How to reduce your electricity bill & help save the planet (and your pocket!)

[AnnWai]

Oh wait.. sorry my bad. Just asked mom and she said its around $200... baahahaha. (why did i think 1000 - 1500?)

[TriniXaeno]

$200! Damn.

That's nearly $10,000 less a year you pay in Electricity that we do?

You what I could do with $10,000 extra spending money?! steups

Enough is enough yes. Drastic action shall commence.

[Redlum08]

$200! Damn.

That's nearly $10,000 less a year you pay in Electricity that we do?

You what I could do with $10,000 extra spending money?! steups

Enough is enough yes. Drastic action shall commence.

Stop downloading PRON overnight Wyatt, and don't leave the PS3 on, that will cost you big time

[TriniXaeno]

hhahhaa @ nrop.

But all kicks aside, that's exactly one of the things I intend to tackle. The primary desktop is on pretty much 24/7. Gonna replace that with a laptop setup attached to the big screen.

Since they sip on power.

The wife is attached to my gaming rig. The only way I can ween her off is by making it "look" like the desktop. Complete with external keyboard, mouse and monitor. lol

Spending money to save money.....sigh.

But if I can shave $500 off the bill every two months, it will pay back for itself in a year.

[TriniXaeno]

Since the Black & Decker power monitor didn't quite deliver on the goods, got the Kill-a-Watt device to add to my electricity bill cutting arsenal.



Started by testing a regular Lasko fan.

The result, TT$26 a month, if left running 24/7.

Not bad at all.

Next stop, the deep freeze!

By the end of the month, I should have some meaty info on the power consumption of all the major electronics and appliances (110v) around the house.

Kill-a-Watt cannot handle 220v equipment unfortunately.

For that, I'll need to upgrade to the TED.

[Arcmanov]

Ay... I may want to borrow that to test my two always-on UPSes.  I need to know once and for all where the power-hog is.

...but then $470 for a 60-day cycle doesn't seem that bad.




Swyped from another Galaxy using Tapatalk

[TriniXaeno]

Yeah no probs.

Did the Deep Freeze, TT$22.00 a month

and one of the Fridges: TT$28.47 a month

Strange that the fridge is sucking more than the deep freeze.

Next stop, the gaming computer.

[Notnice]

I'll have to get one of that Kill-a-Watt soon myself

[SPK]

Right now I'm just waiting on our next billing cycle to see what kind of damage I'll have, due to some recent additions to the household (AC units, pool pump)...currently it stands at about $550 per cycle.

[W1nTry]

Expect closer to 1K now

[TriniXaeno]

One of the small AC units: $118.00
Gaming Desktop PC (System Unit alone)    $49.00
26" Asus LCD: $11.00

So the gaming PC on with the monitor costs more to run than the deep freeze, the fridge, the laptop and the fan combined. lol

Talk about an energy hog.

Still, it pales in comparison to the AC unit. Air Condition burns through current like whoa. And this was the smallest unit in the house. The others are twice the size. (Can't check those because they run on 220, Kill-a-watt only does 110v devices)

Safe to assume, they'll swallow more than half of the monthly bill if left on 24/7.

Time to purchase some Lasko fts (savings)

[Netizen1]

A/C is a funny thing, it draws more power when the compressor's on. The compressor comes on when cooling... therefore, if you have it set to really low (<20 C) then you're really sucking up electricity.

Some weeks ago there was an write-up on Air Conditioning in one of our local papers. The advice given was basically to keep the units about 2-3 degrees cooler than outside so they don't burn through your pockets. Also, if you've got a timer built-in, then set it to HOT (30 C) during the day so the comp. never comes on, then an hour or two before you expect to get home, have it go down to the temp. you want, thereby having the house cooled by the time you get home. Drastic changes in temp. also cause the comp. to work overtime to cool the house, so try to gently cool the place down, rather than have it go from 32 -> 22 in one shot.

See if you can find it in either the Express or Newsday, a weekend earlier this month

[TriniXaeno]

or you can just buy a lasko fan.

Did my dlink wireless router for kicks. A reasonable TT$1.51 per month

Next up, the gaming consoles and 52" LCD.

Lasko Fan    $26.71 Deep Freeze    $22.00 Silver Fridge    $24.00 Lenovo Laptop    $6.00 AC unit Brad Room    $118.00 Gaming Desktop PC    $49.00 26" Asus LCD    $11.00 HP Laptop    $6.80

Wireless Router    $1.51

[madmunkie]

or you can just buy a lasko fan.

Did my dlink wireless router for kicks. A reasonable TT$1.51 per month

Next up, the gaming consoles and 52" LCD.

Lasko Fan    $26.71 Deep Freeze    $22.00 Silver Fridge    $24.00 Lenovo Laptop    $6.00 AC unit Brad Room    $118.00 Gaming Desktop PC    $49.00 26" Asus LCD    $11.00 HP Laptop    $6.80

Wireless Router    $1.51

Good job man, I'm interested in seeing the results for these especially since the PS3 slim does not have an off switch and is basically on standby 24/7. Keep us posted

[TriniXaeno]

Ah...you make a good point. I'll test it in both modes then.

While fully engaged and while sitting idle in standby.

[TriniXaeno]

Did the water pump, a whopping $180 per Month.

That's the highest energy consumer tested at home to date.

Ridiculous.

Also did the HomeTheatre altogether: It came in at a reasonable $60 per month. (Wii, PS3, 360, HTPC, cable box and 52" LCD)

Usually only one of the consoles/HTPC is on at a time so the results are as expected.

[Netizen1]

Ha! I leave my pump off until water goes, and even then, we only turn it on for showers (and quick ones at that)

I guess my water conservation is also saving me dollars on the light bill!!

[Spazosaurus]

2k+ a month here. 4 split a/c units, 3 chillers, a BIG fridge, another smaller one, a 6'x3' chest deep freeze as well as another tall ass standing deep freeze plus other industrial type equipment, not counting the 5 or 6 pc's and two big screen tv's.

Still, I do what I can to reduce power. Switched to a LED tv and leave only my server machine running while away from home. Still, just a drop in the bucket.

[Mez]

LOL and yet in all dat space, Awesome cyah find no skill nowhere!

[TriniXaeno]

I still find your bill low for the amount of equipment you running there Awesome.

On the plus side, actually had a reduction in my bill since getting the Kill-a-Watt and being a bit pragmatic with the energy hogs at home.

Replaced the "always on" gaming PC with a laptop. Changed another CRT to an LCD as well.

In addition to being more frugal with AC, Lights and the water pump.

Actually replacing the water pump as we speak with a newer (and hopefully more energy efficient) model.

The old unit ran at 800watts, the new one is 400watts. Should see a marked reduction. Fingers and toes crossed.

Not really much options left to squeeze savings from my bill.

Would be satisfied with $1000.00 - $1200 but that might be wishful thinking