[81Bronk36]

Hey guys

I was thinkin about something thats been bugging my house since we moved in. My roomate used to own about 20K worth of electronic music making equipment which he has since sold and only has a few things left. The wiring in the house is about half as old as the house itself (built in the last 1800s) Anyways our landlord was forkin out all the utilitys... but complaining heavily about the electricity bill being so high. Never mind my toilet had a slow leak in the flapper and ran every minute or so and my shower drips. Well with our new lease we have to pay the electric bill which can peak at 160 bucks in the summer. Last month was 80, and that was using the lights only when necessary. You see to go along with the old look of the house the landlord installed every single light fixture as a shandalier with about 20 bulbs each. We unscrew all but one or 2 to try and save electricity and that has helped a bit.

I have known for a while that Florecent was the way to go since our power company back home pretty much installed all new fixtures in my entire house for free and my rents have saved some serious $. I did some quick reasearch and this is what I found...


"If every household in the U.S. replaced one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), it would prevent enough pollution to equal removing one million cars from the road. CFLs provide high-quality light, smart technology, and design, requiring less while lasting longer than typical incandescent bulbs.

Earning the ENERGY STAR


ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs use 66% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb and last up to 10 times longer. Replacing a 100-watt incandescent with a 32-watt CFL can save you at least $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb."

-Energystar.gov


my question is this.... anyone else have any real world experience with this type of $$ saving stuff Id like to have cash for the bronk and gas money is nice too.

 

[Davids78Bronco]

If it's 80 bucks a month for electricity... it might be time to invest in candles and oil lanterns. I'm about to get a bunch of the energy saving bulbs, for that same reason. They cost a bit more than a regular bulb, but it'll be worth it

A chandelier for every light fixture? cripe

 

[94 XLT BRONCO]

Yes you can save some $$ with low energy lamps. But actually lightbulbs do not use alot of energy. You gota look at the usage of things like, Oven, hairdryers, Cloths Dryer (this is a big one) and anything thats generates heat. These items are where 90% of your electric bill is comming from. The light usage isn't making that much of a difference unless you have like a hundred lamps on at once :shrug

 

[david95]

Ya most of your money is going to major appliances, my dad always complains about that stuff. Do you have a air conditioner running in the summer? or old refrigerators or any old appliances use a lot more energy than the new ones. just my .02
-david

 

[locopny]

pool pumps and the like suck the power like an alcoholic at a "free Beer" table.

but yes those bulbs will save ya some $$
even got one of those ummm.. name escapes me now...energy saver deals you plug big ticket items into...IE. you refridgerator.
That helped some. bought it when there was an Edison rebate with it. (our power supplier)

 

[Swamp Donkey]

How much does one of the Energy Star bulbs cost?

 

[81Bronk36]

pool pumps and the like suck the power like an alcoholic at a "free Beer" table.

I dont think we have that problem.... its freezing 8 months out of the year!

Heat-gas
stove-gas
microwave-elect... its a big ancient POS but we dont use it all that much
dryer-never thought about that we gotta pay that crap too even though its for our whole house (3 appartments)
fridge-elect... its alright, definatly not new though.


Dave- ya the chandaliers are pretty stupid, with only one bulb working they kick out about enough light. and it can get as high as $160 bucks.


I appreciate EVERYONES contribution to this post, thanks!

 

[Dustball]

I just got last month's bill for my house- elec is $26 and gas is $47. Try getting a newer fridge that's more energy efficient since that's the one appliance that's running at all times.

 

[dogonmut]

160 bucks a month sounds like a great bill. I'll swap you mine from June, July or Aug. They usually come in around $320.00.

Why you say? A/C, fans and the pool filter runs more.

When I was running the shop out of my house the bill would get close to $450.00.

 

[mda]

If you haven't already call your electric company. Most will do an analysis and tell you where your problems are.

You mentioned house and apartments. How is the water heater setup? Gas or Electric? One heater for the entire place or multiple heaters for the apartments. If it is multiple how are they wired and are there multiple meters for the apartments? Is it wrapped? Is it old? Those will kill your bill.

 

[jermil01]

Insulation is huge, especially in colder climates. Even down here in Florida builders are big on insulation to keep the cold in and the heat out. Windows also are very important. If you don't have a good seal on them, you'll be losing heat that way as well. I've changed most of my bulbs in the house to the new energy efficient type and noticed a difference in the electric bill, but in FLA we run the A/C from March through November so we don't ever get much of a break.