13 Simple Ways to Lower Your Electric Bill

13 Simple Ways to Lower Your Electric Bill

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Fine-Tune Your Equipment

Arrange an HVAC inspection. Hire a certified technician to check that your heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system is operating at peak efficiency. Leaking ducts, for example, could reduce the unit's energy efficiency by as much as 20%, says Ronnie Kweller, a spokeswoman for the Alliance to Save Energy. An inspection will usually set you back $50 to $100, but that could be offset by the energy savings you'll reap over time. Plus, if you schedule your appointment before contractors are swamped with repair requests, you could snag a 10% early bird discount.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I managed to cut down my fuel costs by a half by following much of the steps in the article. My house is a three story 1920s brick structure.

Because I live in a conservation area I cannot replace the sash windows with uPVC units although the municipal authorities now permit timber double glazing at three times the cost. So instead I opted for secondary glazing and the draught proofing of the sash windows. This seriously reduced fuel costs and will give a return in two winters. Also I reduced the gas boiler by three notches and made a saving in the utility bills.

Regarding the electricity, primary lighting to all rooms and corridors were replaced with efficient fluorescent lamps and connected them to motion sensors that plug right into the light pendents. To maintain a cosy atmosphere I opted to keep incandescent bulbs on my table lamps and free standing lamps but used 20 and 40 lamp bulbs.

For self sufficiency rather than any aim to save money, I will placing solar panels at the back of my garden for hot water and photovoltaics on the unrestricted side of my roof.

Additionally I will will converting a portion of my garden to grow root vegetables, broccoli and tomatoes.

My rough calculations of savings I could make on a yearly basis, not including the cost and installation of pv and hot water panels, is about £4000 a year. This figure does not include the income tax I paid on those monies.

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must stress the importance of NOT getting energy saving lightbulbs. No matter what the government/energy companies tell you. They cause epileptic fits, skin immflamation, headaches and migraines throughout the population who otherwise would be fine.
They flicker at a speed undetectable to the human eye, and also the Mercury cord that is used in these lights is dangerous because the Mercury gradually filters through as radiant light and although undetectable, they DO poison people slowly who otherwise have been healthy.
I would urge people to stock up on conventional lightbulbs if not done so already, because soon these will be phased out entirely and no alternative is going to be made for the Mercury bulbs already in mass production and poisoning thousands of Chinese workers.

reply to post by ROBL240


Not to mention that it's awful to dispose those mercury-containing bulbs into the environment.

Mason, good for you. I'm glad you are taking some steps towards conservation and sustainability.

Originally posted by ROBL240
must stress the importance of NOT getting energy saving lightbulbs. No matter what the government/energy companies tell you.

They're a better replacement for lights that are run for extended periods than for intermittent use. One thing I have noticed is frequent switching can cause the starter circuitry to fail long before the tube is near the end of life. In that scenario, they're probably more expensive, unless the starters are made more robust and don't fail.

They cause epileptic fits, skin immflamation, headaches and migraines throughout the population who otherwise would be fine.

Haven't noticed any trouble myself.

They flicker at a speed undetectable to the human eye,

This is good, not bad. The faster and farther away from the flicker fusion rate the better.

and also the Mercury cord that is used in these lights is dangerous because the Mercury gradually filters through as radiant light and although undetectable, they DO poison people slowly who otherwise have been healthy.

This makes absolutely no sense at all. Fluorescent lights use mercury vapor to support an arc that produces UV, which is converted to a visible light by the phosphor coating. The mercury is inside the tube. Proper disposal is paramount. Breakage is the hazard that will cause contact with the rather miniscule amount of mercury.

I would urge people to stock up on conventional lightbulbs if not done so already, because soon these will be phased out entirely and no alternative is going to be made for the Mercury bulbs already in mass production and poisoning thousands of Chinese workers.

Yes, anyone working on the manufacture and in frequent contact with the material is surely at far greater risk for Hg poisoning.

Alternatively, you could brush up on those candlemaking skills.


[edit on 8/1/2009 by EnlightenUp]

I didn't this tip in the yahoo article ..

if you have the $$$ install auto-shut off light switches. if you have children of any age .. IT"S A MUST!! LOL..

I think home depo or Lowes has them .. just need to do a quick search ..


I rent so yea.. i'm stuck sorta..

Flagged!

Thank you so much! We just got slapped with 2 five-hundred dollar light bills. Its hard on a family when it comes out of nowhere. We will certainly be taking these steps - appreciated!

Sorry folks, I forgot to add that part of the savings includes reducing our household from two cars to one and exchanging the remaining one for a 1.4 litre car. We will see how that works out and see if it is worth getting a hybrid car.