We Cut Our Electric Bill in Half in About 6 Weeks!
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- Опубликовано: 22 май 2024
- In this video, we tell you how we cut our energy bill in half. Energy costs have risen between 50 and 100 percent in the past 12 months, and (in some areas) more increases are coming soon. In the US, 1 in 6 families are 60 days or more late in paying their utility bill. The impact has left some families, literally, trying to figure out how to keep the lights on.
In July, we got a bill for over $300, we decided it was time to have a show-down with energy consumption and lower our bill. In about six weeks, we lowered our electric usage by 70% and our bill by 66%.
How did we do it? We started with several easy changes and when we saw results, we kept adding more strategies to our daily energy habits.
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Dollar Tree shower curtains over blinds behind insulated window curtains are game changers @ $1.25 each for 72"x70"
Took us a lot less time, here is what we did and do. 1) replaced all light bulbs with LED bulbs. 2) unplug all appliances, televisions, computers, stereos, etc when not in use. 3) turn off lights when you leave a room (thanks dad). Our electric bill went way the heck down in a month, we took these steps years ago
Yup the ghost loads from appliances can be huge!
Our electricity, gas, power bill is down 90% going ultra efficient living with 5 rooms.
1) Fan & Window Treatment. 90% off. Tinting in the future. 90%, 3000 watts off
2) Reusing heat,lower water burner. 50%, 1500 off
3)Motion LED. 95%, 500watts off
4) Power strip shut. 50%, 50 watts off
5) Car 62mpg car. 50% off
6) 1.5gpm shower with shutoff. 90% off
I wouldn’t mind switching lightbulbs but with some people like myself led lights trigger migraine’s
Yep. It’s amazing how much power those unused appliances “draw” when not in use. We make coffee 2-3 times a day. As soon as it’s done brewing, I shut it off. Don’t need to keep that warming for 2 hours. I don’t unplug that one though because of where the plug is. But I do unplug my microwave overnight. And all our lights are LED
Unplug any electrical device your not current using.
Our light bill was so high that i turned to useing candles and flash lights and cooked our meals out side over a fire for four months . I did want i had to do to get by. When the weather was to hot yes i opened my windows after dark to cool my place down. Times are very hard right now. I so enjoy your videos and i learn so much. Thank You.
My electric bill is and has been consistently less than $20.00 since April 2022. I live in SW Virginia so it does get warm…fortunately heat doesn’t bother me. A fan makes things fine. I do some pretty cheesy stuff…I use a tablet not a TV…I charge it in the car…also my cell phone gets charged in the car. I never use lights in rooms I am not in, nor do I have outside lights or night lights. I have a toaster oven/ air fryer/ oven. I don’t heat up the regular oven. I don’t leave the fan on in a room I won’t be in for more than a few minutes. I have an on demand hot water heater.I unplug everything I am not using. Navy showers, cold water for washing machine, which is a front loader and uses less electricity. I only run the washer full, hang laundry on a line or indoor rack. All light bulbs are led. Sweep before I vacuum so the vacuum cleaner time cuts way down. I don’t have gadgets…hand beater not elect mixer, I hand shake drinks, no electric screwdrivers etc. shut the computer off not to sleep…so many small things added up to a 13.88 elect bill last month. Keep looking you will find a load of baby steps.
Yes I love it! What you do sounds a lot like what we do last month our electric bill was $89 and I thought that was good.
How is this possible? I live in NC and we have a basic service fee of $14 and an "assessment/tariff" of $46/mo to cover "community programs, fuel, etc etc" and it is not optional. That's $60 w no usage!!
I am a fixed income senior and live alone. I have a mini-split that heats, cools, dehumidifies and fans. It does a fair job in my oversized living room but the further from the mini-split, the less comfortable I feel any time of the year. I was always too cold or too hot where "my" chair was so I rearranged my living room and put my chair under the mini-split. My room looks better and I use less heat in winter and less A/C in summer. The mini-split has a rinsable filter with two small replaceable filters in removeable plastic frames. These can be exceptionally expensive! Amazon has a set for $104. Every year? Yikes. I examinined them carefully and learned what these do, then I bought a large heater filter, a sort of blue loosely woven sponge that I can cut a piece of, cut it in half in thickness and it replaces the blue plastic sponge filter. I bought a dozen carbon "felts" - about 6"x9" - and I cut the other filter from this. For $32, I have several lifetime replacements!
Hey that great! Can they be installed or did you install?
WOW good job
Nice!
Wow, I'm very interested in this.
What name brand of mini split? What is your light bill? $$ per kilowatt hour?
I wash my dishes with cold water, also I don’t have a washing machine and use cold water for all hand washing.
Saved me a ton of energy and bills are no trouble.
I’m from the uk.
Im from the uk and most people dont have ac we use fans .I stand a bottle of frozen water in front of my fan and it really keeps the room cool.
Placing the frozen water BEHIND the fan seems to work better for cooling the air, I find.
Last year we found a great toaster oven on Prime Day and I've switched over to doing a lot of the cooking that used to be done in the oven to that toaster oven. It heats up and cools down so much faster, I can cook at lower temperatures for less time, and it doesn't heat the house up like the oven did. Very important when you live where it's summer 9 months of the year.
I use my toaster oven for almost everything.
But what if you don't have extra $ to spend $ on small appliances?
What about refrigerator?
In relation to old appliances note that the newer whitegoods do not last as long as the old appliances The new appliances are built today as throw aways whereas the older appliances were built so it could be repaired When doing a cost comparison of power usage add on costs of replacement items. Maybe the older one works out cheaper because you don't have to keep replacing it
I have a couple of small solar fans that I love. The best part of solar is that it can run on light from a light, not just the sunshine.
Even though we had a hot summer this year ,no AC in most houses in UK . Sept now 10° , will go down to zero ! But we can't afford to have the heating on ,maybe just a bit in the morning , back to blankets , hot water bottles , going to bed early , going out during day , think it's worse in cold climates , yet to see how many deaths from hyperthermia , so scary xx from Wales
We live in South Australia our energy prices have been jumping for years, our heating and particularly cooling costs were huge our climate is cool winters and hot summers.......to reduce our energy use we hugely increased our insulation including windows. Insulation alone reduced our electricity use by 50%.
It seems Australians are ahead of Americans when incomes to energy savings.
Here is Southern California we have hot summers and cool winters also. I bought foam insulation for all upstairs windows and slide it between blinds and windows every morning in summer. It has helped so much in that we usually only need to run air conditioning from 3 in afternoon till sundown . Of course during heat waves ( like over 105 ) it’s a different story .
What kind of insulation did you put on the windows
Our Australian power system was publicly owned and electricity was cheap! Until the late 80's when it was privatised, from then on our power prices sky rocketed and soon we were paying the worlds highest prices.We have had over 3 decades of finding ways to become power scrooge's. Our home is timber frame and brick exterior with metal roof. Insulation gave us the biggest bang for buck practically eliminating winter heating and cutting our cooling costs by nearly 90% we even insulated the gap between frame and brick. First we covered our exterior windows with external shades to keep the heat outside, (not letting it in) and heavier curtains inside, including pelmets (keeping the heat in). A few years later we went even further and slowly added external insulated aluminium roller shutters to all windows, yes it is darker inside when shut but very cool in summer, and fans now are 95% of our cooling and in reverse 99% of our heating. Our hot water is evacuated tube solar, (with electric boost very rarely used). No appliance's are on standby and all lights are led. 🙂😎🙂😎
@@downtoearth1950 you need solar powered electricity!
In my kids upstairs bedrooms, we use car sun shades in their windows to reduce the heat that comes in during the day. It's easy to fold them up ( accordion style) when the temp drops at night and we can open the windows.We also keep the blinds shut during the day. This strategy has made a HUGE difference in the heat level in those bedrooms.
I know you know an awful lot of UK folks watch you. Your content has no borders. Thank you so much. We appreciate what you upload. Huge regards
and South Africans
Thank you Denise and Shareen. We appreciate our viewers from across the oceans.
But 76°F is 26°C! I must have misunderstood somerhing!
@@janetmackinnon3411 I set my AC to 26C/79F and I'm comfortable at that temperature. I'll turn it lower when it's really hot out so it'll actually keep up, and when I have people over that are less tolerant of the heat.
@@zabmcauley5647 Wow!
Over the past few years, I have changed gradually to a "less grid dependent" lifestyle- I now heat, cook, and bake exclusively with wood- i have downsized my refrigerator to an energy efficient 7.5 cubic foot size and my electric bill is less than 30$ each month and i am Happier- i love the coziness of wood heat and knowing that i have the skills to cook/bake with it- i love your channel- thanks for all you do!
Nice if you have your own home.
When my ex & I owned a house, we had that Audit done and were shocked how much heat we lost thru the Attic! So we jumped on the gov't opp. at the time which helped us pay for the new attic insulation! 👌
I use tension rods, and remnant material to hang between the window glass and the blinds. Helps keep the room cooler in summer and warmer in winter. I also use reflectics in the west window to keep the sun from heating up the room. Both these methods really help.
Good idea about tension rods to hang and block the heat where or air where you stay the most
Love this idea!
I did this, I used heavyweight painters canvas curtains and hung on tension rods. I also added the thermal backed curtains as well.
I use those silver sun blocking for your vehicle in the summer to keep car cooler when parked. I put them on my 2 bedroom windows facing the south. I put it up on hot day and use painters tape so easy to remove/ take down without tape residue on window. It works so good. My room stay so much cooler on hot summer days
I use DollarTree shower curtains!
For the first time it just hit me: Use the tabletop cooking appliances outside. Here in Scottsdale, Arizona - keeping the inside of my home cool is definitely more expensive in the summer than the winter, unlike states up north. I will start putting my crockpot & toaster oven on the outdoor kitchen setup outside. At least sometimes - even if it only saves a quarter - it all adds up.🤑
It does add up, Davis. Every little bit helps.
It really helps to cook outside in the summer. I set up a table and out our toaster oven, crock pot, instant pot outside
I live in Southern Ontario, Canada, and it’s equally expensive to heat our homes in winter as it is to cool it in summer. We have very hot humid summers near the Great Lakes, with temperatures often in the 90s and 100s Fahrenheit.
I rent . The house has a gas stove and oven. But I do not use them. I use an portable induction cooktop and a counter top toaster oven.
Love my slow cookers, use both a couple times a week.
An item that truly surprised me was the cable TV box supplied by the local cable company. Most cable companies use re-manufactured/recycled PVR boxes to supply basic digital cable. The new box provided to you was likely manufactured 10 to 15 years ago with no concern for energy conservation. When the TV was off during the night, the box was pulling in excess of 600 watts, the equivalent of a small space heater. Put the box on a power bar with a switch, or a power bar with a timer, so it's not sucking electricity when the TV is not on. This simple step removed $8 to $10 per month from our electric bill.
@Frank Lee I have a "Kill-a-Watt" equivalent; Blue Planet EM100 Energy Meter, which was used to measure my cable box. The box pulls 640 watts.
@Frank Lee I'm not GODDAM NUTS Frank.
When I realized the cable box was hot enough to fry eggs on top of, I tested the box with my BluePlanet EM100 Energy Meter. Then, confirmed the 640 watt reading with a Fluke Multimeter. I spoke with my cable provider and they stated that that was normal for their re-manufactured digital cable boxes. Tested my brother-in-law's cable box from the same provider and got the same reading.
When I did this with our cable company I found I had to call the company to reset the cable every time I turned the tv on. I solved this by canceling the cable completely!
About 20 years ago before I stopped watching cable TEE VEE, I had three DVR units and what a huge difference in my power bill when I pulled them out and returned them. On or off, those things do use a lot of energy. The cable companies are not indued to deploy more efficient models as they are not paying for the power usage. I know new cable boxes are much, much more efficient but then, what's on TEE VEE worth watching, HGTV or Honey Boo Boo? NO thanks.
We use the black mesh, 60% to 70% UV ray blocking, sun shade tarps from Harbor Freight Tools. We wrap them around our covered deck which also further shades the sliding glass door. We have eaves and hang them from the eaves to keep the windows and HOUSE SIDING shaded. (We are back to adding at least one tarp a year to go about the entire house and maybe some for on the roof; they pay for themselves in comfort and reduced energy usage.) We have friends with parents in a retirement community in Arizona and they use these sun shade tarps to reduce the load on thier a/c and heat pumps. The version of this textile from Harbor Freight Tools comes in tarp form with grommet tape on all 4 sides. We have suspended them as curtains and also curtain liners on stiffer curtain rods in people's apartments. They are a mesh so you can see out of them. If hung with the top side out (you can tell by the way the tarp tape is sewn on) you can see out while others can't particularly see in outside of shadows at night.
Great to know! Thanks
Here in Las Vegas solar shades for west facing windows are very popular. They do tend to darken a room but helps greatly blocking the sun before it hits the glass and I'm talking dual paned low E windows. Before the glass was very hot and now just barely warm. The shaves have paid for themselves many times over. Out here it pays to have a minimum of windows facing west. I have three smaller sized windows and now trees growing in front which also helps.
I unplug all appliances or cut off the breaker for everything I'm not using, except for the refrigerator. I particularly do this when I go out of town. Just doing this alone has dropped my electric bill by at least $20/month. I've also started using candles and flashlights instead of regular lights. I hang my clothes outside and have a drying rack for the winter inside. Space heaters have also helped drop my electric bill instead of using the heater. I receive an energy usage statement that compares my home usage to other homes. My electric bill is usually below an energy efficient home. I live in a three bedroom, two bath trailer.
Do the same
My battery-operated candles will run for years on a battery. I have one in the bathroom, bedroom, and next to the thermostat in the living room. I can easily move through the house with no light switch needed at night if I need. The built-in timer turns them on. I have used the Christmas light style candles for about 15 years with the efficiency on battery power. They are a great safety feature as well.
Your battery powered lights have built in timers on them?
The cost of batteries has gone up significantly here, and they don't last as long anymore!
I live in Australia.
I like your video.
One pointer I would like to mention here in Australia, is that fridges & freezers don't like to be on power strip's.
They need to be plug directly into wall power point.
My daughter thought her fancy fridge had died, ask her if it was on a power strip she said yes. Told her to plug it straight into wall power point.
It started working again.
There is usually something written about this in the user manual.
So true about older appliances being better made. Our old washer lasted 27 years! It was a Kenmore. Replaced it and the new whirlpool lasted 10 yrs. Now have another new washer! Argh! So sad.
I live in the Phoenix area, and we keep our A/C at 78-80. When we leave the house, we being it up to 83 degrees. Learning to climatize our bodies to the weather has been very beneficial to us. The hot summers don’t feel as hot, because we aren’t jumping from a cold apartment into scorching hot 115 degree weather. It makes a huge impact! And when the weather cools down, we apply the same method. Open up with windows and help our bodies familiarize with the changes. More in tune with nature. ;)
I totally agree! We live in South Texas, and keep our ac on 80°….I would never go outside if I kept it as cool inside as many people do.
We do this in Florida but it requires a dehumidifier or mold is a real issue. You dry climate folks have a leg up on that. Lol
Our garage refrigerator is 30 years old. Every summer(knowing our garage reaches 100 degrees and more) we worry and it miraculously survives. We keep coils clean and fingers crossed because in those thirty years we are now into the second kitchen refrigerator! And, yes Hope and Larry, we have a set aside fund for appliance replacement. Our washer and dryer are over 20! An important energy and appliance saver is to always keep things clean. It really makes them last and run well.
Black out curtains or double layer closed curtains keeps rooms cooler
Hey Larry, congratulations on your upcoming retirement! 🎉🎇
Thank you! Can't wait, but love my job.
I had to laugh about refridgerators. We picked up an old one at an auction from the early 1940's. It was in perfect shape inside with beautiful porcelin freezer compartment decorated with handpained blue and white. I thought well we can put this on our outdoor log building/workshop and have it for cold drinks, how convenient. It even came with it's original 5 year guarantee. How funny is that, compared to new appliances that usually last only as long as the warranty. Well we plugged that in and after 1 month we unplugged it. The electric meter just spun and spun. I told my husband we can walk into the house to get a cold drink. We only used it for our once a year party.
sell it!
New appliances have to meet a certain efficiency rate.
What makes me mad is that most of my utility bills are simple the account fee. For example, my gas bill last month was $41 of which ONLY $2 was from my actual use. The rest is just my monthly fee for having an account. I still shop around for the lowest rates and get on fixed plans but at least in my situation, but sometimes there is only so much you can do. [And yes, my usage was $2 during August because I hate cooking in the summer. Lots of salads and fruits, lol]. Good video as always!
My furnace went out one winter for a week. It took time to get a part in. I kept warm by keeping two crock pots going with water in them. I also turned on my daughter's food dehydrator which put out a little heat. No pipes froze. It was a miracle.
Miracle from God 🙏❤️
I have used your method for 30 days and my light bill went down $75 TY so much
Thanks for your energy tips! I saved 547kw in July, 374kw in August, and it was 174 kw in Sep! It is doable thanks a lot!
A huge tip that not everyone can use is one I stumbled upon by accident when renting my apartment: Live on the NORTH side of the building. I rarely turn my a/c on in the summer - only if it gets over 100 degrees. Of course, my deck garden is limited as it faces west, but it's well worth the trade-off.
Thx for mentioning me in regards to cutting my power bill by using power strips & as I need a few more strips, I really really want to thank u for showing new ones available & explaining as I’ll b getting those for specific areas. U r just so helpful
Yes, it's cooling down in the UK. Still not put central heating on, so this month's power use is very low. Aug/Sep £36 for gas and electric. It will go up in winter, but I have made ongoing savings recently... no TV, home telephone or WiFi. Got rid of the electric kettle. I have a Ninja counter top multi oven which is much more efficient than my large oven. I also use a slow cooker. The chest freezer is full, empty space used by freezer blocks. All lights are LEDs. Lovely warm wool duvets on the beds. Keeps you warm without sweating. I'm enjoying g being energy frugal. It's a challenge!
Love your channel. Very helpful info.
Is it just the duvet covers that are made of wool or is it also the stuffing of the duvets? I had a camel hair stuffed duvet in China. It was warm but I ended up preferring the fake fur blankets because could easily wash and air dry. My down duvets got moldy!
The biggest consumer of electricity in our house is the electric water heater. It only takes 12 to 15 minutes to heat up. My wife and I coordinate our showers and dishwasher so the whole process (from turning it on to turning it off) takes under an hour. The breaker for the water heater is in an accessible place, and we then turn it off until the next time.
I installed a 240 VAC timer to my 50 gallon hot water heater. We have a "Time of Use" electricity meter which bills at different rates at different times of the day. The water heater time is set to provide hot water at the time periods that the household needs it and the tank is preheated during the lowest cost period. Also, we wrapped the tank with an additional heater blanket to maintain it's heat longer. We have never been without hot water when we need it and the electric bill dropped $15 per month. We don't have to think about manually turning the water heater on and off.
@@chrisgraham2904 great idea
@Frank Lee That's what I suggested. Read my comment above.
I put my water heater on a timer, comes on for 1 hour then turns off all day until 6 AM
Hi guys, UK watcher here . I have a dehumidifier in my conservatory, I turn it on in the wintertime to get my washing dry instead of my tumble drier , it’s on for about 8 hours but working it out save so much than the tumble drier . It also stops the conservatory getting mouldy in the winter .
Mine stops the mold in the basement and generates heat like a space heater. I run it overnight on cool wet days.
hows your energy bills there these days? r u going to rent out your living room couches to overnighters? ie 10pm to 6am then they get up n go to work, ie theyre OFF the couch from 6am to 10pm when its YOURS...i would!
That's very smart. I have a room in my house I use in the same way.
In the UK also. I bought a dehumidifier this winter and the room it is in is definitely warmer because of it.
The biggest things I have ever done to reduce my electric bill was to get an led flat panel TV and replace all my light bulbs with leds. Reduced my average bill by about 20%. 💡
I went away for 4 days and decided I was unplugging everything except major appliances. Router, microwave, lamps, everything. Our bill dropped by $30. We stopped using our dryer as much and moved our microwave so it was easy to unplug it. We don't need the clock when we have our oven plugged in so we just plug in the microwave when we need it and unplug when we don't. Our bill used to be around 115-120 and now it's around 90, 80 in the fall when there is no AC. But yet another carbon tax hike is coming so bills will be going up again :(
Absolutely love the two of two of you together. Thank you for being you and thank you for all the good information to save $. (I’m learning that I am a frugal minimalist at heart.)
Thank you for your kind comment, k4xxx.
Great tips, you have given me great info! Just received our letter from natural gas that winter rates start Oct 1 where I live. I told my husband all my canning will be complete before then to save. The new awareness has helped 😃
we bought 2 x cheapy portable induction stoves and don't use our gas stove at all anymore. we're on gas bottle so the price is astronomical
You have one of the best shows on RUclips - I love watching and learning about all your tips! Your recent $20 Aldi trip helped me make better choices on what kind of foods I should stock up on - I really built my pantry up and didn’t spend any extra money than I normally would thanks to just swapping out certain things.
Thank you so much, Rachel.
I put in new windows, then shutters, and painted the exterior white. Also installed an attic fan & whole house fan. My home looks like a brand new home, is gorgeous. My electric bills, when temps were 110, I went from $550month to $94month (summer months) keeping the thermostat at 73degrees & I have a 34year old home, 3,000 sq ft 2 story home with tile roof in California desert. No basement. The AC unit is 34 yrs old is not as efficient as a new one. The estimate for a new one was $15,000.
$15,000? OMG!
You are so encouraging and always practical, applicable advice! Thank you so much 💕
This video is super helpful! Thank you for breaking it down with the charts!!
I put frozen plastic milk jugs in front of my fans it cools my entire home and my bill dropped $50.00 the first month I tried it
Also want to thank u for showing the newer hygrometers as I have the older wall plaque ones as I they r decorative but the new one u showed us will make me more conscious of the exact number. And probably can see better as bigger numbers. Thx
I received a rebate for my new water heater. It was a $200 credit. That was 2 months free electric.
The power company came out and replaced all the meters in my small town. Old meters were not 5G compatible. My bill jumped over $500 above what historically I’ve used. Many in town received bills over $1,000. Collectively, we all filed a complaint with the utility commission in our state. No outcome yet.
That’s TERRIBLE!!!!
Good luck with that! I know someone who has been in the same boat and has been fighting over the bill for six or more years. Recently, the class action lawyer says that the funds for persuing the suit have been embezzled and they may not be able to continue to fight. Good grief! What's wrong with people other than GREEDINESS!
meter shock is a thing, ours jumped 200%. digital meters are so sensitive and roundup. its a money grab. the old analog meters under reported.
It’s fraud!!!
Around here you can borrow a energy monitor from the library for free. GREAT way to freely check your usage.
I also sweep the house hard floors much more than I vacuum now.
Dear Hope and Larry, PLEASE look up Thermal cooking pots. I purchased this no electricity appliance and use it regularly. It only needs 10 mins on the stove top then, like the wartime hay box cooker, after three or four hours using retained heat, the meal is wonderfully cooked. It’s brilliant, and I feel sure lots of folk would benefit from the reduction of energy usage. Thank you so much for all you give in your wonderful videos. Ann from the U.K.
Hi, Ann. We're thinking about getting one of these and doing a video on it. Is there a brand that you recommend? I'm looking on Amazon and there are several brands.
Hi Hope and Larry, I bought the Mr D Thermal Cooker which works perfectly, and I think there are a number of brands in Australia where the idea seems very popular. It came with a cook book by Mr Davies ( I think his name is) as well as a series of RUclips videos by the chap himself. Yesterday I cooked a thick gammon joint in it, still only the same 10 minutes boil, and after four hours ( approx !!) it was as tender and sweet as any I have ever tasted. Cooked in one can of cheap cider. Thank you for your interest. Ann
PS It seems that is it very good for beans and grains as well, as I am aware you don’t eat meat !
@@annscullamus , thanks for the info! I am super interested in learning more about this type of cooking.
It certainly saves a great deal in fuel, as my parents would have said during the war and using their haybox to use retained cooking ! Well worth googling it too, as if one is good at DIY I suspect one could make one. I am not, so I bought a manufactured one and have not regretted a penny of the cost !
I'm always amazed when HGTV shows reove ceiling fans! It's Sep 22 in N TX highs are still in 90's, lows finally in 70's, but allergens are crazy high, mornings are hot early, so leaving the window ac on in bedroom only.
Hey!! I'm watching this a bit later! I'm just me living alone in an apartment and these energy bills are definitely adding up. This is so helpful! Thank you so much
I am in the UK and have solar on the roof, only two things ever on full time in our house are the router and the fridge freezer, everything else is turned off, not left on standby, when not in use. All bulbs are led. We wash clothes in cold water and dry them on the line. While we have a gas oven and hob we use it sparingly preferring to use egg cooker, slow cooker and air fryer during the day when the sun is shining. Same goes for anything that needs charging. Hot water and shower are on demand gas, with the pre heat turned off. I don't mind the cold, I swim outdoors as often as possible throughout the year, but enjoy a hot shower with a cold one only occasionally! We rarely use our central heating as we have a wood burning stove in the living room that keeps us toasty. I burn wood that I get for free, it's softwood and feeding the fire is like feeding strawberries to a donkey, but if I leave all the doors in the house open the heat takes the chill off throughout the house, it's only 5kw but the house is very well insulated and the windows double glazed. We sell our excess electricity back to our energy company and the last three months earned us more than our combined electricity and gas bills. Like the burger advert asks "like getting your money's worth?" I charge my phone when I am in the pub!
Thanks. Good video. I am in central NC. We put in a new HVAC unit this summer. :) It kept the house VERY comfortable at 75-76, but what we noticed if we went any higher, the HVAC wasn't cutting on often enough to dehumidify the house. We tried bumping up to 78 and house felt so damp. It was a rather wet summer here. We have a large capacity dehumidifier in our basement and it keeps the basement and most of the home comfortable, most of the year. We have ceiling fans in most rooms and have picked up lots of box fans when I found them on clearance for $5.
Once the temps cool off, we will turn the AC off and use window fans for keeping the home comfortable during much of the spring and fall.
Fantastic information! After going through some VERY hard times a few years ago I became an energy hawk at my house.
One day I heard Clark Howard saying if your refrigerator was ten or more years old you could recoup the cost of a new refrigerator within a couple of years. I did a deep dive and found that my then 25 or so year old, 26 cu/ft refrigerator/freezer cost me $.50 per day to run. The time to payback just didn't make sense to me. That refrigerator is now 35 years old. When it does die, I'll go all out on finding an energy efficient replacement.
Also, I had the same experience with a dehumidifier being very expensive to operate.
Sun shades on our patio helped so much. And opening up all windows early in morning for a bit & putting a window AC unit in our room.
California here and I unplugged everything I was not using. We use very little between 4 and 9pm. Charge cells and such at night. I saved 40.00 by next bill
I use a table top infrared oven, which cooks faster and uses less energy. I also use an induction table top burner. I only air condition one room, my bedroom. I turn in on approx 1 hour before I retire for the evening, and I only use it when the room cannot be cooled by opening windows. I believe I used it about 15 times this summer.
Excellent channel! Always the best information that can be trusted. Thank you. I am walking over right now to raise the thermostat a few degrees.
Thanks for all the ideas. Really like reading comments too. All these ideas help me out so much!
My electric bills were more than $30 lower the last 2 months than the past year. My daughter moved out to go to college. Less usage there. I can keep the AC off or set quite high with the ceiling fans. I batch cook 1 day a week(oven on maybe for 2 hours). Otherwise air fryer or microwave to warm up the food. I do laundry 1 day a week in cold water. I keep the doors open and allow the fresh air and light in. Less keeping the lights on. Not much is kept plugged in.
We used fans in all rooms on one floor and kept curtains pulled in sides of the house getting sun. We turned air up to 78 most days. We covered the door with a curtain and saw an improvement there. Looking into battery powered (using rechargeable batteries) fans too.
We set up a notification to receive a text that sends an alert when we reach a certain dollar amount per day. Monitoring that we realized it was the dryer. Now we essentially see no difference if we are in the house or not. We hang our clothes to dry and excited to see our bill this coming month. 😊
We have energy thresholds set with our utility company too. It's really helpful for them to send alerts when we go over. I have to remember to adjust the thresholds when we move from summer to winter, though. I love that you don't use any more energy when you're in the house as opposed to out of the house. I've been noticing that when we're gone on Sunday morning to church there is distinctly less energy use. As soon as we get home from service, our usage goes up noticeably. So, the next item on my agenda is to try to isolate exactly what we are doing that is using the most energy when we walk in the door.
Thank you for all this very helpful information!! I went around the house room by room disconnecting many items.
Ever boil your jug more than once and you like more than one cup of coffee (1) boil once and fill a thermos for later cups (2) only fill kettle with enpugh water for your coffee (3) to cook chickens use a thermal cooker -clean chicken cover with water and bring to boil -hold there 2/5 min -turn stove off put in thermal sleve and let it cook itself -have done this countless times with chichen and silverside i have lost count -works a treat and will still be warm in the morning -cold climate would require a corner out of the road and a piece of covering to assist in keeping the heat in..best John from AUZ down under
I really appreciate your shows. We set our AC high--like 80 degrees and use fans instead, and pay attention to when we leave windows open etc. The only thing is that we do need to run it sometimes because our climate is very muggy and we need to get that moisture out of the house sometimes or we get mold on the walls etc.
JUST missed you guys tonight, but will be watching the replay with great interest.
We missed you, too! Always glad to have you along, Sherry!
Thank you for all of this information. Really appreciate it!
I'll be setting my dehumidifier on timer now. That's a great idea.
Cook large meals ! Freeze portions in volume good enough for your family meal. Cooking in volume reduces cook prep time, I have a few recipes I just dump it all in the pressure cooker and walk away .
When I see the cooker going up on time I unplug it. I don't like to hover over what I cook , set it forget it works for me.
I use the bags from the butcher section. I don't MWO the bag , I plan to eat I'll pull from the freezer place in the fridge to defrost place food in MWO safe container. This way I don't run MWO as much. MWO 1,400W, you want to use it as little as possible.
Over the last few years we have slowly raised our AC temperature. We always kept the AC set to 78 degrees. But, as our income decreased due to retiring the cost of electricity was too much with the AC set to 78. So we slowly began to raise the thermostat. Once we acclimated to the increase, we raised it again. Now after a few years our AC thermostat stays at 82 degrees. We have ceiling fans in every room, but only them in the occupied room. We stay perfectly comfortable at 82 degrees now that our bodies have adjusted to it. We wear shorts and go barefoot in the house. By the way...we live in Texas where the temperature averages 100-103 in July & August. We truly are quite comfortable.
When I rebuilt my home after a fire, I created a floor plan with windows that could pass air through from front to back and added a full screen garage door that adds to whole house ventilation. This hot central Indiana summer I’ve only turned on the central A/C 3 days so far. My house remains comfortable with a constant pass through breeze. That helps my electric bill stay low.
This summer I cooked outside on a portable induction cooktop. It will lower your AC needs.
I live in Ohio, this was the first month I had to split my bill and pay only half. And pay the other half a week later. I am so appreciate your advice. Thank You!!!
Did you get hit with penalties and late fees for paying that way?
@@chaz4471 AEP will not let me do that.
AC/ heater is the biggest power consumption device over all.. Use your small appliances outside to cook in fact it's a great idea to store them in an outside container.
Introducing heat where you are PAYING to remove is like pulling the plug on your boat while you bail it out with a pump.
You must live someplace where you either have the space to do that or you are not worried about crime like we are in Minneapolis
Heat pumps are the most efficient ways to heat and cool. Old a/c might be a different story
Thanks so much for all these tips!
I live in AZ and our electric bills have been the same if not a little less during our hot months. I was surprised. Our home is all electric. 🥰🍃🍂🍁🍃🍂🍁💗✝
Love your down-to-earth/understandable facts. I purchased a permanent filter for my furnace/central air filter; a great investment!
I live in the UK. I’m on a fixed term until August 2023. My bills have actually gone down but I’m gearing for when my term ends. I’m dreading what it’s going to be. I have been making notes from your site. Love your videos. x 😊
I only use A/C if outside temperature is 90 degrees. I use the window fan. I turn the water heater off 23 hrs a day. Just turn on in morning for a shower and to wash dishes. Then turn off. I hang wet clothes outside to line dry. I am in country.
What strikes me most about this is just how different homes in the US and the UK are. In the UK we don't have AC, we don't have dehumidifiers (in the UK it's more about keeping your home warm not cool), 99% of cooking is done with natural gas not electricity, we don't have electric pressure cookers or coffee pots and I don't know anyone with an air frier. Most UK homes have smart meters that allow you to monitor power usage and almost all homes are built with brick and are therefore naturally well insulated - add double glazing and loft insulation and it gets better. Also, all power outlets in the UK are "switched" meaning each outlet has an "on / off" switch so it's easy to switch off "standby" items like the TV. Further, old style light bulbs were outlawed by the EU about ten years ago (while the UK was still in that club). The UK is lucky in that we have our own gas supply from fields in the North sea (with a top up from Norway) but this winter, countries on the continent are going to be in big trouble when Putin takes revenge for weapons support to Ukraine by shutting off the gas.
Another great video. I loved all the precise information. Izzy from Portugal.
Hi All
You know if you unplug those items you don't need would help your bill a lot. I've been doing this since 2012. It actually works. 👍👍
Yes, does save power. I turn stove, cooktop and microwave off after each use. TV off, dryer and computer. Heated towel rails cost too so don’t have one.
I’ve bought timer plugs great for tv,lamps they got out on set time
I am watching this video on Valentine’s Day 2024 and just received my Nipsco bill (northwest Indiana) and am totally disgusted. Most of the winter I have left my house at 66 degrees, curtained off or closed down the living space I have to heat. My basement is 55 degrees and the living room is 66. I leave everything shut off that I don’t have to use. I wear 2 sweatshirts, long underwear, socks & slippers on my feet. I don’t watch tv but read instead with one reading light.
My just gotten combined gas and electric bill for the last 29 days is $196.11 and I am disgusted to say the least. I just pray I can shut off my heat completely by April
I opened up my screened front and back door in the hot months. A cool breeze would cool down my home overnight. Also, closing your curtains in the summer will keep the heat out. I only had to use my AC a few days, using fans instead. I also started putting my clothes on a clothes line last March. It is now Nov. 15th and I am still able to do that. I unplug everything I don’t use. It all adds up. It is amazing what I can bake in my microwave instead of using my electric stove. My mother always told me, it’s the little money that adds up.
Another "no brainer" not mentioned is the use of a clothes line rather than running a clothes dryer. Outdoor lines will dry your clothes during summer almost as fast as a dryer. A few short lines in a basement utility room during winter dries things like towels very efficiently and adds a little humidity to the air.
There are some areas that actually prohibit hanging your clothes outside.
UK weather is like putting it in a dryer for a few minutes, then in a wet sink, then back in the dryer again, but at least I don't have to pay for the sun... quick it's raining again or all the hard drying work will be ruined!!
@@TimpBizkit LOL Yes, UK weather has its' challenges. I'm in Canada...that's why I suggested basement drying lines during winter, close to the furnace. I remember my mother hanging clothes outside during winter and a cold snap would come and freeze my jeans into solid planks and they would stand up by themselves.
@@nunyabidnis5407 That used to be a problem here, but due to the environmental benefits, government made it illegal for neighbourhoods, municipalities, town homes and community groups to ban clothes lines.
This might sound gross, but in the Winter, because I keep the house at 60 degrees, my clothes can't dry very well, so I sponge wash the crotch and underarms and spot wash any stains,, leaving most of it dry and then I use a hand steamer to sanitize and hang things up on hangers in the closet to dry.
Our bill runs 275 in the summer. Husband is away for business 4 out of 7 days lately. I have been turning the thermostat up to only 72, and trying to remember to turn the lights off. (He usually does that.) Just doing those 2 things brought my bill down 50 bucks. My husband likes the air on 67 at night. 🥶
For one month change it after he goes to bed and before he wakes up then show him the change in power use.
1. I read online that many home internet routers consume a lot of power. Since the ISP usually provides them to the consumer, there hasn't been as much of a push to reduce their energy consumption to earn the Energy Star label. So I turn my router off whenever it's not in use, which means every night and any day when I'm going to be out.
2. Regarding cooking, I hate the idea of heating up my home when I'm also running the AC to keep it cool. So in summer, I have a lot of meals which require no time in the oven, such as sandwiches; or which require just a minute or so to re-heat in the microwave, such as leftovers and some prepared foods such as canned soups. My electric bill seems relativelty low compared to my friends' bills.
Great show, ive managed to virtually halved our gas bill. Im working on the electric bill. Its so satisfying when you cut your bill.
Thank you for bringing us such great information! Where I live (southern Colorado) it's hot in the summer. I'm home most days so early in the morning I open up windows and doors and let the cool air in until it's almost the same temp outside as inside then I close everything up and pull curtains shut for the day to keep the bright and hot sun (that beats relentlessly on my house) out. I recently bought a heavy duty blackout curtain for my bedroom because we have a sliding glass door and it gets sun and heat for many hours all morning and afternoon. The blackout curtain helps keep the heat out and in the winter will help with the cold. :)
You can get silver film like clingfilm to statically attach to your windows and doors to reflect uv and direct sunlight away from your rooms during direct sun time. Like the backing on a mirror. Blocks people seeing in too. At night it makes the room dark and outsiders can now see clearly into your home. So use curtains at night.
I noticed my usage costs more on the days I cook. I cook in bulk and freeze in meal portions. The days I don't cook my daily use and cost is close to zero. I turn my hot water off when I don't use it
Great job making it real. Thank you.
We had temperatures yesterday of 103° degrees yesterday and a cold front moved in and today our high was 83° degrees. I turned off AC as well as I've been turning off anything on a power strip plus all Phantom drainers. This summer our electricity bill went up over $60.00 and I used your tips with turning everything off except for the AC. They upped our fee for having electricity here in Middle Tennessee where we live plus our outside light went up $1.00. I'm ordering a meter to check everything out. Thanks for sharing this valuable information. 🌄
These videos and the comments really bring home to me how much we save by living in milder climate. I do practice energy control as well, but I think our climate helps a lot. I work from home, so am here all the time, and our home is 2100 sq ft. Our latest electric bill was $63, and the gas bill was $21. We have cooler overnight temperatures and I am vigilant about opening windows as soon as it is cooler outside than in, and closing them once it’s warmer outside than in. In the last year I allowed myself to lower the thermostat to 76 in the summer and to raise it to 70 (maybe 72) in the winter. I dress for the weather, and accept that occasionally I may be slightly uncomfortable. But having said that, climate and possibly our house style (ranch) make a big difference in our utility costs! I assume our rates have risen, but I haven’t felt it yet. We also don’t have brownouts or anything like that here. I do love that I have a gas stove, so I don’t even worry about the energy use of it. Our stove, dryer, hot water heaters (one traditional and one on demand) and furnace all use natural gas. I even dry all our clothes in the dryer! It’s so eye opening to hear what others are experiencing! That would be so stressful!
That's low! Wow!
Wow, that is low. I just got the highest electric bill ever at just over $150 this past month. It has been unusually hot here. Usually, it is more like $65-85 except during the coldest month of the year. And mine is lower than anyone else I know because I don't have power sucking things like televisions, DVRs, lots of lights on, etc.
Where are you living, that the temperature is so mild ?
@@debbiedebbie9473 northern Arizona (higher elevation)
@@sheilalaurence9209 wow, base rates here in Wisconsin are way over that without turning on gas or electric a/c or heat.
I viewed your channel for the 1st time today and IMMEDIATELY became a subscriber! Thank you so much for what you do! I moved to Palm Springs CA a year ago. Which meant that I change utility companies to Edison. Their billing method is impossible to follow. In January I created a spreadsheet so I could see from one month to the next how I was being charged. By June 30 I had about 39 line items! The rate changed slightly every single month. I stopped getting bills so we called and they told us all of the bills we had received were wrong, they would fix it and we shouldn’t follow up for at least 9 months! That would mean that we could be back billed for 21 months. I am hearing in this neighborhood the average bill is between $500-$800/mo. That would be over $16,000. I just don’t know where to turn! I saw a report on CBS where an Edison spokesman said there is a regulation that say if your bill is delayed you are only responsible for the last 3 months but I can’t find that in writing anywhere. Just thought I’d share my nightmare. Thank you for letting me share.
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I am lucky to be able to monitor my daily power usage (in BC, Canada). My biggest saving has come from hanging my laundry to dry. My back yard is very private and so I actually hang sheets on my deer fence to dry. I also use three racks for smaller things. In wet weather I put the racks in the carport behind my car ( so they don’t show from the road). In terrible weather I use the racks indoors. It made a huge difference to my bills.
I live in Cape Town, South Africa and my house is nice and cold as I applied science to it. I happen to be an Electrician, Fitter, Machinist and Refrigeration mech. Retired.