Energy Saving Methods and Tips!!...please contribute

[Demonaut]

mine:
1, I've stuffed my fireplace with pillows{old fluffy ones} and attached a thick blanket over the brickwork to seal it, it had a terribly cold downdraft that cooled my entire townhome.
2, I've replaced my patio curtain with an old comforter cover and partially sealed it with tape except for the side with the door, that I seal by tensioning the fabric with a large ornamental rock.
3, Against the advice of the guy who replace my gas water heater last year I have wrapped a plastic/fiberglass jacket around it for more insulation.
4, Sealed off 1 bedroom from heat and air conditioning
5, Unscrewed some light bulbs that I rarely used but sometimes accidentally turn on and forget about
6, Keep the blinds drawn on my other patio and all the windows {mostly at nite}



Any other advice would be welcome:-) :-)

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I just found this whole thread filled with suggestions.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=255x2125#2126

[Demonaut]

5. fantastic! guess I posted a little late and in the wrong forum

[BrklynLiberal]

27. No. This forum gets more intial attention I think.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. How good are you at sewing?

Get yourself a blanket-wool or flannel, one of those cheap ones from the dollar store (NOT WalMart!). Fold in half. Sew up the bottom. Put velcro on the open side. Now you have a comforter to wrap up in to watch TV, work on the computer, etc. If you're really talented, you can put in a zipper instead of using velcro.

I used one of those cheap blankets (cost $5) to make my husband a bathrobe, which is the only one he wears during the winter. So that's another thing you can do.

Buy wool socks. Pricey, but worth the inverstment. Wear them with good slippers. Amazing how warm you can feel if your feet are warm.

Make a quilt. Great way of recycling old clothes. Use an old blanket for the filling if you want-you can get them for a couple of bucks from a yard sale or thrift store. You can find many step by step easy quilting books at the library. Instead of buying new fabric, use an old sheet for the back. Just making the quilt keeps you warm, as you usually have all the stuff on your lap as you work!

[drb]

3. I'd actually advise against sealing off the bedroom...

....as the efficiency of your air-conditioner will go down overall if the air flow is restricted.

Here's some more hints:

Replace your most-used light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps.

Insulate the water line leaving your water heater. This is usually the water line without the valve. For some arcane technical reasons, you can loose a bunch of heat - much, much more than you'd think - out of this line. You only need to insulate to the point where it goes into the wall.

Get and use a programmable thermostat.

Make sure that thermostat has an adjustable dead-band (the difference between where it turns on and where it turns off) and set that dead-band to at least 4 degrees. This simple trick alone will save you 10% on your cooling costs and maybe that much on heating, too.

I'm in this professionally - trust me - these are the Real Deal.

[Demonaut]

8. any brand of thermostat to consider?, mine is a 20 year old lever

type

[grannylib]

4. Replace incandescent bulbs with the fluorescent kind, especially in high

use lights

Set thermostat to 65 at night or when you are away (get a timer to do it for you, so you don't forget)

Set hot water heater to a lower temp (particularly good if you have small kids/elderly folks in your home, who could get scalded by too-hot water, and may not have the reflexes to pull away in time to prevent a bad burn)

Vacuum the coils on your fridge regularly

Keep freezer full, but keep room for air to circulate in fridge

Snuggle up with another warm body :7

[Demonaut]

7. In eight years I've never cleaned my coils

its getting done tonite though, thanks!

[grannylib]

16. My pleasure! Never know what lost items you might find back there...

I keep finding Kittys' catnip mousies; they are always batting them back there and then whining 'cos their little toys are out of reach!

[Demonaut]

20. more like dessicated tater tots and milk jug caps behind mine

now I'm a bit worried about that missing hamster turning up

[Demonaut]

22. just cleaned em, found: 1 roll of electrical tape, a box of 8 light bulbs

a food bowl for a rodent cage?, various caps and the rest of that bowl of peas that hit the floor years ago and a small bottle of Visine a third full....the coils weren't that bad but at least they're clean now:-)

[King Coal]

11. You may not like this one.

But, due to a previous career, I can be comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. If you can be comfortable in 50 degrees fahrenheit, you can save a lot of money in heating bills. It just takes a little getting used to.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

6. Wear a soft hat at night in a cold room

[mrcheerful]

9. Best way to save energy?

Get rid of the repukes for starters then hit all oil companies with a price gouging fine that eats up their 300% + profits, then hit them with a price roll back plus a price freeze.

[CelticWinter]

10. my check list

1. check all my windows to make sure they were all caulked and weather stripping on doors didnt need replaced.
2. cleaned furnance and got replacement filters.
3. made draft stoppers for my doors.....little kitties with longggggg tails that go across the bottom of the door.
4. monday is laundry day....no more mini loads during the week if I need something small washed I hand wash and hang in the bathroom.
5. took a lit candle in each room to see if I found any drafts--none found.
anddddd
6. i check weather for the week and make my menu according to the weather---if its cold i make a pot of soup and home made bread.

[Demonaut]

18. that candle advice is great..thanks

[cynatnite]

12. Isn't the plastic/fiberglass jacket flamable? n/t

[Demonaut]

14. the glass is probably fine but I've kept the skirt away from the flame

its been there a year and a half, I do have one smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector nearby in case

[cynatnite]

17. Cool!

I was picturing it way different. You would've :eyes: at me. :rofl:

[progressivebydesign]

13. Wear sox and a sweater. Keep thermostat around 63.

I'm amazed at how many people I meet that keep their house heated around 70 all winter, and even run the heater at night in our moderate climate. 63 is quite comfy. Of course, now that I've gotten so acclimated to that, everything else feels too warm.

Take up knitting and make sox and scarves and hats and blankies for everyone you know. It's gonna be a looong winter.

[cally]

15. I forget the figures but

keeping computers, TVs and other electronics plugged in uses a surprising amount of electricity. We put surge protecters on all these and switch them off when we are done. Also, unplug what you can.

I've been considering making solar blinds. If you go to a fabric store, they have instructions. Essentially, in the middle of the blind is a thermal layer that blocks heat loss and you seal them to the window with velcro so you don't lose heat that way. We have many windows, so I'm going to start on a few and see how hard it is to make these. You can find discounted fabrics various places so it's much cheaper than in fabric stores.

[cynatnite]

19. We have one of those huge outdoor lights on a pole outside...

It came with the house. How can I tell how much electricity that uses? Our bill is a little higher here than the other place and we do work at conserving, but I wonder how much that light uses.

[truth2power]

21. Sleeping bags...

I use a sleeping bag on my bed in the winter. Unzip it (get the square ones, not those "mummy" type) and use it as a comforter.

I have 5 sleeping bags that I keep for when family visits. Give each person their "comforter". Does the job of several blankets.

Here's the good part: You can get a 40 degree rated bag at Sears, Target etc. for about $12.00. I don't buy anything rated higher (50+) than that. You can get a good Coleman sleeping bag (40 or 30 degree rated for about $25.00 or less. With that temp rating you can be toasty warm at night with the thermostat way low. Also bundle up while watching TV.

I can't afford those pricey down comforters and this works just as well, even if they're not as pretty. When you're shopping, open up the bag you're considering and make sure the fill doesn't have big gaps in it. Gotta be careful about that, but if you shop around you can get good buys. :)

[SeattleGirl]

23. Here are a few more:

1. Get a couple of space heaters and use them in the room you happen to be in. I just got one called a Bionaire for $45. It warms a fairly good-sized room pretty quickly. I turn it off when the room gets warm, and don't turn it on again until it starts feeling cold again.

2. We have forced-air gas heat, and I know the cost of that is supposed to go way up. We decided to turn it on only to melt the ice off the walls (:-) ) and then turn it off.

3. Fleece blankets! I have several of them that I cover up with when watching TV or reading or something. They are pretty light-weight, but very warm.

4. A quilt on the bed helps keep you warm. My mom made one for us, not thick but a heavy fabric, and it goes on the bed in winter. That, along with a sheet and the comforter that is always on the bed, keeps us very toasty!

5. Fire up the woodburning stove, (as long as there is no burning ban going on). Our basement is half storage, half finished room, and "my" space. Our gas heater has gone out a few times in the middle of very cold weather, and so we used a space heater in the living room, and I fired up the stove downstairs.

[Demonaut]

24. I thought space heaters were power hogs but I keep seeing them being

recommended

[LuCifer]

25. Mine

most are from that big blue WORLD ALMANAC OF FACTS book!

1. IF YOU AREN'T IN X ROOM, TURN THE DAMN LIGHTS OFF!
2. Keep as LITTLE as you can in your fridge, BUT, keep your freezer PACKED as much as possible, use bags of ice if needbe (WE IN FL WILL BE NEEDING ICE SOON, PROBABLY...) don't ask me why, but that's what they am be say too doodoo!
3. When cooking something in the oven, TURN IT OFF approx. 5 to 10 minutes before it's done cooking. The heat in the oven SHOULD be enough to finish it off.
4. Like #1, when you ain't using your computer, TURN THE DAMN MONITOR OFF! This is good to do when ya run anti-virus/spyware & defrag programs.

Lu

[Bamboo]

26. Weights and Measures

There are foam gaskets for light switches and outlets which are easy to install if everything is not painted over.I put weatherstrip on my doors also,afterward the air conditioner changed cycle time and my towels dried faster in my bathroom.Get an instant read meat thermometer and put it in your refrigerator,it should read 40F.Put the thermometer in a mug and let the hot tap run into it,it should read 125F.I use a 2.2 gallon per minute shower head to save hot water,head has on/off button which I turn off while soaping up.I heard setting computer monitor refresh rate to 60Hz lowers energy consumption but flicker bothers some people,it does produce less heat.

[BrklynLiberal]

28. kicking since more people probably want to know about this stuff,