5 Ways to Curb Energy Costs

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5 Ways to Curb Energy Costs

Submitted by: Save on Energy Bills 07/21/2009 2:41 AM

I've been researching for tips on how to save on energy bills, and I'd like to share my top 5 energy saving tips which I personally used and actually saved me money:

1) Reduce air conditioning needs by installing an attic fan. Hot air trapped in stuffy attics sinks into rooms below, adding to your summer cooling costs.

2) Install your air conditioner in the shade. When it's in direct sunlight, it uses more energy.

3) Operate your stove, oven, dishwasher and clothes dryer in the morning or evening when it's cooler outside. They add extra heat to your home and make your air conditioner work harder.

4) Put an insulating blanket around your water heater. It holds heat in.

5) Thaw foods and cut vegetables into small pieces. They'll take less time to cook, thus using less energy.

I hope these tips adds to the wealth of great information on this site.

Editor's Note: This tip was originally submitted as a comment in response to 7 Easy Ways to Save Money & Energy.

After some research, it appears these tips were sourced from the article Controlling My Energy Costs on ConsumersEnergy.com. So, we would like to credit them (as well as note that they have a lot of other really good tips listed on the page referenced above) and to thank "Save on Energy Bills" for sharing these money saving tips with the Tip Hero community.

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Comments:

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I have recently become unemployed. One of the ways I reduced my electric and gas bill by a whopping $200+ dollars over the past 2 months is to hang my laundry outside. I know this is an old, no-brainer tip, but when I saw the savings, I almost cried.

In the winter I plan on purchasing a wooden clothes hanging bar along with one of those metal clothes racks to hang the clothes in front of the natural gas fireplace I have.

Posted by Lisa in Naples, NY on July 23, 2009 2:06 PM

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If you own a home, when you have your roof replaced:

- Buy new turbines ("whirlybirds") installed to vent hot air from the attic. Old, hail-beaten turbines may not spin well enough to work efficiently. Consider solar fans, but note that sometimes their actual performance does not meet the claims!

- Have ridge venting installed.

- Add the maximum amount of attic insulation required for your environment to achieved the maximum recommended "R" value for your region of the country. See the following page on the US Department of Energy site to determine the recommended "R" values:

<http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/insulation.html>

These steps reduced my summer cooling bills by over $100 per month and paid for themselves in one summer.

Posted by anonymous on July 23, 2009 2:37 PM

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Our DTE Energy here in Michigan has a great video you can watch on-line about insulating your home. This is the website:

http://tinyurl.com/yhh7xg8

and then click on the top right picture "more comfort, less cost" to view the video. I bet you will learn something new that will help with your bills this winter!! I know I did......

Posted by anonymous on July 23, 2009 5:15 PM

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We live in central Oklahoma. I turn the AC off when we go to bed (1130PM) leave it off till the AM temp reaches approx 80-85F (usually 10AM or close enough).

Question is am I actually saving anything or am I running the AC longer in the daytime to overcome the heatmass built up in the house?

Posted by Steve on July 23, 2009 9:38 PM

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Steve: yes, you do save energy by turning the AC off for several hours. It takes less energy to bring the house back down to temperature than it does to maintain it for several hours at the desired temperature. (The same applies for turning your heat down at night in the winter.) This site explains it: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/cooling.html

Posted by haverwench on July 25, 2009 10:09 AM

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Sure fire way to solve energy problem. Move into a tent, bath in local river, leave AC with home you sold and pitch tent in state park. HINT: move tent often. State parks frown on making public land your home. I know - but it could work. Best Wishes, Jim Hill

Posted by Jim HILL on July 28, 2009 5:18 AM

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Getting your kids away from the TV can help reduce energy bills, especially in the summer, when they are so bored after the first two weeks of summer vacation. Try doing a backyard project that can help the environment.

Posted by anonymous on July 29, 2009 9:12 PM

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I set my air on 80 and use a ceiling fan, but only in the room I am in at that time, a ceiling fan does nothing to cool the room down, only circulates the air to cool you off.

I will cook enough meals to cover 1-3 months worth of meals in two days, after that time period it takes minimual amount of energy to heat up a meal in a microwave.

We don't turn the tv on during the day, we don't turn lights in the mornings, we open blinds for natural light.

I like Jim Hill's comment, my sister actually lived in a tent on a lake for three months, it was a challenge someone gave her and her husband, needless to say they did it. I couldn't have, but I can honestly say I know it can be done.

Posted by Crystal on July 30, 2009 10:22 PM

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My tips is that i save the water from my washer machine when i do laundry to flush the toilet with. Also i save water from taking a bath to flush the toilet with. One washer load i save approximatley 30 gallons or more.

Posted by anonymous on August 22, 2009 11:35 PM

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My mom would save the rinse water from the washing machine to start the next wash load.
She would plug the utility sink and use a bucket to start the next load. There were 9 of us including mom & dad, so i'm sure she saved a lot by doing this.

Posted by Beth from PA on September 13, 2009 12:49 PM

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We are building a complete list of home energy monitoring devices and asking users to share their experience with our readers. If you have used any energy measuring device in your home please share your experience with us.

List of <a href="http://www.open4energy.com/technology/home_energy_saving_devices">Home Energy Saving Devices</a>

http://www.open4energy.com/technology/home_energy_saving_devices

Posted by Alex on September 14, 2009 10:46 PM

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You need to find some way to identify which are the high use items in the home, and when they are using electricity.

You can use products like (TED) The Energy Detective to monitor the whole home, or a Kill-a-Watt to monitor individual devices, or use web sites to read up how much energy each electrical device in the home uses.

Here is a complete list of all the home energy monitors available.

http://www.open4energy.com/technology/home_energy_saving_devices

But, do not get duped into buying products you do not need. We gain awareness by learning, the savings come from the actions we take on our new knowledge

Posted by Alex on September 16, 2009 9:32 PM

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Buy one of those water heaters that just heat the water up as you use it. This way you aren't constantly heating water for nothing all the time.

Build your own solar panels or wind turbines and have free electric.

When you build a house and the electric company has to run electric a long distance it will cost you a fortune.

People can dry their clothes on the line, but the problem is the clothes end up stiff with bird droppings and spiders. If there was a way to soften up the clothes.

Have shade trees on the South side of your house for shade.

Posted by anonymous on October 15, 2009 2:50 PM

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For softening clothing that is line dried, just pop into the dryer to 1 minute. No more stiff clothing.

Posted by anonymous on October 25, 2009 1:08 PM

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One way is if you have a lot of electronics buy a power strip and unplug it from the way completly or just turn off the switch on the strip, so your not using the electricity. This saves me $120 annually or more sometimes.

Never rent or own a house with elecrtic water heater or stove, its too expenisve.

Posted by anonymous on December 01, 2009 2:50 AM

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I started doing this last fall (2008) and compared my bills against 2007 and could not believe the savings on my electric bill. I unplugged everything I did not use constantly. Like the toaster, nightlights, radio, lamps, alarm clocks, etc. The items in a guest room were unplugged and only plugged in again when we have guests. Even though an item is not in use, it is using electricity just from being plugged in.

Putting multi items on an electric strip and shutting it off with one click is a great time saver also. So instead of turning on the radio, I just plug it in, etc.

Anything you need to program is an unlikely candidate for unplugging, unless you only use it occassionally. I saw an average of $30.00 monthly savings compared to the previous year. It works folks, it really does.

I have to credit my Air Force daughter on this one. She was told to do this while working on base last year.

Posted by anonymous on December 01, 2009 7:45 AM

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For at least 30 years I have been placing my wet laundry into the dryer ON AIR and fluffing this up for about 20 minutes before hanging them outside or in my garage. It does make a big difference in energy costs and your clothes are equally as soft as running through a heated dryer cycle, plus they smell like the fresh air.

I also use alot of the above hints. My average electric bill for a 3 bedroom home is fifty dollars a month year round.

When I lived in an all electric house I turned on the electric circuit breaker on the hot water tank every morning for about an hour (coffee and breakfast)then turning the breaker back off.
The water stayed hot enough for everyone until the next morning. this saved us about forty dollars a month.

Posted by anonymous on December 03, 2009 3:47 PM

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In the winter time, drying clothes inside is pretty easy. You can hang on hanger in shower door, drape things over chairs, run a rope in the basement or other places, and it helps humidify the air. You can always fluff the clothes for a minute in the actual dryer, but, I use the air as much as possible. Mine is electric and propane. I hate paying for propane! I also open all windows to the south, in the winter, close them when dark-asap! Can go reverse.

Posted by anonymous on December 03, 2009 8:00 PM

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There is a little item at homedepot that turns on your porch light at dusk and off during the day. I think it's SO COOL. $8. You can use it indoors or outdoors, it has a light sensor on it.

Posted by anonymous on December 07, 2009 5:25 PM

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Energy saving laundry: First, I do not find my new front loading machines to be that economical. I have a partial solar electric system so I look at my meter several times during the day and when certain appliances are running. I have a well and septic so water consumption isn't an issue and it costs so little to pump the water. I would run cold water during the morning in the summer and wash the clothes later in the day after the water had come to room temperature. In the cold of winter, I would put the clothes in just before bedtime and set the water flow to a trickle. Instead of leaving a sink dripping over night to prevent freezing, I got a free load of washing done. I run hot appliances, including the dryer, at night in the summer because the waste heat is more easily removed by the heat pump when it is 70F outside than when it is 90F.

Posted by anonymous on January 04, 2010 10:11 PM

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