It pays to conserve electricity.

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polkanut

polkanut

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
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Location
Wausau, WI
Earlier in summer I posted that I was hanging nearly all of the weekly laundry outside on the clothesline to save on the utility bill.  Well it paid off, BIG TIME!  When I opened our Sept. electric/gas bill I was pleasantly surprised to read that we had a $140.13cr on our bill which meant that we actually got 1 month free.  We are on the budget plan, Time-Of-Use plan, and we also allow the electric co. to temporarily shut off the central air during peak demand times.  We only have 4 cfl's currently in use, but I will replace the regular bulbs as they burn out with cfl's.  I'm almost fanatic about turning off lights when leaving a room.  Our winter Time-Of-Use rate goes into effect today (10/1) which gives us the cheaper electric rate of $0.06842 from 7pm-8am, and from 12noon-4pm.  During on-peak times the rate goes up to $0.20739.

 

There is no discounted rate for gas usage during certain times of the day, just electricity.  But, our last bill showed we only used 13.1 therms during the billing cycle.  We have no standing pilot lights on any of our gas appliances (stove, water heater, furnace).
 
Incredible...

Unfortunately, outdoor clothes drying is prohibited in my neighborhood. Not sure that I would participate if the rules were changed, but I sure do hate being told that I cannot do something which seems so logical and reasonable.

My highest power bill this summer was $125 with the AC kept at a firm 70 degrees. So I really cannot complain.

Malcolm
 
It sure does...

My parents us the clothes line for pretty much about all their laundry drying.
I use the electric dryer for towels, socks, underwear one load once a week.
I mostly dry sheets on the line and only use the dryer if it's raining on sheet day.

We hardly use air conditioning in the summer (but use high velocity fans). Only maybe once or twice on those extreme real feel days of over 100 F will the A/C get used.

Our highest bill (3 person household) for 2012 was $122.18 for January.
Our lowest bill was $92.17 for May.

I just signed up for a $0.06800 fixed rate good until the end of December. Before that it was $0.6890

We use CFL's everywhere. Our two main TV's are LCD's and still use two tube style TV's. I bet if those TV's were new LCD's we could use a little less electricity.
 
I've been doing the same experiment this summer too. I was tired of a $120+ electric bill every month. Not that I live in the dark or don't use A/C, but attacking dryer use really did the trick (and this is also with an electric water heater). My bills have been about $20 less a month on average, my last bill was $78!!!

My s/o doesn't like to see his undies and stuff hanging out on the line and hates line dried towels. So the compromise is for about every 4 loads of wash, I'll end up drying only 1 full load in the dryer, everything else goes out on the line.

I'm pretty happy with the results, although with winter coming I'm sure this will come to an end.
 
"I'm pretty happy with the results, although with winter coming I'm sure this will come to an end."

I actually hang more in the winter probably. I use racks indoors, and the indoor heat is so dry, it helps to humidify the air, and it makes the house smell like fresh clean laundry!
 
We have a 40" flat screen tv in the living room, and 2 13" sets in our dinette area and bedroom.  The flat screen is hooked up to a power strip that shuts the tv & cable box completely off, not just on standby power.
 
Malcolm,

You may want to check state or local laws. I have been an HOA president in my current and past neighborhood, and though we don't specifically prohibit outside laundry hanging, some folks think it should be prohibited. We told them to forget trying, though I've never noticed anyone with a clothesline in the first place.

Local laws here won't allow an HOA to enforce such a law on energy efficiency reasons. They just require the resident to haul it all in by end of the day or within some reasonable time limit. It could be the same elsewhere? N.C. has some of the strongest, pro-HOA laws in the country, but this one can't be enforced.

Gordon
 
There are lots of areas that are promoting line-drying or enacting ordinances against such HOA restrictions that altogether ban line drying. Putting reasonable limits on clotheslines, days, etc. is perfectly understandable but an all-out ban is silly. The link is to a site that is trying to spread the word and make line drying more acceptable and more widespread. They also promote cold-water washing, a part of the site I've never looked at - LOL!

They also have a store with great resources for buying line drying supplies and equipment, but it is down now for maintenance. IIIRC, they sold the famed Hills Hoist clothes dryers from Australia.

http://www.laundrylist.org/
 
We gotcha beat. Out highest electrical bill for this summer was $102.56.
We just picked the right electrical company in our deregulated state. The year before our biggest bill was $165.00. I think the new heating/cooling system also helped too. Our average use was 1005 kWH.
 
Hmmm....

I'll say this:

Electricity in this nation ain't cheap! Some states do not have deregulation, some do. In any case though, the prices are still very high. At the moment, we are charged about 20 cents/KWh. I believe only the deregulated supplies actually have the peak/off-peak rates.

Our Winter bills (Sunny, cool, but not enough to justify ANY heating + Solar heated water) are in the region of $200-$300. Summer, It goes up by around 2.5x (YES - $800). And thats only running the air on a moderate setting for the late afternoon and through the night (About 25-28º or 77-82F).

I think the biggest thing for us is the PLASMA TV. They suck on the power-cord, and really heat things up. In 2008, someone thought about trying to ban the things. Lol.

Another point, unless you really have to, I don't believe in the Standby Power hysteria. One, you can wear out your powerpoint switches (if used in your nation) or the power point continuously plugging in/out and secondly today's appliances are so "fragile" in the electrics department, that frequently applying power on and off the standby circuit is likely to wear things out. Sorry, but I think thats the truth.
HOWEVER, if your appliance goes into standby, and there is a button you can push to cut the power (Power goes in, and right back out sort of thing), then USE THAT INSTEAD.

And if I wrote "standy" instead of "Standby" sorry, but I keep writing the former instead, for whatever reason.
 
Another Point:

Those boxes in America where the power company can turn your air-conditioning on and off are an absolute joke! You seriously want to let the government CONTROL when you are "ALLOWED" to use the air-conditioning?
I would even go as far as saying thats an invasion of one's privacy or decision making process. "I'm hot, so I'll put the A/C on." Meanwhile, in Washington: "Hmmmm, looks like another sucker is about to start the a/c. FRED! Kill the supply to No. 123 Inflattery St, in Apartment B!"
 
It has nothing to do with the government, only the various utility companies.  You can opt to sign up for the remote shutdown of the air conditioner if you want in most cases.  Where I live I don't have that option, but if the price break was good I'd opt for it.
 
Interesting Point

I still wouldn't let some utility company control MY climate. Afterall, I don't care how much power/water/gas I use, because if I choose to use so much, I will pay for it. If I can't afford it, then, I'll conserve electricity.

It always surprises me that utility companies are always telling you about saving electricity, yet, they are not afraid of losing profits and such from everyone "turning off lights and appliances not in use." Oh wait, they can't! If you have Solar electricity YOU generate and sell, you are selling that power for just 1/10 of what they will sell it for. You get so little here, that some friends of ours have just decided to stop and use the solar to power themselves and only use grid electricity as needed.
Much smarter, IMO.
 
I can override the a/c control by lowering the thermostat by 5-10 degrees.  It has never been a problem for us because with living in a northern climate our house is very well insulated.  The house stays quite cool with the blinds and/or curtains closed.
 
Electric Load Management

 
They shut off the A/C for about 15 mins at a time, and only when usage conditions over a large area call for it to keep demand below a target level on the grid.  The electric coop here can also put the controller on tank water heaters and pool pumps.  They don't do it on heat pump systems.  It's not so much a direct conservation effort for the end-consumer (although that IS a consideration).  It's more a matter of moderating the peak demand level across the power grid to avoid rolling blackouts.  My neighbor single-handedly is responsible for the load-management program at the local coop.  The ideal is to engage the system on ONLY one day per month, when the peak demand occurs.  It involves monitoring weather conditions and instantaneous usage graphs across the state to determine when a peak may occur.  Some guessing is involved so typically load management ends up being done more than one day during weather extremes so the peak (hopefully) isn't missed.  If it is missed ... well, oops, too late.
 
Saving Electricity

Congratulations Tim, over the past ten years I have cut my summer power use in half, I used to use nearly 3000 KWs per month in the three hottest summer months, now I haven't even used 1500 in many years. i did this by using more efficient AC systems, All compact florescent bulbs and modifications to the three refrigerators and two frost-free freezers that are on all the time.

 

If I were you I would throw away all incandescent light bulbs now, it is foolish to keep using them, I would also switch to a gas clothes dryer now, you will be amazed at the savings. In life I have always tried to have my cake and eat it too, LOL.
 
About ten years ago, California went through an electricity crisis when a lot of plants were shut for maintenance and outside power companies (like Enron) were manipulating the cost of electricity. About that time, IKEA had an advertised sale on CFL bulbs, which until that time usually cost $5-10 each (my first two CFLs, bought 1988 for my garage, were the circular type and cost $12 each). Now it's common to see them sold for $1-2 each, but they used to be very expensive.

IKEA's sale allowed me to replace nearly all of the indoor and outdoor bulbs for $120, which at the time was a breakthrough price. This was in January, and when the January bill arrived in early February, my use had dropped 40% vs. December, and both months are comparable in terms of weather and heating usage (forced air with electric fan). Very shortly afterward, the state of California offered a 20/20 plan: if your consumption dropped 20% or more from your historic level of usage, you would get 20% off your bill. This continued for several years. My $120 investment paid off in a matter of months.
 
My average electric bill...

Runs this time of year around $40. It may hit 50 if I run the A/C, but has never hit 60. I have all cfl or tube florecents on the bulbs that are always on when awake. But my biggest energy costs are the heating oil, which runs at least $1500 a year for less than 500 gals. and propane backup. I dont run pilot lights, they are always off, and I get my hot water from the boiler. So the furnace has to be left on. I have done the wood thing and it is more bother for me than its worth. I am 9 miles from the nearest natural gas pipeline, but I will never see it.
 
$40 OMG

we just received our quarterly electricity bill it was $780 It's becoming very expensive in Australia to turn on any appliance
 
Here In Iowa:

Bills range from a low of $40 (Spring and Fall, when there is little to no climate control need), to a Winter high of $120, when temps can be twenty below.

It helps that the house is only 480 square feet, of course. Summer bills with the A/C on average around $65.
 
John,

I guess I have the same aversion that my parents and grandparents have/had to throwing away something that is perfectly good.  This is what prevents me from throwing out my incandescent bulbs.  We have quite a supply of them, and will just use them up and then gradually replace them with cfl's.  As for the dryer, where our laundry room is located would require quite a long run of gas pipe, and again I can't justify kicking a perfectly good appliance to the curb.  We only run the dryer during off-peak electric rate times.

 

 
 
Our local company has been offering the Watt Saver where they cycle your compressor at 15 minute increments. I had the same aversion, I didn't want them controlling my A/C. People that are signed up said they only had two sessions last summer. They never cycle on weekends, or holidays. It is always on a weekday during peak demand.

They are starting a pilot program where they charge you by the usage within a peak period. This program requires a one year commitment, I have been tempted as just about all the heavy usage is done off-peak save for the A/C that I have to leave on for my mother who is home during the day.
 
We spend....

Hey Guys

Our bill on a prepayment meter is roughly £35/month($54 odd) when the heating is off but shoots up to £120/month($185) with it on(Victorian converted flat with high ceilings). Thats being charged on an Economy 7 tariff of 12.26p/Kwh($0.19) during the day and 5.78p/Kwh($0.09) for 7 hours overnight. This tariff is designed for off peak water and storage room heaters but the dryer and everything else also benefit from it.
Oh and there is £1.90/week(£2.95) fixed charge....

Seamus
 
CFLs

I'm totally switched over to CFLs, with the exception of two fixtures that require decorative bulbs (and which aren't used all that much).

Not only have bills come down because of the bulbs, they've come down because of the reduced heat generation. In the Summer, having incandescent lights on can produce a fair amount of heat - which your A/C then has to work to get rid of.

I was very resistant to CFLs, because the early ones gave terrible light, making everyone look freshly embalmed, and because they were gee-holy SPENDY at first. Color temperatures are far better now, and prices are so low (about a dollar a bulb) that they're a better buy than incandescents ever were, because they last so much longer.

They work for me - anyone who tried early ones and wasn't impressed might take another look at them. My sole remaining objection is that they are dog-butt-ugly in lamps and fixtures where the bulb shows. [this post was last edited: 10/2/2012-14:59]
 
I keep my AC set at 71 and my power bill this past month was 155 dollars, and that was for 29 days!

Earlier this summer when we had 105 degree weather for one week, my power bill was 145 and the AC ran constantly.

Quite frankly, I thought they had been a lot better at reading the meters here, but apparently not. Last year, My bill was over 200 dollars and I had used a LOT of kw hours. I googled and found out how to read a meter, went outside with pen/paper and wrote down the current reading on the meter and compared it with the reading two days prior from the reading date on my bill, and my meter hadn't even reached the point that was read two days prior - it still had like 400 or more kwh's to go, so it was read wrong. Last month my bill was 109! They do not estimate in my area.

So sick of having to check it each month.

Do plasma tv's really use that much electricity?
 
My highest electric bill this year was in July $253 for 1,643 Kwh, lowest was last october for $95 which is usually when no AC or heat is being used.  I have a self reading meter in that it sends a reading every day around 8am to the company over the power lines, so when my billing end date occurs the company generates the bill that night and mails it.

 

I read that Ikea is moving toward selling only LED's by 2015.  I have LEDs in my kitchen and CFLs in every other room. I am switching to LED's as soon as I can.  They last longer and produce much less heat than Halogen or CFLs.
 
Yeah, Plasma's are pretty bad. The PC magazine I used to subscribe to mentioned the details. I THINK it was somewhere in the region of 500 Watts/Hour (Someone else might like to butt in here?)
 
Plasma TV

I have a 32 inch LED Tv in the bedroom and a 50 inch Plasma in the family room.  I like the picture of the plasma a little better but it does use more energy because it really creates heat.  If you put your hand a few inches away from the screen you can feel the heat jumping off of it.  They also warn you not to let young kids near it so they won't accidentally get burned.  I used to do sit ups in front of it but I had to move way back because of the heat.   It has a power saving mode which reduces the amount of energy it uses but it also reduces the picture quality.  I figure I bought it for the picture so I don't use it in the power saving mode.  For the most part I don't watch a lot of TV so the one in the bedroom is used more than the Plasma. 

 

I think mine is 525 watts per hour
 
Our total electric usage from 8/6-9/6 was 579KWH.  Off-peak we used 386KWH, and on-peak usage was 193KWH.  We do go to bed quite early (9-9:30pm). 
 

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