Our electricity bill arrived today in my inbox (do people still get these in the mail?). I'm glad to say it is down again from the month prior to $164.92.
In fact compared to last March it is down as well. That $300+ bill two months ago brought home the fact that we could do better when it comes to our electricity use.
I'm going to guess most of the electricity is from heating (except for a gas fireplace, the home is all electric). We are in another cold snap, so we'll see what the next bill looks like!
I've made an effort to make sure we are skipping the water heating for washing clothes. I also unplugged my daughter's Wii U and shut down my husband's computer. The computer was probably drawing some power since it's battery doesn't really hold a charge very well and DH generally just puts it to sleep rather than full shut down mode.
My next step is to start experimenting with drying our clothes without the dryer. I will probably use it for 5 minutes for each load to give the clothes a head start on drying. We already do hang some graphic T shirts (since the designs fade and crack in the dryer) and fleece items (since they dry fast). I figure this will be quite helpful in keeping electricity costs down, while also keeping more heat out of our home this summer.
My first plan is to avoid buying anything, but I may need to buy a drying rack. I cannot put up a clothes line per our neighborhood covenants (sometimes these rules irritate me!).
I might also look into a water heater blanket, but possibly not until fall as it will be hot here very soon. Our water heater is in our unheated garage so I can imagine that is not very efficient.
Do you use your dryer? What do you do to conserve electricity?
Lowering Electricity Costs
March 14th, 2017 at 06:49 pm
March 14th, 2017 at 09:23 pm 1489526606
March 14th, 2017 at 09:40 pm 1489527658
I know it isn't a lot, but I unplug whatever small kitchen appliances we have. I make coffee about every day, but unplug it after drinking what I want and any extra I put in a Mason jar in the fridge. Sometimes I just heat up the stuff leftover in the Mason jar instead of brewing a new batch.
March 14th, 2017 at 11:16 pm 1489533383
I use the dryer for 10 minutes - long enough to get the static cling thing around in the dryer a few times and then everything gets hung up to finish drying. I have a drying rack I love from Ikea - I think I paid 15 dollars for it - that can hold 2 loads of laundry. I use it a lot from the spring through the fall (spring in the house to avoid the pollen or else white cloths are yellow) I can do a quick load before I leave the house and by the time I am home for lunch it is dry. I love sun dried sheets!
March 14th, 2017 at 11:35 pm 1489534526
March 15th, 2017 at 02:36 am 1489545415
https://www.wayfair.ca/Woolite-Collapsible-Wall-Drying-Rack-YEU1010.html is efficient. I hang apparel to dry on hangers after 3-5 minutes in dryer for convenience. We are not allowed to hang wash outside but in summer I've a rod attached to the balcony back wall, invisible outside our condo for sheets. I think there are several lists for saving KWH.
March 15th, 2017 at 11:31 am 1489577508
March 18th, 2017 at 01:23 am 1489800212