Posted on 05/10/2008 7:58:35 AM PDT by BenLurkin
With summer finally kicking into gear across the country, you can almost hear the gentle hum of air conditioners ratcheting up. And with it, climbs home energy bills.
These days, the average household spends $1,900 annually on energy (based on electricity and gas usage), according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But much of that, say energy conservationists, is money wasted.
The good news: Cutting back doesn't mean you need to be a tree-hugging naturalist, suffering stoically as you read by candlelight. These days, you can do right by the environment and your pocketbook—without any major lifestyle sacrifices. In fact, by taking some relatively painless steps, you can cut your bills by one-third or more.
Here are eight easy ways to save this summer (including a few tips that will work year-round).
1. Upgrade Your Thermostat
Are you the type who likes to chill after a sticky workday by coming home to a house that's as cool as a meat locker? You can live this dream and cut your energy costs by investing in a programmable thermostat. These handy little devices allow you to cool your home at different temperatures at specific times.
So you could, for example, turn down the AC during the day, when your family is away from home—and crank it up again 30 minutes before the first family member returns. Or, you could turn it down during the wee hours of the morning, when no one's likely to notice a shift in temperature.
Installing a programmable thermostat shouldn't set you back more than $100 to $150—and the energy savings can be substantial. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), you could cut your heating and cooling bills by 10% annually just by turning your thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours a day.
2. Go Green
Ok—this will require a bit of effort on your part, but the returns are twofold: Planting just three shady trees around your house not only can whack $100 to $250 off your annual heating and cooling costs, according to the DOE, but will most likely make your yard more attractive, to boot. (Leafy trees can shield the house from direct sunlight, keeping temperatures down, while still permitting sunlight to hit your house during the winter months.)
Not interested in nurturing your green thumb? Simply pulling the shades (or drawing your curtains) can cut energy costs as well, says Mel Hall-Crawford, an energy efficiency expert at the Consumer Federation of America.
3. Keep It Clean
Keeping your air-conditioning unit clean and in peak performance is another big money saver. To kick the summer off, your AC unit should have a professional tune up (expect to pay somewhere between $90 and $120), says Maria Vargas, an Energy Star spokesperson at the EPA. (Energy Star is a joint program run by the EPA and the DOE that, among other things, deems certain products energy-efficient.) And air-conditioning filters (regardless of whether you have central air or an individual unit) should generally be checked every month or so to see if they need cleaning or replacement. This is something you should be able to do on your own.
Another item to add to your spring cleaning list: Dusting off your refrigerator condenser coils, says Hall-Crawford. This will make the unit run more efficiently.
4. Buy a Better Bulb
Compact fluorescent light bulbs (called CFLs) require 75% less energy than traditional (officially called incandescent) light bulbs, and last up to 10 times longer, according to the ASE. Be sure to look for CFLs with the Energy Star label, since these bulbs won't have any buzzing or humming problems, promises Energy Star's Reed. These bulbs now come in smaller sizes (called subcompacts) that can fit into any lamp, and they have a wider color spectrum. According to the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), replacing just four well-used 100-watt incandescent bulbs with equivalent 23-watt CFLs will save you $120 to $200 over three years.
Also, do you still have one of those halogen lamps leftover from your college days? (You know—those tall lamps that didn't cost much more than a couple of pizzas to buy?) Do yourself a favor: Dump it. Not only are these dangerous fire starters, but their bulbs, which can generate temperatures of 700 to 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, are energy hogs as well, says Vargas. That makes them considerably less inexpensive than they seemed back in the day.
5. Join the Fan Club
A ceiling fan can balance out a room's temperature, allowing you to turn down the AC and still feel cool.
6. Unplug
Even when all of your home electronics are turned off, many continue to suck down energy. The main culprits: televisions, VCRs, DVD players, stereos, phones and microwave ovens. (Generally, anything that has a clock, a remote control or an on/off light falls into this category.) In fact, idle TVs cost U.S. consumers $600 million annually, or $5 per household, according to the EPA. One solution: Plug the items that can truly be turned completely off into a power strip, and then use that as your on/off switch.
7. Fight Leaks
Your pricey, cooled air might be leaking right out of your house. Leaky windows and ducts (which carry the air to the rooms in your home) are two ways that cool air can be lost, making your air conditioner work harder. "We have found that as many as 70% of ducts are installed with leaks," says Vargas. Having your ducts properly sealed and insulated could save you as much as 10% in energy costs, according to the EPA. So if you think your duct system is faulty, try to have it checked out by an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) technician. (One way to find one is to visit the North American Technician Excellence web site.)
8. Be a Savvy Shopper
By far the biggest way to save is to invest in energy-efficient appliances. When shopping around, look for the Energy Star label. There are more than 44 product categories that qualify.
Of course, replacing your appliances (particularly the biggies, like a refrigerator or dishwasher) will require an upfront investment. But if you've got an old clunker, you could recoup your costs quickly. For example, if your central-air-conditioning unit is more than 10 years old, replacing it with an Energy Star-qualified model could cut your operating costs by 30%.
Not everybody
Great idea. Leaves should be out in about a month and then we'll have shade from that burning 70 degree sun for a month. Then the trees will hold the heat when it is below freezing for the next nine months.
I was at someones house one time and saw one of them start smoking. They didn't use the light much, just when they were using their computer. But their computer room was on another floor. That thing could have very well caught on fire when they were down stairs or out of the room.
Fans can be just as dangerous. One of them started burning at a friends house.
If this had happen in the early morning hours he probably wouldn’t be here. It was one of those cheap $29.99 “bargains” he got at a large hardware store. Chinese junk.
well i bought the bullet and started switching over to energy efficient bulbs. got about 3/4 of the highly used lights transitioned so far.
i just want to save money on my energy bills somewhere lord knows it isnt going to come from my oil bill
That dog looks like it’s just walking away in disgust...
and why are those boys wearing camo? The only battle those guys would face is the one not to crap themselves if an enemy came towards them in a threatening manner.
Those aren't guys, those are the chicks.
We replaced both the washer and dishwasher this winter - our city decided to make up revenue by jacking up water rates.
A short excursion into cost-benefit analysis reveiled that water-sipping Bosch appliences were quite cost effective, in the short term - and a huge money saver in the long.
But not - I did not do this to save the friggin’ planet, or whatever.
I did it because I am Scottish. LOL.
Be uncomfortable, and sweat more.
Go back to the old days....An occasional walk through the lawn sprinkler is refreshing AND FUN!!
I save $ by keeping the thermostat at 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter. My summer AC bill is significantly lower than my neighbor who cranks the AC at 70 degrees.
Because I’m cheap I’ve already done most of this. Last week I switched electric providers to save two cents per/kwh over my old provider plus an extra 10% during the Texas super summer months of June-September. I am NOT doing without my air conditioner!
I like your attitude because I must have Scottish blood in me too. It has nothing to do with going green, saving the whales or reducing my carbon footprint. It’s totally because I don’t like giving other people my hard earned money. I even drive a fuel efficient car, lol.
I don’t own a fuel-efficient car.
I just arranged my life to drive as little as possible.
LOL, I have the fuel efficient car AND drive as little as possible. I’m telling ya, I’m cheap!
What are they supposed to be doing in this picture?
$5 a year so that I don't have to go and plug the TV in every time I turn it on? What a deal!
A/C in southern Texas a must. Switched to TXU two years ago - now if we only had a choice for our gas heat. Son went with TXU also - for him, a $50 and a round trip airline ticket which we’re using for trip early June - ended saving $600 - plus I recd credit of $50 - pretty good bang for the buck. Also bought a case of each of the kind of “regular” GE light bulbs that I normally use at a great price. Have home office, work 60-70 hours/week. Haven’t changed out a light bulb in slightly more than 2 years so supply I have should last at least another 10 years and if I have to replace one of the spots in my bathroom or ceiling fans, the ones I continue to use won’t look stupid!
Word of caution. Most HVAC techs are not equipped to determine whether a duct system is leaking or not. It requires specialized equipment.
A non-leaking duct system will save much more energy much more rapidly than just about any other modification. I particularly liked the one about planting trees. Save lots of energy in five or ten years!
Kind of a dumb statement. Every duct system leaks. The only question is how much. I believe the standard is to allow 10% leakage. However, in one study in SC, some of the systems leaked up to 50%.
BTW, leaking supply ducts cause other problems, especially in humid climates, by pulling in humid outside air.
Generating “peace energy.”
Where I live it can be a 40 degree swing between day and night. We have a whole house fan that sucks the cooler night air from the outdoors and vents through the attic.
Wow, I just dumped TXU. Every provider in my area beat them on price. I guess they are more competitive in other parts of the state — I’m in central Texas. I went with Reliant at a savings of over 2 cents per kwh, plus 10% off for the summer months and a $50 credit on my first bill.
What a surprise. Live in Houston suburb-Reliant is the last company anyone wants! Some friends have GEXA which seems pretty good. Seems like overall rates in Houston are higher than others. So much for cheaper thru deregulation!
I was given a Bosch washer/dryer for Mother’s Day 6-7 years ago. Not only are they energy efficient, but actually launder better than the other (GE/Kenmore) machines I’ve had over the years. Also, they use only 1/4 the detergent and fabric softener, so the long term savings really are substantial.
Go figure. Reliant wasn’t competitive here until recently. I just checked my terms to make sure I had my info correct for you — I signed a two year contract at 11.7 cents per kwh for the summer and 13.0 per kwh for the remainder of the term with no monthly service charge, no deposit and a $50 credit. This is about as cheap as it gets around here and I figured prices could only go up over the next two years. TXU’s best price was .15/kwh.
See? cool toys. Frick the earth, I just want to save money.
Oh, swell. Three genuinely pathetic-sized trees (no more than about fifteen feet high) will cost roughly a thousand dollars apiece, depending on the variety. And they will do jack to shade the house. In order to generate real shade you need something BIG that actually casts a dense shadow.
I know this is true. I had two large beautiful trees in my front yard that seriously shaded my house, but lost them in a hurricane several years ago. My energy costs skyrocketed. It was a disaster. I tried to replace them but there was no way--replacements that were much smaller would have cost $20K apiece. Replacing them would be economically efficient for Al Gore, with his utility bill, but not for us mere mortals.
“Frick the earth, I just want to save money.”
Got that right !
Reliant has had a big advertising push down here. Current advertised rate for my zip is 13.8 per kwh plus $4.50/service charge per month. Also have a 10% discount during summer providing you sign up for level billing and 24 months. Since my son did get an airline ticket worth $600 which I now don’t have to pay for as it was my treat, figure I still come out ahead for the next 2 years. I feel same about Reliant as I do SBT. Been boycotting Reliant for 2 years now since they first hosted a Mexican Fiesta celebration 2 years running on the 4th of July at the stadium. One of my soap boxes. Happy Mother’s Day!
Happy Mother’s Day to you too. That airline ticket is a definite bonanza. Time will tell if I did well or not but there was no way I could justify staying with TXU when I could get a much lower rate. Mexican Fiesta, huh? I know how you feel — I have issues with HEB over this sort of thing. I swear sometimes I have to search for English in there.
and...
they’re sooooooo quiet!
and...
you can actually take a shower while one is running
and not get scalded because of the rinse cycle ;)
there’s alot to be said for cool, money saving, new toys :D
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