Your Questions About Save Energy Tips

admin answers:

You have to start thinking S-M-A-R-T. What kind of cutbacks can you make? For example: I drink bottled water. Paying $1 a bottle on something that covers over 65% of our planet is not smart. So I bought one of those water filters that screw into your faucet. I have bottles that I refil over and over again. This doesn’t take much time and you will reduce your carbon footprint as a bonus. Do you have a lot of small appliances around the house that are always on? Televisions, subwoofers, sterio equipment and microwaves use the most energy when they are left plugged into the outlet, even when they are turned off. Plug all your plugs from entertainment system into those 6 prong outlet plugs with the switch on them. When you are not using these items shut the switch off. I noticed a huge difference on my electric bill just by doing this. I also bought some of those florescent bulbs that look a lot like a regular bulb. These things use 80% less electricity than regular bulbs. Ave 60Watt incalescent bulb (old school) runs you 2 cents per hour. Ave 60Watt energy bulb averages 0.5 cents per hour. Wanna be creative? Find yourself leaving lights on? Buy a motion sensor switch, the lights will turn on when you enter the room and will turn off (by a set amount of time) when you leave the room. I have one, they cost $15 at HomeDepot. You would be surprised, but these small things add up. If you really need the money right away start cutting back on your food costs. Romain noodles cost a dime and they taste just as good as campbells chicken noodle that costs over $1 a can. Ok no chicken in romain noodles, but you are probably just missing about 4 tiny pieces of chicken. Adjust your toilet to use lesser water. If you don’t know how to do this then put a brick inside your toilet ‘chamber’. You will use a less water each time you flush, this adds up over time people. Before you know it you will be ahead. Need new windshield wipers for your car? Who says you have to buy 2? You only need the new one on the drivers side, leave the old wiper on the passenger side. Are you an impulsive buyer?? Listen here’s what you do……always save the receipt. Find a place to save all the boxes, packaging, etc. Try to get obsessed with folding all the packing materials, making them neat and tape the receipt onto the box/package. Make a game out of it. And get yourself into a new habit called “impulse returning” I once bought a shampoo rug cleaner to scrub my carpets. After I was done I didnt need it anymore so I returned it to the store. I like to think of it as free rental. So remember you have to start thinking S-M-A-R-T! Yours truly seahorsehawrey.

admin answers:

1. Turn your computer, monitor, and speakers off at night… Completely off… Shut down… Not stand-by but off…. I noticed a difference of $65 per month when i did this…

2. They say unplug the tv when you’re leaving for a long time and unplug lamps because regardless of if they’re off or on, they’re still drawing power from the outlet… The plug always has power running through it so then when you come home and turn the tv on it will turn on immediately… While unplugging the tv and lamps is sort of a pain in the ass, you can unplug things like hair-dryers, clocks that you just don’t need to have running (clocks are a 24/7 money suck), stereos that maybe you don’t use as often, kitchen appliances that either don’t get used much or are really for show….

3. Turn the temperature up a little in your fridge and freezer… Be careful though… You don’t want to ruin your food… But if you can put a bottle of water in the back of your top shelf and it freezes by the next day, you can spare 2 degrees….

4. Conserve water by taking shorter showers…. DYK the average 15 minute shower uses over 100 gallons of water???

5. Conserve water by doing less dishwasher runs… Eat on paper plates so you don’t have to wash your big plates and bowls as often…

6. Don’t buy bottled water…. On top of being a drain on your refrigerator to cool it, most bottled water was proven to be filtered tap water… Dasani, ozarka, aquafina… All filtered tap water… Buy a faucet purifier from PUR since you don’t have the option of buying a fridge with a water filter in the door….

7. Conserve water by doing less laundry runs… Never do a load that isn’t large…

8. Watch your temp control… If you’re hot at night in the summer time, make sure you try taking off the 22 lb duvet you have before turning the temp down to 65 degrees… If you live in a state where the summers are between 80-100 degrees, then you’re apartment should be at 77 or 78…. If you live someplace where the summer is lower than 80, you don’t need AC… Open a window and door and tough it out…

9. Get a blanket or sweater or socks before you turn the heat on…

10. Be sure to turn off all game consoles…

11. Combine dryer loads…

12. Clean your fridge of junk food… The more food that’s in there, the more the fridge has to work to maintain temperature…

13. Don’t run your vacuum every day….

14. Remember that hot air rises no matter what season we’re in… So if you live in a predominantly cold state, then you’ll want an upper level apartment b/c all of the heat will rise up to you and will save on your heating bills… If you live in a predominantly HOT state, then you’ll want to live on the bottom floor b/c all of the cold air from your AC will eventually push the hot air out, cooling your apartment, but sending your hot air up to the apartments above you… That will mean that your AC will run for less time while the ones above you have to work harder to achieve the same result…

Hope that helps….

admin answers:

How to Cut Your Energy Costs
Cutting back on your energy usage is not only good for your wallet but also good for the environment. Here are a few simple things that anyone can do to save hundreds of dollars a year! We’ve also got tips on how to keep your apartment comfy, all throughout the year, without a major energy bill.

Save Cash

Close vents you are not using. Whether it’s summer or winter, closing up vents in rooms that you don’t spend a lot of time in is a smart way to cut back on electric costs. Why heat or cool a room that no one is in? Keep the door to the room that you’re not heating or cooling closed. Whether it’s summer or winter, closing up vents in rooms that you don’t spend a lot of time in is a smart way to cut back on electric costs.

Turn off the lights and electronics when they are not being used. When you walk out of a room, turn off the light. Seriously, these costs do add up over time.

Use your range oven only when necessary. Try to prepare foods in a microwave or toaster oven instead, both use less energy.

Use nightlights in bathrooms and hallways. These lights save energy and prevent you from having to switch the lights on and off when you get up at night.

Stay Warm

Keep your shades up and blinds open. This will help you to make the most of solar energy. Studies also show that being exposed to sunlight can help improve your mood.

Use your ceiling fans in reverse. This draws warm air through your home.

Use compact fluorescent lighting. These bulbs use less than half the energy of incandescent light bulbs and last longer.

Use appliances wisely. Your dishwasher and washing machine use a good chunk of energy as well as water. Run them only when you have a full load.

Keep your landlord in check. Speak to your landlord or building manager to ensure that the furnace and air filter in your building are clean. A properly working furnace will cost less to run that a dirty or broken one.

Monitor your thermostat. Purchase a timer and keep your apartment cooler when you’re away or asleep. Some people actually sleep better when the room is cooler. The amount of money you spend on the timer will be saved in your first month’s energy bill.

Keep Cool

Change the filter in your air conditioner. You’ll save 5-15% if you keep your filter clean by changing it once a month.

Close the shades and blinds. Funny how that works, huh? We told you to open them in the winter. Get your tan outside and keep the sun out of your apartment.

Set the thermostat at 78, not 72, degrees Fahrenheit. You could save up to nearly 50% by making this adjustment.

Use fans wisely. Place them where they will circulate the most air and leave them on high so that they have enough power to push the air around.

admin answers:

Turn down the temperature to your water heater. Turn off lights in rooms when you leave them. Turn down the heat to the house, slightly but not too much, when you leave. Use ceiling fans in the summer. Figure out which way is best for them to rotate. Keep your air filters clean. Leave clothes in the washer for a little while before drying them, so that any excess water can just drip off rather than having to be dried by the drier. Don’t feel you have to wash all of your clothes so often either. Some clothes need it after every wearing, but consider some that might not. Keep the house cooler at night, and use another blanket or cover. Consider how to more efficiently take a shower, so that you aren’t in there quite as long. When using the lavatory or sink in the kitchen, be conscious of the water running, not leaving it running any more than needed. (actually that’s more of a water conservation thing, unless the water is hot) Don’t leave the TV on unless you are actively watching it. Computers use a bit of energy too, so I turn mine off when not using it. And I’m not sure if this helps or not, but I open the downstairs vents in the winter, and keep the ones upstairs almost closed. It seems to keep the temperature more even on both floors allowing me to not have to have the upstairs so warm just to keep the downstairs warm. Make sure that whatever heats your house is efficient. I have a heat pump, which apparently is good to have, for both winter and summer. I also switched every single light bulb in the house to the energy saving type.
One other thing that you can do is again, just be conscious when you are cooking. Right when you can possibly turn off the heat on the stove or the oven, do it. When I cook frozen pizza in the oven, the first thing I do is to turn off the oven, not take the pizza out first, which is what most people do, sometimes forgetting to turn it off until way later. That’s all I can think of now. I’m really into saving money like that.

I live in a two story townhouse, which I suppose is just like a two story condo, and mine is all electric. My energy bill is around 70 dollars a month.