i don't mean to brag

catnapt

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ok yes i do. i just got my electric bill and i only used 129 KWHs in the entire month (32 days, actually, it says for billing period) or an average of 4 KWH's per day.
Last month it was only 3 KWH's per day- but i was away for a week, so i figured that had a lot to do with it.
I've been home all this month, and i've even used the electric space heater in the bathroom a couple of times so i could take a shower without icing over, and i've used the hair dryer several times, something i never use in the summer and don't use much in the winter either, i usually let my hair "air dry". But if i have to go out and it's cold out, i'll dry it first.

i've done the usual amount of laundry, actually some extra, washed the drapes and curtains, but i've been hanging clothes out as much as i can. Still everything goes thru the dryer on air dry to get the cat hair off, even if it's been line dried.
in fact, i often put things that aren't dirty, just hairy, in the dryer to get the hair off. Air fluff, it's called LOL

heck i even turned on the electric heat in the living room!!

i'm just amazed that the changes i made have made such a huge difference in my usage! besides switching to all compact fluorescent bulbs (where possible) i've put all the computer components on an outlet that can be shut off, so that when i'm not using the computer, one switch shuts off everything (after i shut *down* off course!) "everything" is plugged into a power surge protector power strip.

i've got the tv plugged into a power strip, along with that damn converter box i had to get, and when the TV is shut off, i then shut the power to the power strip.

and i've got my microwave plugged in to a power strip as well. i don't use it often enough to leave it plugged in to tell me the time! it only takes a second to reset the time if i want to use it. (and i just put in 1 o'clock, it doesn't matter, it'll work as long as it's set to some time, doesn't have to be the correct time LOL)

Our electric company has been urging people to "unplug unused electronics". there's a TV ad about it, and other things you can do to save electricity (fridges and freezers work best when full, things like that)
but i think i am going to call them and ask them about advising ppl to use power strips instead of unplugging things all the time, which can be a PITA and can also be dangerous, esp with plugs that stick and/or young children or the elderly. A lot of kids would just pull the plug out by the cord!



using power strips, esp for things like computers with multiple plugs and most TV/DVD/stereo sets up, seems to be the easiest and safest way to go. so, yeh, i'm gonna call them about that!!


every month so far this year, my electric usage has been significantly lower than for the same time period last year.

i am so proud of myself!!
 

twstychik

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Good for you! It's amazing what an impact a few small changes can make.

Question, When you use the power strips to shut off your TV, do you lose the channel presets?
 
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catnapt

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Originally Posted by twstychik

Good for you! It's amazing what an impact a few small changes can make.

Question, When you use the power strips to shut off your TV, do you lose the channel presets?
um i don't have any channel presets... i only get two channels, because i don't have cable or satellite dish or anything. so i get the local channel and sometimes i can get the public tv channel too, but not always
 

ping

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Our bill is not quite that low but we have been actively working to get ours lower.

I line dry everything.
Turn hot water heater off at night. We turn in on 30 mins before bath time.
Turn the heater on only at night. I believe he sets it to kick on if it drops below 60 at night.
Turn off all lights off during the day.
Open curtains for natural light.
Open a few windows during the day as needed.

Our bill was 135.74 which is a far cry better than 235.00
 

carolpetunia

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Bless your heart! I hope we'll all be developing more of that attitude over the coming years -- we Americans are far, far too comfortable with over-consumption of just about everything -- particularly energy. It's obvious now that what Al Gore has been warning about for decades is tragically real, and we've got to stop wasting resources.

And your idea about using power strips is brilliant! That would make it both easier and safer to conserve. Outstanding!
 
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catnapt

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every little bit helps! and it's an added bonus that it saves money, too- more to spend on the kitties


at least, that's what they say
 

butzie

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Well, our goal this year was water reduction first.

We have energy efficient dishwasher (just new with that cool top drawer only opting and washer. We turned the water way down that feeds the little grass part of the front yard (we have lots of rocks and native vegetation) and down all or off in the other sprinklers. That saved a great deal of water, actually.

We are more likely to soak dishes and then rinse them. Oh, wait. That would be me, not we.


We bought a low flow toilet to replace the one in the main bathroom. The one in the master bathroom is already low flow and the one downstairs we hardly use.

My main way of cutting down our water bill is to shower every day at my health club.
Seriously, they have very low flow shower heads.
 
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