Monday, October 13, 2008

How to save on your Electric Bill Part 2

Now lets deal with those other energy loses that you can eliminate. Let’s start in the kitchen. If you have an electric range make sure your pan is on the burner with the closest fit. If it’s too big you are losing heat into the air and if it’s too small then it will take forever to heat. Make sure you are using lids on your pans this traps the heat in and lets what your cooking heat up faster. (This will save you gas if you have a gas stove.)
Get a toaster oven for cooking small meals. I love my toaster oven and use it for many different meals. Because of its small size it takes less time and electricity to preheat it. Don’t use your microwave for heating water or other liquids you actually use less electricity using your stove.

Use a clothes line instead of a dryer. Your clothes will be just as dry but you’ll be saving money. I use a fold up indoor clothes dryer, my husband has allergies and I don’t want to aggravate them by hanging the clothes outside. In the winter it also adds some moisture to the air which in the winter is much needed. If you have to use the dryer make sure you clean out the lint filter it not only makes your dryer run more efficiently but prevents a fire hazard too. If you are planning to replace your washing machine then look for a front loading machine it’s more expensive initially but it will not only save you electricity but water too and it is less stressful for your clothes which helps keeping them from wearing out as fast. Of course you’ve probably already heard that you should be using cold water instead of hot right?

Now for a biggie did you know that even when you T.V., VCR, Microwave, Computer, and other appliances are off they are burning through your electricity? It’s true the actual amount seems to vary depending on who you listen too but the amount is between 26% to 75%. Maybe % depends on how many appliances the study you read had plugged in. I don’t know about you but I don’t like paying for electricity that I’m not really using. Now to save you sometime, instead of going around your home and unplugging everything you need during the day, I suggest you use power strips. The convenient off switch allows you to shut down what ever is plugged into it with one click and turn them on just as quick.

Well this is all I can think of at the moment but if I think of more you know where you’ll find them. Do you have any tips feel free to share them I wouldn’t mind a few more ideas to help lower those bills.

3 comments:

Jackie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jackie said...

Had to remove last comment as had finger trouble LOL Thanks for visiting.

Good posts with great info.

In South Africa our electricity usage has exceeded our generation of it so we, both private and business, are having outages and pay penalties if we do not cut down by at least 10%. This is fabulous for the environment even if it has bankrupted a few of the small businesses who didn't handle the outages well.

Petula said...

These are great tips. I am guilty of the TV thing. Because I have a really old one that is dying I leave it on because there is no picture when I finally turn it on. It's such a waste though especially since I don't watch everyday. The DVR has screensaver so I just put it on menu and the dark screensaver rolls until... well, it doesn't matter, huh? :)

I didn't know I was using less electricity by boiling my water on the stove. I stopped using the microwave for that because I figured it was healthier to do it on the stove.

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