Got any frugal electricity tips?
Dear Kristen,
I am teaching my younger children about electricity right now. We went outside and looked at the electric meter, and I told them about how the power company charges for every bit of electricity we use. Of course, I told them that is why we should turn off lights if we're not using them.
Then the lesson was over, and I went to the kitchen and filled a pot with water so that at supper time I can turn it on to boil for pasta. I'm not sure allowing our cold well water to warm up to room temperature saves much electricity, but since it saves me time at supper and at least some electricity, I call it a frugal-ish habit.
I wondered if you might ask your readers what frugal electricity-saving tips they use; I think my children would be excited to read them in your comments.
Warm wishes,
Jody S.
(We met Jody in a reader interview.)
I love this idea!
I'll share a few of my ideas, and then I'll open up the floor for everyone else.
Heating/Cooling
Use blinds and curtains
In the summer, I close blinds/curtains when the hot sun shines on certain windows.
And in the winter, I make sure to open those same blinds and curtains to take advantage of the sun's heat.
This helps to reduce my heat and air-conditioning needs a little.
Be strategic about window-opening
If a summer morning is temperate, I open all the windows up until mid-morning. Then I shut them to prevent hot air from getting inside.
If a fall or winter day is unusually warm, I open up all the windows in the heat of the day and then I make sure to close them as soon as the temperatures start falling.
Dress and eat for the season
What you wear can help reduce the need for heat and air-conditioning.
In the winter, eat hot foods and drink hot beverages while wearing sweaters and socks.
In the summer, drink iced tea and eat watermelon, while wearing as little as is socially acceptable.
Cooking
Only preheat the oven when it's necessary
For many baked goods, a hot oven is essential.
But if you are baking something that does not require a blast of heat (such as a casserole), there's no need to preheat; the casserole can come up to temperature along with the oven.
Plan meals around the weather
If it's a hot day, I plan a salad rather than oven pulled pork (which requires three hours in the oven!).
If I see a cool day coming up, I plan to make pizza.
You don't want your cooking to fight your cooling plans!
Bake things in succession
The oven uses most of its energy to come up to heat and less to maintain it. So if you can avoid extra preheating, your baking is more efficient.
So, bake several things on one day rather than one thing each day for multiple days.
Hot Water
Shower after a workout
If I'm already hot, I use less hot water when I shower!
Wash most laundry in cold water
I only use hot water when a load is particularly dirty or greasy.
Use the dishwasher instead of hand-washing
The dishwasher is more efficient with its use of hot water than even the most efficient hand-washer.
(Amy Dacyzyn tested this out!)
Use a kettle to heat water for cooking
If you already own a hot water kettle, use it to heat water for things like cooking pasta. Electric kettles heat water more efficiently than a stovetop pot does, saving electricity and time.
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Kristen already covered some great tips, but I would add: learn how to use your thermostat's programming. We own a simple (i.e., not "smart")thermostat and running it on a schedule really has helped our cooling costs this summer. Also, some power companies charge less for electricity used during off-peak times, so we try to use our dishwasher's delay setting to run overnight.
I use many of your suggestions, Kristen. A couple of other ideas--I use a crockpot frequently when I cook. Not only does it help me accommodate my variable schedule to allow for home-cooked meals, but it uses significantly less energy versus a traditional oven (and doesn't heat up the kitchen as much during the hot weather). I don't have an electric kettle but I do have a hot water carafe. I boil a pot of water for tea in the morning and typically the hot water in the carafe allows me to enjoy more cups during the day without using the burner to heat water again.
I love this idea.
When making pasta, bring the water just back to a boil after putting in the pasta, then turn the heat off and cover it for 12 minutes. The pasta will be cooked, and no more heat used. Similarly, put eggs on to boil, get them just to boiling, and turn off the heat, cover, wait 17 minutes. They will be hard boiled. I think both of these tips are from Martha Stewart, and they work. Note, you will probably have to "tip" the lid a bit when first covering a boiling pot, to avoid boilover.
Use a pressure cooker instead of your oven. My stove-top 8 quart Fagor (an ATK best buy) gives me oven-cooked flavor. I make pulled pork in it, cutting the meat up in large chunks as ATK told me too. Cooks in about 20-30 minutes, then it's ready to pull. I use the basket insert for sturdy long-cooking vegetables like sweet potatoes and beets. I also use the basket to cook ribs, standing them up in it, then I just broil them for a couple of minutes to brown and crisp the exteriors.
Unplug the things that have lights that glow continuously but that you don't need on continuously.
Hang up your laundry on a rack, clothesline or shower rod to dry when possible. I heard many years ago that an average dryer load uses 50 cents worth of electricity, so I'm sure it's more now. That doesn't sound like much until you add up all the loads of sheets, towels and clothes you wash and dry in a week.
Replace bulbs with LED bulbs. Replace Christmas lights with LED lights.
Keep a/c filters changed on schedule. Clean out the refrigerator coils/grill.
When using the slow cooker in hot weather, set it outside if possible. Same with a dehydrator.
Batch cook. I often roast cut up vegetables and meats at once. I just remove whatever is ready as it comes time. I've been known to do things like roast vegetables, a pan of link sausage, a roast, and small potatoes all at the same time. Using the convection feature of your oven, if you have it, makes this work really well.
If you have a self-cleaning oven, use the clean cycle during the winter.
Put in programmable thermostats; the non-smart ones aren't very expensive. You can automatically drop the heat or raise the a/c at night, or when everyone is out of the house. In my house, the upstairs is unused during most of the day and has its own heat pump. For the time period of roughly from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., I set the a/c to be pretty warm during the warm months, and the heat is set to be pretty cool during the cool months. It has made a difference in our bill.
Great post and great tips, Kristen!
In addition to your suggestions:
- Hang your laundry for drying (if you can) - I don't own a dryer and dry my laundry on the balcony or in my guest bedroom/office.
- Every time you need to replace electronic devices, check their consumption before you buy something new. New devices tend to be more economic, in particular new dryers (if you need one ;-)) and fridges/freezers. Higher purchase prices will pay off in the long run.
- Turn the lights and all electronic devices off when you don't use them or leave the room for a longer period of time. This may sound trivial, but a lot of people don't do it.
Wow this is a great article! I’m 57 and quite frugal but still learned some things. Thank you.
We installed solar, but still try to pay attention to the electrical burden, particularly this time of year when the power grid is under so much strain.
-We hang dry our clothing year round. We have a large sunny area that we use (indoors). We do use the dryer for towels, socks & underwear. Everything else goes on the drying rack. Double bonus - our clothes last for a really, really long time this way, particularly workout clothes.
-We take advantage of the cooler morning/evenings in the bay area, and keep the windows open in the early morning & evenings. It really cools the house down. I think we've only used the AC a couple of times this year.
-We use a ceiling fan to further keep things cool as we're sleeping.
-We typically steam our food vs heating the oven. My method of steaming. Fill a pot with just enough water to scantly cover the bottom. Turn to boil. When the water is at a high boil, add your leftovers, & immediately turn the heat to the lowest setting & cover it with the lid. This works well for almost anything. My husband isn't a fan of reheating in the microwave, and we try to avoid heating the oven for leftovers, so this works well.
@Hawaii Planner, I'm fascinated with steaming your leftovers! We haven't used a microwave in 10 years and, when we ordered our RV which we live in full time, we opted to put a cabinet in where the microwave would have gone. This might be a silly question but does this work for most foods? Do you put the leftovers in foil and place that in the scant bit of water in the bottom of the pan? I am looking forward to trying this for heating leftovers especially in the summer!
Perhaps you can help them identify what electricity is used for, or what its properties are. After that, discuss the ways to use it most efficiently. It is used for heating and cooling of air, water, surfaces. Powering small devices, large appliances, lighting. Side effects include generating heat. Someone else can perhaps explain what I mean better than I did!
Electricity is also part of being alive. Our cells generate electricity. If it is stopped, we might die.
You could have them list all the items in your home that use electricity, and discuss alternatives to them. Electric fans: hand-held fans. Security system: dog or trust your neighbors. Water heater: camp fire, or just use cold.
@Heidi Louise, Great point about teaching them that our bodies run on electric current. The heart is a pump but it is run by the electrical conduction system in it; when young athletes drop over in the middle of a game it is almost always the electric system that simply quits.
@Lindsey, My chiropractor was the first person I heard talk about electricity in our bodies, specifically in nerves and traveling through the spinal cord.
First, I'd recommend an attic fan. While an attic fan does use electricity, one with a thermostat control can save electricity by lowering the attic temperature, you will save on air conditioning costs. This is particularly true if you have a two story or more house.
My other tip is to use your garage (or possibly a covered porch) as a "summer kitchen." During hot months, my crockpot does its work in the garage. Even in our large open floor plan kitchen, the crockpot can raise the temperature by as much as 5° while it is working.
I would also like to add that conserving electricity doesn't just save money. During extremely hot weather lowering personal consumption can help assure that the electric grid doesn't fail and cause a devastating blackout.
Great tips! When buying a new home or replacing windows on an older home, consider double-paned (or hurricane proof, as we call them here in S FL) windows. We recently moved from a house without double-paved windows to a slightly smaller townhouse with double-paned windows, and the difference in our electric bill is amazing! We continue to keep the blinds closed during the hottest part of the day and only open the windows to air out when the humidity is low. Also here in S FL, we don’t use our electric heat, but instead use AC 24/7, 365 days/year, so getting regular maintenance on the AC units is critical. A poorly functioning AC unit is a huge energy waster.
Wow, great idea to proactively teach your kids about electricity and they can help save power! We also use a lot of power strips - e.g. the TV, DVD player, gaming systems are on a strip that we keep off until someone wants to use them, to help with the energy vampire waste. I also do seasonal things like washing/drying things like blankets during colder seasons (not summer) so the dryer doesn't heat up the house.
We have time of use metering, so it makes a big difference for us to remain aware of the peak/off-peak times, at least for the bigger recurrent things like when to run the dishwasher/dryer.
(PS if it would appeal to your kids, it might be fun to try some solar cooking; we had fun with that and it definitely comes under the heading of energy savings!)
When it's hot I try not to turn the oven on. I have a small Breville toaster oven that heats up quickly if I'm baking something small. Last night we boiled chicken then shredded it and added BBQ sauce, much less electricity used (and house heating) than baking it in the oven. I heat water in the mircrowave before adding it to a pot (for pasta or soup) because I think it is more efficient than the electric burner.
Running a fan (ceiling or box) can make it feel cooler without having to lower the A/C temperature.
Keeping a freezer full uses less electricity than having it less full. You can freeze water in plastic jigs to help keep it full.
I would love to have a toaster oven! If I ever move to a house with a bigger kitchen, I am totally going to get one.
And yes, yes, yes, to the fans. They make such a difference in how a room feels.
yes to freezing water to take up space - there are so many ways that this is useful. It helps me to have only 2/3 usable freezer space that I have to keep track of (of course, if you have a tiny freezer, your situation might be different). The couple gallons of water in my freezer are also part of my emergency stash that I don't worry about cycling out regularly. Also, if I go on an all-day hike, I pack a few frozen water bottles. They take at least 4-5 hours to thaw, giving me ice cold water in the middle of nowhere. Getting home, they are refilled and go back into the freezer.
These are all great ideas, and what a good thing to be teaching your kids! Also-don’t open the refrigerator or freezer doors and stand there for a long time making decisions and letting the cold air out. Same with the oven when it is on. Limit the number of times you open the door to check. Another thing that we do is unplug lights, electronics, and anything else that is not necessary to keep plugged in whenever we go away for a weekend or a vacation. We also turn the heat down and the AC temp up or off whenever we are gone.
One little thing I do - is unplug my electric toothbrush. The charge lasts about a month. Only when it stops working do I put it back on the charger and plug in.
Oh, I had no idea the charge lasted that long!
My tip - don't turn on lights automatically. Often, the ambient light in the room is plenty for most tasks.
Also, check out a "Kill a Watt" meter. They show you exactly how much power everything in your house is consuming, even if they're turned off. My local library has these to borrow for free, and it looks like some power companies also have some to loan out.
Here in the UK, changing to the cheapest energy supplier, and checking each year that they still provide the cheapest tariff is a major saver.
@Sarah Jones,
In my state in the US, we have just one choice. Sometimes I believe they are the same company, because on one side of the state one company provides the electric while the other company provides the gas, and then on this side of the state the companies offer the opposite utility....
The EIA kids page: https://www.eia.gov/kids/ has a lot of resources. (The EIA is the data side of the U.S. department of energy. They explain, in kid-friendly terms, what electricity is, where it comes from, and have some savings tips of their own.
Regarding turning on/off lights, we have a sensor light switch in our game room (a high-traffic room). If there is no movement in the room for 15 minutes, the lights will automatically turn off.
Your electric company might offer a free in-home assessment. Even if they don't, be sure to check out their website for tips and ideas for reducing electrical consumption.
Definitely get the kids involved! If they have a better understanding of how it all works and what it costs, they would probably be more inclined to get involved. My son (around 10 at the time) even did his Science Fair project on reducing electric consumption and it was a big hit. He learned so much just by researching on his own. We even went to our local electric company and he interviewed a rep in the Home Services department.
The idea that something like a casserole doesn't need a pre-heated oven is REVOLUTIONARY to me!!! I'm not as worried about the electricity usage, but the time saving will be great!!
I guess this is for the adults, but make sure your attic is properly insulated, also properly ventilated. It's not too expensive to add more insulation, nor is adding a ridge vent when you're getting a new roof put on. We recently added extra (large) vents to our soffits. Our 1950s house didn't have enough. With some careful calculating, you can figure out if your house has enough, and it wasn't too expensive to have them installed (or the handy people can do it themselves). I think one can't assume their already built house has enough of either insulation or vents. Just my two cents!
Line dry your clothes. And if you can't, do the same thing as you do for baking -- succession drying. This way the dryer doesn't have to heat up to dry a load. If you use the auto dry function, the dryer will stop when things are dry, so if you start with a warm dryer, hopefully it won't run as long as a timed feature.
I also have a question regarding ovens. Since it's just my husband and myself, I'd love to get a double oven -- free-standing ones with a small oven and a larger oven. Does anyone have any experience with the electric use for this type of oven? Would you save money using the smaller oven over time? TIA!
I've never had one like that, but I have to imagine that if you could choose to only heat up the small oven, you'd use less electricity.
Could a toaster oven be another option for you?
I have an air fryer/toaster oven/broiler thingy I bought this year and I loooove it.
@Kristen, Rose and Kerri,
I do have a microwave, air fryer and convection oven on my counter. it is huge and noisy. I mostly use it for the microwave. It doesn't seem to heat up quickly and so cooking times take longer. I've just always wanted the double oven. I'm thinking it would be more energy efficient than the thingy I have. LOL
I've owned that type of oven for the past 13 years and I really like it because it heats up quickly, so I can only imagine it saves energy (mine is a gas unit). Unfortunately, I can't tell you what the difference is, because I rarely use the bigger, lower oven! LOL
@Maureen, my mother had this at her house. She loved it. I hated it, as when I cooked there, the food was always so close to the heating element that it completely screwed up the cook time, or the outside got burnt.
Mind you, I only cooked there about 3x a year, so it was probably due to ignorance....
I agree with all that you stated, Kristen. And Maureen, about the line drying your clothes, tho I understand there are a number of home associations that do not allow outside line drying, which is quite silly.
I utilize the tips already mentioned, but can add 2 more. In the summer, when it is hot, I do laundry early in the a.m. or late in the p.m. so that the dryer doesn't heat up the house in the afternoon causing the air conditioner to cycle on more, which runs up the electric bill. I do the same with baking and cooking by using the stove top and oven early in the day so that the bulk of what I'm preparing is done before the air conditioner has to start coming on to cool the house down.
In the winter time, do the opposite by utilizing the oven and the dryer to keep the atmosphere warm so that the heater doesn't have to cycle on as much.
Interesting fact...... slow cookers don't heat up a kitchen the way an oven does, but it still heats up the kitchen. In the summer, put your crockpot out on the back porch and save some cash on your electric bill. In the winter, keep it inside to help keep the kitchen be a little warmer and then the heater doesn't have to cycle on as much.
How much you might depends on local prices, as well.
The average price per Kwh in the US is 13¢. Here on Long Island, it's 24¢.
Therefore, electric heat is verboten, I use oil for the hot water heater and I make sure to have gas dryers and kitchen stoves. (LP since we don't have piped gas here...)
I use all the other tips to keep costs down, but again, sometimes just avoiding electrical appliances is the best idea.
might SAVE, that is.
When you are done using your oven and turn it off, the hot air is vented up through one of the back stove burners. If you look, you will see a sort of hole or pipe. If you put a kettle half full of water on that burner, (even though the burner of course isn't on), you will absorb a lot of heat. The warm water can be used for something else, and the heat doesn't just go into the room.
In winter, crack the oven door open when you are done to let the air into the room.
We use LED bulbs throughout the house, barring my work light (I *need* to see true colors, so I have special bulb). In addition to electricity savings, LEDs last forever, which cuts down on everyday maintenance. Love our 10' ceilings, not so much having to get a ladder to change any dead bulbs!
The south side of the house has no tree cover, so I've used tension rods to layer old sheets over the windows, with curtains to the outside (i.e. against the window pane) and the inside (facing us) so it still looks nice. We already owned all of the above, and the difference it makes in the armpit of summer and the negative temperatures of winter is amazing.
@N,
Yes, strategic planting or curtains makes a big difference in temperature.
@N, we chose our house because DH can walk to work. We didn't realize the house has over 100 can lights. Plus, the main part of the house has 14' ceilings. When we got the first electricity bill, we nearly died, so we bought LEDs for every fixture. This was right before prices came down on dimmable flood LEDs, so it cost $1,000 - oof! Happily, they paid for themselves quickly. Seven years later, as they burn out, they are much cheaper to replace, but climbing the ladder is still a challenge.
I live on a small island where blackout are common and electricity / water extremely expensive.
Use led lights,
Only cool one room, or just keep everything open. Put frozen bottle of water behind fans. Or just heat one room in the winter, maybe with wood?
We use a outdoor wood oven for baking and bread making .
We do have a very large chest freezer and a big American style fridge.
We don’t have warm water, what come out of the tap is good enough for showers and the washer.
I buy super energy efficient goods only and we have 25 solar panels on the roof.
We plan electricity usage around the solar , washing in the afternoon and things like that.
We use a large windmill to pump the water from the deepwell. All water except the toilets goes straight into the yard for the trees , idem for the washer.
We use a broom, we don’t have a dryer, a central airconditioning, a vacuum, a dishwasher, a electric mower. The list of things we don’t have nor use is pretty long.
We are solid uppermiddle class.not poor or broke.
@Bella, would you feel comfortable saying where you live? I'm intrigued...but only if you wish to share. 🙂
@Bella, You sound like you live a very interesting lifestyle. Maybe you should sign up to be one of Kristen's feature guests!?
@Molly F. C., sûre, we live on Curacao, a very dry island.
@Bella, we also live off solar panels and batteries. We try to do laundry (in a twin tub machine) and charging electronics during the day to help our batteries last longer.
LED lights! They really do make a huge difference, not only in direct energy use (what the light bulb uses), but also in heat-related electricity use - incandecent bulbs put out a LOT of heat, and switching to LEDs, especially in small rooms like a bathroom or kitchen, can dramatically lower ambient temperature.
Use fans to move air instead of cooling it in hot weather. It takes a lot less energy to move a room's worth of air than it does to cool it, and moving air feels cooler because of convective heat transfer and evaporative cooling (sweating where you're not actually dripping, just your body cooling itself).
Spend a good chunk of time outside - it helps you adapt to the outdoor temperature, so you don't feel the need to modify your indoor temp so much. Works for both cold and warm weather.
Get a "heat audit" - helps you identify high-value areas to re-insulate or replace (windows, doors, etc.) that can make a big difference in how much your house leaks heat (out in winter, in during summer).
I do really like the modern LEDs. I remember when LEDs first came out, they honestly kind of sucked. So expensive, and they gave so little light. I love the ones they sell now, though.
@Kristen,
I learned the hard way that most LED bulbs should not be used in an enclosed fixture. I put them in my Mom’s bathroom fixtures and they burned out very quickly. I replaced them and it happened again. I got so worried that there was something wrong with the fixtures (that I recently had replaced for her)that I called the electrician back. That’s when I learned that I shouldn’t be putting LED lamps in there because it was an enclosed ceiling fixture. Lesson learned. I do use them in all of my other lamps.
When you only need a few ounces of water, heat it in the microwave. Three ounces takes 30 seconds and 6 ounces take one minute.
A carpet sweeper works as well as most vacuums.
When baking things like casseroles, turn the oven off before it is done and let the residual heat finish the job.
Be aware of phantom loads--ones you would never think about such as the clock on a stove. How many clocks do you really need? If there's one on the stove and/or one on the microwave do you really need one on the wall as well?
Do you need heated water all day? What if you turned off your water heater until just before taking a shower. I did that in my camping van and learned that heating the water for ten minutes in my tiny heater would make the water perfect temperature without adding cold water.
Take "navy" showers. Get wet, turn off the water while washing, turn on the water to rinse. Doing that in my van left enough warm water to wash dishes even though I only had a 2.5 gallon water heater.
Use blue Dawn detergent for washing dishes. It works in cold water yet doesn't mess up septic systems.
On our monthly electric bill they show a page where you can select to compare your power usage to your neighbors. It's fun to compare and try to improve reducing our number! When it's measured you can see improvement! Or maybe I'm just overly competitive!
Unfortunately, mine always say I am using more. The only thing I can figure is that my neighbors have fewer people in their homes and/or are home less than we are.
@Kristen, Yeah it does make you wonder. Maybe they don't cook much either. Which means they are likely spending more in other areas.
A programmable thermostat! We have the ecobee and it has substantially reduced our monthly heating and cooling bill.
I had an energy audit done by the power company I worked for - the biggest suck is laptop chargers (anything with a lump style converter of power from mains to the thing) plugged in, even without the laptop attached. So plugged into the power point.
My daughter had a hot attic. They had a solar attic vent/fan installed opened and turned itself on when a specified temperature inside the attic was reached. And closed the vent & turned off the fan when a specified lower temperature was achieved. The entire, non air conditioned house is much more liveable.
So basic, but turn off lights when you aren’t in the room!
Whether you have an electric or gas hot water heater, you can turn down the temp; it’s finding the sweet spot of adequately heating your water for showers without turning the temp setting down too far!
Make sure your fridge/freezer temp setting is not the lowest it can go. Usually there’s an energy saver zone.
The more you keep in your freezer the less energy needed to maintain temperature. If you have a freezer that has excessive space, freeze gallons of water and keep in there!
I always charge my phone in the car. I figure the car is running abd it’s not requiring extra to charge it there!
Use your ceiling fans, if you have them- even if the A/C is running! The air will feel cooler and it cost Dow nurse per day to operate each ceiling fan
@Kim from Philadelphia,
I suspect it is a case of auto correct gone wrong, but what is Dow nurse?
@Linda, I’m wondering too! I get much cheap entertainment from auto-correct!
@Linda, I'm guessing it should say "Much less" ? Autocorrect definitely brings laughter!!
For those people recommending turning down the hot water temperature it needs to be 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent bacterial growth. Apparently most hot water tanks are factory set at 140. We have on demand hot water which is great.
Man, has this all been interesting to read.
I gotta add that my oven preheats itself with the broil coil and so I do actually let it preheat without putting anything in it. Pre-broiled casserole is .. mm, not my favorite. I suspect this is not an energy-wise way to preheat, but it is sure rapid, so the extra time spent isn't huge.
Fun idea I did with my kids: see how much they can save in electric bill over last month and give them the difference in money to invest…which leads you to teaching about investing.
I love this topic! My dad runs an electrical company and he taught us to be really strict about not using too much. Electricity is the only thing where the people who sell you it want you to use less. Turn off lights!! Switch to LED light bulbs. Keep your thermostat higher. The lights are a big one and I probably never leave a room with a light on because this was drilled into me.
I have four more tips for the list, two easy, two esoteric. Easy first:
1. When making pasta, I place dry pasta in a dry pot while I heat the water in my electric kettle. When the water boils, add enough to just cover the pasta, then cover the pot. Stir occasionally, adding more hot water from the kettle if needed. Depending on the pasta, I usually don't even need to turn on the burner. Bonus tip: the water will be much starch-ier (auto correct keeps "fixing" this, hence the hyphen), so I use it as the base for whatever sauce I'm making for the pasta.
2. If you buy vitamins in large containers, save them! They are airtight, so they're fantastic for making into ice blocks. They're perfect for hiking, camping and filling up empty spaces in the freezer. I have so many in my freezers that if there's a brief power outage, I don't have to worry. The walls of the bottles are so thick that if you drop a frozen bottle, it won't break. It's nice to keep these bottles and their colorful lids out of the landfill.
Now, the esoteric:
3. If you use a c-paps or other medical devices, check with your provider. Our energy costs are tiered, so they give us extra baseline units, which are the cheapest. As a result, our whole bill is always in the lowest tier, which saves us a LOT on out PG&E bill. We did have to complete some paperwork, but it was absolutely worth the effort.
4. When did a house flip, we had to remove all the drywall. We collected all of the blown-in cellulose insulation into large bags. It was not fun transporting it back to our primary home in August wearing a Tyvek suit, but we wanted to keep it out of the landfill. We added it on top of the insulation in our ceilings, even though we already had a LOT up there. It has made a noticeable difference in our heating and cooling bills ever since. Apparently, there is no such thing as too much insulation! This idea seems impractical, but lots of people doing remodels just toss everything. So if you keep your eye out or better still, "Put the word out" as Amy D. suggests, you might score some extra insulation for the cost of your labor.
@Dicey, Thank you about the medical device tip. My father (who just moved in with us in January) uses a c-pap machine. I am really uncertain about our energy bill because it is paid by the church (we live in a parsonage), but I will look into that. I guess it's time for me to learn a little bit more.
Thank you for all the tips! It was fun to read the comments, and I jotted down a few things we can check out. I was reminded of some tips that I already knew, but isn't it so easy to forget to clean your refrigerator coils?
I have a new, high end dishwasher. I must fully rinse dishes prior to running 8t, or they won't be clean. I miss my old fashioned dishwasher where pre-rinsing was not required. Not saving water. What a joke.
If you live in a multi-level home, spend most of your time upstairs in the winter and downstairs in the summer.
Whenever you can, use a small appliance rather than a large one: toaster oven rather than wall oven, microwave rather than stove, etc.
Run appliances at the efficient time of day: at night during the summer, during the day during the winter (especially in the kitchen). Many big appliances allow you to set when it goes on or at least delay by several hours. After you use the oven in the winter, leave the door open so the kitchen stays warm.
Spin your clothes very well in the washer, so the dryer has less to do.
Unplug things you're not using: coffee machines, toaster ovens, anything rechargable.
Don't turn on the light unless you need it. When I was a kid I went around with my eyes closed to see what being blind like. This taught me I didn't need as much light as I thought. Usually ambient or small clues (the alarm clock's light) to see where I am. Keeping things in their places helps, as you don't need to turn the light on to find them.
Use unpowered tools when you can, including a rake instead of a leaf blower.
Bake multiple dishes at once.
Oven cleaning is a conundrum. You can use a lot of power or a lot of chemicals. I opt for the former but be sure to include any sturdy metal that needs deep cleaning. Great way to degunk cast iron for reseasoning. I also clean the only only after I've baked something, so the oven is at least a little warm to start with.
Use a pressure cooker for anything that takes a long time to cook.
Don't used heated dry in your dishwasher. Instead, open the dishwasher a few minutes after the rinse cycle is done, shake out anything very wet (plastic always is), then let it air dry.
I was figuring you would have some tips to share! 🙂
When we were building our house in the country, in Texas, we put in an attic fan to cool the house in the spring and fall so we don't have to use A/C at all. We put in a wood burning stove in the living room instead of a fire place and use fans to circulate the hot air around the house when it's cold. We also cook on the stove when the electricity goes out. We keep a kettle with water on the stove to make tea or hot chocolate and humidify the air.
The kitchen and living room are in the middle of the house with the bedrooms on the outsides to keep the most used areas cool in the summer and warm in the winter. We put ceiling fans in every room including the bathrooms and laundry room except for the guest half bathroom. We built on pier and beam and insulated underneath the house as well as all the walls and attic. We put in extra wide overhangs to keep the sun from coming into the double hung windows but still let in light. We wash in cold water and hang out laundry to dry.
I use the dishwasher for everything except pots and pans and the good knives and open to let it air dry. I have a big toaster oven that I can put a 9 x 13 dish in so I can make a whole meal which uses less electricity and makes less heat. I use a kettle to heat water in the summer instead of the stove and the microwave for smaller amounts of water. I make sun tea and cold brew coffee. I have a crock pot whose insert can be used on the stove to brown foods which also means that when I put the insert in the pot it is already hot at the start so it actually takes less time to finish cooking and I don't have an extra pot to wash in the sink. I cook multiple items when I do use the oven and leave it open in the winter to heat the house. When we grill we cook meats and vegetables for several meals.
When we had to replace one of our water heaters we put in an on demand model. One water heater is by the kitchen and the other is by the laundry room so the water doesn't have to go so far. This also means that if one goes out hopefully the other one is still working. Our electric bill shows electric use by month for the last 2 years for comparison. I try to keep our use to 1100 kwh per month but it does go up to 2000 kwh in the July, August and September heat in Texas. I would put in solar panels, we may still, a thermal heat pump and other energy efficient measures if we build another house.
We have a thermometer that tells us the temperature inside and out so I know when to open or close windows and curtains to keep out the heat.
And I empty out the linen cupboard to cover windows with sheets or towels to keep out more sun and heat.
I read the comments because I didn't want to repeat things. But I do have to agree insulate, use thermal backing on curtains, install fans in your roof, hang washing etc.
I will add to the mix my thought on solar as we have had this for over 25 years. Firstly in my part of Australia we receive feed in tariffs. Because we have had this quite a while we have a great rebate and it is actually cheaper for us to use power through the night in preference to using it during the day. Our ambient water temperature is 22C or roughly 72 F so we don't use hot as much as some. Our hot water system is a heat pump ( so is seen as solar in our power bills) and we pay less than $50 a quarter. But this winter is the first time we have had the air conditioner running 24/7 as my mother has been cold. It will be interesting to see what that does to the bill. It ha s been so hot I have only worn a sweater once.
We have solid hot plates so I use residual power all the time.
I hang our washing on lines under cover. I always hang dresses, shirts etc on hangers. This keeps ironing very minimal.
Our iron turns itself off which is very necessary in this household. Finally we have two lights that are on overnight to help my mother move around.
Turn off the tv when nobody is in the room. (I remind my DH of this all the time)
We have a number of half circle windows, we bought some waffle type covers for them.
I dry my baking sheets in the oven while its still warm, it keeps them from rusting.
If anyone has a cure for night hot flashes, I'm open to suggestions. Right now our bedroom thermostat is on a cooler setting than I used to use for sure!
Hello , I pull the plug on my Electric pressure cooker..... when normal or timed release is used....... no sense to have electric used during venting process (?)