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There may have been a similar topic but I didn’t see it in a search using some terms.
Most celebrities, politicians, and energy “experts” usually promote energy saving products many people cannot afford nor justify the cost for the amount of savings. I’ve lived in a 650 square feet mobile home and now a 1300 square foot brick home. I’ve made many changes to the home to keep utility cost down. Most of these changes can be DIY install or tricks to make into a habit.
1. Wash clothes in cold water only.
2. When we replaced our washer and dryer we went with a top load HE washer and a dryer with a moisture sensor to automatically stop the dryer when clothes are dry. Doesn’t work perfectly but we’ll enough to reduce energy use.
3. In warm months we turn on the vent hood fan when cooking on the stove and or oven to exhaust some heat out the home.
4. There are small foam insulation for behind the covers to light switches and electrical outlets. Put them behind the covers for a little insulation.
5. Heat reflective window tint come in a variety of grades and can be installed yourself.
6. Solar screens can be ugly but they come in a variety of colors and grades. They can be a DIY install but look better if installed by a professional company.
7. Counter top cooking appliances can be an energy savings for small meal cooking over using the stove. Toaster oven, microwave, air fryer, Instant Pot, and electric skillet can work well.
8. Motion sensor light fixtures for key locations. Some have trouble remembering to turn off lights. Walk-in pantry/closet is a good place. I installed one for our carport. I work rotating shifts so instead of leaving the light on for when I come home after dark, the light will turn on when I drive up and turn off a minute later. I installed it myself and it wasn’t expensive to buy.
Check the Frugal Living subforum. Using less energy tends to be more economical. There have been multiple threads created about it that are packed with tips.
"Green Living" IS frugal living, really. Conservation = to save, as in "Waste not, Want not."
While every bit counts in the long run, house lighting only accounted for ~15% of a family's electric bill with incandescent lighting-- probably a lot less now that LEDs are affordable....Just turn 'em off when you leave the room.
Outdoor "security lights" foul up circadian rhythm for many insects & birds, are light pollution for star gazing and actually help the thieves out. (Think like a thief-- without the security light, you'd have to use a flash light-- very suspicious behavior attracting attention from nosey neighbors, if they're paying any attention. With a security light on, the thief's job is a lot easier and probably nobody notices anybody walking around your place.)
I have to wonder about the effectiveness of insulating light switches & wall sockets-- It's not like you freeze to death if you put your easy chair near one....But even double paned windows are cold to the touch in winter and also energy sinks in summer. Plastic liners or even curtains can help a lot there....and the biggest energy saver is just keeping the thermostat cooler in winter and hotter in summer....Jimmy Carter got at least one thing right-- put on another sweater if you're cold. Don't turn up the heat....and sitting in front of a fan saves a lot of energy compared to AC. https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2015...ot-spaces.html
An often over-looked energy saver is turning your water heater down. It doesn't have to put out scalding hot water-- 120degF is hot enough. They are often set to 140 deg to be bacteriostatic, but unless you're immunocompromised, that's probably not necessary.....Most new construction is using tankless heaters now anyways, so there's no stored water to become contaminated.
"Green Living" IS frugal living, really. Conservation = to save, as in "Waste not, Want not."
While every bit counts in the long run, house lighting only accounted for ~15% of a family's electric bill with incandescent lighting-- probably a lot less now that LEDs are affordable....Just turn 'em off when you leave the room.
Outdoor "security lights" foul up circadian rhythm for many insects & birds, are light pollution for star gazing and actually help the thieves out. (Think like a thief-- without the security light, you'd have to use a flash light-- very suspicious behavior attracting attention from nosey neighbors, if they're paying any attention. With a security light on, the thief's job is a lot easier and probably nobody notices anybody walking around your place.)
I have to wonder about the effectiveness of insulating light switches & wall sockets-- It's not like you freeze to death if you put your easy chair near one....But even double paned windows are cold to the touch in winter and also energy sinks in summer. Plastic liners or even curtains can help a lot there....and the biggest energy saver is just keeping the thermostat cooler in winter and hotter in summer....Jimmy Carter got at least one thing right-- put on another sweater if you're cold. Don't turn up the heat....and sitting in front of a fan saves a lot of energy compared to AC. https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2015...ot-spaces.html
An often over-looked energy saver is turning your water heater down. It doesn't have to put out scalding hot water-- 120degF is hot enough. They are often set to 140 deg to be bacteriostatic, but unless you're immunocompromised, that's probably not necessary.....Most new construction is using tankless heaters now anyways, so there's no stored water to become contaminated.
The switch plate insulation is cheap enough to at least give it a try. My current home was built in 1973. Insulation isn’t as good in the walls and it still has the wood paneling (painted over). We added insulation to the attic because the old insulation was far below the 2x4 and heat was radiating from the ceiling. We had storm windows added over our single pane aluminum frame windows and had them with solar screens. The carport motion sensor light fixture is because I work rotating shifts at the hospital. It’s very dark to find the keyhole without that light on. It stays on for only a minute, long enough to unlock the door and get inside. Incandescent light bulbs isn’t just about the energy they use, it’s also the heat energy’s they release. Switching to LED reduces the heat lower than CFL. Our TVs are all LED for that same reason. Wife was skeptical until I took her to the store. First set of TVs were CRT, plasma, and fluorescent tube. Last set was LED. We walked the length of the display and she felt the change in temperature.
If our home was all electric then our stove would have been an induction cook top. Instead we have a gas stove, gas water heater, and a gas furnace. There is a fireplace but it needs major work to be safe to use. It does have a gas pipe for a log starter. We’ll most likely have the chimney capped off to prevent drafts and decorate the front of the fireplace. Wife is always home because of health and mobility. There’s always at least two lights on all day and part of the night as well as the living room tv for her.
"Green Living" IS frugal living, really. Conservation = to save, as in "Waste not, Want not."
While every bit counts in the long run, house lighting only accounted for ~15% of a family's electric bill with incandescent lighting-- probably a lot less now that LEDs are affordable....Just turn 'em off when you leave the room.
Outdoor "security lights" foul up circadian rhythm for many insects & birds, are light pollution for star gazing and actually help the thieves out. (Think like a thief-- without the security light, you'd have to use a flash light-- very suspicious behavior attracting attention from nosey neighbors, if they're paying any attention. With a security light on, the thief's job is a lot easier and probably nobody notices anybody walking around your place.)
I have to wonder about the effectiveness of insulating light switches & wall sockets-- It's not like you freeze to death if you put your easy chair near one....But even double paned windows are cold to the touch in winter and also energy sinks in summer. Plastic liners or even curtains can help a lot there....and the biggest energy saver is just keeping the thermostat cooler in winter and hotter in summer....Jimmy Carter got at least one thing right-- put on another sweater if you're cold. Don't turn up the heat....and sitting in front of a fan saves a lot of energy compared to AC. https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2015...ot-spaces.html
An often over-looked energy saver is turning your water heater down. It doesn't have to put out scalding hot water-- 120degF is hot enough. They are often set to 140 deg to be bacteriostatic, but unless you're immunocompromised, that's probably not necessary.....Most new construction is using tankless heaters now anyways, so there's no stored water to become contaminated.
You place it in the refrigerator and freezer overnight. Check temperatures in the morning and make a small adjustment. Keep doing this daily until you are within the food safe range you’re comfortable with so you’re not making the space too cold overworking the compressors and fans. Also handy to see at a glance the inside temperature to tell you if something is wrong. Handy for those who can’t afford a refrigerator with a temperature display.
There may have been a similar topic but I didn’t see it in a search using some terms.
Most celebrities, politicians, and energy “experts” usually promote energy saving products many people cannot afford nor justify the cost for the amount of savings. I’ve lived in a 650 square feet mobile home and now a 1300 square foot brick home. I’ve made many changes to the home to keep utility cost down. Most of these changes can be DIY install or tricks to make into a habit.
1. Wash clothes in cold water only.
2. When we replaced our washer and dryer we went with a top load HE washer and a dryer with a moisture sensor to automatically stop the dryer when clothes are dry. Doesn’t work perfectly but we’ll enough to reduce energy use.
3. In warm months we turn on the vent hood fan when cooking on the stove and or oven to exhaust some heat out the home.
4. There are small foam insulation for behind the covers to light switches and electrical outlets. Put them behind the covers for a little insulation.
5. Heat reflective window tint come in a variety of grades and can be installed yourself.
6. Solar screens can be ugly but they come in a variety of colors and grades. They can be a DIY install but look better if installed by a professional company.
7. Counter top cooking appliances can be an energy savings for small meal cooking over using the stove. Toaster oven, microwave, air fryer, Instant Pot, and electric skillet can work well.
8. Motion sensor light fixtures for key locations. Some have trouble remembering to turn off lights. Walk-in pantry/closet is a good place. I installed one for our carport. I work rotating shifts so instead of leaving the light on for when I come home after dark, the light will turn on when I drive up and turn off a minute later. I installed it myself and it wasn’t expensive to buy.
I'll add: In winter, we primarily use the wood stove for heat. I have a clothes drying rack down there and I dry most of our clothes there, with the exception of towels.
also, my project over the next couple of days - caulking around the window trim. This house is a sieve. ish
I have not used my dryer for years,I hate the sound,so I hang my clothes outdoor,sometimes I just drape them over some furniture in my den which has turned into a storage room,I am in no hurry to use them.
Also unplug some of your electric appliances,you can unplug your TV sets before you go to bed.
One of the things I did that made the biggest difference was installing programmable thermostats. I programmed them so the HVAC doesn't run as much when we are not home and at night when we are not in various parts of the house. I also put the temperature on hold so it won't run as much when we are going to be out of town.
The best time to find air leaks is in the winter when it is the coldest outside. You can go around the inside of the house on the outside walls feeling for cold air leaks and then fix them.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,206,701 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mojo101
I have not used my dryer for years,I hate the sound,so I hang my clothes outdoor,sometimes I just drape them over some furniture in my den which has turned into a storage room,I am in no hurry to use them.
Also unplug some of your electric appliances,you can unplug your TV sets before you go to bed.
I never heard of anyone disliking the sound of the dryer, being a lot quieter than the washer. We close the door of the laundry room, so don't have to hear either, plus is keeps that humidity and heat from the rest of the house. Most TVs today consume less than 5 watts a year in standby mode, for us that's about 1/100th of a kWh, and at $0.11/kWh that would be far less than 1 cent savings leaving it plugged in at night. For those with a cable box/DVR, that can consume as much as 35 kilowatt hours a month, which can account for $8 a month in electric bills.
One of the things I did that made the biggest difference was installing programmable thermostats. I programmed them so the HVAC doesn't run as much when we are not home and at night when we are not in various parts of the house. I also put the temperature on hold so it won't run as much when we are going to be out of town.
The best time to find air leaks is in the winter when it is the coldest outside. You can go around the inside of the house on the outside walls feeling for cold air leaks and then fix them.
We have one but don’t use the schedule since wife is always home.
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