Comments on: How We Keep Our Electric Bill Low

By: cooliojones

cooliojones — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 22:33:16 +0000

I don’t know if I could bring myself to do that, other than the fact that I live in an apartment right now so it’s not possible.

Then you have to iron the clothes and fold them or hang them up. SO I just get them dry cleaned.

My New Hustle | Make Money Online
More than a noun, it’s a lifestyle.

By: SAHM-CFO

SAHM-CFO — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:23:49 +0000

I’ve heard that venting indoors can present a fire hazard as well as introduce mold, and circulate allergens into your home. It’s not worth it to me.

I want to know about that AC credit. I could use that on my bill! You’ve got a great bill for that ac temp considering the rate increase.

By: Fas

Fas — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:52:02 +0000

I am an energy saving nerd but not to the point where I am uncomfortable and have to make drastic changes in my lifestyle.
1) Ok, if you have a hot water heater, please know that this appliance is without a doubt the most inefficient thing in your house. All the hot water heaters I’ve seen can have there thermostat adjusted by simply unscrewing a plate towards the bottom and adjusting the gauge (normally with a screwdriver). So perform this test. Go into your bathroom and turn your tubwater on as hot as it will go. If you cannot comfortably hold your hand under it, chances are it doesn’t need to be that hot for your showers, washing machine or dishwasher. Over the next several days, adjust the temperature on the heater and do the test again until you find a good temp. For mine, I have it as low as it can go and it is plenty hot for me. In the winter, you may have to adjust it back up if preferred.
2) If you have a dishwasher, do not select the auto-dry or warmer or whatever it is called. If you simply open the dishwasher after running it, the warm dishes will dry pretty fast, thus avoiding the 30 minutes of running that heating element.
3) If you have an attic, you may find it very much worth your while to invest in a $100-150 attic fan. If you are handy, you can install it yourself easily. If you have a fan, you can open some windows on the bottom floor of your home and the fan will draw air from the outside (usually at night after it has cooled off), thru your home, up to the attic and out the vents in your roof. This effectively gets rid of all the 100 degree air that is trapped in your attic after a hot day. Run the fan for several minutes, close the windows and then your A/C will have an easier time cooling the house.

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:56:32 +0000

To add to the dryer dilemma…our dryer hose is fitted with a plastic box contraption that is screened and can open to vent in the house in winter or close to vent outside in the summer. It’s pretty neat.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:28:50 +0000

The $2000 clean-up as a result of a “CFL-spill” is not quite accurate:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:49:12 +0000

As has been alluded to here, beware of the potential emergency costs of CFLs. Story I heard recently involved a woman who was replacing all of her old bulbs with CFLs when she accidentally dropped one on the floor. It broke and it cost her $2000 to have a professional come clean and remove all the mercury. Handle with care.

By: EMF

EMF — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 03:15:26 +0000

@ michelle
This site http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3585_30068_30172-90210–,00.html suggests that the production of the additional electricity to power the incandescent light exceeds the mercury in the CFL.

@Jude:
You don’t want to vent the clothes dryer into the house in the summer. In the winter, the humidity is low so the chance of damage is reduced.

The dryer needs to pull in air to replace the air it vents. So in the summer, I vent the dryer exhaust to the outside. Also, I open the window in the utility room with the dryer and close the door. That way, it pulls in air from outside rather than the expensive air that’s been cooled and dehumidified by the air conditioner.

By: Jude

Jude — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:38:54 +0000

Venting a clothes dryer directly into the house may seem to save on the heating bills, but it is going to cost you in future maintenance bills and during the summer months. There is a huge amount of water vapor that gets wrung out of the clothes and carried away in the vented air. If it goes right into your home it will cause moisture problems; condensation on windows, peeling paint, or even mold growth. In the summer it takes a tremendous amount of energy for the AC to remove the latent heat of the air caused by the humidity.

By: michelle

michelle — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:02:09 +0000

CFLs are full of the VERY toxic mercury (says so right on the packaging). If you dispose of your old CFLs in the garbage (which is illegal due to their toxicity), the mercury WILL end up in the groundwater and in our food chain.

If you insist on using these toxic bulbs, find a safe way to dispose of them. This will be tricky, of course, since the manufacturers don’t tell you how to dispose of them – the manufacturers don’t really care. They’re just trying to make a buck at the expense of their (and your) children & grandchildren.

CFL bulbs are a short-sighted and toxic approach to reducing energy consumption.

By: Posco

Posco — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:15:40 +0000

Wow. Electricity in Los Angeles is expensive! (compared to what you were paying before your rate hikes) I live in a little two-bedroom apartment. Our daily average electricity use is 10 kWh, less than half of yours, and yet our monthly electrical bill comes out to about $36.00 including taxes (compared to your $48.58).

By: Al Brockman

Al Brockman — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 14:58:49 +0000

Here’s one that you don’t see mentioned very often.
After using the clothes washer, hang the damp clothes on an outside clothes line. The savings are dramatic, particularly in a family with kids. Other than on rainy days, you reduce the KWH to zero for the clothes dryer (and that is a kwh hog)