Comments on: 29 Ways to Save a Small Fortune on Your Energy Bill

By: Ignoring Your Single Largest Expense is Folly

Ignoring Your Single Largest Expense is Folly — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:18:16 +0000

[...] I’m guilty as charged. These Savings Tips that I’ve written have ranged from saving time and money with dinner groups to 29 Ways to Save a Fortune on Your Energy Bill. [...]

By: Jesse

Jesse — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:50:56 +0000

@Kim, sorry. In re-reading that, I wasn’t very clear. Usually a freezer/refrigerator will have a recommended temperature — just adjust your freezer/refrigerator to be at the maximum recommended temperature (warmest).

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:26:29 +0000

I’m confused over point 29, do you mean this is not weather dependant, and we should have the fridge up at its highest cooling ability at all times throughout the year? Wouldn’t that use considerably more electricity in summer, than just having it on the middle area?

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:27:04 +0000

#11 only applies if you want to cool the room. If you want to move warm air around, you want the air to go UP in the middle. Heat vents are usually placed near outside walls. The warm air rises along those walls, cooling as it rises and travels along the ceiling. It then falls in the middle, as it cools more.

By moving air up with the fan, you’re pulling the warm air along the floor, where you feet want it, and up the middle of the room, to cool as it moves down the walls.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:26:54 +0000

Hi Brad. About the door being left open, that’s the door to the laundry room, not the door to the dryer itself. Since your dryer is in a garage, it’s a moot point for you.

By: Nikki

Nikki — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:29:41 +0000

Regarding the lint filter, sometimes it may not be allowing adequate air through. To check, after you get the lint off, run water in it. If water does not flow through easily, wash it! I think a film develops from dryer sheet use, or maybe just microscopic lint fibers.

By: Pam

Pam — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:27:41 +0000

It may not help a lot, but we have our TV/DVD/Cable Box plugged into a power strip. These devices draw a small amount of power if left plugged in. At bedtime, we flip the strip off. It’s off from 11PM until 8:00PM the next day.

Also, we’ve started turning off our laptops (2) at night, and they don’t go on until we get home from work the next day.

Never leave cell phone power supplies plugged in. Basically, everything that does not need power through the day is UNPLUGGED.

By: Brad

Brad — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:17:32 +0000

In reference to #5 suggestion, check out using LED bulbs to replace your the light bulb in your refrigerator. LED bulbs use less than 20% of the energy of a flourescent bulb and in a refrigerator that means less heat from the internal light bulb to pump back out from when you close the door again. LED bulbs will last a lot longer if the ambient temperature where they are used in cool or cold. I know that the bulbs are expensive but they have a very long life and use very little power. Do a search with Google for “LED Light Bulbs” see what you find.

By: Brad

Brad — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:44:52 +0000

I am confused by #26, If we leave the door open on the dryer at least some of the clothes will fall out on the floor and the advice seems to be the reverse of what I would do since our dryer is in the garage, an uncontrolled temperature space, that is very hot on summer afternoons and pretty cold in the winter even in southern california.

By: derek

derek — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:28:07 +0000

A great energy saving alternative to replacing your windows is installing a year round insulating window film, like Energy Film. www.Energy-Film.com These films are non-adhesive, easy to install and can save up to 12-18% on your heating and cooling bills annually. I purchased mine from home depot and they seem to be working great!