Lowering electric bills,,,?

amother

Seashell

Sun, Apr 23 2017, 2:31 am

I just moved and my electric bill was way higher than my old place. No heat used here. We try to limit lights and turn off when we aren't using them. But we now have a washer/dryer. How much does that cost to run usually? I feel like I use that at least daily (except shabbos of course!)

Any other tips for lowering electric use?

zaq

Sun, Apr 23 2017, 11:52 am

Look out for energy "vampires"--appliances with LED/LCD displays, built in clocks or instant-on features, like stove, microwave, coffeemaker, computer,radio,a/c. Don't just switch off; Unplug when not in use. Those little trickles powering the digital displays eat up a lot of juice. Also check fridge and freezer.Keep freezer as full as possible and fridge as empty as possible.

amother

Seashell

Sun, Apr 23 2017, 12:10 pm

Our bulbs are CLS or LEDs. (Was here when we moved in and will continue to use them...) I didn't have a washer or dryer before and I use it now often! Full loads too unless there is something truly truly disgusting like my kid who pooped all over their clothes (toilet training accident).
We don't run heat or air if we aren't home.

It was pesach too which equals 48 hours of air, lights etc. and lots of loads of rags and towels...
I see that things like the oven etc have light up displays all the time. We unplug our microwave so it doesn't use energy for ANOTHER clock. But we can't unplug or disable the display lights on built in appliances, the fridge/oven etc. (fridge light is taped down 24/7 because I would forget to tape for use on shabbos so only display light is glowing).
Any other tips?
What is a normal amount of electricity to use? 3BR, 1700 SF? I am worried about the summer when we will need to run the air...

zaq

Sun, Apr 23 2017, 12:11 pm

Just noticed you didn't have washer dryer before. Anything that heats is a big energy consumer. Wash on cold and line dry whenever possible. Is your dryer gas or electric? In the northeastern us, electricity is more expensive than gas and an electric dryer is really expensive to run. Also some washers are actually heating the water for hot or warm loads, not just taking hot water from the house plumbing. Find out if your washer is doing this.

MagentaYenta

Sun, Apr 23 2017, 12:17 pm

amother wrote:

...
What is a normal amount of electricity to use? 3BR, 1700 SF? I am worried about the summer when we will need to run the air...

Call your power company they have the data to answer your questions. They can come in and do an energy assessment so you can have a better idea of what's going on. Again I ask, what is the Energy Star data on the washer and dryer (and fridge)? Is your water heater gas or electric?

water_bear88

Sun, Apr 23 2017, 12:20 pm

amother wrote:

This probably doesn't work for central air, though maybe there's another way you can do it- but we have a special Shabbos timer for our air conditioner. No reason to run it for 48 hours straight just because one day on YT is supposed to be hot or because the days are hitting 85 but the nights are in the 60s.

Don't keep the thermostat so high in the winter or low in the summer- you can breathe just fine at 77 or so and no one's going to freeze in the high sixties if they have proper winter clothing such as turtlenecks and/or undershirts. If no newborns or elderly in the house, you may be able to manage warmer/cooler. Also, fans eat waaaay less electricity than AC units- we only turn on the AC when it's in the 90s or higher; otherwise, fans do a decent job.

amother

Seashell

Sun, Apr 23 2017, 12:27 pm

So we have it on but set for a temperature... 72 or so for air (it is hot here during the day)- it wasn't running constantly but whenever it got hotter than that it went off. Wasn't running all the time...

No place to line dry really. Outside is a small space and too dusty/dirty from pollution and just the roads. Inside the kids would yank it down and there isn't that much space for a rack.