Cutting Energy Costs

I took a look at our energy bill online late last night, and while it is lower than last years at this time, it needs to be even lower.

One way I am going to lower it is to send in our meter reading every month. Hopefully they use it rather than the estimates our power company seems to love to employ. I will be doing a reading sometime between the 26th of this month and the 3rd of next month. I can hardly wait to see if they actually use it when calculating our bill.

Some other ways of cutting costs are to actually use the programmable thermostat we installed a few years ago, or turn down the heat during the day by a degree or two (already did one degree and once we are used to it down it goes again). I don't want to be uncomfortable though, freezing and catching a bad cold is not going to happen.

I am also slowly but surely replacing all the compact CFL's and incandescent bulbs with LED's. While LED's are a bit more expensive they use less power, give off a better light and last for years.

We have surge protectors on most of our electronics and while I have been turning the power off at the bar, I need to get a bit more diligent with this.

Harvey is getting much better at turning off lights when he leaves a room. I am hoping he continues to improve. The more lights we remember to turn off the better the savings will add up. I have a habit of turning on the light in the dining room and leaving it on for most of the day. This is where our computer is located and for some reason I always thought I needed that light in order to work on the computer. Not so. The last few days I have turned it off and can work just fine.

The water heater has been turned down a little bit. We have talked about insulating the water heater but have decided that since it is in the middle of the house, this might prove slightly difficult. However once the basement renovations are done we plan on insulating the old part of the house to see if that will help with reducing energy and electrical costs.

We did not caulk or fix weather stripping on doors this year so as soon as possible this is going to get done.

We use heavy drapes and blinds in the front of the house, but not in the back. I plan on picking up some heavy fabric and making some new curtains for the addition to the house. This is where the bedrooms are and since they haven't had new drapes in about 15 years it is about time. Blinds will wait for a bit.

I already open and close the blinds and drapes in the front of the house. These windows face south and so get a great deal of sun. In the winter opening them on sunny days heats the front of the house, keeping them closed in the brightest and hottest part of the day in the summer keeps the house cooler.

Doors to rooms not in use are supposed to be closed, but both Harvey and I slip up on this one. We really need to improve.

Harvey is going to check the insulation in the roof this summer. He thinks we might have to add some more.

I am also using my microwave more, and I plan on pulling out the electric roasting oven as well as the slow cooker. When I use the oven, well it will be for cooking more than one item.

Here is hoping I can get that electrical bill lower yet.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.