Do you try and save energy at home?

[Keyboard Ninja]

Does anyone practice these supposed money saving tips? I have never heard of the last three.

9 Unexpected Energy (and Money) Savers


Here are a few surprising and simple ways to cut your energy bill this season.

Put lamps in the corners: Did you know you can switch to a lower wattage bulb in a lamp or lower its dimmer switch and not lose a noticeable amount of light? It’s all about placement. When a lamp is placed in a corner, the light reflects off the adjoining walls, which makes the room lighter and brighter.

Switch to a laptop: If you’re reading this article on a laptop, you’re using 1/3 less energy than if you’re reading this on a desktop.

Choose an LCD TV: If you’re among those considering a flat-screen upgrade from your conventional, CRT TV, choose an LCD screen for the biggest energy save.

Give your water heater a blanket: Just like you pile on extra layers in the winter, your hot water heater can use some extra insulation too. A fiberglass insulation blanket is a simple addition that can cut heat loss and save 4% to 9% on the average water-heating bill.

Turn off the burner before you’re done cooking: When you turn off an electric burner, it doesn’t cool off immediately. Use that to your advantage by turning it off early and using the residual heat to finish up your dish.

Add motion sensors: You might be diligent about shutting off unnecessary lights, but your kids? Not so much. Adding motion sensors to playrooms and bedrooms cost only $15 to $50 per light, and ensures you don’t pay for energy that you’re not using.

Spin laundry faster: The faster your washing machine can spin excess water out of your laundry, the less you’ll need to use your dryer. Many newer washers spin clothes so effectively, they cut drying time and energy consumption in half—which results in an equal drop in your dryer’s energy bill.
*Dryers- To help clothes dry quicker, place a clean dry towel in with wet clothes; Also, when done unplug or turn off breaker to dryer. It will continue to draw power even when it's not in use.

Use an ice tray: Stop using your automatic icemaker. It increases your fridge’s energy consumption by 14% to 20%. Ice trays, on the other hand, don’t increase your energy costs one iota. Or what I did recently was when the container was full I just turned it to off so it will stop coming on.

Use the dishwasher: If you think doing your dishes by hand is greener than powering up the dishwasher, you’re wrong. Dishwashers use about 1/3 as much hot water and relieve that much strain from your energy-taxing water heater. Added bonus: you don’t have to wash any dishes.

 

[GregLee]

No, I use none of them. Except possibly "Spin laundry faster", which I might be doing, having bought a new washer and dryer recently. I don't have a dishwasher. (Edit: Well, I did give up my last CRT TVs/monitors some years ago --- maybe that counts. Does anybody use CRTs anymore?)

 

[W2R]

I don't do any of those things to save energy, either.

I use a laptop because it is convenient, not for energy reasons. I use my dishwasher because it is easier, not for energy reasons. I don't do the rest.

Oddly, the electric bill for my 1600 square foot home has averaged only $72/month over the past two years despite my wasteful ways.

 

[Dimsumkid]

We do most of these except water heater blanket and motion sensors. Motion sensors that I've tried aren't compatable with CFLs. Trying to use the dishwasher, but doesn't clean forks/spoons as well, so DW is not happy. RE: laundry, we unplug both washer and dryer and turn off the water supply to the washer too, this will prevent any possible hose leaks from flooding the area when not in use. Also, I read about keeping a 5 gal bucket in the shower to collect water waiting for it to get warm. This can be used to flush the toilet for #1. Also utilize 3 rain barrels for the downspouts. Helps a lot when your water is metered.

 

[73ss454]

Nope, we just use what we need as long as we can afford it.

 

[Meadbh]

Put lamps in the corners: Did you know you can switch to a lower wattage bulb in a lamp or lower its dimmer switch and not lose a noticeable amount of light? It’s all about placement. When a lamp is placed in a corner, the light reflects off the adjoining walls, which makes the room lighter and brighter.

Most of my lamps are in the corners. I avoid dark or opaque shades, for maximum light diffusion. I use triplex bulbs for mood lighting, or else energy efficient bulbs, and I have several lamps on timers, to confuse any potential burglars about my comings and goings.

Switch to a laptop: If you’re reading this article on a laptop, you’re using 1/3 less energy than if you’re reading this on a desktop.

I didn't know that, but check!

Choose an LCD TV: If you’re among those considering a flat-screen upgrade from your conventional, CRT TV, choose an LCD screen for the biggest energy save.

Will make note, for when my 1997 CRT TV dies.

Give your water heater a blanket: Just like you pile on extra layers in the winter, your hot water heater can use some extra insulation too. A fiberglass insulation blanket is a simple addition that can cut heat loss and save 4% to 9% on the average water-heating bill.

I remember everyone had these when I lived in Europe.

Turn off the burner before you’re done cooking: When you turn off an electric burner, it doesn’t cool off immediately. Use that to your advantage by turning it off early and using the residual heat to finish up your dish.

I do that all the time, and if I am making a dish with several components that need to be heated in sequence I rotate the pots on one burner.

Add motion sensors: You might be diligent about shutting off unnecessary lights, but your kids? Not so much. Adding motion sensors to playrooms and bedrooms cost only $15 to $50 per light, and ensures you don’t pay for energy that you’re not using.

No kids, so I use the poor man's motion sensor: a finger.

Spin laundry faster: The faster your washing machine can spin excess water out of your laundry, the less you’ll need to use your dryer. Many newer washers spin clothes so effectively, they cut drying time and energy consumption in half—which results in an equal drop in your dryer’s energy bill.
*Dryers- To help clothes dry quicker, place a clean dry towel in with wet clothes; Also, when done unplug or turn off breaker to dryer. It will continue to draw power even when it's not in use.

I spin so fast I get dizzy. I set the dryer timer for a few minutes shorter than I think they need, and let them sit in the warm dryer for 10-15 minutes.

Use an ice tray: Stop using your automatic icemaker. It increases your fridge’s energy consumption by 14% to 20%. Ice trays, on the other hand, don’t increase your energy costs one iota. Or what I did recently was when the container was full I just turned it to off so it will stop coming on.

Cost of ice tray: $1. Get several trays. Who needs an icemaker? In Canada?

Use the dishwasher: If you think doing your dishes by hand is greener than powering up the dishwasher, you’re wrong. Dishwashers use about 1/3 as much hot water and relieve that much strain from your energy-taxing water heater. Added bonus: you don’t have to wash any dishes.

Doesn't everyone know that? Never feel guilty again for not washing the dishes by hand!

Other energy saving tips:

Wear sweaters, buy a duvet, and keep the thermostat low.

Live in house surrounded by tall deciduous trees. Mine is, and I rarely use my AC in the summer.

Shower, don't bathe.

Compost.

Make a "snake" to block drafts under inside doors.

Insulate the attic and crawl space.

 

[Nords]

That washing-machine tip used to be "use a clothesline, not a clothes dryer". But front-loaders (and SamClem's Staber) spin the clothes hard enough to nearly dry them before they go into the dryer. Craigslist is also making front-loaders a lot more affordable.

Icemakers are maintenance PITAs, but they're essential for raising kids who are unable to sense when there's only one ice cube left in the (manual) tray. However even our EnergyStar 25 cu ft GE Profile Arctica side-by-side with its icemaker/water dispenser ("Fridgezilla") is a huge energy hog alongside a 20 cu ft over/under with no icemaker/dispenser. Of course when the ice dispenser breaks you can just shut off the icemaker, but I haven't tried to fix ours yet.

Dishwashers are also essential for kids. We used to run ours 2-3x/week, but now that our daughter has moved out we barely do a load every 10-14 days. I think all dishwashers come with an internal heater to get the water heater's output above 130 degrees, but we have our solar water heater feeding the house at about 135 degrees.

I'm not so sure about CRTs vs LCDs. I saw articles a while back claiming that a 27" CRT still used less energy than a 50+" LCD. And while a laptop may use less energy than a 23" monitor, it can't offer the same viewing area. I'd rather work on replacing a classic spinning hard drive with a solid-state drive.

If I had a motion-detecting lighting system then I'd want a manual override on the switch. It bugs the crap out of me when I'm quietly reading in a room and the sensor turns out my lights. CFLs and LEDs may be a better payback than a motion detector.

 

[easysurfer]

I've heard of most of the tips, the ones I use are turn off burner early, use ice tray, use dishwasher. I'd also like to add, if you are getting a new computer monitor, get a LED monitor instead of LCD. They consume even less power.

 

[chinaco]

We do not take extreme measures.... but we try to conserve.

 

[Zathras]

Interesting idea about the dryer still using power when off. Will check into doing that.
Switched to a laptop a while ago for a number of reasons, one being the energy savings. Also switched out office computer from a giant beast to a Mac mini which saves a ton of energy but still gives you as much visual space as you want.

Definitions of 'Extreme' vary widely. I don't feel any of the above ideas are extreme, but some people feel they are. This is not directed at Chinaco, but the mention of 'extreme' brought that to mind.

 

[sheehs1]

One thing I have not done but my neighbors have is to use a clothesline instead of a dryer...during spring, summer and fall. I always wonder if the towels will actually be clean after blowing outside...
Don't do the other things either....although we try to conserve what we use...meaning I turn off the heat pumps whenever I can. That seems to make the biggest difference in our electric bill.
I also unplugged the extra refrigerator we have in the garage since we were not using it.

 

[Midpack]

We keep our thermostat at 65°F in winter (62°F setback days/nights) and 74°F (78°F setback) in summer. I suspect that does more to save energy than anything on the OP list, which seems to be missing a lot of the biggest bang for the buck savings ideas.

 

[Walt34]

Somewhat, in that it is something we pay attention to, turning out lights in rooms no one is in, that sort of thing. When the house was built we also paid for extra insulation and Tyvek house wrap, an option at the time. I think it's fairly standard now. Looking in the attic, it looks to be about two feet of insulation in there!

But we also keep the house warmer than most people in the winter, and figure what we spend on natural gas then, we save on summer A/C costs because we also keep it warmer than most in the summer. The outside lights are all compact fluorescents (we leave them on all night because to me that's a safety issue) as well as the inside ones that are not on dimmer switches.

And although we haven't significantly altered our driving habits yet higher fuel prices definitely have our attention. When vehicle replacement time comes we'll be paying close attention to fuel mileage.

 

[Dimsumkid]

If you're curious about any electrical items drawing power when they're on/off, there's an item called Kil O Watt. It's a plug in device that you put in between the item and the electrical socket. It can tell you the usage/cost per day. week and year. I bought one, cost under $20, but now my local library rents them out for free. They carry these at Home Depot and online at meritline.com. Most surpising thing I found were Cd/radio boom boxes draw a lot when not in use and the sump pump is really expensive when it's running, although for only a short period of < 1 min at a time.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

My house is 7 years old and quite energy efficient. My bills are on the low side compared to friends with similarly sized (but older) homes (with the exception water and sewage which I am convinced are the same for one person or a family of four unless you have some major leak).
In good weather, I will partially dry some things in the dryer and then hang them out to finish in the sun (love the outdoors smell on bedding). I turn off lights when I am not in a room. I would keep the house a bit cooler in the winter if not for my arthritic little dog (it is set at 68 during the days in winter and 64 at night). I like it cool in the summer, too, and keep a constant 70 degree setting even when I am at w*rk. I bought my fridge without an ice maker as I rarely use ice (just keep a few trays in the freezer). I use my dishwasher about once a month and I hope this is enough to keep the gaskets from drying out. If I had chosen my dishwasher I would have gotten a two drawer model. Front loader washer which I love...the clothes do come out very dry and not terribly wrinkled (although more so than my top loader), but I am not about to start ironing again.

 

[Alan]

We do most of those things on the list. While here in the UK we don't have clothes dryer so use a clothes line outside. Great while it's dry and even better when it's breezy.

We also turn off the ice maker for most of the time and only turn on the hot water heater for a few hours in the evening. Most mornings we get up and go straight to the gym - use their showers after we've exercised, but even on the days we don't, the water is plenty hot enough for a couple of showers.

The house here in the UK is typical of most where there is a seperate timer for both water and heating, so we have them set to come on evenings and in the morning. (no A/C)

 

[ERD50]

I'd take that article with a huge grain of salt (as just about every article, but especially ones on 'energy').

Most of those are too specific, and probably wrong anyway. Rather than a blanket statement of buy an LCD over CRT, or any other 'tip' in there, it makes much more sense to actually compare the listed energy usage of the device, regardless of the technology buzzword. Plus, this changes over time, watts don't.

I really doubt that a blanket on a water heater will save 9% - these things are better insulated these days. In fact, when I researched a new (gas) water heater, I decided against paying more for the extra insulation - it wasn't worth it, it is a very marginal improvement.

Motion detector? I use some for convenience, but do the math - you would need to leave a 60W bulb on a long time to pay back $15. As others said, just turn it off.

Now, I finally found some useful info I was searching for - a comparison to our neighbors, provided by our Utility (if you search hard enough). It looks like I'm close to the 'most efficient' neighbors' (supposedly the best 20%, factoring out 'vacant' homes - though I'm not sure how they determine this). I need to check this against my actual bills, there was something funny in the June-July period, so ignore that.

Oddly, the electric bill for my 1600 square foot home has averaged only $72/month over the past two years despite my wasteful ways.

That seems high for one person. Our house is much larger, and 3-4 people here using lights (and I seem to be the only one to turn them off when I leave a room!) and computers and TVs in different rooms much of the day, and I've averaged $98/month the past two years. On a per-person basis, we'd be over $200/month at your rate! I'm sure you use the A/C much more than us, but we have the fan running for heat, an electric dryer drying clothes for 3-4, and a well pump and sump pumps and a bunch of outside lights on ~6 hrs/day (most are CFL), and an extra (18 YO) fridge in the basement and a 24 YO freezer in the garage.

BTW, the old freezer and fridge are not the energy hogs that most articles make them out to be. The freezer uses ~ $6/month, the fridge was using $9/month, probably less now in the basement - cooler, and fewer open/closes now.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Interesting idea about the dryer still using power when off. Will check into doing that.

Sounds like BS to me. Maybe...maybe...., the new ones with computer controls take a tiny bit of 'phantom power', but I doubt it is much. Ours is a 24 YO basic unit - I know it draws nothing when not running. Off is off.

We keep our thermostat at 65°F in winter (62°F setback days/nights) and 74°F (78°F setback) in summer. I suspect that does more to save energy than anything on the OP list, which seems to be missing a lot of the biggest bang for the buck savings ideas.

Agreed. Penny wise and pound foolish (I guess that's an English expression?).

And what's this about an ice maker using more energy? I find that hard to believe, and possibly backwards. The energy to freeze the water is the same. With trays, you open & close more, so that could be worse. So the ice maker has a relay and I guess a motor to dispense the cubes, but those run intermittently. I'll call BS again, unless some one has something specific. BTW, I never hooked ours up. I don't want another possible source of a leak, didn't want to bother to run the line, read that they can burn out if you lose water pressure, and are a high failure rate. Trays aren't so hard.

EDIT/ADD - OK, I guess so - I didn't realize they use a HEATER to dislodge the cubes...

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-zeroing-energy-consumption-ice-makers.html

n tests of four different types of new refrigerators, National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers found that ice makers increased rated energy consumption by 12 to 20 percent. About three-fourths of that additional energy cost is due to the electric heaters used to release the ice bits from the molds.
With only one-fourth of the extra energy actually used to cool and freeze water, "there are substantial opportunities for efficiency improvements merely by optimizing the operations of the heaters associated with the ice makers" or by introducing a more efficient alternative technology, report NIST mechanical engineer David Yashar and guest researcher Ki-Jung Park.
Since refrigerators account for 8 percent of the total energy consumed by 111 million U.S. households according to the Department of Energy (DOE), the potential savings are significant.

Oh man, nice work Feds!

Currently, ice maker energy consumption is not reflected in federal minimum efficiency standards for refrigerators or in the voluntary Energy Star program, which requires energy usage to be significantly lower than the regulatory limit.

-ERD50

 

[W2R]

That seems high for one person.

A $72/month average electric bill is not high for a 1600 square foot air conditioned house in the New Orleans summer heat, but the point (at least MY point) was not to boast. Sorry that you misunderstood!

The point that I was hoping to get across is that a savings less than $72/month simply isn't enough to motivate me (or many others, I would imagine) to expend the time and effort to put additional "energy saving tips" in place. Right now I am happy enough with the energy savings I already have in place, much of which is not due to any internal virtue on my part , but due to a newer air conditioning unit that I had to buy when mine completely cratered a few years ago (2006?), a new refrigerator bought in 2005 after mine was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and so on.

When energy rises in price by more than an order of magnitude (if that should happen in our lifetimes), many of us might be more motivated to think about changing our habits to conserve further.

Likewise, I don't go out of my way to conserve water since my monthly water bill is always the minimum, around $4. Once again I should explain to you that my reason for revealing this is not to boast but instead is simply consistent with the current thread topic. In other words, let me make it clear that this is not due to my great virtue as a champion conservationist because I am not one - - I don't conserve water at all. For example I do not bother to collect rainwater, re-use my shower water, and so on, because there is no economic motivation to do so.

 

[freebird5825]

My house is a 1977 vintage raised ranch with a closed loop copper hot water heating system, powered by natural gas. No central air. Ceiling fans in 3 common area rooms.
Winter: I have programmable thermostats in each of the 2 upstairs heating zones, which are set at 64F as the 24 hour default.
If we are here, I turn up only the living room and kitchen zone and/or light a fire. The manual thermostat downstairs is set at 60 unless we have below zero weather. There is a small section of the heating system inside the downstairs closet where the water main enters the house.
I use sticky back foam tape to seal the wood shrinkage cracks in all of the older windows. I close 2 sets of heavy floor to ceiling insulated drapes on especially colder days. I leave them wide open on sunny days.
Summer: My only AC unit is installed seasonally in the master bedroom. With the new picture window (with 2 flanking double hungs) now installed in the living room, that AC unit may get relocated to the south facing living room. Or I may purchase another small one to keep the living, dining, and kitchen interconnected area a bit cooler this year.
Lamps: I use tabletop in corners and/or torchiere style lamps (reflect light upwards), all with energy effiicent bulbs.
Laundry: I line dry all of our clothes indoors and then get them wrinkle free in a short time in the gas fueled dryer. I use warm/cold as the default for the washing machine and fill it to capacity.
Freezers: I use my automatic icemaker, but it does not need to refill too often with only 2 of us using ice. Kitchen frig/freezer is 10 years old. I have a < 5 year old energy efficent freezer in the integrated garage.

 

[Aiming_4_55]

Nothing on the list really, use a laptop & dishwasher for convenience but....

- I switched to all CFL bulbs a few years back when the electric company offered rebates to cover the cost

- Changed to a 97.5% efficiency furnace when it was time to replace a 15 year old unit needing work and leverage the tax rebate - still keep temps low at night & when no one is home during the day

 

[ERD50]

A $72/month average electric bill for a 1600 square foot house in the New Orleans heat may seem high, but the point (at least MY point) was not to boast. Sorry that you misunderstood!

The point that I was hoping to get across is that a savings less than $72/month simply isn't enough to motivate me (or many others, I would imagine) to expend the time and effort to put additional "energy saving tips" in place. Right now I am happy enough with the energy savings I already have in place. When energy rises in price by more than an order of magnitude (if that should happen in our lifetimes), many of us might be more motivated to think about changing our habits to conserve further.

Sorry, but I didn't misunderstand, I didn't take it as boasting, I just thought it provided two interesting data points.

I guess I'm always looking to save money, regardless if it is on a $72, $720, or a $7.20 monthly bill. A $ is a $. But I agree with you that as far as energy goes, most of these things take more effort/investment than they are worth. I keep looking, and I keep getting disappointed (That new fridge does use ~ half the energy, but that is out of $9/month, not such a big deal)!

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

Somewhat, in that it is something we pay attention to, turning out lights in rooms no one is in, that sort of thing. When the house was built we also paid for extra insulation and Tyvek house wrap, an option at the time. I think it's fairly standard now. Looking in the attic, it looks to be about two feet of insulation in there!

But we also keep the house warmer than most people in the winter, and figure what we spend on natural gas then, we save on summer A/C costs because we also keep it warmer than most in the summer. The outside lights are all compact fluorescents (we leave them on all night because to me that's a safety issue) as well as the inside ones that are not on dimmer switches.

And although we haven't significantly altered our driving habits yet higher fuel prices definitely have our attention. When vehicle replacement time comes we'll be paying close attention to fuel mileage.

I definitely believe in task lighting. If I'm gonna not be in the other room for awhile, I turn off the lights there. When on the computer or desk doing my bills, I only use one task light instead of a task light and overhead light on.

It's gets me when I see some who are in the habit of the exact opposite. They'd leave lights on all over the house knowing that they'd be in only one room for hours. Or they'd leave a fan blowing on before going shopping for several hours.

IMHO, that's like purposely leaving the water at a trickle without reason, or purpsosely leaving the front door cracked open when turning on the furnance in the winter

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

I have a hot water heater that I chose not to insulate as it is in a heated area that is used in the winter that tends to be a little too cool for comfort anyway.

CFL's are used where they make sense in a cooler climate. Our kitchen ceiling fixture takes three screw in bulbs. I put in one old incandescent for instant on and two older CFLs that can come on slowly when it is quite cold. The heat from that one regular bulb does wonders in helping the cfls brighten quicker than if without. Incidentally I saw an ad for a CFL that has an instant on halogen in it that shuts off once the CFL is working properly.

In the really cold exposed interior places I still use incandescent or led bulbs for the instant on. In fact I've found that you can use CFL flood lights in a motion sensor if you have one regular bulb and one cfl. No idea if this is a potential fire hazard or not but it is on a masonry garage and electric is in conduit so little risk other than tripping a circuit breaker I assume.

I have a timed thermostat and when only myself in the house tend to let home get cool in winter and wear a robe over regular clothes and some sort of zone heating even if just a small electric heater at my desk. I do increase the heat automatically when the rest of the family is to be here.

 

[W2R]

(That new fridge does use ~ half the energy, but that is out of $9/month, not such a big deal)!

Yes, I probably would still have the old refrigerator had it been up to me, but Hurricane Katrina made that decision for me.