How to save on energy costs?

[vigilant20]

I'm a new home owner and just got my first energy bill with heating costs on it. You can imagine my shock Especially when my apartment energy costs were 1/3 of what I'm paying on the first cold month of the year! I'd appreciate any energy saving tips you can give.

[nvmommyx6]

I put everything on power strips and when it's not in use, the strip is flipped off!! (great tip I learned here) I hang my clothes to dry and that cut my bill by about $100 a month, I open the blinds when the sun is shining to let mother nature heat it up in here, and close them when it is dark or cloudy, I do not use lights unless I absolutly HAVE to! when I go to bed even the porch lights get turned off!
We installed a wood stove last season, that saves us a fortune in heating (literally) when we were using the heater, we would shut the vents to rooms that were not in use regularly.
You might want to have the furnace serviced to make sure it is runing up to par too and efficiently!

[vigilant20]

Thanks nvmommyx6. I've been trying to be green and don't have a dryer, so I already do a lot of those. I don't know anyone who's had their furnace serviced. I wonder what that entails. I'm pretty handy and have a diy sorta family so I'll find out what it involves and see if it's something I can do.

[Greebo]

I'm a new home owner and just got my first energy bill with heating costs on it. You can imagine my shock Especially when my apartment energy costs were 1/3 of what I'm paying on the first cold month of the year! I'd appreciate any energy saving tips you can give.

How old is the house?

[vigilant20]

How old is the house?

It was built in 1948. One thing I wanted to do was cover the old windows. Only half were replaced, the rest are original.

[Greebo]

It was built in 1948. One thing I wanted to do was cover the old windows. Only half were replaced, the rest are original.

The original windows are going to be a big loss point, for sure. I'm assuming those are single pane. If you and DH are handy, replacing them yourselves is actually not terribly hard, and you can get decent double panes for a few hundred each from Home Depot, provided you can get the right size. :/

In the short term, covering them with an opaque/translucent plastic will help - leave space between glass and plastic to create an insulating pocket of air.

A big source of possible loss is the roof. Check your attic - how much insulation have you got up there? If you haven't got at least 12", you can pretty easily add more. You can go to Home Depot and rent an insulation blower and buy a truckload of insulation and blow it in yourself. The top of the building is usually the single largest point of heat loss, so that'll save you a ton long term right there.

Sealing up around windows and doors will also help.

[vigilant20]

Thanks for the tips Greebo. I'll check the insulation. My furnace is up there and I need to check the filter tonight anyway, so I'll do some poking around. Then I can pickup plastic and filters this weekend.

I would like to replace the rest of the windows as soon as I can. I have to do a roof tear off in spring, so maybe I'll be ready for windows in fall before the cold weather comes again.

[madhen]

As much as I griped about my new roof, that was the best thing I could have done, insulation wise, for my house. The difference is amazing. My house gets warm during the day, because I have a ton of s/w facing windows. Historically, though, as soon as the sun went down, the house would cool down. After getting the new roof, I have found myself walking around, hours after sunset, in shorts!! Maybe I'll stop b*tching so much about the cost....

[fixer]

If you have a forced air heating system, be sure to check the filter. A dirty filter can cause static pressure to the extent of greatly reducing efficiency. Also look at your cold air returns. These are the large grates in the wall next to the floor. These should not be blocked. You can also take the grate off and vacuum as much as you can. A clean system will run cheaper. This goes for the hot air ducts as well.

[RetiredVeryEarly]

If you don't heat with wood (we do and love it, although it is a lot of work) be sure your thermostat is on a timer. Have it go down when you are sleeping and back up when you are about to get up. Many have different weekday and weekend timing options. Keeping it cool while you sleep saves money. If you leave town for a few days be sure you set the heat way down.

We also hang up all of our clothes to dry, have since 1991, we must have saved oodles of money just on that. Whenever you buy an appliance, look for an Energy Star model. Use compact fluorescent bulbs wherever you can in your house (you need special ones usually to be outside in very cold climates). Don't leave lights on where you aren't! So many people leave their homes all lit up as if it were so hard to turn lights on and off . . .

[staciah]

I have been able to lower my Electric and Gas bill considerably over the past 2 yrs.

- Use Energy saving Light bulbs.
- Plastic on the windows (even though I have new double pane windows) or -window quilts
- Dry cloths on a in door line.
- If your E&G Co has a budget plain use it.
- Insulation in our Attic
- New Front door
- Caulk around the windows and doors
- Celling Fans to circulate the air
- Water heater blanket
- Seal your air ducts
- insulation tubing on your water pipes
- Close off unused rooms
- I don't have a cellar door so I hang a blanket up in the door way of our cellar and Kitchen
- Unplug unused appliances
- get energy efficient appliance when you replace the old ones
- Set you water heater at 120 degrees
- Programmable thermostat (Lower your heat when you are not there and at night)
- Use lots of blankets at night when you lower the heat.
- Open the blinds when its sunny and close when its dark.

I know I have repeated alot of what others have said but these are the things that I have done and we have lowered our bill from $196 per month though out 2006 to $152 per month through out 2007 and 2008 plus we have always had a plus at the end of the year.

[staciah]

I forgot to add in the last post:

- Insulators for your plug outlets( At Home Depot. Little square form that goes behind your outer wall plug outlets. There are only 25 cents each)

[PaulaMM]

Such great ideas!