Misc. Saveing money thread

[sgalbo]

Home Lighting Tips

Enhancing lighting efficiency is one of the easiest ways to lower energy bills. Just try switching to compact fluorescent lighting indoors and outside. It’s almost four times as efficient as incandescent and lasts 12 times longer.

Exterior Lighting Tips:
Use outdoor lights with a timer or photocell so they turn off automatically in daylight.
Turn off decorative gas lamps. Eight gas lamps burning year-round use as much natural gas as it takes to heat an average-size home during the winter.
Choose long-lasting compact fluorescent bulbs for exterior lighting.
Install motion sensitive lighting. You’ll return to a well-lighted house and prowlers will stay away.
Purchase solar-powered security lights. You won’t have to get permits for underground installations.


Interior Lighting Tips:
Don’t light an entire room when task lighting will do.
Adjust lighting levels to your needs with three-way lamps.
Use 4-foot fluorescent fixtures with reflective backing and electronic ballasts in workroom, garage and laundry areas.
Use natural light by placing work areas near windows.
Replace halogen torchieres with compact fluorescent ones. They use less energy and are safer.
Turn off the lights when you are not in a room.
Install occupancy sensors, so lights go off automatically in unoccupied rooms.

[sgalbo]

Cold Weather Tips

Fall:
You’ll be turning your lights on sooner now, so make sure all of your lights are energy-efficient.
Energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs use up to 75% less electricity than the incandescent bulbs they replace.
Install your storm windows.
Weather-strip and caulk around doors and windows to limit air leaks. They could account for 10% of your home’s heat loss.
Many caulks will not cure if installed in cold weather, so caulk before the cold weather sets in.
Caulk around your sill plate where your foundation and house meet.

Winter:
Clean or replace the filter in your forced-air heating system monthly.
If every household in the United States lowered its average heating temperature 6° over a 24-hour period, we would save the equivalent of more than 570,000 barrels of oil per day.
If you have a simple, open masonry fireplace, consider installing doors or a chimney-top damper.
Insulate ceilings, walls and don’t forget floors over unconditioned crawl spaces.
Make sure that all air registers are not blocked by drapes, furniture, or rugs.

[sgalbo]

Warm Weather Tips

Spring:
Keep the windows closed during the day to retain the heat that you’ll want during the chilly spring nights.
Hang clothes outdoors as often as possible. When using the dryer, don’t overdry.
Don’t trash your grass! Compost or use it as a mulching agent.
Set your hot water thermostat no higher than 120°F.
Be sure your dishwasher is full when you run it. A typical dishwasher uses 14 gallons of hot water per load.

Summer:
Compact fluorescent lights are cooler than incandescent bulbs.
Take advantage of off-season rates and have your oil furnace serviced each summer.
Clean or replace air conditioning filters at least once a month.
Check the federal energy efficiency rating when purchasing an air conditioner.
Place refrigerators and freezers away from direct sunlight and other warm air sources.
Install low flow showerheads and faucet aerators

[sgalbo]

Be Energy-Wise when buying your next appliance.

While all appliances must meet federal minimum energy-efficiency standards, as indicated by the yellow and black EnergyGuide label that makes it easy to compare models, many manufacturers go beyond the standard. Consider ENERGY STAR® labeled products for your greatest savings. They use less energy than other products, save energy, money and our environment.

Tips to Lower Your Monthly Energy Bill
Is your refrigerator near the stove, dishwasher or heat vents? Move it, if you can; you’ll save money and energy.
Vacuum refrigerator coils four times a year. Dirt and pet hair build up and that makes your refrigerator work harder to keep your food cool.
Remember that old test…If you easily can pull a dollar bill from the refrigerator door, change the door gasket. You are losing cold air.
Use the energy saver option on your dishwasher. And clean the filter after each washing.
Wash clothing in cold water whenever possible. And, since a clothes dryer is one of the home’s biggest users of energy, how about letting Mother Nature blow your clothing dry on occasion.
Clean your dryer filter after each use.
Don’t over-dry clothing. You’ll save energy and reduce the heat’s wear and tear on your clothes.
Dry only full loads. Small loads are less economical.
Do a few loads in a row to take advantage of the dryer’s reserved heat.
Set your hot water heater no higher than 120 degrees. You’ll save 15 percent of your water-heating energy.
Buy a self-cleaning oven. They have higher insulation levels and use less energy than ordinary ovens.
Just like your refrigerator door, your oven door should shut tight. Do the dollar bill test and, if necessary, adjust or replace the gasket.
Clean reflectors do their job better. They reflect heat and save energy.

[Tom Trauberts Blues]

Those new flourescent bulbs (well, they're not very new these days, I guess it's been about a decade now) are really great energy savers. You get so much more light for the power, you really can see the difference in your bills at the end of the year.

[honkey]

Cool, thanks for the info.

[adamdiz]

VERY GOOD LIST OF INFO! Thanks a lot man.

[Byrn]

I heard one time That if your run a regular lightbulb for 100 hours for like 10 cents. Not sure if its true, but lightbulbs dont run up your bill, its things like tv's and fridges.