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Illusionary
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Ventilate your house....and use the sun to heat and cool it. You can cut so damn much electricity when you let your home work for you.
http://www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebo...lGuide1-2.html
And adding power strips can make a big difference as well.
http://www.pfadvice.com/2006/04/24/p...financial-tip/
These are the handouts I leave with Clients:
Quote:
Wattage of Common Household Appliances
Appliances Resistive Load Reactive Load
Blender 375 watts 500 watts
Clock Radio 5 watts ---
Coffee Maker 1,700 watts ---
Computer - PC 300 watts ---
Cuisinart 450 watts 650 watts
Deep Fryer 1,800 watts ---
Electric Blanket 400 watts ---
Electric Curlers 300 watts ---
Frying Pan 1,250 watts ---
Hair Dryer 1,875 watts ---
Iron 1,200 watts ---
Light Bulbs see marking on bulb
Microwave 1,050-2,500 watts ---
Washing Machine 1,150 watts 2,200 watts
Water Heater 4,000 watts ---
TV - Color 300 watts ---
The average central air unit uses 5000 watts to start, and 3500 to run
The average 7000 btu window unit uses 750-1500 watts
It's a myth that leaving the AC on while you're away at work uses less energy than turning it on when you get home. Here's why:
Heat goes to where it's not. With the AC off, your house will absorb heat from outside, but at some point it will be so hot it can't absorb any more heat. When you come home and turn the AC on, the AC has to remove the accumulated heat only once.
But if the AC is on when you're gone, then your house is constantly absorbing heat because your AC is constantly cooling down the house. The AC has basically turned your house into a heat magnet. So your AC is removing absorbed heat over and over and over again.
Tips for saving money on cooling and air conditioning costs
In the typical home, air conditioning uses more electricity than anything else -- 16% of total electricity used. In warmer regions AC can be 60-70% of your summer electric bill. If you're serious about saving energy, address your cooling costs first, since that's what uses the most electricity.
Of course, you'll save the most money if you can learn to do without your AC at all. It's definitely possible. A combination of ceiling fans, insulation, and using passive solar techniques can save you hundreds of dollars every summer..
A window unit AC uses 500 to 1440 watts, while a 2.5-ton central system uses about 3500 watts. That's a lot of energy. A floor fan uses only 100 watts on the highest speed, and ceiling fans use only 15 to 95 watts depending on speed and size.
Let me put into perspective how wasteful central AC is: Running your AC 12 hours a day for three weeks uses more energy than leaving the refrigerator door open 24 hours a day for a whole year. (Fridge open 24/7: 180 watts x 13 extra hours day x 365 days/yr. = 854 kWh.)
Try cooling your home to only 80 degrees (or warmer) instead of the 70's. This is especially easy to do if you have ceiling fans. Each degree below 78 will increase your energy use by 3-4%.
Run climate control for one hour. Rather than trying to keep things cold all day, allow the insulating properties of your home to work for you. Periodically halting the cooling process of your house will retain the colder temperature, and allow the air to circulate throughout. The use of fans (ceiling preferred) use far less electricity. Should the home become too warm again, repeat the one hour rule.
Use the evening chill to your advantage. As the sun sets and temperatures drop it’s a good idea to begin using passive solar. By allowing the cooler air into your home until the morning warm up, you can lower the temperature of your home until noon without the use of Air Conditioning.
Phantom Electricity
Regardless of pressing the power button on your remote, the TV is still on. While a single appliance by itself would not be a big deal, when you add up all the different appliances and systems you have, the phantom electricity load will reach $20 a year in most homes and can even reach $100+ in houses that have a lot of electronics. To put it into perspective, the average TV’s phantom electricity load costs about $5 - $10 a year. If you use your microwave oven an average of 7 minutes a day or less, the clock will use more electricity during the year than microwave itself! When you start adding in the stereo systems, VCRs, DVD players, answering machines, fax machines, electric razors, electric toothbrushes, computers, printers, scanners, modems, routers and kitchen appliances, the energy used becomes more significant. In fact, TVs and VCRs alone cost Americans $1 billion a year in electric bills while not in use.
The first step to figuring out how much energy may be wasted in phantom electricity is why we take a stroll around your house to see what is plugged into all of your electricity outlets. If it’s an appliance that you don’t use regularly, we recommend simply unplugging it. If it’s an appliance which us used regularly, consider placing all the appliances in that general area onto a power strip which can be switched on and off easily. By taking these steps you can save some money on your electricity bill and cut down on electricity waste at the same time with little effort on your part.
Compact Fluorescent and LED Lights:
While compact fluorescent (CF) light bulbs cost more than regular incandescent light bulbs, they use about two-thirds less energy and last years longer. A basic rule of thumb is that you can save $10 a year in electricity cost for each 100 watt bulb you replace (this includes factoring in the extra cost of the light bulb and the longer life it has).
Light-emitting diode (LED) lighting requires an initial investment, but they use 80 - 90% less electricity than standard lights and last up to 5 times as long as any other bulb. In addition, due to the way they are made, they are virtually indestructible. Household LED light bulbs can outlast regular bulbs more than 30 to 1, so imagine not having to change that hard-to-reach bulb for 10 years! A standard 40 watt incandescent bulb rated at 1,000 hours in its lifetime will use about $5 in electricity. A 5 watt LED bulb giving out the same amount of light will use $30 of electricity during its rated 50,000 hour lifetime - that is $240 using standard incandescent and only $30 using LED lamps over the operating time of 50,000 hours, and you only buy one bulb.
The efficiency of LED home lighting is hard to beat. With energy efficient light bulbs you save money, you will make your home safer and more secure and you do something good for the environment -- all at the same time!
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Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha
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