Saving Money on Energy- heat, etc.

[Sachita]

Its that time of year. Like many of you I need to save money and nothing sucks up dollars like heating during the winter. I have to heat my house, my dogs and my greenhouse. Its not uncommon for me to have 500.00 a month in bills, mostly from heating.

I'd like to start a thread on saving money. I recently purchased infrared heaters for my home, dogs and greenhouse. (see blog link below)

I have to say that I'm impressed with the way these heat and they have come down in price. I need to insulate my pipes better and may very well just run these. I even bought one for the greenhouse.

what temp do you keep your home and do you find yourself turning your thermostat way down to save money?
tips? ideas? bitching?

[katsarecool]

I can relate!! I am on a limited budget and live in an airy ole house. If I am not careful my bills can get very high as well. To complicate things I have fibromyalgia which means I do not tolerate extreme temps very well or constrictive clothing which is necessary in the winter. Warm comfortable woolen socks are a must. I always wear slippers.

What I do is to put up plastic on the inside of my windows as thick as I can get. I also have sealers for the doors. I keep an electric blanket; an energy efficent one. I dress in layers; loose soft warm clothing including thermal underwear in bright sping colors some with flowers and kittens. LOL

First thing in the morning I open all the blinds and drapes to let in the sunlight. At dark I close everything up to keep in the heat. I turn off all appliances that are not in use by unplugging the surge protectors because even if they are off while plugged in they still pull power.

I keep the thermostat at 68. I lowered the thermostat down on the water heater. There is only me so no need to keep that large thing heating water very hot all the time.

I also roll up a small carpet in front of the doors especially at night.

Good topic and looking forward to reading how other deal with winter time utlility bills.

[diamondrose]

My roommate and I do a few things to try and save on the heating bill. We seal most of our windows but still leave a few open to open during the days when it gets near the 80's, to warm the house. We also let the sunlight in during the day. Since I work nights, I am up alot during the night, so I do most of our cooking late in the evening or at night on the nights I am off. My roommates room is right off the kitchen. Cooking helps warm his side of the house quite a bit. I have a heating blanket on my bed and my roommate has a heater built into his water bed. We keep the heat around 67 degrees.

[diamondrose]

I thought of some other things we do. My roommate is my best friend. He and I will do laundry together most times, instead of seperate, to save on electricity.

Also, in the day time, I almost never turn on lights. Plus, I sleep during the day so that helps alot.

When I purchased my heating blanket, I bought a twin size one and it fits my full size bed perfectly!

[Sachita]

I was going around and unplugging everything but its hard to remember and often it means pulling furniture out or climbing behind things. I think someone should come out with an outlet that has a sensor that automatically knows when to kick the power off and on. That would be a real popular item.

I have storm windows but they are not great. I'm hoping to start replacing windows window one by one. I'd really love to replace my doors but its an old house and few things are standard here.

I'm going to get that yellow foam shit in a can and see if I can button up some pipe draft.

They tell me my central air/heat pump is needing to be replaced. I dont think I'm going to do that. It's a power hog and even the energy efficient ones suck it up. I used a window unit this summer to cool and barely used it. I used the air more for the dogs then myself. I just need to find an affordable way to heat.

[Diva]

When my Dad passed away, there was money left to bring the house up to snuff in case I wanted to sell it (which I didn't).

One of the things I did was have new windows installed.....energy efficient, of course! The difference it's made in my heating/cooling bills is substantial. I went from a nearly-$500 summer bill to a little less than $200. I know. Heating went from $200-ish to just over $100. It has blown me away!

I really wanted to put in a tankless water heater, but couldn't justify the cost. I did wind up getting a new water heater which was more energy efficient.

My space heater is amazing and I use that until I just can't stay warm. I've used my heat only 2 times so far.

My dream would be to put solar panels on my roof.....we have a lot of sun here in Austin! But Diva will have to win the lottery to do that! (And yes....I'd stay in this house if that ever happened! I'd just buy an island somewhere, too! )

[Sachita]

I definitely want to change the windows and doors. I know that will help a lot. I've checked people to install and there are no deals yet.

Electric blankets use a lot of power. I also bought a twin.

I just ordered coats for my dogs to wear inside. lol- I'm actually contracting a lady to make coats and beds for dogs using crypton fabric. I have a few designs I'm working on. If I can get them warm I'll be ok. I'll be reselling the beds and coats btw & a portion is going towards helping people that are struggling and need help with their pets until they get settled.
Most dog coats never stay on when playing. Mine will stay on.

I did purchase a fireplace blower but it seemed like it put more smoke in the room. I had a wood stove insert but for that small room it was just too hot.

[DomnNC]

I don't know how many have ceiling fans but there is a switch on your ceiling fan, in the winter time you want to set the switch so your fans turn in a clockwise fashion, that way it forces the warm air that has risen back down towards the floor. In the summertime you set them to run counterclockwise, it will pull the cool air from the floor upwards helping to cool your house as well.

As for those pesky outlets hidden behind furniture and what not, buy some timers from your local Lowes or hardware stores and set the timer to turn your surge protector on and off at designated times during the day.

Also, caulking those old windows and around old door frames will help keep your warm or cool air inside during the day and night.

Also, your power outlets and light switches are a source or heat/cool air loss as well, they make foam rubber backings that you can put behind those outlets and light switches to keep your air loss to a minimal.

Also, they have foam wraps for your pipes as well.

One other thing, the vents on the outside of your house. You should open those in the summer time allowing hot air to escape from under your home. You should close them in the wintertime to keep cold air from circulating under your house and keeping your floors cold.

[bright_arrow]

Most of our windows are only about 2 ft tall, just the long, short ones up near the ceiling. Our only two normal windows are in the living room. We still need to put up the plastic lining, but we have invested in the eclipse curtains (and put up blinds this summer) to help block out some of the cold.

Since we have one space heater and spend a lot of time in the living room, we decided to put up heavy curtains across our living room doorway. It has helped to keep a lot of the heat in, and on really cold nights we sleep on the pull-out couch bed as opposed to relying on each other for warmth in bed

Our electric bill hasn't been too bad - last month was $140 - but I still am thinking that we should unplug stuff when it's not in use.. I just need to work around the plug in's for the aquarium, and the Christmas tree.. Because I like it on 24/7 when I am in the living room. It might also help I suppose if my laptop didn't stay turned on and plugged in 24/7.. LOL

Thank you for this thread!

[Sachita]

the outlet insulators are great and cheap. I couldn't believe the cold air blowing from them.

[Glenn]

Originally Posted by Sachita

the outlet insulators are great and cheap. I couldn't believe the cold air blowing from them.

I know they're cheap, but why buy em? I'll just take off the plate and trace and cutout the outline over those thin foam trays that hold meat and dfferent food. As for window insulation, I have over 100 windows in my house, and I bought those 8x10 2 inch thick styrofoam insulation sheets for less than 10 dollars. No nails or screws, easy to cut to fit in the window snug, easy to store, can be reused year after year.

i have large, old windows in my house, no centrl AC or heat. i have winow Ac's in two of the rooms and several ciling fans. in the summer, i run only one window AC, depending upon which room i'm in. in the winter, i keep the termostat turned way down and pile the blankets on when i'm in bed and waer laots of layers when i'm not! plus, my heating bill has been outrageously low, prob. due to the fact that the meter readers couldn't get the termotstat! *grin* however, my mother jus had the bushes trimmed and the trimmers trimmed a nice walkway to the meter, so i'm expecting the gas bill to go way up this month! we shall see!
pres

[Glenn]

Originally Posted by Pres

i have large, old windows in my house, no centrl AC or heat. i have winow Ac's in two of the rooms and several ciling fans. in the summer, i run only one window AC, depending upon which room i'm in. in the winter, i keep the termostat turned way down and pile the blankets on when i'm in bed and waer laots of layers when i'm not! plus, my heating bill has been outrageously low, prob. due to the fact that the meter readers couldn't get the termotstat! *grin* however, my mother jus had the bushes trimmed and the trimmers trimmed a nice walkway to the meter, so i'm expecting the gas bill to go way up this month! we shall see!
pres

Well, what you don't want is an estimated bill in my town because they may charge you 500 a month for only 300 in actual useage if the reader can't make it out. So if I know it's gonna snow or get super cold, I'll call in my own reading so I don't get that estimated bill!

[Gemme]

I live in a studio. It's so darn small that, even if I run the heat or air constantly, it's never high.

[Tommi]

Originally Posted by Gemme

I live in a studio. It's so darn small that, even if I run the heat or air constantly, it's never high.

I live in Southern California. Close enough for an ocean breeze in summer, and warm sun in the winter. I have a gas fireplace in the living room I have never used.

I do wear socks in the winter because the hardwood floors and tile get cold.

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Tommi

I live in Southern California. Close enough for an ocean breeze in summer, and warm sun in the winter. I have a gas fireplace in the living room I have never used.

I do wear socks in the winter because the hardwood floors and tile get cold.

Our lease is up in February here and we're looking for a place with hardwood (or fakewood...either or) and/or tile and/or laminate. NO. MORE. CARPET.

Blech.

Besides, I like to do the Risky Business slide while in socks.

[katsarecool]

My second laugh of the day Gemme; both from you!!! LOL

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by katsarecool

My second laugh of the day Gemme; both from you!!! LOL

Yaaaaay!!!

Laughing is good for saving money on heating! It not only warms you up but exercises your abdominals.

[katsarecool]

Well they gettin' a work out today!!! Now back to the regularly scheduled program. Saving da' money!!! LOL

[Sachita]

Originally Posted by popcorninthesofa

I know they're cheap, but why buy em? I'll just take off the plate and trace and cutout the outline over those thin foam trays that hold meat and dfferent food. As for window insulation, I have over 100 windows in my house, and I bought those 8x10 2 inch thick styrofoam insulation sheets for less than 10 dollars. No nails or screws, easy to cut to fit in the window snug, easy to store, can be reused year after year.

lol- have at it! They are cheap enough, save enough, cost effective enough for me. The time I spend tracing, cutting and such I can make three times that working and I'm giving someone else a job. Maybe IF I ate meats and such that had Styrofoam I might be so inclined to recycle but I purposely try not to purchase products that use it.

The sheets of thick Styrofoam you put in the window, doesnt that block the light? I'm lucky that I dont have a lot of windows, I guess, when it comes to winter. I'm going to install some sliding glass doors to let more light in but I'm waiting to save and get the super duper double argon pane doors.