power strips adds up fast, and getting a good ceiling fan helps reduce AC usage significantly. I have both a laptop/desktop computer for work reasons, but I've taken to using the laptop as my primary and turning on the desktop to backup files, render stuff, or play games, simply because the laptop is powerful enough to do most of my work, uses significantly less energy too.

People do not realize how much turning your power bar/strip off can help. I turn off 2 of the three in my apt. The third is for the bedroom alarm clocks. So I don't turn that off.

But I turn off the one for the tv/receiver/dvd players every night or every moment I am not using the tv, like now. I leave the dvr box plugged into the wall so when I shut the power bar off, it doesn't bother that.

Then in the den is the pc. When I turn the pc off, it's not enough, I see a green light that shines on the wall from the back of it. So turning the power bar off in here helps that from running too. I try to use the macbook more often too.

It saves me money because I have been doing it only for a few weeks and my bill dropped even more. And it's not from using the a/c less as we are at the hottest part of the year here.

Anyways, just have to remind yourself to do these things. And I agree that the bulbs are a huge deal. I have them in my lamps.

But since I live in an apt, I cant do anything solar.

 

[Blackthornone]

you can also lower the temp in your fridge and freezer to average levels. Your milk may not be "ice cold" but that helps. Also if you have an electric water heater you can wash your clothes with only cold water (i do and they get just as clean as with warm) also you can get a timer for your water heater where it only heats at a certain time instead of keeping the water warm all day, You have to schedule your shower times but it will save money. Also obviously use less water and you wont have to heat as much water.

The newer fridges use a lot less electricity than ones from say, 15 years ago, too, so upgrading the fridge can cut that cost in half maybe.

 

[Blackthornone]

You can put special window film on the windows which block 51% of the heat, as in the case of 3M Crystalline film, totally transparent, as in non tinted.
There are devices that you can hook up to your appliances such as the A/C that allow you to turn on your ac by calling your house so it's cool when you get home, but wasn't on the rest of the day. Turning on the exhaust fan early in the morning when it's still cool can bring the temp down a lot and save money, as BuffyGirl basically said.

 

[Bodie The Cursed]

i save water by bagging my poos

 

[The Ween]

i save water by bagging my poos

Though I don't see what good that would do, I guess I'll try it!

 

[Blackthornone]

i save water by bagging my poos

Which has nothing to do with the electric bill... Unless you have an electric toilet.