What have you done/are you doing to conserve electricity?

[Outsider]

I'm just wondering how many of you guys are actively looking for way to save more electricity at home? The common ways are using CFL lights, and more energy efficient appliances.

What about computers? I know some of you have 2, 3, 4 or more PC at home...

I want some ideas of what you've done/are currently doing about using less electricity.

[brunes]

I'm just wondering how many of you guys are actively looking for way to save more electricity at home? The common ways are using CFL lights, and more energy efficient appliances.

What about computers? I know some of you have 2, 3, 4 or more PC at home...

I want some ideas of what you've done/are currently doing about using less electricity.

Install timed light switches in high-traffic areas of the house. Lights come on instantly when you enter a room and turn off ~ 1 minute after no motion is detected. Saves power for people who can not get into the habit of always turning off lights when you leave a room.

[brute33]

i have cfl's everywhere.
i bought a wood pellet stove (saves oil)
i have 3 computers (home based business). i put them all on sleep mode when not in use.
installed ceiling fans in all the bedrooms (we don't have AC).
we hang our clothes as much as possible.
i have a front load washer
i have a thermostat controlled dryer (stops when dry-not by time)
changed all 7 basement windows to modern Low E with Argon. Installed a brand new patio door with the same specs as well.
bought a new energystar fridge
in the near future i would like to install a tankless water heater.

[Drthorne]

we have a natural gas cloths dryer
switched most lights to CFL
use our natural gas bbq year round
no central air conditoner, but we do have window units in the bedrooms for sleeping at night
put some more insulation in the attic

[notanexpert]

...
I want some ideas of what you've done/are currently doing about using less electricity.

1. use mostly gas appliances: the stove and dryer are huge energy hogs and using gas saves lots of money on the power bill while adding little to the gas bill.
2. use a european front-loading washing machine that uses about 1/3 of the water of a regular top-loading one, therefore saving lots on the water heating component as well.

I think the amount you can save by using CFL's is a drop in a bucket compared to the savings available by using the above appliances. Probably the best bang for your buck is a $500 gas dryer, unless you dry your clothes on a clothes line/rack. That's not always possible for us.

[joshmxpx]

i have power bars for both the pc and the home theater.

when everything is off, the whole room is still lit up by all the standy lights and what not. plug everything into a power bar and flick the switch, then everything is really off.

probably doesn't save much, but makes me feel better than wasting all that "phantom" power

i think europe passed new legislation that all electronics must not have standby modes that slowly drain power.

[st7860]

don't overclock your pc. lol.

[sonic]

i wash with cold water....i use to hang my towels in the basement but i found they have a "funky" smell...so unless its warm enough to line dry outside i use the dryer. :(

also need to put plastic around my attic window...its freezing up there.

[stealth]

I'd like to see hydro companies lead the way by eliminating their monthly "minimum charge" meaning that in some areas, even if you have zero usage in a given month, you will still be charged a minimum....Nothing "green" about that. Not so much of an issue in the city, but certainly in cottage country.

[brunes]

I'd like to see hydro companies lead the way by eliminating their monthly "minimum charge" meaning that in some areas, even if you have zero usage in a given month, you will still be charged a minimum....Nothing "green" about that. Not so much of an issue in the city, but certainly in cottage country.

That charge doesn't have anything to do with being green. Does your phone company send you a $0 bill when you don't make any call sin a month?

[gordholio]

Mostly, I keep my lights to a minimum (just enough to see after the sun goes down) and I have CFL bulbs installed.
I can't do anything about my heat, because I'm in an apartment (it's those electric baseboard heaters), but I think I put the heat on once last winter (I live above a laundromat).
The temperature in the winter is probably around 60 F in the winter (I like it cool at night).
When I get something out of the fridge, I don't keep the door open (close it immediately and then reopen it if I need something else).
My stove is electric (can't do anything about that).

I just do the best I can do and not worry too much about it.

[mau108]

1. Swapped almost every bulb in the house for either CFL or LED type bulbs.
2. set the digital thermostate to lower temps in the heat (higher in the cool) so it doesn't kick in till we begin to freeze or melt lol (im kidding)
3. Using "energy efficient" power supplies on all my computers and droopped the usage on these machines.
4. Gas stove and gas dryer and energy efficient appliances (house is quite new so all new energy efficient appliances were put in)
5. Have those windows that seal well and don't let the heat or cool out (I believe they are called low e argon or something)

[Doordog]

We all need more education on solar and wind energy i have enough solar panels to operate my house but need deals on inverters and batteries 1 panel can operate a computer,t.v.,dvd player.
Can save hundreds and sell power back to ontario hydro.

[sleepyguy]

We try to do what we can,

Recycle
We donate when we can (better than in a land fill)
All flourescent lights
All Energy Star Appliances
GO train to work (more out of necessity)
Own one car (not the most fuel efficient but definately not a gas guzzler, Mazda 3 hatch)
of course programmable thermostat (our A/C was hardly used this year)
also we air dry most of our clothes

Next house I'll probably...

Start composting
Cut down to one garbage bag every 2 weeks instead of every week
Scooter to Go Train

[gordholio]

When I was young, we lived out in the country (200 feet in from highway 27 at the time) near Midland. My dad composted and we had a fire barrel where we burned our garbage. I remember I used to have to search through the ashes when they were cool (with a rake and wearing gloves) to remove any aluminum foil or tin (at the time) cans.
The ashes were then raked into the soil in the garden.
Compost was taken from a small container in the house and dumped into a cut off barrel my Dad got from work and cut. Then, when it was broken down after a while, it was raked into the garden.
This was before it was "cool" to do these types of things - and before yuppies (the Seventies).

[canabiz]

I got most of the above, to save my money and the environment

[Portwest]

Similar to the other posters, I use CFL bulbs and turn off appliances (like the PC) when they're not in use. I hang up many of my clothes to day, and have solar lights in my yard.

[granite_grrl]

That charge doesn't have anything to do with being green. Does your phone company send you a $0 bill when you don't make any call sin a month?

But if they didn't have the same standard monthly charges for everyone I would make even more effort to reduce my energy consumption. The monthly charges by far make up the majority of my bill, I see very little result if I try to reduce my energy consumption further which doen't give me a lot of incentive (note: we use gas for heating our water and our house, which saves on a lot of power use, though obviously makes the gas bill higher).

If they rolled the monthly fees into what you pay per kWh I think there would be a lot more incentive to reduce the power you use. Perhaps leave a nominal monthly fee to cover the cost of the paper work to keep your profile in their system.

[trixstar]

I'm just wondering how many of you guys are actively looking for way to save more electricity at home? The common ways are using CFL lights, and more energy efficient appliances.

What about computers? I know some of you have 2, 3, 4 or more PC at home...

I want some ideas of what you've done/are currently doing about using less electricity.

Every single bulb in our home is CFL based from philips. We also have energy star appliances such as the washer, dryer, stove etc. We have also installed thermostats which automatically turn on the heater when we sleep and turn it off when we're awake. This saves a bunch of electrical bills as the heater isn't used as frequently.

[jayk]

personally I think infra red detectors would be a great thing for business buildings and even homes esp. people who forget to switch the lights off all the time.

[joshmxpx]

Every single bulb in our home is CFL based from philips. We also have energy star appliances such as the washer, dryer, stove etc. We have also installed thermostats which automatically turn on the heater when we sleep and turn it off when we're awake. This saves a bunch of electrical bills as the heater isn't used as frequently.

you should have it turn off when you're asleep as well, as long as you're under the covers the heater doesn't need to be on. should only be on when you're up and around the house, ie not during the day if you're at work and not at night when you're sleeping