cutting your electrical bill

[Sk8r]

A concern to everybody with big tanks...
Here are some methods I've found.

1. all over the house, install those curlique energy saver bulbs.
2. get drape liner, even if you don't have drapes. http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/Products.aspx?ItemID=151ef79&ItemTyp=G&GrpTyp=SIZ&ShowMenu=T&ShopBy=0&SearchString=blackout+curtains&RefPage=SearchDepartment.aspx&CmCatId=SearchResults&Search1Prod=True
This is a sample of what's out there. It's not that pricey, is dead simple to hang, adds to curtains already there or as standalone, and can be added to apartment drapes---and taken with you--- with no issues. The result is a room in deep, deep dusk. Also good for TV viewing.

Draw these during the heat of the day and while you are gone. Their use cuts way back on solar heating of your house/apartment/tank.

3. Install ceiling fans: that despised-by-designers feature distributes air generally and keeps your thermostat from turning on the AC too often.

4. grow vines or fast-growing trees to shade your house. The energy absorbed by one tree is amazing. Think twice before cutting down a tree that shades you.

5. be sure your fireplace flue is shut. No sense the AC going up the chimney

Anybody else got one?

[crvz]

measure things on a kill-a-watt device. things like computers and other devices that we leave on unnecessarily can really add up.

[LobsterOfJustice]

UNPLUG things when not in use (cell phone chargers, powerstrips, etc.).

[mudskipper1]

shorter showers
change thermostat up in summer...down in winter
cook on the grill in the summer, so you dont heat the house to cook, and then have to cool it with AC. dry clothes on a clothesline.

[COLAMAN24]

1. dont shower but once a week
2. wear cloths 2-3 days depending on smell
3. run extention cords from neighbors outside outlets


4. do all the above and you will not have friends thus saving money on food and phone bill also


:smokin: :smokin: :smokin:

[heller792]

I now have timers on everything, the tv,dvd player,broadband modem,router,external lights,satalite tv box, these items used to be on all night or at least standby which uses loads of electricity. By doing this I have managed to offset atleast the 250w halide light unit.

[Sk8r]

Timers on these backup devices is a good thing. For convenience I can't be plugging and unplugging them all day, but putting them on timer is a very good notion.

[ricks]

Drain your tank????

[Duff Man]

Programmable thermostats can save you a ton of money.

[flashyleopard]

If you use window units, put them on timers to keep the house at 75F+, while you are away from home and then to come back on to a comfortable setting an hour before you normally get home.

If you live in a temperate or mild climate and keep reptiles, that require basking and/or UVB lights, place them outdoors, when possible. Be mindful or too hot locations and areas accessible to predatory pets, wild animals, or children.

install storm doors, replace old appliances with newer, energy efficient models, replace windows with gas filled, double paned versions.

Run the washing machine on a sorter cycle for normal clothes and use coldwater as often as possible. If dryin clothes in the dryer, smaller loads dry better and are not wrinkled, so omit ironing or ''fluffing''.

Avoid using the heated dry feature or high temp wash on your dishwasher, unless needed.

Try warm showers, instead of steaming hot. It is better for your hair and skin anyway.

Use solar covers to heat pools and spas, instead of the heater.

Run tank lights on a reverse cycle, so the light don't compete with the air conditioner.

Hook up generators to hyperactive children to power whole neighborhoods, cities, towns, states, countries, or the world.

Using timers on your circulation pumps in your tank to alternate flow will benifit your livestock and they don't have to run all the time.

Turn lights off, when you aren't in the room and encourage others to do so also.

This may sound gross, but since it's just me and my other half, I don't flush everytime I pee.....that saves water and really is why I do it...it's not cause I'm lazy. A number 2 gets a flush....EVERYTIME. Guess that was a water saver, not electricity...hehe

Ceiling fans

run a woodstove, pellet stove, or fire place in the cooler months, instead of the electric heat.

Keep room doors closed that don't need the air conditioner, if you run window units. We have a big one to heat the hallway and living room and kitchen. I make sure the doors to the hallway bathroom is closed (maybe so no one smells the pee...j/k) and the office door, so the air conditioner doesn't work any harder.

Put your pets that need climate control in the smallest room and most insulated cage possibel. For example, I will be putting my display tank in my office, so that we can easily cool that smaller room, rather than trying to cool the livingroom, that is open to the kitchen and hallway.

That's all I got.

[chimmike]

we unplug the plasma tv when not in use as those things gobble power. Pretty much unplug everything when not in use except for the tv in the bedroom, washer/dryer, and hot water heater. all cell chargers and stuff are unplugged unless in use. lights on tank are on a timer.

one thing to watch out for with ceiling fans: If run on high, they eat a TON of power. Check the power useage ratings on your fans to see what they use at low and medium. Also, try some fans out. Some at medium put out what others do on high, and some have absolutely worthless low and medium speeds.

[BrokeColoReefer]

put 10kW of solar modules on your house :)

[Mr. Brooks]

Hilarious COLAMAN24 lol

[cloak]

Kinda vague.

[Saltz Creep]

Convert to an alternate method of reefkeeping



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v45/Cannonball888/AmishTank.jpg
AmishReef.com

[chimmike]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13175964#post13175964 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BrokeColoReefer
put 10kW of solar modules on your house :)

If solar panels and systems weren't so ridiculously expensive, I'd have a 5kw unit on my house right now!

[sk8rreefgeek]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13171899#post13171899 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by COLAMAN24
1. dont shower but once a week
2. wear cloths 2-3 days depending on smell



:smokin: :smokin: :smokin:

I had to take off 3 & 4 cuz I wouldn't want to be stuck in jail, with no friends.

But, this is actually a HUGE source of energy consumption. Many houses and apt buildings have electric water heaters, washers, and dryers.

Also, when your girlfriend leaves the fridge door (sometimes freezer at the same time) wide open while she looks for that special mug, answers a phone call,...etc. ya, that doesn't help either ;)

[BigJay]

1. Cut your halide photoperiod. Corals don't need 10-12 hours of light per day to survive. Most will do fine with 6 hours of halides and an extra hour or so of dusk/dawn with the actinics only.

2. I'm sure it's been said, run the lights in the cooler evening hours so that your AC isn't fighting mid day heat and the tank at the same time. You get the added bonus of actually enjoying your tank when you get home from work.

3. Cooling fans are a must. It not only keeps the chiller from coming on as frequently, but the AC too.

[BrokeColoReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13176755#post13176755 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chimmike
If solar panels and systems weren't so ridiculously expensive, I'd have a 5kw unit on my house right now!

yep, you have to have rebates instated by your local power companies for solar to be a reality for most people. I sell the stuff, and live out of rebate area, a system to run my reeftank would be in the neighborhood of $70,000. The same system in a rebate area would be around $20,000, which will power a normal house for about 30 years.

ok, sorry no more hijack.

[RyanMcLaughlin]

Unplug your tv, stereo, game systems, etc. Items like these use 40% of their full power in standby mode.

[Rendos]

Sounds like a topic more suitable for the lounge.
What does this have to do with "Reef Discussion"?

[Vincerama2]

Does your tank have two lights? I have two 175W MH bulbs on two different ballasts, I have them on staggered timing. So one comes on an hour after the other, then shuts off an hour later. Sooo...

If I want eight hours of light, I can run each light for only 7 hours staggered and get 8 hours, though two of those hours are with only one bulb on. But it saves power and the corals/fish probably appreciate the sunrise/set effect (sort of).

V

[Screename_116]

I've heard it before to unplug cell phone chargers, and such. But do they really suck up power when the phone isn't plugged into them?

[virginiadiver69]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13180053#post13180053 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanMcLaughlin
Unplug your tv, stereo, game systems, etc. Items like these use 40% of their full power in standby mode.
No they don't.

[virginiadiver69]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13181065#post13181065 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Screename_116
I've heard it before to unplug cell phone chargers, and such. But do they really suck up power when the phone isn't plugged into them?
It uses a trickle of electricity. Not enough to even notice. But the feeling a person gets when they feel like they're making a difference...priceless.
Vote for hope. :lol:

[Sk8r]

'Sounds like a topic more suitable for the lounge.
What does this have to do with "Reef Discussion"?

---The issue is the number of reefers, particularly with big tanks and mh, really hurting re power bills in certain areas of the country. I would like to see them able to curtail those bills and stay in the hobby.

[LulusMoogle]

I don't know about you guys, but unplugging and plugging things in for me is a bit more of an inconvenience since I have some sort of self-diagnosed ADD... ;)

I turn off electronics (such as computers, TVs, stereos, amps... all that jazz) and lights when I'm not using them. I never turn on lights in the day since my house gets enough sunlight through the windows (not directly, though) to see clearly. If a certain set of lights can be dimmed or turned down, then I turn them down. I kinda like being a mushroom. :)

We have also installed fluorescent bulbs (which have problems of their own in the long run, but that's a different discussion) which really do save a lot of electricity.

In the summer, we never run our thermostat above 73 or 74. And in the winter, our house is at a chilly 68 to 70. But it's okay. It's actually kinda pleasant. :)

Those things have been the most help, I find. Just simple things like that.

[James77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13180053#post13180053 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanMcLaughlin
Unplug your tv, stereo, game systems, etc. Items like these use 40% of their full power in standby mode.

Xbox 360 uses 2.5 watts of power when off.
Tvs, microwaves, etc usually use in the low single digits for standby.

[BrokeColoReefer]

phantom loads can be a problem once you add them all up. One way to combat this is to put switches on your outlets. Once you have you tank running as efficiently as you can you can start to attack all the other loads in the home. Microwaves, alarm clocks, tv's, computers etc. all produce phantom loads.

here is a snippit on the phantom load wiki.
[edit] Consequences of standby power
The wasted standby power of household electronic devices is typically very small, but the sum of all such devices within the household becomes significant. Standby power makes up a portion of homes' steadily rising miscellaneous electric load, which also includes small appliances, security systems, and other small power draws.

Standby power is typically 10 to 15 watts per device, and occasionally more.[3]

For any single appliance the load is never very large (the most inefficient designs draw 15-20 watts[4]), however when factored over all of the appliances in a country like the U.S. the load can come to billions of watts. Some studies have suggested that the total phantom load caused by the United States alone would provide enough power to handle the electric needs of Vietnam, Peru, and Greece.[5]

Alan Meier, a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in Berkeley, noted that many household appliances are never fully switched off, but spend most of the time in a standby mode. His 1998 study estimated that standby power consumption accounted for approximately 5% of total residential electricity consumption in America, “adding up to more than $3 billion in annual energy costs”. According to America's Department of Energy, national residential electricity consumption in 2004 was 1.29 billion megawatt hours (MWh)—5% of which is 64m MWh. The wasted energy, in other words, is equivalent to the output of 18 typical power stations. His 2000 study showed that standby power accounted for around 10% of household power-consumption.

A similar study in France in 2000 found that standby power accounted for 7% of total residential consumption. Further studies have since come to similar conclusions in other developed countries, including the Netherlands, Australia and Japan. Some estimates put the proportion of consumption due to standby power as high as 13%.

From the US department of Energy:

"Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These "phantom" loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. This can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance."[6]

A careful analysis of the energy cost would also account for the effects of standby power on heating and cooling. During warm periods, more energy will be consumed for cooling. During cool periods, the heat generated by devices on standby may slightly reduce the need to heat a building by other methods. But electric heat is generally less energy efficient than other forms of heating. The net effect on energy efficiency however depends on the climate and heating and cooling methods used.

[mudskipper1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standby_power

here is a quick read about "phantom draw"

I realize it is wikipedia, not the best source, but it has good general info.

http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/TenCoolListDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=27367

That link has 20 tips to "go green" and save money at the same time.

Another couple phantom draw links

http://www.coolcaledon.org/PDFs/Phantom_Electrical_Loads.pdf

http://homehomeappliances.blogspot.com/2007/11/phantom-loads-draw-more-current-than.html

[xtm]

This is very simple yet effective... If you feel HOT, take a bath. Then fire up the fan instead of the A/C.

Also when it's very hot in the house, I just drive to the mall and chill. I don't have to turn on the house A/C ;)

[mudskipper1]

the bath comment made me think of another, either get solar hot water which is a cheaper alternative to photovoltaics, or use an on demand water heater(especially applicable if you dont use a ton of hot water, since most of the energy would be wasted keeping that large tank of water heated when you will only use a small percentage at once...)

[defib]

A big one to help with the AC bill is to make sure that you have enough insulation in your attic... walls to but it's kind hard to add insulation to those after the fact. Also look at ways to stop air leakage in your house. Caulking and the weatherizers (sp) for outlets and light switchs can help considerably.

[Goofyjas]

I have installed a product on my windows called Gila film, WOrks great in keeping heat out or AC in. Goes on like limo tint and there are a few different types, I have noticed the AC doesnt run as much since I have alot of windows that get morning sunlight.

[blackthunda77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13185671#post13185671 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xtm
This is very simple yet effective... If you feel HOT, take a bath. Then fire up the fan instead of the A/C.

Also when it's very hot in the house, I just drive to the mall and chill. I don't have to turn on the house A/C ;)

IMO the money you are wasting in gas driving to and from the mall would probably negate to outweigh the money you are "saving" not having to turn on your AC when you feel hot. All in all its money were trying to save no? that tactic still works though when you are working all day and the AC is not on untill you get home. ive been out of work for about a month now and i have seen very well my bill go up since then, almost all of which has to do with the AC staying on more.