I think I have done it all, trying to get electric bill down

[Frankie]

My utility bills are entirely too high. So I have been focusing on one thing at a time to see what I could do to get them down.

For the past 2 months it has been the electric bill. First of all, it seems like no one is ever home. I work a 50 hour week. Since school has been out my son has been gone to his older brothers or tennis camp.

This is what I have done.

I bought the energy saving lights bulbs for 8 lights.

I switched all of our clocks to battery powered, one wind up, so no more electric clocks.

The air conditioner is set on 75 and doesn't kick on much at all because in the morning I open the windows and it lowers the temperature enough the air doesn't come on.

Turned the temperature up on hot water heater so not to heat so much.

TV, VCR, game systems, Sterios, are only plugged in when in use, and that is hardly ever. We go most days with nothing plugged in, except for fridg, have to stuff.

Dishwasher only run 1/2 as much. Laundry loads, 1/2 as much.

No nightlights, no plug in air fresheners.

The only outside light is $6 a month no matter what.

And I did all of this for what?

$3 !!

With all of that, it lowered my electric bill 3 whole dollars.

What am I missing? Why isn't this working?

Again I started this 2 months ago and yes it should be showing up on current bill.

It is soooooooooo frustrating.

Are they just going to get my money no matter what?

 

[stormo41]

I don't know about where you live but i heard in Ontario they are charging more for use in "peak hours" I believe thats 8am to 8pm. You might want to try running your diswasher and other such things after those hours.

This is an investment but you could also buy engery star applainces, they are said to save alot of enery.

 

[h2t99]

How old is your water heater? I was told they are bad about sucking elec!!! Also call the elec company and tell them you want to lower your bill, and have made changes but no major change in bill and see what they say. Also if it is really high check into having an electrician come out and make sure there are no problems!! I lived in an old farm house several years ago and the electric company had a problem with their end and there was a current running into the ground!! Good Luck!!

 

[Debd]

I know in many cities, the electric companies will come out and do a free audit of your energy use to help you figure out where you are using more. You need to look at how old your AC unit is. Also, older appliances, such as refrigerators can really run up a bill. Some utility companies even offer rebates if you replace older units with newer energy efficient ones. We are in central Texas with very hot days and high humidity. I'm at home, but am able to keep the AC set at 79 during the day with ceiling fans. Good luck, I know how frustrating it can be trying to figure it out.

 

[SampleMM]

Try washing all your clothes in cold water. I only wash my whites, towels, and sheets in warm. Also, I have a front loader and I pack it pretty full. I never use a long cycle I use the "quick" cycle and everything appears clean. You could also put up a clothes line and hang several loads outside instead of using your dryer.

I also make it a habit of turning lights off the second somebody leaves a room. My mom ingrained that in my brain and now my kids are the same way.

Also the Electric Company will come out to your house and do a free evaluation. I used that service after a $700.00 electric bill. Our biggest electric waste was our huge hot water tank.

Hope this helps.

 

[Magic]

Do you have a well? The pump for that runs on electricity. So if you do a lot of watering (lawn, etc) it will add up.

 

[Marty]

And that is why we went over to gas on anything we possibly could.

 

[Margo_C-T]

The BIG users of electricity in a household are the water heater, the clothes dryer, the fridge(esp. if frost-free--which all of them are nowadays, I guess),separate freezer(it can be modest in electricity use IF it is the 'old-fashioned' kind that you manually defrost, IF kept defrosted properly, AND the door is not opened frequently!), the A/C in summer, and the dishwasher.

You've already had a number of good suggestions(look into the most energy-efficient appliances, at least when an older one needs replacing, etc.)--here are some other things to look into--

Time-of-use rates were mentioned; call your electricity supplier and find out if you qualify to be placed on that rate schedule...if you do, then you tailor your usage of the activities that use the most electricity to the OFF-peak hours as much as possible.

Don't use an electric clothes dryer! Hang clothes out the 'old-fashioned' way!(I hang mine on my chain link yard fence!)

Invest in a timer for your water heater, so it will come on ONLY during off-peak rate hours; keeping 30-50 gal. of water hot ALL the time is VERY ineffiecient and expensive...OR-invest in one or more 'point-of-use' water heaters, which heat the water ONLY as it is 'called for'.

Run your dishwasher ONLY when it is full, and on the shortest, most minimal cycle that will do the job.

I have lived in an ALL-electric home for 28 years. The rates climbed steeply only a couple or three years after we moved in,and we had hot water baseboard heat, so in desperation to avoid HUGE(for the time, and our income!) winter electric bills, we installed a 'freestanding' Orley fireplace insert and heated ENTIRELY with wood for @ 20 years! Several years ago, my elec. Co-op began offering a heat storage heating system, designed by a South Dakota company (Steffes), that uses electricity during OFF-peak hours to heat ceramic 'bricks', then it can be 'released' for use during more expensive "ON-peak" hours. A couple of years after THAT, they offered a version that could be used for hot water circulated heat, AND, they offered a deal where I could buy the unit, interest FREE, via monthly payments added to my electric bill--AND, the Co-op paid for ALL of the installation costs of the unit! It seemed a 'win-win' deal, so I 'went for it', and it has been great! It is the 'off-peak' rates that make it affordable-NOT cheap, but affordable. When it is VERY cold, I still sometimes build a fire in the evenings, which are "ON-peak' rates--but the system I have is supposed to provide 16 hours of heat on an 8 hour 'charging' period,and so far, I've never had it 'run out' of heat!

I also do not use A/C, which helps a LOT, in summer, to keep the costs moderate. Open the windows at night, use fans set in the windows to 'pull' cool night air in, close all windows AND drapes where the sun might hit as soon as the daytime temps begin to climb...my house is a 'cool cave' during the day! IF it cools off well overnight where you live, this is a definite option.

I have done all of the other stuff mentioned, too--but controlling the cost of heating(if electric!), water heating, and clothes drying will go further than ANYTHING else, IMO, to reduce electricity costs.

Good luck in your efforts!

Margo

 

[Minimor]

Turned the temperature up on hot water heater so not to heat so much.

I thought you're supposed to set the temperature lower to conserve electricity?? It costs more to keep the water hotter? That's what I've heard/read, from more than one source.
Having said that, I do have my hot water tank turned right up, just because we water the horses with warm water from the house in winter, and if the tank isn't turned right up on HOT, there isn't enough hot water to give everyone all the warm water they want to drink. This house sucks electricity anyway (older trailer, complete with drafts in winter!)

My hydro bill goes from $60-$70 in summer to $300 or more in winter--depends on what kind of winter we have just how bad it is--but we budget so that it is the same to pay all year around. I have a window air conditioner, and when we got that (for years had only a fan, which was ineffective) I was surprised that running the AC a lot in hot weather made no obvious difference to my hydro bill. That was nice to see--we can be reasonably comfortable in hot weather without paying anything much extra!!

 

[Cathy_H]

Most likely utilities are increased the same as everything else. That is what I heard recently. Ask your electric company to see.. I wash all of my clothes in cold water. I also try to use liquid softener on the clothes & dry them half as long then I spread them out on the spare bed. I hang the shirts etc to finish drying...................Blinds & curtains to keep out the hot sun & in the winter time I open them to let the warm sun in.

 

[Jill]

Carolyn --

Is the electric company actually checking your meter every month, or are they billing based on historical data from you which they then verify and adjust periodically (and give credit if one is owed). Just in case -- your changes may have made a big difference that just has not caught up with the billing yet (hoping).

Jill

 

[Alice]

WE got a new fridge that runs on 220 and it cut our electric bill in half. We could hardly believe it but its true.

Alice

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

You might want to check into what Jill posted......

Last year when we were gone for 9 days, there was not a difference in our electric bill. No one was home, so no lights, no a/c running, no washer or dryer, no dishwasher, etc....

 

[Sonya]

I was going to say the same thing as Jill...make sure your bill has an actual meter reading and not an estimate based on previous electric use. They only do an actual reading at my house about every 3 months.

 

[Frankie]

I am going to check all that was mentioned with the electric company.

I do wash in cold water. All are appliances are between 3 and 5 years old, not energy eff. but are newer.

My biggest gripe is, with all I have done it pretty much made no difference.

So if I double my wash load, double the dishwasher use, wash in hot water, lenthen showers, plug back in all electric clocks,,,,,,,my rate wouldn't go up,,,,,,,right? OH! OH!

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[Charley]

The sad thing is the price of everything is going up, even utilities. We are in a drought and everyone is under a mandatory 10% reduction in usage. So they have added a surcharge to get our bills equal to what we were paying before the mandatory reduction to cover their increased costs and to stay with their budget.

Since it is just two of us here, I no longer run the dishwasher. It only takes a few minutes to wash up a couple plates, bowls and glasses two or three times a day. I also keep nothing plugged in if I am not using it. It is turned off and unplugged.

If your house is large and you don't use certain rooms, close the vents and shut the doors when you don't need to be cooling or heating them. It may help a little. Turn your air conditioner temperature up a little warmer and use an oscillating fan and dress for the warmer temperature.

 

[lotsofspots]

I chuckled when I read this thread/posts....we are in Florida and it is HOT, HOT, HOT! We are doing everything mentioned here, but we turn our thermostat up to 84 during the day and never below 80 at night. We have noticed a difference in our bill....but, let me tell you, since I work out of my home, it sure is HOT trying to work inside! We also do not use our oven much and don't let the dishwasher run the "dry" cycle. Got rid of the old fridge, too. Check the seals on your fridge or freezer--a lot of cool air can escape making the fridge/freezer run more/harder. It also helps to keep drapes/shades closed during the day, which is the hardest part for me because I like to look outside at the horses. Every little bit does help...even if it's just $3 now

 

[Basketmiss]

Maybe you did conserve but the bill has went up for prices going up? I know our electric coop has said that prices are getting ready to raise...

I would call and tell them all the things you have done and see what they say??

 

[JO~*]

Could you have a water leak somewhere and your pump is running more than you know?

 

[bcody]

Frankie,

They make a monitor you can use to do a real time tracking of your energy usage. You attach a sensor unit to your meter (easy to do) and then you can read the unit from a wireless monitor in your house. It is called the POwercost monitor. One place I know you can get it from is norhtern tools ( Powercost Monitor )

It tracks the usage over 24 hour period, making it fairly easy to see which changes save the most money. It costs around 130 dollars.