Saving on power bill

[Lmnde]

I'm surprised to see one thing not yet mentioned for folks owning their own home - plant trees, bushes and hedges! You'd be surprised what a difference this makes!

When I first bought my 2 story house 9 yrs ago - the few trees we had close enough to potentially shade the house were barely reaching the top of the 1. floor. It used to be unbearably hot upstairs [I'm in GA] during the summer afternoon + nights and that was with the AC running nonstop. Now the big tree is tall enough to well clear the house roof and shades about 50% or more of my roof at any given time [depending on the time of day] - and on the other end of the house where I have a roofed front porch = the bushes finally got tall enough [actually they got away from me while we lived at our previous business location and only came to visit or spend the occasional night here] - and now fully shade that front porch and part of it's roof.

I cannot believe I kept these things trimmed short for years - now with the privacy issues we have [we now have a huge subdivision on the other side of the fence and 5 houses butt to my fenceline on one side alone] they offer privacy when sitting outside and as tall as they have become, along with the tree [wish I had planted more 9 yrs ago] - my electric is actually less [although the rates have considerably increased over these past 9 yrs] than it was initially w/out the shade.

To make the difference more clear - I remember my average budget billing bill years ago initially was around $280 - with some summer months topping $400 in the summer. Last months bill [Aug] was $239 with the AC running all the time - the month before was $145 [fairly cool for July here]. In the 9 yrs+ since my initial bills I have added 3 standalone freezers [of which currently only 2 are plugged in and in use] + 2 computers. I also have a teenager [doors, windows open w. AC running etc, TV + stereo on simultaneously and so on], and we are home pretty much all day long [work from home] so no turning down the thermostat for the day.

Along with the shade I think the following also made a big difference:
* We went from a huge side-by-side fridge that had ongoing repair issues and only lasted about 5 yrs to a smaller freezer top fridge type, as I had multiple stand alone freezers by the time it needed replacing.
* I do not use my dryer at all [line dry] unless to fluff up stiff clothes for 5 minutes or if it's been raining for days on end and I can't hang out things to dry and am running out of clothes to wear [not very likely].
* My hot water heater is on a timer - and we dismantled the timer this year - so it is on manual. I have a huge 80 gallon WH - I turn it on once a day - it runs for 10-15 mins and I have hot water for the entire day, sometimes it lasts well into the next day - I'm sure that makes a huge difference as well. I may need to turn it on a second time in the eveings during the winter months, to get enough hot water for evening showers, we'll see when it gets colder.
* Once a month we crawl underneath the AC and wire brush the actual intake grill of the AC - even though I buy top quality filters [we have several pets in the house] - stuff gets past the filters. It makes a huge difference in the output when the AC is on - and may have contributed to the considerably larger electric bills I had years ago. Since we do that regularly - we also avoid the AC lines freezing up - this used to be an ongoing problem as well in our house during the summer months...
* And lastly - we unplug everything not actually running at the time, and turn off computers, tv's, lights etc when not in use or not needed.

Going back to the trees/shade - if you own your home and plan to live there for years [or forever] - get a headstart now and make that investment - it will pay off over the years - your electric bills will only go up with time... A side benefit if you plant fullsize fruit trees - you'll save on your grocery bill as well... I initially planted dwarf fruit trees, but they never really produced for me the way they were supposed to - I have a major remodel planned over the next 2 yrs and that includes redoing my gardens and drive paths - I'll go for fullsize fruit trees this time, along with additional shade trees and hedges both for privacy content as well as added shade and wind shelter.

[couponfanatic]

Let me chime in that I agree w/ the trees/bushes theory.
And, as a side benefit, when we plant things, we pick the plant by the fruit and time of year. Once the wild strwberries start in the spring, we have non-stop fruit (berries, fruit trees, etc.) of one kind or another until the apples are done. I pretty much don't buy fruit all summer. Dual benefits.

[Peppermint Mocha Latte]

Our power company is National Grid... My hubby has actually written the checks out to National Greed... LOL

[DakotaFleming]

We stopped using the dishwasher and each person hand washes the dishes.We tried ceiling fans but all they do is move the air a bit

[Stevebass4]

great topic

i am down to 280 kw per month / $60.00 a month - mind you it's just me in a 1300 sq foot home BUT i make sure everything is off when i leave for work - i have my home theater set up on a power strip and because i don't tivo anything during the day so that gets switched off (same holds true for the little book shelf stereo in the living room). & most lights are now CF lights

I’ve upgraded the 20 year old fridge to a new energy star model (if you are in mass you can get a 100 rebate from mass save and a free energy audit & free CF lights)

I might do three loads of laundry a week – so I make sure I fill the dryer while it’s still hot from the last load. I’ve been using a wood stove this year so that minimizes the pump on the furnace. I also do not use the dishwasher unless I am having a dinner party..

As someone mentioned – every little bit helps

[AStar898]

We started really trying to find ways to knock our bills down this summer since our bills last year were outrageous, and so far it seems to be working. Some things we've done to lower the bill..
- We've begun only washing clothes and dishes at night.
- Only washing clothes in cold water.
- Turning off everything we aren't using, I even unplug the computer, tv's and all game systems when they aren't being used, from what I've heard they still use energy even though they are turned off if they are still plugged in.
-Window tint to keep the heat out.
- Changed all the lightbulbs to those energy saving ones.

Our bill lowered by a little over $50 since last month by making some of these changes so it seems to be working.

[shawnandbecky02]

this is a slightly older thread but I had an electric bill crisi yesterday and thought i might mention it. maybe someone knows something I can do?

I moved in April to a new apartment. Took 1 evening, and we did it after the sun went down. We were in charge of paying for the electricity from the move in date till we switched the power into our name. It was CHEAP that first month, but I'm sure the complex gets a special rate or something.

When we switched it the efective date was may 1st. The meter was read on the 21st. LESS THEN A WHOLE MONTH WAS ON THAT BILL. Supposedly we used 2800 kwh. This was 1000 more then our last apartment. and the new one is slightly smaller. Then from May 22nd to june 21st we used the normal 1800 (ish) kwh.

May was not a full month, and they charged me 400 bucks!! June WAS a full month hotter then may, and we used less kwh??? that bill was 275. Still higher then we were use to in the last apartment. However we DID move from the cheapest Texas County to the most expensive. (Which SUX!!)

Does this make sense to you?

[cheynesnana]

Originally Posted by shawnandbecky02 this is a slightly older thread but I had an electric bill crisi yesterday and thought i might mention it. maybe someone knows something I can do? I moved in April to a new apartment. Took 1 evening, and we did it after the sun went down. We were in charge of paying for the electricity from the move in date till we switched the power into our name. It was CHEAP that first month, but I'm sure the complex gets a special rate or something. When we switched it the efective date was may 1st. The meter was read on the 21st. LESS THEN A WHOLE MONTH WAS ON THAT BILL. Supposedly we used 2800 kwh. This was 1000 more then our last apartment. and the new one is slightly smaller. Then from May 22nd to june 21st we used the normal 1800 (ish) kwh. May was not a full month, and they charged me 400 bucks!! June WAS a full month hotter then may, and we used less kwh??? that bill was 275. Still higher then we were use to in the last apartment. However we DID move from the cheapest Texas County to the most expensive. (Which SUX!!) Does this make sense to you?

I would look at your May bill.. sounds like they estimated the reading. If they did, I would call and see if you can get a refund or credit for the difference..

[Viv]

I wash a load of clothes in the early morning. Put them in a clothes basket, set the basket on my back porch in the sun. The top lay of clothes dry fast and I rotate the clothes that are in the bottom of the baset to the top til all the clothes are almost dry, but damp. At nite when it's cooler I put the clothes in the dryer with a dryer sheet for a max of 5-7 minutes. The dryer sheet makes them soft and I've dried an entire load of clothes in approximately 5 minutes. My power bill is 1/2 what all my neighbors pay in my apt complex. I also have fans in every room. I keep the a/c set to a comfortable setting but the fans help distribute the cold air.

[*jess*]

Our electric bill this past month was $230 and I about died, it's normally only $150 tops. So we decided we were cutting back on a lot. I only do laundry at night or early in the morning so that the dryer doesn't make the rest of the apartment hot, it's right off the kitchen so if it's running it does heat up the house. Everything that isn't being used gets unplugged except the computer and the tv, we got a tower fan for the living room that we turn on during the day to keep the living room cooler without having to turn the air down further, and all the doors stay closed down the hallway. My goal is to get it down by at least $30 so on the 15th we'll see if I've accomplished it... I agree with the other people, make sure everything is sealed and insulated and the shade from the trees definitely help. Unfortunately we're in an apartment in Texas so turning the a/c off is not an option and we have no way of knowing if the apartment is sealed and insulated properly...