[Jeannemc]

We change to energy efficient light bulbs
I also leave the blinds closed in the summer on the side of the house the sun is on. I like the sun but it keeps the house cooler.
I enrolled in a program called time of use choice of hours with the electric company. Call your company and see what they offer. If I do my laundry and dishes between hours they set then I receive an 86% saving. They try to make you not use during critical hours. They also can cantroll my A/c during critical hours. I can override it if need be. I keep the house at 78 in the summer so it will not really bother me. they also pay me$50 a year to do this. I did this in NY it was not a bad program.

[tootsie roll]

We have 100% electric like you, TinGirl. Last month's bill was great - $150 - but it includes electric, city water, and trash. We have about 1800 square feet and our house was built in 2002. I was worried that our elec. bill would go up when I started staying home with dd, but it hasn't changed that much (other than rate increases). I agree with others - we use compact flourescent bulbs, keep the curtains closed to keep the cool air in, keep lights off unless necessary. I do have to say that I am careful to only do laundry 2 days a week. I only wash FULL loads in COLD water. If I don't have a full load, I don't wash it. We also take advantage of our ceiling fans as much as possible.

[lpurvis08]

I've been trying to cut down our power bill also..
we are at 125/month... up from 115 last year.
These are the changes we have made so far:
*Reuse towels 2x before washing... greatly cuts down on laundry!!
* switch to flourcent bulbs, in all major rooms so far

I'm going to start these..
*line/hang dry more of my clothes
*close blinds during day when we are gone to keep house cooler
*unplug major appliances we aren't using

Thanks for the great post!

[svgs4me]

A couple things that I did/do...I line dry all clothes then fluff like others. Don't forget, this not only saves electricity money, it keeps your clothes in better shape so they can be worn longer. One important thing to know if you use dryer sheets, clean your lint screen with warm/hot water and a grease cutting dish soap like Dawn. The dryer sheets cause build up that doesn't allow your air to flow well. To see if yours needs cleaned, put your lint screen under running water. If it doesn't go through quickly and easily, you have build up and you need to clean it. (Its kind of a neat experiment. I was shocked when I did mine for the first time!)

On the South side of the house, I put up thermal curtains or added thermal panels to my curtains that I already have. I found a neat blind that is semi-transparent that I use in my kitchen. It allows some light in but the heat is cut down.

When boiling water for pasta, keep the pot covered (it will boil faster), then add the pasta, return to boil briefly, stir, cover and turn the heat off. It will cook itself in the hot water. With some pastas, I have to let it stand in the hot water for a little longer than listed, but it cooks without all the heat/electricity from the stove.

I will keep thinking. Thanks for all the great ideas! I love this post!!!

[kfrye]

Door sweeps are a very important issue in stopping air infiltration (hot/cold air going in/out under doors). Use weather stripping, plastic over windows if they're old... storm windows add about an R1 to any window (windows are basically holes in your house through which your heat/cool escape).

Shade trees are great, an attic fan! in hot climates... light colored shingles.

get a whole house fan maybe so that you can draw air through the house on temperate days and not run a/c or heat?

[targetaddict]

I just checked our most recent electric bill: it's $43 less than last year at this time!

I was a little worried because temps have been up from last month, the A/C's been on a little more than I wanted, and I've been running my dryer a lot. However, after seeing the bill, I'm wondering if I'm not just more aware of these things and, that alone, is helping us to make more changes.

These are the things we've done so far to reduce our power bill:
1. changed most of our light bulbs to low wattage
2. hanging dry about 1/2 of our laundry
3. washing most clothes in cold water
4. trying to leave the A/C off most of the day and just kicking it on for about an hour in the evening just to cool the place down a little
5. reusing bath towels since I insist on drying those in the dryer
6. unplugging small appliances when not in use

I'm just so excited to try to cut the bill even more for next month!!

[huffle]

We are big computer users here and I found that after my DS1 moved out our electric bill took a nice dive down. Did a little research and found that my DS1 was leaving his computer on while he was gone to work or just away from it for a long time. Well the electric power supplies to them are usualy between 400 and 600 watts. Just think how many times you tell the kids to turn off a 75 watt light, well with using that much power with no one on it no wonder our bill was higher.
So bottom line if your not on the computer Turn It OFF!

Unfortunatly since I have pollen allergies I can't open the windows right now even though it is nice outside in the evening. But sneezing my head off is not an option.

Huffle

[lattegirl]

Installing ceiling fans in rooms, keeping lights off- I totally agree with the posts about loading the dishwasher- I seem to be the only one who can load it efficiently- let the kids unload it though!
One thing not mentioned is a toaster oven- you can bake good sizes in it, it heats up quick and does not heat your house like a regular oven.

[MaxxMe]

We're getting our HVAC totally replaced soon - our CA went belly up. What I've been doing for over a month is keeping blinds/curtains closed on warmer days. This is after opening all the windows from 7am until about 11am. Then I close them to keep the heat out. I've turned on ceiling fans along with oscillating and box fans to circulate the air. Our electric bill just came and it was $72. MUCH less than the same time last year! We also ditched our incandescent bulbs since they produce heat, only wash laundry in cold water and haven't been using the oven much to keep the house cooler. It's really made a big difference on our electric bill!

Our appliances here are all 15 yrs+ old, I have a huge chest freezer plugged in, dishwasher is run once/day. I live in an all brick home - I'm not sure if that helps or hurts with regards to keeping the house cool.

[LaLax2]

your dryer uses less energy when being used load after load i heard the water rate is lower at night so running your diswasher and/or washer at night saves on your water bill

[GrannyGodley]

lalax2, I'm curious. Just how does running your dishwasher at night save on the water bill? Do you mean running it once a day, at the end of the day with that day's dishes? Or perhaps are you on an energy saving plan where the rate is lower in the evening? Actually, it will use the same amount of water no matter what time of the day.

[andreaskye]

Well, I duct tape the kids, and husband, and leave them in the closets............


Ok, ok just kidding, but really, if I were to tell you what we were paying on 2 bedroom apts. (we live in one and 2 young men in another, long story) you would drop dead and I don't want to have that on my conscience!
They use TXU but I honestly think our Apt owners are somehow able to jack it up. But they do give you a bill with the itemizations. Probably is just TXU.

I am reading your posts now but before I lost my 4 bedroom home a couple of years ago, my elec. bills were not like this.

Ok, I'll tell you, in the summer each 2 bedroom apt last year made it to nearly $400. And we live in 2 separate buildings so it is not a problem with one meter or something and other residents were heard flabbergasted. Now when you get up off the floor, we are not big electricity eaters but I did vow after a pregnant summer with only a swamp cooler in a Texas summer in a hot trailer many years ago that I would never live being that hot and miserable again so we use the AC but not in a crazy way.
(As a side note isn't it sad how our young military families have to live when they start out, even though the husband is about to go to war for our country but all they can afford is a little bitty trailer with no good AC and that is with couponing! Sure that was 1990 but I bet it is not too much different now. A sin! Ok, off my soapbox.)
Anyway, did not mean to insert a novel in here but I guess was making the point that no matter what you do, utilities are atrocious. Sounds like it is worse here in Texas than other places.
If I still had been able to keep my house, I think I would have been building solar panels by now. Seriously. Or a windmill in the back!

[Mavourneen]

Originally Posted by NJMom

We got a brand new HVAC system. It's very energy efficient.

Originally Posted by MaxxMe

We're getting our HVAC totally replaced soon - our CA went belly up.

This is an old thread, but it's very applicable as summer is right around the corner - and let me tell you - the #1 thing you can do to lower your electric bills in the summer is replace you HVAC system. If yours is 10+ years old, chances are it is less than a 10 SEER ( the energy efficiency )
Right now, residential units are 15 SEER or more. A $1,000 investment in a new condenser - especially if you live in the South - will pay you back in savings in one season alone.

( I work for Trane... )

[GrannyGodley]

We are in a "new" home - new built when we moved in 4 yrs 4 mos ago. Our heat/air unit on lower level cut off on us several times this year, requirng service. After the 3rd trip, DH decided to investigate a new unit. This is virtually unheard of in heat/air units as they should last 10-15 years with proper maintenance. The installed unit was a unknown brand to us but the builder said it was good (of course, what else would he say).

So for nearly $10K we invested in a new unit and also had a filter installed under the house to cut down on dust and pollen in the house. We are suppose to receive a $1,500 "rebate" from the government because we've installed a highly effective unit and it is suppose to pay for itself in about 4 years. Frankly, I don't see that happening, but it is done and we shall hope. The unit uses a dual system of gas heat and a electric heat pump. When temp is below 40 gas heat kicks in, when above it but you need hear electric heat pump kicks in.

The unit is a Carrier and pretty near the top of the ladder in models. So we'll hope. It also has a 10 full warranty.

[shellie_wnj]

Originally Posted by TigerGirl1226

Our bill is stuck at about $250 a month. I know our house is drafty and we are working on it, but it sucks!!

Same here, We are on electric heat and the house is not well insulated. I wish we could afford to have it insulated, but that's out of reach for a while.

Originally Posted by mandiedq

Go to the mall, library, Starbucks (or other air conditioned establishment) or the pool on really hot days.

We do this. We go to mcd's playplace on the 90-100 degree days and order an ice cream to share. Then I let the kids play. They love it and I get a break! :-) Other days we will go to the pool or maybe the library. I try to keep the spending to a minimum - you could really spend way too much at the mall :-)

Originally Posted by OldTinGrl

Good grief! I'd party like it's 1999 if my bill was $51. Our bill was $271 last month and our house is a little over 2000 sq. ft. Our home is 100% electric, it's new (4 yrs.), we have new appliances (energy saver), and when they were building our home, hub and I went through and insulated between all inner-room walls (so we know our home is well insulated).

My question...how on earth does your bill run so cheap??

Update: Our bill came for this month and it was down to $147..much, much better. It helps that we haven't needed a heater and of course no AC yet.

Same here, except my house is 30 years old. - somehow we still cant get under 200

The one thing I have started doing is unplugging the computer, cable box, etc. It really does help. I read in consumer reports that when it is off, your cable box uses 80% of the energy used when it is on. If it's a DVR recording something, it's higher than that. We do record shows, but only certain times of the day, so I plug it in when it is supposed to be recording, then unplug it again. Even unplugging it at night will help.

[mcdlady1]

Youcn check with your electric company here will come do an energy audit, give you a blanket wrap thing for your water heater and check all your doors, windows, etc for 100 bucks and they will divide it out on your bill. I haven't done this yet but plan to soon. Another thing is to do level pay if it is avail so you know what your bill will be and once yearly if you've paid in to much you will skip a bill as the year goes by you can call in to have your account reviewed to change the amount you pay.
Also heard your freezer runs more efficiently when full so fill up extra milk jugs with water and freeze and you can also use them in coolers when picnics are going on.

[bobojay]

We have changed to the energy efficient light bulbs, after i bake I leave the oven door open and let that heat into the kitchen. I try to do crockpot or microwave meals or grill in the summer. We wash almost everything in cold water. I also just got one of those retrackable clothes lines we are going to install on the deck. The best thing we have done is that we have a programmable thermostat. I truly think that is one of the better things you can do, and they arent that expensive at Home Depot/Lowes.

[texasrandi]

We live in a 1970s single wide mobile home that was free if we'd move it. Currently saving to build our house outright. These are my savings tips:

• Insulate - even if it's just plastic drop cloth taped to the windows. Any cushion of air will help insulate your home. Also replace weatherstripping, keep doors closed when rooms aren't in use, etc.

• We use one bath towel each per week - you're clean when you come out of the shower, right? We also take showers instead of baths - not as much hot water to use, so not as much electricity.

• Also, we always bathe in the evening just before bedtime. I don't allow dirty people to go to bed. It keep our sheets clean for a very long time, and I usually don't have to change them but twice a month.

• Cold water for laundry, and I make my own detergent that seems to get our clothes cleaner and won't hurt my plants - our laundry water runs outside (some cities won't allow this) to water the garden or lawn or flower beds. Also, hang dry the clothes on the line - the sun will bleach them for you.

• I hand wash all my dishes, as soon as we're done with them - before everything sticks on. It doesn't take 5 minutes. And we limit to one drinking glass a piece for the day.

• Our water heater is pretty old, so we turn off the breaker during the day and turn it back on around 6:00 pm to be ready for nightly baths. It takes some planning and getting used to, but it's saved us quite a lot of money till we install a new heater.

• West side windows have block-out shades and reflective drapes.

• We usually run out during the hottest part of the day, after nap time. I get my shopping done and all my erands run in town, then when we get home, the temp of the house is more bearable.

• Never turn on the A/C in the living room/kitchen till the house reaches 80 degrees. I could probably hold out longer, but this is comfortable for me and my daughter. Now, I may change my mind when July gets here and I'm 9-months pregnant! But also, use fans to circulate the cool air - at least it feels cooler.

• But I do keep one bedroom cool (at least 78 degrees) during the day so the kids have a cool place for naptime (and me too) and it seems to work better for us than let the room heat up all day and then work for an hour cooling it off at night.

• Cook outside on the grill as much as possible. Mesquite is in plentiful supply here and therefore free, and I can cook an entire meal on the grill, veggies and bread included. I don't bake desserts in the summer, we eat cool things like Jello and other refirgerator-desserts. And I do cook in my crock-pot (beans and such), but it gets plugged in on the front or back porch so the heat stays outside.

[pshcubfan]

I can't stand to be hot. We have wooden blinds & heavy insulated drapes on the windows. We insulated the attic & put in a new attic fan 2 years ago. We have ceilng fans in most every room. But i use the air conditioner in the summer. Our bill averages about $250 June - August monthly. On the other hand, I keep the heat at 65 degrees in the winter. The cold doesn't bother me.

[GrannyGodley]

I understand "hot" and had to live in the North Carolina hot summers and high humidity for a long time - through 5 pregnancies, no dryer except God's good fresh air and sunshine. We had a small window fan and a couple of circulating fans. No room to keep cool so we could rest out of the oppresive heat. Finally, there was a summer of temps over 100 degrees and high humidity. And we decided we had to have air conditioning. (Now this had been ruled out several years prior by an A/C company who refused to install a central air unit because we didn't have enough insulation and they said it would burn out the compressor. ) We installed a Trane, top line, and were finally comfortable. We ran it as we wanted to. And guess what.... "It's hard to stop a Trane." Truly. Our electric bills surprised everyone by being low. The unit's compressor never burned out. It ran a good 10 years until we had to install a new furnace (not connected to the A/C) and we got a gas pack with heat & A/C.

So I know heat and the burden it places on the body. So I would encourage each of you to make yourselves as comfortable as possible within the confines of your pocketbook. Save where you can on your bills, but do remember that your comfort is important as well.

[Diane K]

Hubby has been putting in the new fluorescent light bulbs over the last couple of years, as the regular ones needed to be replaced. Our total 2008 electric bills were $195 something less than the total 2007 bills - yeah!!!

We do much of the same savings ideas, so I won't repeat those. I can't stand to be hot, so when I'm home, I'll set the a/c to 80, but put the fan on in the room I'm in. We even have one in the kitchen!

When we had our swimming pool installed, we went with solar heating. It was a little more up front, if I'm remembering correctly, but it saves us about an extra $50/mth if we used electric heat for the pool. We're in Florida, so the solar heater keeps the water warm about 10 months out of the year.

We just replaced our water heater - thought about going solar with that, too, but even with the tax incentives and rebates, it would have cost about $3,000 more than a traditional electric water heater.

Here's one thing I do that I don't think was mentioned: when I use the oven, I try to make more than one thing, or at least bake something else right after, so the oven doesn't have to heat up again. In other words, if I'm baking meatloaf, I'll put potatoes in to bake at the same time, then bake chicken to use in a later meal.

Also, our electric company will send someone out to do an electric audit - I think that's free. For $50, they will have someone inspect and repair any leaks in your ductwork - it says on their website that 7 out of 10 homes have leaks, which increase your electric bill.

[hcsig]

I try to use the crockpot to make at least 1 meal a week instead of cooking in the oven and am trying to use our George Foreman more for cooking parts of the meal. And do simple lunches so that do not require heating the oven up.

I try to not turn the TV on for most of the day during the week, good for both my DD and my electric bill! She is content with music coming from her CD player and her toys in the toyroom most days.

We changed out all the lightbulbs in the house to CFL's which I noticed a change in the last electric bill.
I open all the windows when possible to get fresh air flow in the house and hold out as long as humanly possible before turning the A/C on for the summer. During the summer we have the ceiling fans running constantly and usually one or two strategically placed oscilating fans to help move air.

I keep the house set between 79-80 during the summer, with wearing lightweight/light colored clothing it isn't that bad. On the contrary I set the house temp around 65 in the winter and tell everyone to bundle up if they are cold.

We each use a towel for an entire week and then I do one load of towels on the weekend. Now if I could just get DH to stop using an extra towel as a bathmat (we already have 3 in the bathroom)

We also have 1 attic fan and are hoping to install a second one this summer which does help.

We have a 1400 sq house and live in coastal GA so it gets HOT and HUMID quickly. Our electric is budgeted at $117 a month and I have been told that is really good for the area.

[GrannyGodley]

hcsig - I understand that Georgia heat/humidity - NC has pretty much the same. I grew up in coastal NC and live in central NC now. Keep cool as you can. :-/

Also, the idea Diane has of baking more than one item in the oven when you bake is a great one and one I have done countless times. Since there are just the 2 of us now, it helps to say oven fry chicken for dinner and while it is oven-frying you barbeque the rest of the chicken to reheat later. You could even lay a few potatoes on the shelves. Also, if you have a self-cleaning oven, don't forget that the best time to activate the self-cleaning option is right after you have baked something. This gives you a head start on energy consumption for the cleaning cycle.

[bjordan101]

I bought the dual draft stoppers. They are great...two sided draft stoppers that slide under the doors. I put one under each door. They match my decor because they are brown so they are not noticeable.

I also have switched all of my bulbs to the new energy saving ones. The wattage is 13 watts of used energy; however, they give off 60 watts of light. I haven't gotten a new electric bill since the switch but i am anxious to see the difference if any.

I also re-use towels.

I keep my heat at 67 degrees...we live on the 2nd floor so it almost never has to kick in.

If we get chilly...we throw on a sweatshirt.

I turn the power strip off on my computer when gone for a long period of time or off to bed.


One thing i cant get out of the habit of doing is sleeping with the tv on.


I heard that doing laundry at night (and other electric things) will cost less because its not peak hours.

[Layla Stryker]

Originally Posted by OldTinGrl

Well, it is definitely warming up in Texas and it won't be long before air conditioners will be working overtime. What little things do you do to help keep you electric bill down?

To be honest our last electric bill was very scary for us. Why? Because it was HUGE and we didn't have to use an AC or a heater. Honestly it was compariable to a mid-summer bill. It's all due to inflated fuel costs.

We've been unplugging electronics when not in use. Right now we're keeping our windows open. We turn lights off when leaving a room, we're using energy saver light bulbs, and we've stopped using the overhead lights and turning on a lamp(s). What do you do? What little things help keep that bill down?

Thanks for adding your input.

I'm not in Texas (I miss it though) but I do understand. It was in the mid 90's here this week..freak weather for where I live.

Anyways, I keep it like a meat locker, because I get VERY sick if it gets above about 72 (medical issues) and electric costs are awful!

I open windows, use fans (ceiling and window) draw the blinds during the day and use the window fans at night if its cool enough.

I turn off a light when I leave a room (my mother calls me the light nazi) and use surge strips that can be turned off, when I leave the room.

I use light sensing night lights and spend as much time out of my house as possible.

I don't have a tv (I have a tv, its in my basement, I dont have tv service or the desire to get it) and that helps ALOT.

I only have a cell phone, so there is no home phone line drawing power to stay on and I charge my laptop at school.

I also JUST (less than two weeks ago actually) enrolled on my electric companies CAP program.

Its a program run by the company that basically subsidizes electricity usage.

No matter how much energy I use, I pay 54$ a month.
This is great for me in the summer, because thats when my bill spikes because of the AC, not so great in the winter, as I have gas heat.. but I still come out ahead and the ability to know exactly what my payment each month will be, no matter what really really helps me budget better.

Over time, if I make each payment on time, they will reduce that amount by 33%.

I also have to participate in the weatherization program (its free) and a seminar about energy conservation, where they give out free CFL bulbs, caulking, weather stripping and occasionally even offer more energy efficient appliances and help installing energy efficient products (such as windows)


I know most people don't qualify for that, but maybe someone will read this and be able to qualify.

I would look into weatherization programs sponsored by your county, local agencies (salvation army, red cross, your electric company) tax credits and so on. It may require a little more money up front, but you will get that back for years to come!