What do you do to save on electric bill?

**MrsB** · 07-17-2006, 02:37 PM

Hi!
I should've posted a warning in my welcome letter that I ask a million questions! lol

Anyway, We recently got central heat & air hooked up in our new house. I'm keeping the thermostat set between 76* and 78*. But I'm afrain that we're going to see a major increase in our electric bill. Our first bill showed that we used about 24kwh a day. But we didn't have the central a/c hooked up yet.
I try not to use any unneccessary lights.
But what are some other ways I can cut our kwh usage?

Thanks in advance.
MrsB

**slowtypinwoman** · 07-17-2006, 02:42 PM

Try setting the air higher. We keep ours at 80*-84*. That with the ceiling fans keeps the house cool.

**sunshine** · 07-17-2006, 02:57 PM

Hang all clothes on the line to dry (even in rainy weather, or winter-- we have indoor drying racks/lines)

Turn off everything when not in use-- pull the plug on TV, VCR's, microwaves, etc that use "phantom" electricity even when not in use.

Make and use a solar cooker, keeps the house cooler, doesn't use energy (well not electric or gas anyway).

**banana** · 07-17-2006, 03:20 PM

I agree unplug items when not in use. Switch to CF lightbulbs, I did this and noticed a difference. Line dry clothes. Dont use the oven during the summer, try to use a crockpot or a grill outside. If your hotwater is heated by electric, install a timer or flip the circuit breaker (this could save you quite a bit). Only turn on the hotwater heater about 20 minutes before you need hot water. Keep drapes closed on sunny side of house.

If you want get into the habit of reading your meter daily. This will give you a good idea on what you used (lights, a/c, appliance) for the previous day. Then you can try different things to get it lowered.

Dont fret with a little work you can definitely get it to an amount that you are comfortable with.

Good Luck!

**baxjul** · 07-17-2006, 04:49 PM

Try not to use the stove/oven, I always cook in a slow cooker or crock pot, and it really seems to help.

Wash clothes in cold water with a cold rinse.

Hang laundry to dry.

Keep curtains closed to keep out the sun's rays, to help with a/c.

**PrairieRose** · 07-17-2006, 08:51 PM

Our heat and a/c man told us this years ago and we proved it to be true. You won't notice a "difference" if you start off doing this from the beginning but it can and does save 15% by doing it. It's not complicated. Turn your fan to the *on* position on the thermostat. Turn your temp up 2 degrees or however many you can and still be comfortable, for us it was 4 degrees and it feels the same. That's it. It costs about the same to run that fan as a 60 watt light bulb uses and it saves by circulating the cooled air. We use our ceiling fans and keep the temp at 76. We were used to 72. This keeps the outside unit from kicking on so often and that's what's so costly about having refrigerated air.

It works, I promise. (he also told us that this is what grocery stores and malls and dept. stores do to help with their cooling costs)

**MrsB** · 07-18-2006, 12:49 PM

Sunshine and banana,
I've read on another board about items using "phantom" electricity. But my question is, how do you know if an item is pulling current even if its not being used? I unplugged our stereo the other day b/c I noticed it has a little light that stays on all the time. But what about items like the coffee maker and my flat iron?

Thanks to everyone for all the ideas! I'm going to turn off our hot water heater when I go back home (I use the Net at my mom's right now)

**banana** · 07-18-2006, 01:03 PM

Mrs. B. I'm just going by what I've read on other sites about "phantom" electricity. I dont go crazy with it since a lot of items I simply cannot reach without moving something, thus making it a real pain to unplug. I do however unplug my coffeemaker and microwave after each use since I can easily unplug these items. Now when we do go on vacation or something for a week or so I unplug items like my alarm clock all tvs and computers, but that is very rare!

You'll see a big difference just by turning off your hot water heater!

**Katybird** · 07-18-2006, 02:06 PM

I keep the thermostat a couple of degrees higher during the day when I am home and awake. If I am going to be sleeping during the day (I work nights 7am to 7pm), I raise it even more and just keep the ceiling fan on above the bed and if it is still to warm I have an occilating fan that I can turn on to blow on me while I sleep, it keeps me comfortable while I sleep without having the AC running all day.

**sunshine** · 07-18-2006, 10:43 PM

Phantom energy users are pretty much anything that has a sleep mode, or a timer, or a clock.

Tv's, vcr's microwaves, coffee makers, bread machines--- all are typical phantom energy users.

**MrsB** · 07-19-2006, 01:15 PM

Thanks everyone! Our tv, vcr, dvd player, etc are on a power strip so I'm going to start turning the whole thing off when we're not using it.

**pammy** · 07-19-2006, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by PrairieRose

Our heat and a/c man told us this years ago and we proved it to be true. You won't notice a "difference" if you start off doing this from the beginning but it can and does save 15% by doing it. It's not complicated. Turn your fan to the *on* position on the thermostat. Turn your temp up 2 degrees or however many you can and still be comfortable, for us it was 4 degrees and it feels the same. That's it. It costs about the same to run that fan as a 60 watt light bulb uses and it saves by circulating the cooled air. We use our ceiling fans and keep the temp at 76. We were used to 72. This keeps the outside unit from kicking on so often and that's what's so costly about having refrigerated air.

It works, I promise. (he also told us that this is what grocery stores and malls and dept. stores do to help with their cooling costs)

Did as recommended after reading that this morning, and by Golly, it's working great! Have to keep bumping up the thermostat cause I keep feeling chilly. It's now comfy 75 degrees and I just bumped it up again. The constant moving air is making it feel like 70, but without the chill bite. Thanks so much for this tip, can't wait to see if there's a difference in the late afternoon heat.

**Telephus44** · 07-19-2006, 07:05 PM

We live in an apartment, so we're more limited in what we can do. However, we:

1. If we're running the A/C, we only do so in one room at a time. At night we use the auto shut-off feature so that it turns off after 1.5 hours and doesn't run all night.
2. CFC lighbulbs - around here the electric company offers an "instant rebate" so that you can pick them up for $1 each. In addition to all of our lamps, we also take out the lightbulbs that come in the overhead fixtures and replace them with our CFC's (yes, we do swap them back when we move out). This was a huge energy saver for us.
3. If you have to buy an appliance, make sure it has the Energy Star Certification. We've only had to buy one (one of our A/C units) but it is cheaper to run.
4. Try and run the stove/oven at the same time and combine cooking things when possible. If I'm making baked chicken, I'll also make baked potatoes since they can cook in the oven together. If I'm boiling pasta I'll steam cook veggies on top of the pot.
5. We bought window film and use it to block the light in the summer and keep the heat in in the winter. $20 at Home Depot covers 3 windows or 1 window and a sliding door. We also use the curtains to block out sun/keep in heat, and we have very heavy (denim) curtains.

**jfwhitcomb** · 07-20-2006, 07:04 PM

When it cools off at night I turn of the AC and turn on the kitchen and bathroom vent fans. This sucks out the hot air. I also open the doors and screened windows from 9:00 to 10:00pm. Then I lock down the house and open them back up again at 6:00am when I wake up. Right before I leave for work I turn off the vent fans so I don't loose the cool air that the ac produces. I have to leave the AC on because my mother watches my dd in our home. I also have ceiling fans in the bedrooms and living room. Saving up for one in the kitchen.

If I had more fans I would put them in the windows. Might try to pick some up if I find a sale. It is a very good idea to unplug any items that make heat, like a coffee pot and toaster, because they can and do start fires without being turned on! Showers us less electricity to heat water because you don't need as much water. Only run your washing machine and dishwasher when full and don't use the heat-dry option if you don't need to. I have a gass water heater, but I still turn the tempurature down as much as my husband will let me.

I don't turn on my porch light either. I have a set of led nightlights that turn colors. It makes it look like the TV is on even if no one is home.

**kabin63** · 07-20-2006, 10:44 PM

jfwhitcomb,
if you can, try yard sales for ceiling fans. My DH bought 15 for $10 at a garage sale. Might be worth it if you can go out on a sat. I admit that might be a once in a lifetime find, he always manages to find the deals, but still, even a good used one for $5 is worth it.

I also want to add that if you can't, put the word out that you are looking for one, maybe you'll get a surprise.