$192 for electric bill last month!

[GreenPartyVoter]

We have cf bulbs. I am trying to talk hubby into putting as many electronics on power strips that we can shut off when things are not in use as possible.

I am not sure what the water heater is set to. Will check into that as well.

What else have you done that works for you?

[sabbat hunter]

1. you have an

electric water heater? if not then that would affect your gas/oil bill not your electric bill.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Yes it's electric and definitely affects the bill. It has been cold out and the tank is

in the corner of the trailer and I am sure it workds hard to keep it warm.

[jpak]

20. Insulate the HW tank - the kit costs $16 at the Home Despot

You might need 2 if it's a big tank - and make sure to get some pipe insulation too ($0.79 a strip).

And a low-flow showerhead (costs ~$6) - they really make a difference...

[mod mom]

10. even better is a tankless water heater-though expensive, it has paid for itself.

[The Straight Story]

2. i got amish light bulbs :)

Seriously though, was it cold a lot there? The furnace blower can eat up electric.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Ooh, yah. I hadn't thought of the blower.

[leftyclimber]

3. If you're in an area where you're still having some cold

get some of that plastic sheeting you blow-dry over your windows, then roll up some old towels and set them down in front of any outside doors. You can even choose a single exit/entrance door and blow-dry the plastic stuff over the other outside doors. This is not, however, fire-escape friendly.

Unplug your toaster and your coffee maker, as well as your computer, and become completely anal about only having lights on in rooms occupied by humans.

I'm curious to hear other's suggestions, as well.

[Zoigal]

14. Installing a

tankless water heater (gas, or electric..gas is less expensive here) would cut costs. Initial cost is a bit
however, but in the long run they do pay off. Have you checked your insulation (ceiling, walls, floor)?

Thermal pane windows are a big help.

Some power companies have special rates for people who do washing/drying etc after certain peak hours.

Hope this helps.

[KamaAina]

6. My new friend the NOLA blogger may want to head up there

the same guy who famously called Bush** a "fuckmook".

http://ashleymorris.typepad.com/ashley_morris_the_blog/2007/03/some_day_ill_ha.html

Then, the Entergy bill came. $460. For one month. For a sub-1500 square foot house.

You're far from the only ones who are getting royally screwed, sans lube, by your friendly local investor-owned utility. :grr:

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Yah. Believe me I'd get solar panels in a heartbeat if I could.

[halobeam]

8. Mine went down from 400+ to 225 and I'm happy....

I thought you were kidding. I'm not mocking you, I just am amazed how robbed long island gets... b/w elec and gas last year I paid 700/mth.. Then I sweated this summer, froze this winter and walked around in the dark... I cut my bills more than half...

no central air, no jacuzzi, all appliances checked for energy efficiency, hot water heater is wrapped up and turned lower, we heat in gas and we own a small cape w/o finished basement.

Isn't that messed up?

I've got to get off this island. I'm embarrassed to mention what are taxes are for very small property.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Yeah, that's no good. For us what we have is painful but yours

would be downright impossible. No way we could live there. I dunno how you manage. :(

[halobeam]

18. By the grace of family....

when my husband became disabled, the only reason they didn't shut off electric at one point, was because he needed the refridgerator for meds....

oh I could go on, but frankly it's nauseating. Things are slightly better now, and we keep moving forward.

[blues90]

9. We shut off and unplug anything

Like chargers , electric clocks , make sure your frig is set to a low setting , old frigs use alot of power . We have one 60 watt lamp one at most , the computer and a TV , the coffee maker is off unless brewing .

Anything you can do without just unplug it .

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

11. I saved at least 18% on my bill by using H2O heater 3/hrs/dy.

I turn it on 2 hrs in the morning and 1 hr at night. Made a significant difference on my bill (and I am ALL electric, unfortunately).

[bananas]

23. water heater timers and electric mattress pads

were discussed as being very effective in old threads on DU.

[Pierre.Suave]

13. Thats nothing

the horrible house I lived in my senior year of undergrad was insulated extremely poorly, my gas/electric bill together was $535.xx for the month of december.

[madokie]

15. total electric except for heat, wood pellets for that, $113 a month

7 cents a kw for electric

[piedmont]

28. How much were your wood pellets for the month? nt

[madokie]

33. 110 bucks

[necso]

16. I'd go with surge-protectors

rather than power-strips (at least having one inline everywhere, where its ok; the rare device "needs" a straight connection). (Even something using 3w for sleep mode burns over 2kwhr/month if left on continuously. At 10w, that's over 7kwhr/month.) And for all energy draws (where this is practical), adopt a rule of "If it doesn't need to be drawing power, then it isn't -- and can't." (Kudos to the Duer who brought this up recently, I'd gotten sloppy with my reorganizations/minimalizations.)

If you rarely use certain electronics (eg, VHS players), these can be unplugged -- or put on separate surge-protectors that are kept turned off.

Turning down your water heater (mine's normally off) and using less hot water should help.

You can also (typically) get more mileage out of appliances by using them only for full loads, cooking multiple things at the same times, etc. (I turn my oven off when the food is almost done, and just use the radiant heat to finish cooking.)

And there are a number of "appliance" upgrades that you can do that'll save electricity, if you can afford it (I'd switch to LCDs, except they cost money).

[Uben]

17. A big energy sucker

...is an old refrigerator. If your fridge is over 12-15 yrs old, it is most likely an energy hog. Newer models are much more efficient.

[Mugu]

32. Has anybody else noticed that many of the energy saving devices suck?

I have purchased several of the energy saving 4’ florescent fixtures only to find that bulbs don’t last very long and that the fixture will not strike if the temperature is low. I replaced these energy saving units with high output units and couldn’t be happier. The high output fixtures may use more power, but at least they work and I’m not replacing bulbs every few months.

My lady-friend bought a new refrigerator a few years ago to replace a 27 YO unit that died. At the new refrigerator’s lowest setting it maintains about 40 degrees while my 25-year-old fridge easily maintains 37. Leftovers last about 2 days longer in my fridge than her’s and her icemaker takes forever to make cubes while mine spits ice cubes like a machinegun. She has had a repairman to her house (after losing everything) twice in four years, I’ve never lost any food or had a repairman to my house. I may use more electricity, but she would trade refrigerators with me in a heartbeat.

The Federal restrictions on kitchen water use is another wacky idea. I don’t know how many times I walked away from a slowly filling kitchen sink, only to come back to an overflowing sink. Since I removed the restrictions in the faucet I don’t think that I have ever overfilled the sink, thus wasting propane, detergent, and water.

Regards, Mugu

[Robbien]

19. Once a month

I unplug everything (except the fridge and washer/dryer). Every single outlet in the house is unplugged. Then as appliances are used they are plugged back in.

Many appliances which are plugged in but turned off still draw juice from the grid. It is amazing how our electric bill was reduced by just unplugging everything and making it a choice when to use electricity.

[AnnInLa]

21. This Consumer Guy has some tips

http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/index.html (he likes Wal Mart, yuck)

Lightbulbs that benefit you and country

Clark has a very easy way for you to reduce energy costs in your home that is 100 percent effective. All you have to do is replace your existing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. Sounds easy right? Well, apparently only 6 percent of the population is using compact fluorescent bulbs. You could be saving yourself 15 to 20 percent on your electricity bill – not to mention helping the environment – if you’d switch. Traditional light bulbs give off a lot of heat, especially in warmer climates. And they eat you up in electricity costs. So, Clark doesn’t understand why more people aren’t catching on. Yes, you’ll pay about four times as much for the compact fluorescent bulbs upfront. But they last 10 times as long and they use a quarter of the energy that traditional bulbs do. Would you believe Wal-Mart is pushing consumers to use compact fluorescents? In fact, Wal-Mart’s goal is to get people to buy 100 million bulbs in their stores over the next few years. It will make them a profit, but it will also save the country $3 billion in electricity. In addition, it will eliminate the need for numerous power plants around the country. So what are you waiting for? If you’ve never tried them or haven’t tried them recently, give it a shot. You can get about 8 bulbs for $10 at the warehouse clubs and they last for years. Other things you can do at home include unplugging the charger when your cell phone or other electronic is done charging. That alone will save you 10 percent on energy. Energy Star products are also a great deal and they too will reduce your energy costs by at least 10 percent. The Energy Star washers, which were more expensive, have gone down in price. Not to mention that they are much gentler on your clothes.


http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/index.html

[OxQQme]

24. Check this out...Kill A Watt

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/kill_a_watt_electric_usage_monitor_review

[undeterred]

22. Apparently not enough.

I hate to top that. But I can.

[rebel with a cause]

25. $289 here

and I live in a fairly small well insulated log cabin. Of course, I have a gas heater, electric baseboard heaters (of which I only use the 1 in the utility room), small wall electric heater in the bathroom, two electric water heaters, washer and dryer, and of course lights, televisions, and kitchen appliances. :) edited to add, of course computers.

I live in Illinois and they just unfroze the rates and raised the bills. Last month my bill was $186 and less before that. But I am not complaining. Some people went from $150 to $700 in one month.

[benny05]

26. Braggin' or complainin'?

:-)

[GreenPartyVoter]

34. Complainin' unfortunately. Always struggling to make ends meet and this bigger bill

did not help things at all. :(

[benny05]

35. Sorry to hear that

Yeppers, we had to do without some things this winter ourselves, but we did put in CF lightbulbs, and luckily, we have a hybrid car (will be paid off in a year), so our gasoline bill is not as bad.

I hear the state ledge where I live is trying to do something about the escalation of energy bills, but I don't know if they will succeed.

[GreenPartyVoter]

36. Yah, I think a lot of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and slightly

in the red like we are.

Get a larger home? Put the kids through college? Retirement savings?

I think there might have been a time when the middle class could do all that and more.

[piedmont]

27. Ours was $168, and we use electric heat.

What's the R rating of your attic insulation? It could help to add more, especially if you currently have less than R30.
How much do you cook? Maybe your oven isn't insulated well?
I'm really not sure how you use that much juice if your primary heat comes from gas, though.

[AlCzervik]

29. does that include heat as well?

[TahitiNut]

30. Oct: $59.82; Nov: $61.86; Dec: $69.28; Jan: $87.92; Feb: $82.59

Total for 2006 - $705.76 ... 6,651 kwh
Total for 2005 - $698.66 ... 7,280 kwh

That's an 8.6% reduction in usage last year for a 1% increase in charges.

Major appliacnes: Gas heating, gas water heater, gas stove, electric dryer.

We make good use of CFB ... and have for a while.

[lies and propaganda]

31. My scary bills are yet to come...

Phoenix Arizona here .... in soon to be hibernation

[Justice Is Comin]

37. How much electric does a computer take...

in comparison to say, a tv or refrigerator?

Does a computer being on 8-10 hours a day amount to much in the electric bill?

[OxQQme]

38. 120 watts while I'm here on the 'nets

65 watts when in standby and monitor off. Monitor is 19" flat panel. It uses 15 watts when on.
These numbers would be 24/7.
I bought my Kill A Watt online for $24.

[Justice Is Comin]

39. So that would be the equivalent of a 120 watt lightbulb

being on then huh? Not much at all over a month, maybe six or seven dollars?

[B Calm]

41. I leave my computer running all the time. I don't stay on line,

but I do leave the computer on. My computer repair man told me that they last longer leaving them running. I think I will start shutting off my monitor to save electric.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

40. Light bulb timers and curly fluorescents that fit regular sockets are great.

Curly fluorescents are getting better all the time.

[Wcross]

42. Everything in my home is electric- Highest bill ever was $130.

My home is small and as efficient as I can afford to make it. (I am on a well so there is added electric usage to pump the water)

[Sabriel]

43. $300 for gas and electric in the last cycle

And this with a fairly small house, keeping the heat down. Yikes.

(In Wisconsin, BTW)