Saving Energy Tips.
@happythoughts (4109)
United States
February 11, 2008 6:52pm CST
I was looking on line for some new tips to save a bit of cash and I found this great list for saving energy. It is a basic list of things that can help us all. What can you add to the list.
*Lower your thermostat temperature a couple of degrees and wear sweaters around your house. For every degree you lower your thermostat, you save 2-3 percent on your energy bill.
*When you use your dishwasher, stop it before the drying cycle, and open the door to air dry your dishes.
*Make sure all your appliances are running smoothly by cleaning the filters regularly.
*Unless you are baking, put your food in your oven when you first turn it on.
*Close your drapes at night to help cold air from getting in.
*Open your drapes wide when the sun is shining to warm your room.
*Keep your windows shut as tightly as possible. Locking them will make the seal tighter.
*Close doors to rooms that don’t need to be heated, like closets, storage rooms, etc. Close the heating vent in unused rooms.
*Turn you lights off when you leave a room. It is cheaper to turn them on and off than leave them on, and the bulbs last longer.
*Use the lowest wattage possible and still have adequate light.
1 person likes this
4 responses
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
12 Feb 08
This is kind of obvious but I didn't think about it till I passed by a window and felt a draft. We don't all live in new house (mine is 85yrs old) that are energy efficient! So I inspected all my windows and sure enough, four of them needed caulking on the frames inside. $4 worth of caulk and I still have half a tube left! My furnace comes on less often and the house is much warmer.
I moved here in May and in October when it began getting cool, I took some caulk up to the attic along with a couple of cans of expanding foam insulation. It improved the temp up there by about 30 degrees warmer! I'll be putting some insulation up there in spring along where the roof meets the side of the house and it'll be even better.
Insulate, caulk and shut off rooms you don't use!
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
12 Feb 08
My home is only 6 years old and so it still seems new to us when we think about houses, but I was amazed by how much we needed to caulk when I went to look at it. I guess it is something that should be done every few years as normal care.
@theproperator (2429)
• United States
14 Feb 08
I moved into my first house about 4 years ago. It's also an old house, and the learning curve was rather steep for me as well. I read a lot of home maintanence web sites and watched shows like "This Old House" on PBS, they really helped.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
13 Feb 08
Thank you so much! This is my very first house and I don't know that much about maintaining it but I'm learning fast. I thought making the attic airtight would help, silly me! I did think it odd that it was consistent all the way around the attic--duh! Thanks again!
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
15 Feb 08
I always turn the computer off if we are not sitting at it. I am nuts about turing things off we are not using. I do dry my clothes on a rack but we were having issues with them feeling stiff, I can t wait to try it out.
@theproperator (2429)
• United States
13 Feb 08
All are good suggestions.
We recently bought one of those swithcable vents we can hook to our dryer that diverts the warm air back inside when we dry our clothes. Of course, now I keep trying to schedule our laundry for what night of the week I think will be the coldest (I think it is irritating my BF a little!).
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
15 Feb 08
I would love to get one of thoes. Our air gets so dry in the house all winter and the moisture would help too.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
12 Feb 08
I think every little thing we do will help out a bit here and there. Every penny adds up.
