On Tue, 17 Jan 2006 23:49:34 GMT, CJT 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.
snip

I'm in Central Texas, too (Austin), and my house is about 25 years old,
so about the same era as yours.


Mine's about the same (built about 1969).

I think you're doing many of the right things. But I can tell you
from experience that if you have ductwork in your attic, the number
one thing to do is to check its integrity and patch any leaks. By
doing that (and some other things, most of which you listed), I cut
my electricity use in the summer by about 40%. You'd be amazed at
how much duct tape (and other materials used in ductwork) can
deteriorate in 25 years.


Somewhere, I heard that one thing duct tape isn't good for is fixing
heating ducts.

I have gas heat; I can imagine that electric heat could be as bad in
the winter as AC is in the summer.


I used to live in an all-electric apartment (in East Texas). The
electric bills peaked in both summer and winter. IIRC both peaks were
the same height. I have gas in this house, and there's a significant
difference.

BTW, the gas bill I got after Christmas was the highest I've ever had
although a neighbor with a similar house had one for more than twice
that.

A programmable thermostat can help, and not only because it can be used
to set back temperatures during part of the day -- some (many?) of them
also have sufficient "smarts" to keep the system from short-cycling,
which is wasteful and potentially harmful to your system.


I know that's a problem for compressors. How would it effect gas or
electric heat?

The other thing I should mention is that you'd probably be surprised
at how much electricity your computer uses, especially if you have a
large CRT monitor.


It's a good idea to turn the monitor off when you're not using it.
Your system can probably be set to do this automatically. Note that a
"screen saver" does not turn the monitor off, and does not save
energy.

I don't do this, because my monitors are connected to X10 modules, and
are automatically turned on/off with the other things (lights, fans,
TVs, ...).

Good luck, and let us know if you come up with any great ideas, because
many of us are in this boat.
--
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