How do i save on my electricity bill?

Question

I live in las vegas. We have a 2800sq ft., 5 bedroom house but only using 3 and all of them are upstairs. No one really hangs around downstairs except to eat/cook. We're only home nighttime. We set the thermostat at 79'F downstairs and 78'F upstairs 24/7. What else can we do to save on our power bill?Can we shut the vents on all unused rooms?or turn off the ac downstairs?detailed answers highly appreciated.

Answer 1

turn off you ac  

Answer 2

don't use it...

Answer 3

get a solar panel on your roof. it will pay for it self before the first month and keep saving for you afterwards.

Answer 4

Our Power Company here (pge.com) has tons of power saving recommendations, yours probably does as well.

Answer 5

dont mess wit the air or heat leave it alone and turn of tv and lights wen not using them  

Answer 6

Turn the thermostat on your water heater down, wash clothes in cold.  Use a drying rack or a clothes line instead of the dryer. Vegas is hot at night so I wouldn't suggest opening windows at  bedtime. a swamp cooler may help at night and may not. Evaporative coolers are spendy though.

  Heat rises and your roof heats up way beyond the air temp and radiates down even with vents so living in the upper rooms may not be the best idea. Get a smaller house.

LED lights use about one tenth of the energy but in many cases are initially more expensive and not as bright.

Answer 7

yes AC is the biggest energy user so you should really cut down on AC usage as much as you can. Try investing in a few fans or leave your windows open. Also, get in the habit of using low wattage light bulbs and only using light and other power accessories when needed, dont leave them on when you are not there.  I would DEF turn off the AC downstairs that will SURELY make a big difference in your bill. In winter, i suggest buying some electrical heaters that you plug into the outlet,. buy 3-4 of them and use them in winter instead of turning your thermostat way up, that will also save you money. Or get in the habit of using a fireplace, if you have one.  

Answer 8

With "Central Heat And Air" it is very difficult. Your home is big. I would suggest installing air conditioners in only the rooms you use.

We installed CHA and found out it increased our electric bill. Heating "electric wall heaters" are best, used only in the rooms that are occupied.  

Answer 9

Get lightbulbs that save on energy. Don't leave cell phone charger or any electronics plugged in all the time.

Answer 10

Never leave any t.v.'s or radios or any thing like that on unless you are really listening to it, and try to turn off lights as soon as you leave the room. Also you can try to just open up your curtains instead of even having to use lights at all. Turn off the a.c. in any room nobody is currently occupying

Answer 11

well you can do a lot it just depends on how far you are willing to go:

get more energy eff. light bulbs yes they cost more but they do the job

turn the air up when you are not home, nothing extreme just a few degrees (if you go extreme it cancels itself out because it has to work harder to cool the house down)

dont use the air cond. if you can open windows OR get better insulating windows if it is in the budget

keep the vents closed in rooms you dont use and the doors closed

unplug everything you can when you are not using it,( it still draws elect even if it is not turned on)

make sure you dont leave the fridge open (people never realize how badly they do that)

it takes a bit of discipline but you just have to stay on yourself and family

turning the lights off when you dont need them, use candles when you can (im not talking dark ages but you would be suprised at how it helps)

i hope this helps some...oh and if you have an attic add more insulation if possible

Answer 12

All of what you said will work, get those swirly bulbs they will save a lot.

Answer 13

turn down the ac at night and close the vents that dont need to be used. try not to leave lights of the tvs on when your not watching them. make shure that your windows are shut all the way and they are not leaking out air. one of the things that helped me is closing the vents in the rooms that dont get used often like the bathroom ac vents. your only in there for a few minuets at a time and it cools just by opening the door. your ac wont have to work as hard.

Answer 14

I often tell people they usually can shut off a single room without any problem.

More than that and you start to influence the a/c or heater. You can try shutting off both but you run the risk of not moving enough air and freezing up your coil in the air handler.

The cost of all energy has been going up for everybody so many people are more concerned about how much they use.

You have already been provided with a number of good answers.

Since it is "Hot Vegas" (grin), you might consider ways to keep heat out of or off the house. Trees take years, but blinds and shades on the outside I have read can have a 3 to 5 degree benefit with cooling. Awnings maybe. Put heavy curtains on the windows and keep the heat and light out. Keep as many of them closed as you can, particularly in the unused rooms.

Using mini blinds with curtains adds a layer of insulation. The biggest place for heat loss or gain in a house is the windows. There are also slightly reflective window tinting products that can be put on the glass. So in terms of cutting a/c costs the windows should be a prime focus.

I'm surprised how people in areas that are hot don't use heavy or lined curtains like we do in my area where heating is a bigger concern. They serve the same insulating function for cool as they do for heat.

Get programmable thermostats and set them to turn off early in the morning leaving the a/c off during the day. Then set them to come on an hour or two before you get home. It takes time to cool down a hot house. That could be a big savings. Also close those curtains when gone.

Heat rises, so I don't know how much would be gained by shutting off the cooling downstairs, maybe at night it would help when it is not so hot. But it will make the upstairs unit work much harder if off all day so you would have to just try it to see if that works for you.

Good Luck.  

Answer 15

you do not need HYDRO LAS  VEGAS   SENDING BILL .

    YOU HAD OWN  HYDRO.

WHAT YOU NEED IS STANDBY POWER GENERATOR. it save you tons of money.YOU CAN KEEP YOUR LIGHT no need to BUY.

a 13kw air-cooled standby generator with automatic transfer switch  a power enough to start and a typical

(4 tons)  48,000 BTU a central air condition,as well as other home (REMEMBER THIS BABY INDUSTRIAL ENGINE) appliances and electronics .has  3,000 hours of run time. It Protects 12 circuit of your home.

a CLEAN BURNING FUEL: NATURAL  GAS  or LPV

all weather protection.

Specifications:

Rated Power -LP/NG -13/13 KW

240 V,10 LP/NG -54/54

Engine OHVI - 992ccV-Twin (industrial engine)

Alternator-  RPM-3600

Sound level (dBA)-66

dBA normal -66

Dimension- 48x24x26

Automatic Transfer Switch- 100 amp/12 circuit

total Weight of this BABY is 426

Battery -26/12

If you had  PLASMA large screen T.V this is prize of  this not much.

Answer 16

If you can, get some energy efficient windows.  Check your front door to make sure there isn't a gap at the bottom where you could potentially be losing air.  They have affordable stuff you can hammer in to keep the air in.  Also, get a power strip for you entertainment system and before you go to bed turn it off.  You can also unplug your microwave, if you have one.  Make sure each time you leave a room you shut the light off.  Try to use fans instead of air conditioning.  You may think you are saving money by closing your vents but you're not.  It’s cheaper to have a portable fan on.  Even if your air and fan are running off electric.  If you can turn your ac off downstairs that’s good too.  Wash your clothes in cold water.  Tide has a detergent that is specifically to wash all clothes in cold water.  It works really well and I believe it has saved us money.

Answer 17

Save with rebates from PG&E

Go Solar

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