How much is your electric bill rising? Ways to save

[Pea-n-Me]

Looks like all of us in the U.S. will be getting slammed with increased electric costs this winter.

How much will yours rise?

In MA ours are going up by 37%

Anyway, I thought it might be a good time to share on ways to save, specifically, on ELECTRIC COSTS.

 

[lauradis]

We have natural gas heat.
NE Ohio and locked into a rate till next summer for both electric and gas, So mine wouldn't be raised.
This winter is predicted to be just as cold if not colder then last winter, oh the joy of frozen -17 degree days. 12 more years of frozen winters till the great retirement escape

 

[megsoro]

We've stopped keeping track of how much it's rising... We're in south east Ga, and this summer we got thermal curtains ($$$ upfront, but did seem to work) and don't turn on the lights unless we have to. All electronics are on a power strip that gets turned off when not in use. We can't turn the ac off because of the animals, but we did bump it to 79 when it was near 100. Wish we could line dry clothes, but there is no space inside of out.

 

[RitaE]

I'm under a locked rate too so I won't have to deal with the increase for over a year.

My big thing is our large tv. It drives me nuts to walk into the family room and see somebody has left that thing on and wandered away.

And if you just like to have background noise while you work or study, turn on the radio -- not that 60" Plasma Tv.

 

[gator75]

We have electric forced air for a 2,400 sq ft house and we are in a locked rate , but our bill for heat and lights is 228.00 per month it is down from 258.00 so can't complain to much, and for what it's worth we are in ND but the cost has for sure incresed over the years.

 

[North of Mouse]

We are mostly electric (propane fireplace) and really can't complain as our bill has been very reasonable. We do keep our thermostat on 78* night and day and each degree cooler makes a lot of $$ difference. In the winter we put the thermostat on 68 -70* - a little cool, but always wear long sleeves - no problems and healthier too.

 

[havaneselover]

4% or $60/year. My furnace uses natural gas.

 

[aprilchem]

We are mostly electric (propane fireplace) and really can't complain as our bill has been very reasonable. We do keep our thermostat on 78* night and day and each degree cooler makes a lot of $$ difference. In the winter we put the thermostat on 68 -70* - a little cool, but always wear long sleeves - no problems and healthier too.

We keep ours on 62 in the winter - 68 is a bit too warm for us.

We've actually seen a decrease in our electric bill as we switch to more energy efficient appliances. Ours averages $160 a month for our all-electric, 3000 square foot house. I think part of it is that our house is about 80 years old and the construction is solid (brick with plaster walls). My sister's new subdivision house averages about $70 a month more.

 

[tvguy]

We insulated the attic and switch most of the light bulbs to LED's this year. Been keeping the house at 78 during the day and 74 at night, bill has been down despite a couple stretches of 100 degree weather. It's 84 right now at 2 pm, suppose to make it to 94 today. Happy October. We usually have at least one week of near 100 degree heat in October.
We're all electric. natural gas, as I posted elsewhere, with one exception in the 31 years we've been in our house, is the budget buster here. Electric heat is much cheaper in the winter.

 

[pjlla]

We use a clothesline whenever possible in the spring, summer, and fall (until snow flies usually). And whenever possible in the winter we dry on hangers and on a clothes rack.

We put the pool on a timer in the summer (we have found it can stay clean running just 2-3 hours a day rather than all the time). We stopped using the hot tub once the weather gets warm and then empty it and don't use it again until the nights are cool.... like mid-late September.

I run around turning off EVERYTHING that I can.... lights, televisions, etc. I unplug clocks and computers and the microwave if we are going to be gone more than 24 hours. We did NOT put our tv/Dish receiver on a power strip to turn off (as many electricity saving websites recommend) because then our automatic timers for shows that we DVR wouldn't execute.

I sit home with just one light on IF NECESSARY when I am home alone. Most of the time the sunshine is enough.

In the summer, to save on the a/c electric bill I shut the windows and draw the shades as SOON as the temp outside is the same as the temp inside. And as soon as it is cooler outside in the evening, the windows and shades get open and the fans go on. I don't turn on the a/c for sleeping unless it is at least 80° upstairs.

I do some batch cooking (things like meatloaf and roasted veggies for soups) and do a bunch at once so that I am only heating up the oven once. Then the items get wrapped and frozen and just need a quick pop in the microwave or in a skillet for a few minutes. I've only heated up the oven once for 5-7 dinners of meatloaf, rather than heat it up 5-7 times!

I wait and do my self-cleaning in the oven when it is a cold day.... cranking the oven up to 500° + definitely warms the house! And I wait and defrost the downstairs freezer on a HOT day when I am looking for a cool activity to do.

I try to NOT let my dishwasher run a "dry"cycle. The dishes can air dry overnight.

I run my washing machine on a shorter cycle most of the time. We aren't long shore-men or coal miners... our clothes aren't THAT dirty!

That's all I can think of off the top of my head!...................P

 

[rosiebean]

We insulated our house (which is close to 100 years old) a few years ago, and it made a HUGE difference in our gas and electric bill. Our furnace, dryer, and stove run on gas. We've installed energy efficient appliances as we've replaced them in the past few years (our old gas dryer will be the next to be replaced). We have insulated shades and curtains that help as well.

Our house is kept pretty cool in winter...between 62 and 65 degrees depending on the time of day. We cook most nights and that helps keep the downstairs warm. Our upstairs is naturally warm, so much so that it is sometimes uncomfortable!

In the past year, we've closed in our back porch to make a new bathroom and turned our old, tiny push out kitchen into a mudroom. The push out wasn't insulated (we knew we'd be redoing it when we had insulation put in the rest of the house), so that was a spot that let cold air in during winter. The re-do of that area fixed that, as DH insulated the heck out of everything as he was redoing everything...it will be interesting to see if that makes a difference this winter!

Other than that, we look at rates every time it's time to renew our contract with an energy provider. We've put in LED bulbs, keep things turned off when we're not using them, etc. I don't know if we can do that much different, other than turn the heat down even more .

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We use a clothesline whenever possible in the spring, summer, and fall (until snow flies usually). And whenever possible in the winter we dry on hangers and on a clothes rack.

We put the pool on a timer in the summer (we have found it can stay clean running just 2-3 hours a day rather than all the time). We stopped using the hot tub once the weather gets warm and then empty it and don't use it again until the nights are cool.... like mid-late September.

I run around turning off EVERYTHING that I can.... lights, televisions, etc. I unplug clocks and computers and the microwave if we are going to be gone more than 24 hours. We did NOT put our tv/Dish receiver on a power strip to turn off (as many electricity saving websites recommend) because then our automatic timers for shows that we DVR wouldn't execute.

I sit home with just one light on IF NECESSARY when I am home alone. Most of the time the sunshine is enough.

In the summer, to save on the a/c electric bill I shut the windows and draw the shades as SOON as the temp outside is the same as the temp inside. And as soon as it is cooler outside in the evening, the windows and shades get open and the fans go on. I don't turn on the a/c for sleeping unless it is at least 80° upstairs.

I do some batch cooking (things like meatloaf and roasted veggies for soups) and do a bunch at once so that I am only heating up the oven once. Then the items get wrapped and frozen and just need a quick pop in the microwave or in a skillet for a few minutes. I've only heated up the oven once for 5-7 dinners of meatloaf, rather than heat it up 5-7 times!

I wait and do my self-cleaning in the oven when it is a cold day.... cranking the oven up to 500° + definitely warms the house! And I wait and defrost the downstairs freezer on a HOT day when I am looking for a cool activity to do.

I try to NOT let my dishwasher run a "dry"cycle. The dishes can air dry overnight.

I run my washing machine on a shorter cycle most of the time. We aren't long shore-men or coal miners... our clothes aren't THAT dirty!

That's all I can think of off the top of my head!...................P

Awesome. I see you are in NH. All of us in NE are taking a licking, apparently.

I will look into insultation, as well. Thanks for all the ideas so far. Keep em coming.

 

[pigletto]

We're in Southern Ontario and our gas company announced a 40% increase last year. I live in a newer home and thankfully it's sealed pretty tight. I am on equal billing so payments are estimated and charged all year. I was at $60 a month which was nothing, now we are 40% higher which still isn't bad in the grand scheme of things. However electric costs went up substantially over the last few years as well (that bill is almost $200 a month).

For electric we are on a system that charges more or less depending on the time of day. The biggest adjustment we have made has been to not do laundry or run the dishwasher or have lights on etc during the day on weekdays. I work from home so that's a bit of a pain. We have switched to doing those things after 7pm or on weekends. It makes a big difference.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We are on the budget with our electric, but we try to keep our usage down so it doesn't rise too much for the next year. We line dry clothes as much as possible, we only ran the air conditioner 12 days this summer (SE Ohio), a/c on 78 when we did turn it on, unplug chargers when not in use, turn lights off, etc.

 

[aprilgail2]

My neighbor had solar installed about 8 months ago and seeing the difference between my electric bill and his I am switching to solar as soon as my permit is approved!

 

[xlxo]

I've become a huge believer of window film to stop drafts. I had my windows replaced, but I see see a little leakage where the window slides. Window film fixes that.

You might want to look for one of those consultants with a blower fan at your door. They quickly found drafts in my ceiling insulation and walls. If you get yourself those of this IR contactless thermometers and run it along your door seams, you will find leakage there too.
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-TLD100-Thermal-Detector/dp/B0044R87BE/ref=sr_1_13

Window heat deflector helps too...
http://www.amazon.com/Model-Premium-Unbreakable-Air-Deflector/dp/B00009W3G7/ref=sr_1_1

 

[aprilgail2]

We have natural gas heat.
NE Ohio and locked into a rate till next summer for both electric and gas, So mine wouldn't be raised.
This winter is predicted to be just as cold if not colder then last winter, oh the joy of frozen -17 degree days. 12 more years of frozen winters till the great retirement escape

I just converted to gas heat from oil heat- my oil "budget plan" went up to over 400.00 a month and I said forget it, I need a new burner anyway so I just had a conversion done. We already had a gas line to the house anyway for a gas stove and a gas dryer (I would never use electric dryer, to expensive!). My gas bill for the month for the stove and dryer was 14.00 a month for last years budget.

 

[tvguy]

I just converted to gas heat from oil heat- my oil "budget plan" went up to over 400.00 a month and I said forget it, I need a new burner anyway so I just had a conversion done. We already had a gas line to the house anyway for a gas stove and a gas dryer (I would never use electric dryer, to expensive!). My gas bill for the month for the stove and dryer was 14.00 a month for last years budget.

That's nice. Gas company here has a minimum $25 charge per month no matter how little gas you use. Always used to make my mom mad when her bill was an even $25 because she was paying for nothing.

 

[Disneefun]

When it comes to your heat/Ac, I find it worth the money to have the tech come out once a year and do a check up on the unit. They will clean it out, test everything and do what's needed to get it working at peak efficiency. Also useful to diagnose small problems before they become huge.

Get good filters and keep them clean.

Keep a clean house. You'd be surprised how much dust, dirt and pet hair can make it past even the best filter and get into your heat/ac unit. If you keep things clean, you lessen that.

Clean under and behind the fridge and any chest freezers. Vacuum off or dust the coils. Again, pet hair and dust can really clog things up and drag down the efficiency.

Empty the lint filter on your dryer regularly, and clean out the hose leading outside. Again, not only money saving, but safety related as well since lint can cause fires.

It's not always about turning things off, but it's also about keeping things clean so they work in the most efficient was possible.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Winters are tough in our almost 100 year old house. We are in KY but definitely preparing for a cold winter. I keep the blinds open to let in sunshine during the day and have very nice warm bedding for our room so we can sleep with a lower temp. I also lowered the temp on the water heater by a few degrees and leave the oven open after I have cooked dinner. We are slowly changing out our light bulbs (the utility company sent us 4 free ones).

I'm contemplating having the air vents cleaned but it's $$$$. Has anyone done this? Did you see better function of your furnace? I wish they would make individual filters for the return vent registers so I could keep the pet hair out!