How to Save On Your Electric Bill In Unusual Ways

Most people are aware that you can save electricity by adding insulation to your home, using a programmable thermostat, replacing regular bulbs with a lower watt fluorescent type, installing ceiling fans, etc. Here are some of the lesser known ways to shave more off your bill, and most cost nothing but your time to do.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Your time
• Your hands
• Possibly some old sheets, a hammer, and nails
• Brush to remove dust and debris

1. One of the most overlooked and fairly easy ways to reduce heating and cooling costs is to only cool or heat the part of the house that needs it. I work from a home office with no one else around during the day, and situated in the same room as the thermostat. I close the door to my office and close off the vents to parts of the house I'm not using. Then I set the thermostat a degree or two higher than I like it and stick a fan near my desk. The extra breeze makes me feel cooler than the actual temperature of the room. Although I haven't calculated the savings, I know I hear the air conditioning/heating unit starting up much less often, and this is the biggest contributor to my electric bill. Keep in mind, if your thermometer is not where you are, you'll have to leave the vent open in that room too.

2. Other big users of electricity are the washer/dryer. I haven't resorted to washing my clothes by hand, but I have learned a few ways to save on drying. The obvious way is to uses a clothes line, but weather constraints don't always allow this. On those days, I sort my newly washed clothes into two piles - those that easily air dry and things like towels that require a little help. The easy dry stuff is spread around the house over chairs and banisters, and maybe turned over if needed, while the hard to dry stuff is put in the dryer which is set to damp dry only, then these items get spread around the house as well. It can be more time consuming, but it's definitely cheaper.

3. On hot days, while cooking on the stove top, I force myself to use the back burners that are situated right below the range hood. I set the exhaust fan on low while cooking and this sucks most of the hot air right outside, minimizing the strain on my air conditioner. On cold days, I use the front burners and try to avoid using the exhaust fan so the heat from cooking stays in the room.

4. I have the luxury of having a microwave/convection oven in addition to my regular style oven. On warm days, I plan meals that use the microwave/convection oven. This type of oven uses less electricity and puts less heat into the room than my regular one. On cold days, I plan meals that require being cooked in regular oven, knowing that the extra electric costs are at least also and heating the room.

5. If you have windows that get a lot of sun, then you can add a layer of insulation and prevent the suns rays from warming the house by simply closing the drapes. Make sure you have drapes that can block sunlight for the best effect. The air space between drapes and windows acts as extra insulation, and the reduced sun exposure minimizes radiant heating by the sun. On cold days, you can leave the drapes open and get some extra heat from sunny windows, but be sure to close the drapes as soon as the sun is gone.

6. I work with two computers, one a laptop and the other a standard desktop model. One computer has to stay on all the time for certain programs I run, and I always install these on my laptop. Laptops use much less electricity. I also never leave monitors on if I'm not using that computer, and I use my energy savings settings so that the computer goes on "hibernation" mode if I'm away from my desk for more than a few minutes. This will turn off the monitor as well.

7. Remember if you have ceiling fans, that you want the air sucked toward the ceiling when running your air conditioner, but blowing it down towards the floor when using the heater. Cold air sinks while hot air rises, and you want the fan to blow the hot or cold air to where you can feel it.

8. Check your outside air conditioning units often and brush any accumulated dust and debris off of the intake vents. My lawn guys are especially good at blowing fresh cut grass all over the unit, so I check it after they leave and often wash it down with the hose. Remember, any impedance to air flow makes the unit work harder. This is also why you should change the filters on your unit once a month.

9. Once or twice a year, move your refrigerator out and clean the coils behind the unit. It improves efficiency of cooling. Also, make sure the doors on the unit make a tight seal when they close. If you can feel cool air, it's time to replace the rubber gaskets around the doors - a fairly simple and inexpensive D.I.Y job.

10. I have a pool in my backyard. It's not heated, so I don't worry about that, but if yours is, look into getting a solar heater or using a heat retaining cover to lower that bill. And on days no one is using the pool much, I only run the filter for as much time as it takes to clean the water once, then on days it's being used, run it longer.

11. Never leave a TV running for the dog, or when no one is there to listen to it. It can be as costly as leaving a light on.

Tips & Warnings

• It's a good idea to look around your own house and see where you can improve on my ideas to cut costs.
• One example would be if you want to isolate one part of the house for heating/cooling, but lack doors. I have resorted to using old sheets tacked up with a few nails to cover the space. Just use a small nail and rip a small hole in the sheet where you want it to hang, then they can easily go up and down without much trouble.

[lighthouse1958]

on 8/16/2009 Very good information. thanks. I may be old fashioned but I like also to put clothes on the line instead in the dryer. 5* and rec. and thanks for the friendship.

[tachic]

on 7/14/2009 Good tips to reduce electric bill. Our system can't have anything added- we only have a one zone on a house that is 3 levels!! We can close chutes off but that doesn't seem to really help either.