Comments on: Slashing Electricity Costs http://educatingthewheelers.com/2006/03/09/slashing-electricity-costs/ Chronicling the Experience of Educating our Children and Managing our Family Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:05:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Marilyn http://educatingthewheelers.com/2006/03/09/slashing-electricity-costs/#comment-72 Fri, 24 Mar 2006 01:51:19 +0000 http://educatingthewheelers.com/2006/03/09/slashing-electricity-costs/#comment-72 Some other tips from a reader in Maryland who is going to be getting a 72% increase in electric rates come July when deregulation kicks in (well, the politicians who passed it 6 years ago and told us we would get lower rates keep saying they'll do something, but ...) Close your closet doors - if you keep them open, you're heating another room in your house, probably. If you have an electric water heater, see if you can get a time to turn it off during most of the day. May not work for you since you're home all day, but we aren't and ours is turned off most of the time between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. My daughter can still get a hot bath because the water in the tank stays warm for about 12 hours (especially with the insulating blanket around the tank; that cost only $12 or so 16 years ago). We have a time of use meter so our electicity rates are highest durin the day and cheapest overnight and on the weekends. That makes our hot water cost even cheaper. Some other tips from a reader in Maryland who is going to be getting a 72% increase in electric rates come July when deregulation kicks in (well, the politicians who passed it 6 years ago and told us we would get lower rates keep saying they’ll do something, but …)

Close your closet doors - if you keep them open, you’re heating another room in your house, probably.

If you have an electric water heater, see if you can get a time to turn it off during most of the day. May not work for you since you’re home all day, but we aren’t and ours is turned off most of the time between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. My daughter can still get a hot bath because the water in the tank stays warm for about 12 hours (especially with the insulating blanket around the tank; that cost only $12 or so 16 years ago). We have a time of use meter so our electicity rates are highest durin the day and cheapest overnight and on the weekends. That makes our hot water cost even cheaper.

]]> by: mapgirl http://educatingthewheelers.com/2006/03/09/slashing-electricity-costs/#comment-44 Thu, 09 Mar 2006 16:33:00 +0000 http://educatingthewheelers.com/2006/03/09/slashing-electricity-costs/#comment-44 If I may, I'd like to offer you another tip, turn off all passive electricity use. If you have appliances that have little red or green status lights when they're turned 'off', they're not really off. Just plug them in right before you use them and unplug them after. It's not a lot, but if you're really gadget-y, it could help! ps - I'll be updating my blogroll soon and I'll be adding you! Thanks for reading! :-D If I may, I’d like to offer you another tip, turn off all passive electricity use. If you have appliances that have little red or green status lights when they’re turned ‘off’, they’re not really off. Just plug them in right before you use them and unplug them after. It’s not a lot, but if you’re really gadget-y, it could help!

ps - I’ll be updating my blogroll soon and I’ll be adding you! Thanks for reading! :-D

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