Zap The Electric Company
As utility prices go up and up, the consumer is stuck with certain utilities and have no recourse but to deal with prices that seemingly have no upper limit. Well, here are a few ways, that if they are all followed, can zap the electric company and put some of those funds back in your wallet:
- Change your furnace filters: Makes sense, right? You do it every year or so, right? WRONG! You need to change those filters every three months. This makes sense from the standpoint of getting particles of crap out of the air. It also makes sense from an electricity standpoint. The fan in the furnace works a lot harder and uses a lot more electricity if the filter is clogged.
- Close the blinds: Just like anyone else, I like it when the sun is shining. What I don’t like is when the sun is shining into my house on a hot day, making it even hotter and making my AC work overtime. If the sun shines directly in, clothes the blinds on that side of the house. Of course, this is during the summer. If it’s winter, do the opposite. Open the blinds on the south-facing side of the house.
- Clean your AC unit (outside): This unit is basically a giant heat exchanger. It takes the heat from the inside of the house to the outside. In order for the heat to be left outside, the ac unit needs to be clean. You should probably do this in the spring. Just spraying it off is great, but Lowe’s or Home Depot have a product specifically for cleaning the AC. DON’T USE ENGINE DEGREASER. I did and it took the paint off the ac unit. Bummer.
- Put motion sensors on lights: I am going to be doing this one soon. As someone with two kids, I can attest to every light being on in the house all at once and not a kid in sight. With a motion sensor, after a certain amount of time, the lights turn themselves off and my wallet will be happy.
- Install a set-back thermostat: I have one and it’s really made a difference. Once everyone is in bed, it sets the temp back to a level that does not use as much energy.
There are a million ways to save electricity. As I gather together a list, I’ll bring them to you.
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© Copyright 2009, John A. Simpson. All Rights Reserved.
On the set back thermostats: I saw a study that if you let the furniture an walls get cold in the winter or hot in the summer, it will cost you even more to heat it all back up or cool it all back down than it would to just maintain a constant temperature. And the payback on adding attic insulation is said to be 5 years. The average person is only in a home for three years. So the next guy wins.
Motion detector lights: I was in a Holiday Inn once that had these and if you rolled over in bed the lights came on! Also, if you didn’t move, like fell asleep in a chair while watching TV, the lights, TV, and heat turned OFF! I near froze Also, every time you turn on an ordinary light bulb, it takes 3 to 5 hours off the life. The new florescent bulbs are even worse. And don’t accidentally break one of them - http://www.junkscience.com/ByTheJunkman/20070426.html
I have to hose our AC every couple of weeks because we have cottonwoods nearby.
Furnace filter: Put in a commercial electrostatic air filter and there is 0 resistance and the amount of power that it uses is less than a night light. The cost of this you ask? Over $1000 and you DIY. You may recoup this in 10 years.
If you break one of those florescent bulbs, don’t you have to call in a HAZMAT team to clean it up?
If you have a dishwasher, wait till it’s full before you run it. You’ll save water and electricity. Also, turn off the dishwasher’s heater and drier.
I found this at The Minnesota Energy Challenge http://mnenergychallenge.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/hand-washing-vs-dishwasher/
Hand washing vs. Dishwasher
1 May 2008
“What is more energy efficient - washing dishes by hand or using a dishwasher?” Heating water can account for up to 20% of a Minnesotan’s energy bill, so using less hot water is a good goal to work towards. Dishes, however, must be washed properly to ensure high levels of sanitation - which means hot, hot water. So what is better, using a dishwasher or using your own two hands?
The unanimous answer is the right dishwasher, used the right way, uses less energy and creates less pollution than doing dishes by hand. This means, of course, that the wrong dishwasher used poorly won’t save you energy - so if you’re using a dishwasher, make sure you’re doing it right:
* Stop pre-rinsing. If there’s food left on the plate, scrape it off instead of using water, and you can avoid using up to twenty-five gallons of water when you clean your dishes. Your dishes will get just as clean, we promise.
* Get an EnergyStar dishwasher! These dishwashers are almost 50% more efficient that the minimum Federal energy consumption standards, which means you spend less money on water and electricity, and more money on…fun things.
* Pack things in - run your dishwasher only when it is full.
* And, finally, skip the heat-dry and air-dry your dishes. This can cut your dishwasher’s energy use by up to 50%.