Home Owners saving money

[92xj]

What month do you have the least amount of bills?

What cost savings measures do you use to save coins on the power/water bills?

I rarely use lights in my house. Have had the AC off for the past 2 weeks. Have the hot water heater turned way down. (being the only one in the house, thats not a problem for me to do, where a family household that could get kinda tricky)

Those are about the only things I can think of to save a little on the electric bill.

My water bill is so small I dont worry about it. The irrigation is pumped from the rivers to the neighborhoods with a flat rate of 25 bucks every two months so I dont worry about how much or how little I use on the yard. House use with just me, I dont know how I could use any less water than I do.

[Dawg]

About the only thing we have done is installed a programmable t-stat, don't use the lights until its needed and have dark drapes over the windows.

Btw- there is no such thing as a "hot water heater". Hot water is already heated.

[92xj]

Noun 1. hot-water heater - a heater and storage tank to supply heated water

hot-water tank, water heater

heater, warmer - device that heats water or supplies warmth to a room

storage tank, tank - a large (usually metallic) vessel for holding gases or liquids

water back - water heater consisting of a tank or pipes set at the back of a fireplace or in the firebox of a stove

[92xj]

About the only thing we have done is installed a programmable t-stat, don't use the lights until its needed and have dark drapes over the windows.

Btw- there is no such thing as a "hot water heater". Hot water is already heated.

Do the dark drapes cause the room to warm slightly attracting the sun already being warmed by the greenhouse effect of the glass window?

[Dawg]

Water heater is the correct terminology.

[Dawg]

Do the dark drapes cause the room to warm slightly attracting the sun already being warmed by the greenhouse effect of the glass window?

No.

[92xj]

Water heater is the correct terminology.

What if you add hot water to the heater and want to increase the temperature?

I guess it all comes down to the definition of "hot".

But I concur with you, I was not thinking when posting. I am sorry for my mistake and will try hard to never write another mistake again.

[Dawg]

What if you add hot water to the heater and want to increase the temperature?

I guess it all comes down to the definition of "hot".

But I concur with you, I was not thinking when posting. I am sorry for my mistake and will try hard to never write another mistake again.

Why would you add hot water to a piece of equipment that is designed to heat the water that is plumbed into it? Why not just turn up the temp?

[92xj]

Why would you add hot water to a piece of equipment that is designed to heat the water that is plumbed into it? Why not just turn up the temp?

It's cheaper to heat the water outside on my fire pit then pour it into the tank and have the tank keep it warm.

[Dawg]

It's cheaper to heat the water outside on my fire pit then pour it into the tank and have the tank keep it warm.

That doesn't even make any sense right now.

What type of water heater do you have?

[92xj]

I have no idea, I really dont heat my water outside on the fire pit and then pour it into the tank.

[Dawg]

I have no idea, I really dont heat my water outside on the fire pit and then pour it into the tank.

I didn't believe you in the first place.

[Mach1]

As incandescent bulbs burn out, I replace them with CFLs. We try to only have lights on in rooms that we're in.

[92xj]

As incandescent bulbs burn out, I replace them with CFLs. We try to only have lights on in rooms that we're in.

I have replaced the majority of my incandescents. I have no idea if they are saving me money but I feel better knowing I did replace them. I did hear that installing them "up-side down" ei. from the ceiling or a fixture where the bulb part is lower than the screw in part will make them last only half as long as installing them in a lamp or something where the bulb is on top. Has anyone heard of this or have any experience? So far, my 10 or so have been in for only 6 months and they are all still working fine.

[redkneck]

I'm not really crazy about the CFL's, most places I want light, I want plenty of it.

[ruttinbuc]

I put power strips on all of my outlets. I use the switch on them to turn things off that really don't need to be on. All of the lights from all of the gadgets makes it look like mission control in here. They have to be sucking juice sitting there doing nothing. What do you need standby for?

[mikebohio]

if you can conserve in your household god bless you. i have 3 boys who go through laundry and baths like they are going out of style. 4 TVs that are almost always on. 3 computers that are used while watching TV. endless amounts of video game systems. last but definitely not least is a wife that insist if its warmer outside you have to turn the thermostat down and heaven forbid if it gets a little cold you better crank that baby up. as far as lights go they are a decoration in my house. there are countless number of lamps in every room that need to be lit to look pretty. so in short the only time i see any conservation is when a storm knocks the power out.

[redkneck]

if you can conserve in your household god bless you. i have 3 boys who go through laundry and baths like they are going out of style. 4 TVs that are almost always on. 3 computers that are used while watching TV. endless amounts of video game systems. last but definitely not least is a wife that insist if its warmer outside you have to turn the thermostat down and heaven forbid if it gets a little cold you better crank that baby up. as far as lights go they are a decoration in my house. there are countless number of lamps in every room that need to be lit to look pretty. so in short the only time i see any conservation is when a storm knocks the power out.

Heck Mike, you sound like me! My wife must own stock in MS Power that I don't know about. My thermostat doesn't function as a thermostat, more like an On/Off switch. Seems like she runs year round, one day in November we'll switch it to heat for the next 5 months. :taped:

[ODH]

I installed new windows and siding with insulation behind it. Seems to help.

[92xj]

I installed new windows and siding with insulation behind it. Seems to help.

What kind of windows did you go with?

This is something I would like to do in the future, not near future but future. Gotta budget pretty good for that ticket.

[Tominator]

I dont know how I could use any less water than I do.

I'll bet I could save you a lot of water.

In answer to your question, probably June, especially if it's a cool one, or maybe October.

In June our gasoline expense is cut in half because I don't drive much. October because we don't use heat or AC. August and September are the worst. Kids back to school really puts a hurt on our budget.

[Mach1]

I'm not really crazy about the CFL's, most places I want light, I want plenty of it.

We've got no problems not having enough light with CFLs. Some take a bit longer than others to warm up to full brightness, just depends on which brand I've got in, but the amount of light put out hasn't ever been a problem when warmed up.

[92xj]

I'll bet I could save you a lot of water.

Not shower for a week or two?

[redkneck]

Not shower for a week or two?

Just don't flush the toilet so often.

If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down.

Hahahaha!

[wtnhunt]

Our worst electric bills are usually in February, then January and probably August. Those being when the hhat and air have to run the most.

New house has energy efficient rated windows, think they are going to help a bit, they are never warm or cold to the touch and so not transferring any loss, pretty well stay the same temp as the room. Upgraded our thermostat to a programmable thermostat, figure it will help a bit in the winter. Going to be curious to see what kind of electric bills we do end up getting with this new house, logs depending on who you ask are either efficient or not. Have only had one partial bill on it so far, ran the air some during the extreme heat we had and been running a compressor and saws quite a bit and it was under $40.

Have cfl's in several light fixtures, sure an 11 watt draw versus a 40, 60, or 75 watt draw will add up when looking at dozens of bulbs, chandeliers in the dining room alone account for 10 bulbs, went with the 9 watt cfl's there in place of the suggested 40 watt and they give off more than enough light. Used the cfl flood replacements outside, again plenty of light and 26 watt bulbs versus 90. Never heard of the upside down thing, have a few in the house we are in now that have been upside down and they have been going for 3 or 4 years.