How to lower power bill?

[mommy2_3]

one thing we did was get a new a/c unit. our electric bill last year was over $400 with our old unit. it was to small for our house. we got a new one put in and now our bill is just over $200. its an energy star. we also keep our a.c going at night so it gets really cold in here, then we up it temp. during the day. this way our a/c runs less during the day. we also keep our blinds half way closed. we get some light in but not alot. we also have all our lights off during the day, unless we need to use the restroom lol!

 

[Malibustyle23]

-In the summer months, I hang most of my laundry. I have a mental thing about running the dryer and the central air at the same time. It's been beastly hot here on the Eastern shore of MD, so I figure that heat is free.

Oh and here too, we just heard Delmarva Power is raising rates...:mad

Just wanted to say Hi neighbor . So excited to see someone else from home here just wish you didn't come with power increase news. I hadn't hear that.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Our thermostat is set to 81 during the day! We are out and about most, or playing in the backyard or at the pool so when we come in from the 97 degree heat the 80 degrees is like a little vacation! I try to grill out meals or have salads and things that don't require the oven. We run the overhead fans and just installed 2 more in the kitchen and office for the low cost at lowes of $60 each. I do turn the heat back at night to 77 .... again it feels super cool since we are used to it hotter during the day.

Really heat is all a perception. I don't get as many complaints in the summer from DH as I do in the winter when it's cold but that's easy cause I tell him to put on another layer! The other thing is if most of you are out during the day you can even get a programmable thermostat so that you can keep the temp higher during the day while you are gone and then turn it down right before you get home. This works really well for the winter too when you can lower it really low at night and then turn it on right before you get up to get a shower.

 

[firstcruise]

I would say install a whole house fan if you can. We did that 8 years ago and rarely run the AC now, except when it gets extremely hot outside. I live in So. California.

What we do is open up the house at night and turn on the whole house fan to remove all the heat from the attic and house. We have one in each of the bedrooms up stairs and in no time the temp drops and we keep them running during the night to cool the house really good. Then in the morning turn them off and keep the windows and blinds closed. Turn on ceiling fans to circulate the air during the day and then do it all over again. Best money ever spent and I think we got back 60-70% from the electric company rebate program.

 

[university]

Cook outside. Obviously, you can grill, but you can also plug in a crock pot or a toaster oven outside and it won't heat up your house a bit.

Do you have ceiling fans? If so, use them continuously so you can crank your central air temperature up a couple degrees and still feel comfortable.

I have almost everything unplugged all the time. If we need to use it, I plug it in beforehand and unplug when I'm done using it.

Definitely line dry your clothes. May as well put all that southern heat to good use! I use a retractable clothesline even in the winter (in my basement).

 

[clintswifeymomof4]

You guys are amazing!!! These suggestions are incredible!

I am going out today and buy a retractable clothesline. We already have CFLs in all of the lights.

My husband said "no go" on the 77-78 degrees. I can live with it b/c I am always cold due to my hypothyroidism but he is like uh uh.

I am also going to start unplugging the washer and dryer when not in use and line drying everything. The dishwasher will go on air dry only or I will hand dry. I have a young baby who is a crawler so leaving the dishwasher open is a no go.

I'm going to check the settings on our fridge and water heater and look into the timer- that was an excellent idea.

My young kids often share a bath- easier for me and my older girls take quick showers.

We just moved into this home a year ago and the a/c unit is definitely too small. We cannot afford to replace it at this point in time but that is definitely on the top of the "to do" list within the next year... we will probably get 2 units- 1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs. We will also check the insulation as I don't think some of the rooms are properly insulated.

Door sweeps and caulking are also on my to do list. I will pick these up today when I get my clothesline. We have 3 exterior doors and tons of windows... I know this is a problem.

We're in south Alabama and I know our rates were increased. Our bill was about $120 more than last month. I'm a sahm so we are here ALL DAY and my kids like to watch tv. We are usually in the same room so this cuts down on multiple tvs going at once- I've been unplugging the rest.

I appreciate the suggestions tremendously! I'm ready to head to Lowes with my "to do" list and get to work saving my family some money! The more I save- the more I'll have for our Disney trip...

I need to change my ticker b/c we're pushing it back until April as I'm not sure if I'll be without a job yet another year (I'm a special education teacher with a masters degree and I've been unemployed going on 3 years now- not by choice).

PS- the meter is accurate, unfortunately.

 

[trip]

Are they on dimmers or photocells? Are they hung upside down or in an enclosure? CFLs should not be used with a dimmer or photocell, and when you have them hung upside down they burn out faster because of heat issues. They were designed to dissipate their heat upwards away from the ballast in the base of the CFL. Same issue for using in an enclosed light, they heat has nowhere to go and causes the CFL to burn out quicker.

There are some CFls that can be used with a dimmer. I have some. Here are some examples.

http://www.buylighting.com/Dimmable-Compact-Fluorescent-s/113.htm

 

[rmom50]

Are they on dimmers or photocells? Are they hung upside down or in an enclosure? CFLs should not be used with a dimmer or photocell, and when you have them hung upside down they burn out faster because of heat issues. They were designed to dissipate their heat upwards away from the ballast in the base of the CFL. Same issue for using in an enclosed light, they heat has nowhere to go and causes the CFL to burn out quicker.

Wow - I didn't know that either - appreciate the info. We have pretty much all dimmers.

 

[rmom50]

There are some CFls that can be used with a dimmer. I have some. Here are some examples.

http://www.buylighting.com/Dimmable-Compact-Fluorescent-s/113.htm

oh..............ok......now that might be what is in there - those little 5 watt things look like what we're using. Thanks for link.

 

[mjantz]

One thing to keep in mind is that if the temp is not dropping below 80 overnight & going to 100 or above during the day it doesn't do any good to set the thermostat below 80. It's just going to run all day & not get any cooler.
I'm a teacher too & when we're all home in the summer we wear less clothing. Normally I'm pretty modest but around the house I'll wear a spaghetti strap tank with shorts & so will my daughter. I'll let my son wear shorts with no shirt. We also turn down the a/c at night to help keep it cooler during the day.

Finally, not to be nosy but you might try to get down a dishwasher load or two. My kids get 1 cup per day. If they want water after the Kool-Aid they have to rinse it out. Also, my kids usually have pop-tarts or toast for breakfast. I have them use the same plates for lunch. Every little bit helps!

 

[Bell30012]

I bought two new energy saving devices in the last year. The first was a WiFi programable thermostat. The non-WiFi version was $30 cheaper but the WiFi has proven essential to me. When my DD8 and I left for WDW we forgot to turn off the air. I pulled out the iPad and situation solved. Many times I find myself coming home a little earlier than planned. A couple of clicks on the iPhone before I leave work and my house is nice & cool before I arrive.

The second was a $30 timer for a water heater. My water heater only runs for three hours per day. Why heat water all day long when no one is home to use it?

 

[Colleen27]

It seems counter-intuitive because it increases the need for lighting, but keeping the drapes closed reduces the heat gain from the sun. At the very least you should have thermal drapes in rooms that are mostly unused during the day, like bedrooms, and leave them closed to block out the summer sun.

 

[GatorMama]

Have you had your air ducts cleaned lately? It could make a GIGANTIC diffference in your air circulation. Make sure you're cleaning or replacing your air filters as regularly as needed too!

And like another poster said, try to cut back on using so many dishes. Each person in our house gets ONE cup a day. If we have toast or a sandwich (dry stuff, nothing messy) we re-use that plate at the next meal.

We keep all of the blinds/curtains closed all day or crack the curtains just enough to let in a little light... EVERY day. The heat we're letting in is making the house warmer and needing more A/C than the few minutes of lightbulb that will be needed while we're in the room. There is literally not a room in the house that I need to turn on the lights on during the day and if the curtains and blinds are open, I can feel a huge difference in room temperature.

I also use the sun-machine to dry some of our things instead of the dryer. If you have to run the dryer inside, run it at night so it's not making as big a dent in the temperature of your home.

Avoid using your oven. Use a crockpot instead. It runs longer, but uses less electricity and doesn't heat up your entire kitchen. Grill outside. When you have to use the oven , kill two birds with one stone and also prepare another meal in there so that you can just re-heat it later.

 

[ctinct]

I bought two new energy saving devices in the last year. The first was a WiFi programable thermostat. The non-WiFi version was $30 cheaper but the WiFi has proven essential to me. When my DD8 and I left for WDW we forgot to turn off the air. I pulled out the iPad and situation solved. Many times I find myself coming home a little earlier than planned. A couple of clicks on the iPhone before I leave work and my house is nice & cool before I arrive.

The second was a $30 timer for a water heater. My water heater only runs for three hours per day. Why heat water all day long when no one is home to use it?

Can you tell me how you hook the timer up to the water heater? Mine is electric---it would be great if I could just heat water in the evenings when I am home! Never thought of this before. It will be just me here soon, so I will not have to hear any complaints about there being no hot water in the middle of the day. I can see me doing all my laundry, etc. at night.

 

[mrsklamc]

Make sure your drier vent is clear & also vacuum your refrigerator coils so neither is working harder than it has to.

 

[disneyandme]

we put it a tankless hot water heatre a few years ago and it made a huge difference. When it's time to replace, it's worth the cost.

 

[disneyandme]

Anyone use the attic fans? does it help with AC cooling costs?

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We were talking to my brother's MIL tonight and she has just gotten some kind of film (UV?) installed on the inside of her windows. She said it has made a significant difference in the temperature in the house.

I'm going to look into it for our house - we have a lot of south facing windows.

 

[clintswifeymomof4]

We were talking to my brother's MIL tonight and she has just gotten some kind of film (UV?) installed on the inside of her windows. She said it has made a significant difference in the temperature in the house.

I'm going to look into it for our house - we have a lot of south facing windows.

My husband just mentioned today about getting the window film... I'm actually online researching it now (in between reading here! )

I'll vacuum/clean the fridge coils tomorrow- good call. We just replaced the air filters a couple of weeks ago. I'm going to keep the blinds closed during the day- I love the natural light but you guys are right- it is heating up the house needlessly.

As far as the dishes- Our baby is still using a bottle so that accounts for a lot of the dishes. I prepare all of our meals- hot breakfast of usually bacon/sausage, eggs, pancakes so they need a plate and it usually is too soild be to reused for lunch w/out washing... same for lunch and dinner dishes. We only use dishes that can be washed- not thrown away and we use cloth instead of paper towels. With 5 kids and 2 adults- it is just a lot of dishes.

I'm definitely going to implement some of these suggestions and hope to report back that our bill is much lower next month!

 

[si-am]

A few months ago, we replaced our old A/C unit (27 years old) with a new one. I just got my power bill, and even though this June has been hotter than last June, and even though I've kept my thermostat set a little lower than normal... my energy consumption was HALF what it was 12 months ago. My bill was cut in half too!

I cannot believe what a difference it made. I hated spending the money on a new unit but it will pay for itself.