If you're new here, you may want to learn what this site is about. I encourage you to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
SmartMoney has some ideas on how to save money on energy this summer.
Typically, the average household spends $1,400 a year on electricity and gas, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. But you can expect that amount to jump this year — by as much as 120%, warns Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy.
To save money, SmartMoney suggests that you:
- Upgrade to energy-efficient appliances. Energy-efficient appliances are generally more expensive, but there are often tax credits available. And the long-term savings makes up for the initial expense.
- Be a night owl. This isn’t an option for everyone, but some utilities offer a discount during off-peak hours.
- Get with the program. The small expense of a programmable thermostat can save you money in the long run. When you’re not home in the summer, set the thermostat at higher temperatures.
- Use fans. Fans are cheaper to operate than air conditioners. The Get Rich Slowly compound has no air-conditioning at all, but we have several fans at key locations.
- Clean up. If you do use an air conditioner, clean the filters and coils before the season begins, and then once a month during the summer.
- Blow off steam. Lower the thermostat on your water heater. (This is a good way to save money year-round, but some of us like hot showers and baths in the winter.)
- Green your yard. This point is worth its own entry. (And look for the Get Rich Slowly guide to frugal lawn care coming soon.) Essentially: trees and shrubs use less water than grass. They can also provide valuable shade.
- Seal it in. The hot weather and direct sun can open new leaks in your home — conduct a home energy audit to spot problem areas.
- Free you outlets. Unplugging certain appliances when they’re not in use can save you money. (The article notes that leaving your computer on all the time can cost an extra $88/year. I’ll start putting my machine to sleep when I’m away.)
There are other ways to save that the article fails to mention. I’m a proponent of only turning on lights if you need them, especially during the summer. (From now til August, I can go days without turning on lights in most rooms in the house.) Don’t water your lawn (or water it very little) — allow the grass to go dormant. Don’t use your range — fix cool meals (salads, sandwiches) or grill outdoors.
March 18th, 2007 at 9:43 am
ENJOY A “GUILT-FREE” SHOWER!
Did you know you could save 480 gallons of water per month this summer, and the money it costs to buy and heat that water, simply by taking “one minute showers?” And that’s the savings just for one person. Multiply those savings for a multi-person household. What I’m talking about is not deprivation, but really a 5-minute shower that only uses 1 minute’s worth of water.
I usually take a 5- minute shower (including shampooing and conditioning my hair). I couple of years ago I discovered that if I turned off the water while I wasn’t actually using it to wet down my hair, body and washcloth and to rinse off soap and conditioner, I took a 5-minute shower that only used 1 minute’s worth of water — a savings of 80%. Most of my “shower time” is spent doing things that don’t need water: soap up the cloth, scrub the body from head to toe, open shampoo bottle, apply and work in the shampoo, do the same thing with conditioner, wring out wet washcloth and hang it up, etc. It’s quite comfortable in the summertime, i.e. I don’t feel cold. And the four minutes of quiet time without the noise of the running water are actually quite relaxing. (I don’t do this in the winter months, when it’s uncomfortably cold and I’m showering less frequently.) My single-knob handle with a pointer adjusts to the desired temperature in a second or two.
The dollar savings for water are not big (about a nickel per shower), but it can be attractive over a span of months or a year, especially in a multi-person household where each person may take 30-40 showers per month during the summer. More significant are the dollars saved on gas/electricity to heat the water, and the conserving of water itself, which is so important in the summer in drought-prone areas like the Southeast where I live.
Cost of a shower in gallons and dollars, not including heating cost (Fulton County, Atlanta, Georgia Oct 2006):
One 5-minute shower:
20 gal. x $0.00329 average cost per gal. = $0.0658
One 1-minute shower:
4 gal. x $0.00329 average cost per gal. = $0.0132
Savings per shower:
16 gal. x $0.00329 = $0.0526 (about a nickel per shower)
A single person showering 30 times per month, would save:
. 480 gallons of water per month
. $1.58 cost of water per month
. $???? cost of gas/electricity per month to heat the water (beyond my skills to calculate this, but surely more expensive than the water! Could anyone calculate this?)