"Bill" writes:

...tell us what you've done to save so much.


Oh geeze... What haven't I done! This has been an ongoing project over 10
years.

Let's see...
Redesigned a "room full of single pane windows" to fewer windows and
replaced with double pane energy star windows.
Installed insulation.
Replaced all bulbs with CFL's
Replaced all appliances with new energy star appliances.
Installed woodstove.
Rewired doorbell to only use electricity when the button is pressed.

Replaced 3 old window air conditioners with 1 new energy star window air
conditioner (with new windows and insulation - just one keeps house cool
now!)

Installed two 50 gallon water tanks next to woodstove. The heat from the
woodstove gives me hot water in winter! (My electric hot water tank has been
turned off since October.)

Power strips or switches on everything electronic. Turn off when not in use.
And this means almost everything these days. Every single gadget with an
electronic control always uses a small amount of electricity. Blender, HEPA
air filter, coffee maker, phone, fan, you name it!

And of course turn off TV/stereo/playstation/VCR/DVD, etc. Also I have
individual switches on each of these. I only turn on what is needed. Like
just TV and VCR - then playstation, DVD, stereo off. I don't have paid TV as
I like to read books, so no problem turning off the whole works when not in
use. (If you have paid TV, leave the cable box ON!)

Switch to turn off garage door opener when not in use.
Switch off TV antenna amplifier when not in use.

All phones are unplugged from power except answering machine phone. Wired
phones will still work without power.

Switches on rechargers like for cell phone, cordless rechargers, etc. These
are switched off or unplugged when not in use.

Switch for microwave. Off when not in use. (These use more electricity when
off than on. The clock is always on and this uses more electricity than you
use to periodically heat something up. It adds up to leave something on
24/7!)

Disconnected the clock on the electric range.

For cooking I place pots of water on the woodstove to heat them up. Then
bring to boiling on the electric range. Only a few seconds more of heat to
get to boiling. Then back to woodstove to cook.

If I have a big pot of stew or whatever, I place it outside to cool down
first before I place it in the refrigerator.

Then I bought GFCI receptacles which have one outlet and a switch. I wired
the switch to turn off the GFCI outlet when not being used. Even the GFCI
outlets always use a small amount of electricity.

I have a separate power strip for my computer printer. I turn this off when
not using the printer, but using the computer. (Always uses electricity when
plugged in.)

Everything I do lately is paid for with the money I am saving from my
previous energy saving projects, so it costs me nothing basically to buy
switches, power strips, etc.

And this all started out as a fun challenging project. The electric company
kept raising my rates. So each time I would find a way to lower my bill back
down.

My future projects will be to get hot water in the summer (from the sun) and
solar electricity. My electric use is so small now, the solar electric will
not require very much power.

On parasitic loads...
http://enduse.lbl.gov/info/ACEEE-Leaking.pdf

Very interesting list...
- Some are useful and significant to all (like turning off printers or
using Energy Star appliances)
- Others are more about general energy saving than just electricity for
those of us who heat our house or water with gas or oil (such as
insulation)
- Some may save power but there is a big trade-off in convenience like
switching pot from wood stove to electric stove -- or even the whole
bother of maintaining a wood stove vs. running a clean, efficient gas
furnace. Also, I think many of us just value our time more than
turning off every single last wall-wart.
- And some I think save such trivial amounts of electricity that you
will never payback the cost of the switch let alone the cost of your
time and the hassle factor -- shutting off a GFCI comes to mind as an
example.

Not criticizing what you have done -- and it sounds like you enjoy the
challenge. Just saying that some of the things you have done are either
not relevant, not practical, not significant, or not worth the hassle to
the average Joe...