Please share ideas for reducing energy consumption/JEA bill.

[stevep]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

Glad to hear the front loaders are apparently working better now than they were when I bought my unit. One complaint I heard a lot when I was looking was the spin cycles were too effective - they chewed up the clothes. I have pretty much given up on dry clean only clothes these days (the cost has gotten ridiculous - and you don't get many uses out of clothing between cleanings in this heat). So a really gentle delicate cycle is important to me. FWIW - most new washers force you to save power - they don't have the option of anything other than a cold rinse cycle. Robyn

Depending on the model, there are several different spin cycle speeds, so you can select the one that's best for your type of clothes. Plus, some of the newer models have a warm rinse feature.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by KerryB

Well, obviously Robyn you'd need to have proper labels on your breaker stuff there, dear. And even if you dont, who cares? Figure it out by seeing what switch controls what then label them. It ain't rocket science.

And most people dont have "computers" in their washers, dryers & such. Argue much??

Actually - all kinds of appliances have "mini-computers" - "motherboards" - "computer circuits" - etc. in them these days. Even if they're as simple as a chip that runs a clock/timer on a coffee machine. If an appliance is 100% mechanical - it's "off" when it's turned off - and there's no need to turn it off at the breaker switch to save energy. Robyn

[KerryB]

OMG, Robyn. Thanks! You were soooo right! I just took apart my washer & dryer, and lo & behold, it had one of them there "computers" right inside of it. Logic board, hard drive, RAM, the whole thing.

Although I did find out that my washer was running Windows & my dryer had Mac OS on it. I knew it was a Mac cause it made that famous *BONG* sound when I "booted it up" as you say. So looks like I'll have to get those compatible for maximum efficiency.

Once again, thank you so much. You're an absolute wealth of knowledge & I simply don't know what we'd all do without you.

[ltdontcare]

You could always become Amish...

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by KerryB

OMG, Robyn. Thanks! You were soooo right! I just took apart my washer & dryer, and lo & behold, it had one of them there "computers" right inside of it. Logic board, hard drive, RAM, the whole thing.

Although I did find out that my washer was running Windows & my dryer had Mac OS on it. I knew it was a Mac cause it made that famous *BONG* sound when I "booted it up" as you say. So looks like I'll have to get those compatible for maximum efficiency.

Once again, thank you so much. You're an absolute wealth of knowledge & I simply don't know what we'd all do without you.

Good grief - we silly people who've actually had new motherboards put into our appliances must be wearing tin foil hats.

FWIW - if you have an appliance that has an led screen that is capable of displaying an error code - you definitely have a small "computer" in your appliance. OTOH - an appliance may be purely mechanical. I have some of each. Robyn

[ShakenStirred]

Originally Posted by 904jax

JEA has raised its rates approximately 69% since 2004 and is set to raise its rates by nearly 10 percent in October. Dramatic rate increases have made energy consumption a major concern for many JAX residents.

Please share your ideas for reducing energy consumption and saving money on your JEA bill.

Here are the changes we made to reduce our energy consumption by 25-30%:

1) Tinted windows subject to direct sunlight.
2) Replaced the majority of light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs.
3) Regularly replace our HVAC air filter.
4) Installed a water amplifying shower head.
5) Set AC at 81 during the day and 78 at night.
6) Planted Bahia grass, which requires almost no irrigation water and fertilizer.

A few notes about our changes:

a) The water amplifying shower head reduced our water consumption by 1000 gallons per month in addition to reducing the amount of electrify required to heat hot water. Water amplifying technology has improved substantially over the past few years. There are many water amplifying shower heads available on www.amazon.com.

b) Compact fluorescent light bulbs have also improved substantially over the past few years in terms of light quality and features, such as being dimmable. Compact fluorescent light bulbs have disposal issues, but many models last nearly a decade making it less of an issue.

c) Our JEA bill ran $207 in August, 2010 in a 1750 sq. foot house with my wife at home.

Somewhere in your house you will find a metal door on your wall, usually in the garage. If you open it there will be a bunch of little black switches and usually one large one labeled "Main." If you flip that switch that says "Main" and leave it there, you're utility bill will drop substantially.

[904jax]

Originally Posted by ShakenStirred

Somewhere in your house you will find a metal door on your wall, usually in the garage. If you open it there will be a bunch of little black switches and usually one large one labeled "Main." If you flip that switch that says "Main" and leave it there, you're utility bill will drop substantially.

The stone age approach will certainly save money, but make it difficult to post on this forum, among other things.

For the average JEA customer, cutting energy consumption by 30 % will save them approximately $720.00 per year.

Here is a 9/22 TU article talking about JEA setting the ambitious goal of cutting power demand by 1.1 % by 2019. Jacksonville utility's energy-saving plan gets state OK | jacksonville.com

[theshotof]

i always found that if you unplug everything your not using it helps on the bills