Keeping energy costs down...

In trying to keep warm this winter and with the outrageous energy costs, especially here in California, I was wondering what others do to help prune some of those $$$'s off of their utility bills.

My VDH works for an energy company and we've always done things like turn lights off, weather stripped, etc. Here are some of the little things that I've been doing to help:

Outside motion detector lights - we have two sets in the front of our house. We now no longer turn them on in the evening unless we're expecting company to arrive after dark.

Night lights - in the hall bathroom there aren't any windows and when the lights are turned on the bathroom vent fan comes on. Instead of turning the lights on I now turn on a night light that is in there. It has a single cool Christmas tree type lightbulb. Once I'm used to the light, it actually lights up the bathroom quite well. Since after all these years I know where all my body parts are, I don't need a row of bright lights to take a shower. Besides, it also adds a more relaxing feel to a shower or bath.

Flannel sheets - I don't know how we managed without them all these years. We have them in our motorhome for winter camping (if one can call going someplace in an RV camping), but never thought to buy some for our bed. Amazing how comfy and cozy they are to climb into on a cold night.

Close off vents/rooms - I close the heating vents and close the doors of rooms that we don't go into that often. Of course, it's like walking into a freezer when we do open the door.

Not running the heater at night - since we don't live in areas where the temps reach nearly 0, we turn our heater off at night. Even set at a low temperature, it will still kick on during the night as the temps drop. Have to admit, however, that once one of us gets us, we kick it back on for a while to help take the chill out of the air.

Anyone else have any tips or tricks they want to share that maybe we haven't thought of?

Emlyn, you seem to be doing your part to conserve energy and it is to be commended. However, I would imagine that it would be better to leave your heat on all the time at a lower temperature because it takes more electricity to start the furnace afresh. What do you think?

That's what we thought also, Louisa. But in our zone 9 climate zone (no snow, few hard freezes, etc.) we noticed that our power bill has dropped since we started doing that. I honestly don't know if that has to do with our warmer (well, warmer than snow areas) winter climates or what.

Your right, in other colder areas that may not be a helpful tip. I just asked my husband about it and he sez that it also depends on the types of furnaces, climate location, furnace location, etc.

Give me a brick home - please! I wish this was the traditional way to build houses in the US. And radiator heating. Perhaps there would be less energy consumed and not so many sinus problems.

Good topic! I'm in zone 9 also, and although we don't have sub-zero temps, 32 degrees w/20 m.p.h winds and 80% humidity is COLD!

Love those flannel sheets. Like you, I am amazed what a difference they make. We turn heat off at night also unless temps are below freezing (yes, it happens occasionally even in z/9).

When we moved here 20 years ago, there were no trees, so I mmediately began to plant trees for winter/windbreaks and summer/sunshade. It DOES make a difference.

I hang my laundry to dry outside rather than using a clothes dryer.


In our modern 24/7 society, we've grown dependent on constant climate-controlled environments, IMO to our detriment. For example, weather permitting, we leave our windows open during warm weather. We only turn on the A/C when temps become truly unbearable/dangerous. I mean, A/C is a relatively new invention...75 years ago, people just sweat and grabbed some ice tea and headed for the nearest shade tree!

Unless you have a LOT of lights, turning off a couple of 100 watt lights really isn't going to make much difference on the monthly bill. It's the big consumption appliances you have to really moniter.....air conditioner, clothes dryer, space/central heaters, etc.

I'm learning to garden more w/native plants, as the cost of water is quickly becoming an issue in this part of the country (see my post on Garden Talk).

We try to live as close to nature as possible. Makes life much more interesting!

In the garden,
Bloomer 8-)

This message was edited Sunday, Mar 4th 8:54 AM

Yes you can save a lot on your energy-but you really have to live in a brick house,i live in northern England, and i am insulated everywhere in the walls, in the attic, got double glazing,do you not have low energy bulbs in the USA-saves a lot on the bills. If you have draughts block them up with special tape which is cheap to buy

But i am going to give you my no 1 hint to keep warm in bed,and it works, put a duvet under you and one over you and all the heat stays between the duvets-we do it every winter.

Also dont you rely on solar power-we do not get that amount of sun-you have to spend to save.

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H'm

I live in a ranch tpye house, 24 by 48 insulated to the max
double storm windows. r 19 in walls and floors, r 33 in ceiling

2 years ago my TE bill was $800 for 1 month.

Temps into the -20's and -30's

Last year electric was cheaper than oil or gas, at $2.50
a gal.

byron

Byron - I hope the winds are not getting worse for you! I know snow is a pain, but high winds - ugh! I hate them. You seem to have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that your house is well insulated. Is it brick or siding?

Not to get into any heavy discussion about the ways in which different countries build their houses, but it just makes sense to me that brick is better. I am having a new house built right now (vinyl siding) and I watched the house being constructed. I have to say I'm getting used to things over here and accepting them but I still can't help comparing this new house of mine to the brick house I left behind in England. Not only are houses constructed of brick but the inner wall is also a type of brick block. The gap between both walls is then insulated with a cavity wall foam - total insulation. I'm renting an old brick rancher right now and it is much warmer than the 1990 vinyl sided house I sold a year ago and I don't have to have the thermostat turned up so high. I asked my builder why more brick homes are not built in the US and he said it was too expensive. Surely in the long run the brick home would more than pay for itself in terms of less fuel and A/C bills. The builder also said that brick was hard to get hold of over here!