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On Tue, 17 Jan 2006 17:58:04 -0500, John McGaw
wrote: Alex wrote: Hi all, I'm not sure about the rest of the country, but here in Central Texas (specially out in the country) the energy prices are doubling if not more. My dad (who uses the same energy provider as I) got his bill Saturday and it went from $140 the prior month to $270 this month. Mine should be coming in a week or so, and if my usual $200 electric bill is $400 I'm screwed! So with that being said, can someone give suggests I've not thought of to cut the energy bill? Luckily now through the next month or two is good open-window weather for us, but come April the temps start creaping back up and A/C starts coming on. If my electric bill runs $200-$300 with NO A/C or Heat, what're folks supposed to do? My home is all electric, and we've already quit running the dishwasher and we're starting to hang-dry our clothes instead of running dryer. We're buying fluorescent bulbs to replace all the incandescent light bulbs in our house. We've never really left the TV on while not watching, but we do run a little XM Radio for back-ground music while doing stuff around the house. Also I have an older fridge in the garage we use to store sodas andsuch, but I'm pulling the plug on that and putting it in the paper to sell (takes up too much space anyway). What else can I and anyone in my situation do to save some extra bucks on energy? My home is 22 years old and on a concrete foundation. As for insulation, I'm planning on adding another layer to the attic sometime soon. Also I have some french doors I put in not long ago that are sitll roughed out and not well sealed -- so I'm planning on finishing that. As for inside the house, we've bought binds and curtains for all windows and the french doors, which I hope will help. We also have a ceiling fan in our bedroom we run during warmer nights... but that's not enough for those 90'F at 11pm nights we have in the Texas summers. I've even thought about adding a hot water heater timer, but given our hot water heater is only 2 years old and VERY efficient, I don't know if this'll do any real good from what I'm reading. Is there anything I'm missing? Our electric is from a rural Coop, which isn't regulated like others, so I can't switch companies. Also short of adding solar panels or wind-powered generators, not sure what else to do. Thanks for any insight or ideas. Also is this just a Texas thing or across the US? Thanks -- Sam Alex If you want to save power you need to know where it is going. And to do that you will need to measure every major electrical load in your home to figure out which ones are consuming the most and then find some way to reduce those loads without making life intolerable. I purchased my own power meter but I understand that some utilities have such equipment for loan to their customers. In fact your utility may well have an energy audit program where they will come in and tell you where your power/money are going in the home and how to improve the situation. Your idea of unplugging the old fridge is a good idea -- old refrigerators are really major energy hogs compared to new ones. You can pretty safely start using the dishwasher again since most of them are quite efficient -- just don't run it more times in a day than absolutely necessary and turn off the heated dry if you can live without it. And turn off the cabinet heater in the refrigerator. These are often confusingly labeled "energy saver". Where "on" is acutely "off" for the heater. In my area the electrical rates haven't gone up noticeably but the natural gas prices are _way_ up. Water rates are flat but the sewer charges have just about doubled because the utility let the infrastructure fall apart and was forced to fix major problems. -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin |
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