A ton of answers all over the board. Some of them are very good. I'm an energy freak myself. On my computer I have an excel spreadsheet that tracks my monthly usage. With formulas, I determine the daily cost of electricity. Then I compute the difference from the year previous.
Let's start with computers. Older computers draw more energy. Also larger computers with more hard drives/multiple monitors/external drives all draw extra energy. Turning off your computer helps. External devices such as monitors, printers, USB drives with an external power source, etc... do not turn off when the computer is turned off. You can buy power strips now that turn off external devices like the printer when the master power is shutdown. This has helped me reduce my daily kWh.
TV/media units - Along with computers, your TV has several external devices that go along with it. VCR, DVD, BLURay, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox, Receiver, etc.. All of these units draw electricity while sitting idle. As with the computer, I've added a power strip that turns them off when the master, TV, is shutoff. This eliminates the phantom energy used by them. In the case of the cable box, that depends on whether you have a DVR or not. We have a DVR, so I leave it running 24/7.
Next is energy hogs. Clothes dryer, dish washer, refrigerator, window/wall A/C etc... These units are rated by the Energy Star program. If any of them are older than say 10 years, then it's a good chance they are no longer energy efficient. As a result you would want to replace them with more efficient units. Further more A/C units are rated on a SEER unit. Units with a SEER of less than 10 are not very efficient. They should be replaced. Below are some suggestions with regards to these units:
- Freezer's work better when they are full. Empty freezer's use more energy.
- Refrigerator's
- On the back of them are the coils. These should be vacuumed out regularly.
- Seals should be kept clean. Try the dollar bill trick to verify if the seal is still good.
- Check the temperature settings on them. Often people have them set far too low.
- Clothes dryers
- Use a clothes line if possible.
- If not, then try a drying rack in the house. We use them in the winter.
- Clean the lint trap before every load.
- Clean the exhaust hose for the dryer frequently.
- Dish Washer
- Make sure you are only running full loads.
- Turn off the dry mode. Let them air dry.
- A/C units
- Clean/replace the filter once a month or as needed. In the middle of summer, we clean our filter every other weak.
- Insulation - I'll talk about this more later.
Timers - I've put timers around my house. All of my kid's night lights are on timers. This ensures that they are off during the day. I've also put timers on other appliances throughout the house. The fish tank light, my bedside power strip. Basically anywhere that devices are left on when they should not be. Every little bit helps.
There has been talk about leaving A/C on all day versus only running when you are home. This also applies to heating. The main factor is heat transference. If you house retains heat in the winter or remains cool in the summer, then leaving them on all day is not as big a factor. You can have a blower test done in your house to determine the heat transfer rate. It will also indicate leaks in the house. Even new houses can benefit from this. Just because it's a new house, that does not mean that the builder did not miss something.
After stating all of the above, I'd still agree with the post about getting an energy audit. As stated, most electric companies do this for free. Otherwise you could pay to have someone do it. My house is 2000 sqft built in 1869. Our electric bill averages 130/month, and that number is dropping steadily. Mind you that every state has different rates for electricity.
Keep us informed on how you make out.
