What are some ways to lower my heat/energy bill?

Question

Not anything too complicated, and hopefully something good for the enviornment. :)

Thanks!

Answer 1

Turn off the lights when you leave a room, and get halogen light bulbs instead of the regular ones....

Answer 2

to add moisture to the air, i hang up all my clothes on hangers in the hallway.  that way, i don't have to pay to dry my clothes AND i don't have to pay to a humidifier to add moisture to the air.  i turn my thermostat down to 63 and wear sweaters in the winter.  those "curly" lightbulbs (CFL's) really help a lot.  turn off your computer and all the peripherals every night.  anything with a light on it or a sleep mode on it, it uses energy, shut it off or unplug it.

Answer 3

Dress warm...use your appliances sparingly..set your water heater on medium..

work on replacing windows and doors to energy efficient ..Read a book and turn off the TV ... go outside and walk .. smile alot!

Answer 4

In the winter, dress in layers, lower your themostat, snuggle up to your spouse/significant other, read books (don't watch tv).

In the summer keep your windows open for the breeze, drink cold liquids to keep your core cool...

All pretty simple and pretty cheap...

Answer 5

We installed a wood stove some years back and get almost all of out heat from it. A couple of local landscapers know that we heat with wood and drop off rounds when they take down a tree in the neighborhood. This saves them money and keeps the wood out of the landfills. I save money on heat. I don't have to go to the gym to get a workout; splitting wood is good exercise.  The wood ash gets spread on the sidewalk to melt snow and ice or on the lawn and garden to "sweeten"  the soil. The only cost is for chainsaws and the power to run them. Annual savings are on the order of a thousand USD per year for me.

Answer 6

If possible, dry your clothes on a clothes line or rack instead of the dryer!  You use less energy on drying (try none!) and your clothes last longer and smell so nice if you can do it outside.  Plus the sun actually helps keep your whites white.  And never wash only one or two items at a time, it wastes energy and water.

Answer 7

Try hanging curtains over all your windows. Warm up by a fire, if you can.

Answer 8

Turn down your thermostat,use compact florescent bulbs.turn of lights when not using,make sure doors and windows are sealing properly,don't use air conditioner during summer.

Answer 9

Live in a building with others occupying space on all sides, above and below. Even allowing for one window wall facing the south will not hurt.

Use venetian blinds that you close at night in heating season, and during the Day in cooling season.

You will accomplish more with that window wall if you have a concrete shell  around your apartment.

If you have a black pipe exposed to the sun in that window wall, you can have warm water  at minimal extra cost, no energy. Ideally it will be outside of the venetian blind... but pouting it there means it must be frost tolerant.

Go to triple glazing on the window wall to both cut heat loss and provide some frost protection for your solar water heater.

Now solar electric panels will lower your energy consumption, but for the next few years may not cut your costs.

By keeping your decor light coloured, and cutting back on lighting, lighting with curly fluorescent tubes, not incandescent nor halogen.

Use a switch  or unplug to turn off devices that continue to use power when not in use.

Do not heat above 18C  nor cool below 30C.

If outside temperature is below 30C, use ventilation instead of air conditioning.

Wear warm clothes in winter to be comfortable with less heating,

If you have a detached home, insulate the top of the soil round the basement with SM insulation covered with stone, to prevent having the basement walls so cold below soil level. (The traditional practise of leaving basement  walls uninsulated below the soil line to protect them from being broken by freezing soil outside them should still be observed. We want to cut heat loss from the soil, not destroy the basement walls.)

Heavy insulation in roof crawl spaces, yes, but also ventilate the crawl space to avoid buildup of heat that will soak into the house and destroy asphalt roofing.

If you were building a new house, build to a standard like R2000 or better.

Consider a solar electric roof... it can provide you with not only the electricity you use, but also all the heat you need.

Consider geothermal heat pumps, or solar-assisted heat pumps for heating. Geothermal heat pumping if you also need cooling.

Dispense with a deep freeze, use dehydration instead. During summer move the fridge out of cooled areas or use the condensing coils to preheat water. In the heating season leave the fridge indoors.

Instead of using a clothes dryer, best hang clothes out of doors, One caution, however, in strong wind clothes can beat themselves to death if left beyond the point of being nearly dry



second best hang them in a closet with a dehumidifier running.

Use a clothes washer that spins at high speed to minimize energy needed to dry clothes, and is a front load to minimize the amount of heated water needed. (or use cold water washing).

Prewash your dishes in cold water.

Drive no car... or at worst drive a car that can travel a mega-metre with no more than 60 litres of fuel. Drive far fewer kms, and keep your km/h to the optimum for the vehicle (often around 90).

Answer 10

Turn off power points when not in use. This will stop electrical goods like TV, Stereo, Computer etc from using power overnight when they are in standby mode.

Answer 11

What you can do this minute:  turn down the thermostat a few degrees, turn off devices you aren't using, dry clothes in the bathroom to humidify the house instead of using the dryer, drive more smoothly and coast up to lights instead of holding speed and then jamming on the brakes.

What you can do next week:  use CF bulbs, check the seals around your doors and windows for air leaks, put plastic over your windows.

What you can do sometime this year:  get rid of big plasma-screen TVs and use an LCD (smaller is less power-hungry).  If you're buying a car this year, get a Honda or Toyota hybrid.

Answer 12

usually heating water is the most consuming on your electricity.

Only fill your kettle with the amount of water you need, no more.

Electric showers or the immersion heater in the hot water tank take a lot of energy so keep showers short and baths with less water and turn of the immersion when its not needed.

And all the rest:

turn off lights when not in the room

turn off electrical appliances when not in use

Answer 13

Here's what I do:  change furnace filters monthly, have AC/furnace preventive maintenace annually, caulk cracks around windows and doors, keep thermostat at 70 deg F in winter and 78 deg F in summer, plant trees on sunny side of house to provide shade, consider new AC/furnace system if more than 12 years old.