my bills have been very big. thanx in advance and happy new year x
Cut the heat down to 68. Lower the temperature setting of your hot water heater to the lowest setting-drain the hot water heater, periodically to remove mineral build-up.Change your filters on your furnace or heat pump at regular intervals, at least monthly. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
When you are not going to be home-such as at work, turn the heat down to 60 degrees. Buy a programmable thermostat , if you can afford one, that way, you can come home to a 68 degree house, instead of a 60 degree house.get an electric blanket, that way you can turn the heat down to 65 at night and turn it up to 68 when you wake up. Use a Microwave and Crock Pot, when possible.A toaster oven uses less electricity than a full sized oven since it does not have as much space to heat up, so use one when possible.Turn off all lights when you are not in the room.Believe it or not, a Dishwasher uses less water and electricity than washing dishes by hand, If you can afford one, buy a Front Loading Washing Machine. Wash clothes in cold water-there are several excellent cold water formulated laundry detergents-I use BioKleen Cold Water Formula and it only takes an ounce to get even my husband’s greasy;grimy clothes clean.Plus, it is formulated for HE washing machines. Dry your clothes on a clothes line and fluff them up in the dryer for 15 minutes on low, or No Heat to get rid of the lint.Make sure you use a liquid softener-the cheap stuff works fine and in a pinch-diluted hair conditioner works-otherwise line drying can make your clothes kinda stiff,.Purchase a Navy Shower Shower Head, you can turn it off by pushing in a button after you get wet and soaped up, then turn it back on to rinse off.Turn the water off after you get your toothbrush wet and fill the cup you use to rinse your mouth with, then turn the water back on to rinse your toothbrush and the sink.
I hope this helps some.
energy saving tips? please give me tips on how to cut back on my gas n electric bills?
6 comments for “energy saving tips? please give me tips on how to cut back on my gas n electric bills?”
Cut the heat down to 68. Lower the temperature setting of your hot water heater to the lowest setting-drain the hot water heater, periodically to remove mineral build-up.Change your filters on your furnace or heat pump at regular intervals, at least monthly. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
When you are not going to be home-such as at work, turn the heat down to 60 degrees. Buy a programmable thermostat , if you can afford one, that way, you can come home to a 68 degree house, instead of a 60 degree house.get an electric blanket, that way you can turn the heat down to 65 at night and turn it up to 68 when you wake up. Use a Microwave and Crock Pot, when possible.A toaster oven uses less electricity than a full sized oven since it does not have as much space to heat up, so use one when possible.Turn off all lights when you are not in the room.Believe it or not, a Dishwasher uses less water and electricity than washing dishes by hand, If you can afford one, buy a Front Loading Washing Machine. Wash clothes in cold water-there are several excellent cold water formulated laundry detergents-I use BioKleen Cold Water Formula and it only takes an ounce to get even my husband’s greasy;grimy clothes clean.Plus, it is formulated for HE washing machines. Dry your clothes on a clothes line and fluff them up in the dryer for 15 minutes on low, or No Heat to get rid of the lint.Make sure you use a liquid softener-the cheap stuff works fine and in a pinch-diluted hair conditioner works-otherwise line drying can make your clothes kinda stiff,.Purchase a Navy Shower Shower Head, you can turn it off by pushing in a button after you get wet and soaped up, then turn it back on to rinse off.Turn the water off after you get your toothbrush wet and fill the cup you use to rinse your mouth with, then turn the water back on to rinse your toothbrush and the sink.
I hope this helps some.
References :
Experience
We’ve been turning down the heat a little and wearing another layer. Also, we turned down the water heater to just a little over the point where you can stand to put your hand in the water. We don’t need it warmer than that, anyway. I’ve got all the rooms we aren’t using closed off (I closed the heating vents, too).
I only wash towels and sheets in hot. Everything else goes in cold.
References :
Just become cheap with no shame. Wear sweaters and jackets at home. Thermal underwear. Candlelight meals. Talk, meditate, etc., instead of TV. BACK TO BASICS now, before we are forced to later.
References :
Darla provides a good start… also check for those things that may be causing you to lose heat faster, air leaks at doorways and windows, at the dryer vent, etc
References :
These have been very helpful to me, I hope you benefit from them too:
Cut your car costs – and time
Plan errands well ahead of time, and set aside several hours, or even a day, to do them all at once. You will save on petrol and car maintenance costs, and on time. Have your car serviced on schedule to keep your petrol consumption – and breakdowns – to the minimum. Better still, walk, ride your bicycle or catch a bus. Save wear and tear on your tires by keeping them at the correct pressure. Shop around for car insurance, and phone to adjust the amount insured as the car depreciates in value every year. Your insurance company won’t do it for you. Share a car. This will get you walking, or cycling, more – another way to avoid gym costs. Car-pool with neighbors or work colleagues or family wherever possible. This is kind to the environment as well as your pocket.
Save on electricity bills
Turn down your geyser and install a geyser blanket, to save on heating. Turn off plugs at the wall when you’re not using appliances. Power is drained even when the appliance is off. Invest in a solar panel. With rising electricity prices, you’ll get your money back in a few years and then start saving.
They come from a great site called Super Saving Techniques with hundreds of similar tips.
References :
Super Saving Techniques at http://savingtips.supermoney.org
Are you a renter or owner?
RENTER, ELECTRIC:
As a renter, turning down temp on water heater and house heat are big helps. Open and close blinds/curtains daily to make best use of sun for heat. If the water heater is more than 10 years old, buy a water heater blanket for it (and get the thick one, it doesn’t cost much more than the thin ones, and will pay itself off in a month). If water heater is less than 10 years old the blanket probably won’t do any good. Drain a couple gallons of water from your water heater to remove sediments and/or calcium buildup (if you live with hard water, do this monthly, otherwise a couple times per year). Timers on water heaters have mixed results, but on a newer water heater: daily timer will not save money, but if you can get away with hot water every other day or every third day, then you can save a lot of money (you can usually do this without a timer, just shut off at the breaker). If you have a large dwelling, turn house heat to 50F (10C) and use room heaters on timers (I recommend oil-filled radiator-style heaters for both economy and safety). Clean the coils on your refrigerator (if the coils are on the bottom, buy get the special brushes from the hardware store, but you can use a large bottle brush in a pinch).
RENTER, GAS:
Most of the above applies, except timer on water heater.
OWNER, ELECTRIC:
All of above, plus see if you can upgrade insulation and building "envelope," such as using building wrap, caulking floorboards, converting to gas or fuel oil heat (if your house is small, look at Monitor or Toyotomi direct ventilation heaters and fuel oil hot water). If you must remain electric, consider solar hot water (or solar assist), or super high efficiency hot water heaters such as Marathon. If you live in a sunny area, see if you can add "trombe walls" to provide additional heat. Double or triple pane windows are great, but low on the priority list compared to wall insulation and improved efficiency appliances, they simply don’t save as much money and have a very long payback.
Other stuff:
The obvious convert incandescent bulbs to CFLs. Most people over-light their houses, do you need all that light all the time? Can you add timers or sensors? Exterior lighting is the most wasteful lighting, reconsider what kind of fixtures and how much you need. More lighting for security tends to backfire, use sensors and timers and safety-only lighting. Look up "night friendly" (aka "good neighbor") full cutoff lighting — "night friendliness" may be of no concern to you, but these lights use significantly less electricity than typical outdoor lighting.
References :
http://www.toyotomiusa.com/
http://www.marathonheaters.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trombe_wall_4.jpg
http://www.starrynightlights.com/Outdoor_Lighting/Outdoor_Lighting_Guidelines/index.html
January 13th, 2010 at 6:12 am