What goes up must come down...

image from Sacramento State

Energy rates are going up in California, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and elsewhere.

Either your paycheck must go up, or your energy use must go down.

So barring any year-end bonuses, I wanted to post an excerpt of strategies from Xcel Energy to help bring home energy costs down without spending any money to upgrade equipment.

1. Heating and cooling uses 45% of the typical house's energy.
Reduce indoor thermostat temperature from 72 to 68 degrees during the heating season to save 5 percent on heating costs.

2. Household appliances, such as ranges, ovens, and microwave ovens, account for 15% of the typical home's energy use.
Use lids to trap steam and help food cook faster.

3. A water heater uses 11% of the typical home's energy use.
Take a short shower. Every minute you cut from your shower time saves three gallons of water and the energy used
to heat the water. You’ll save hundreds of gallons of water a year taking showers over baths, and you’ll save the energy to heat all that wasted water.

4. A clothes washer and dryer uses 10% of typical household energy.
Dry loads back to back. Since your dryer retains heat, dry several loads in a row. You can reduce the heat level on the last load or two. Dry your lightweight items together, using a lower heat setting for less time.

5. Lighting uses 7% of a home's energy.
Turn off lights when unneeded. Every time you turn off lights when they’re not needed, you’re saving energy and money. Keeping one 75-watt bulb off for one hour per day saves $2.15 per year.

6. Your refrigerator uses 6% of your home's energy.
Cover your food. Covered foods reduce power consumption by limiting moisture evaporation into the air. Moist
air takes more energy to cool than dry air, forcing the compressor to work harder. Plus, your refrigerator will smell better.

7. Your dishwasher uses 2% of your home's energy.
Scrape your dishes. Scrape your dishes instead of rinsing to save water and the energy needed to heat the water.

8. A computer & monitor uses 2% of household energy, as do TVs, VCRs, & DVD players.
Unplug when not in use.

Weatherizing Your Windows

It got cold this weekend. It's my first year living in a big drafty Victorian house. We can hear the wind blowing through the skylight. So what is one to do? Go out and buy some industrial strength tape, some cling film, and get ready to weatherize! The best part is shrinking the wrap with a hairdryer. The worst part is cutting the plastic film.


DoItYourself.com has a good instructional section about window insulator film.

Temple News talks about other ways to weatherize a leaky window.

Alliant Energy says it should only cost you $10-25.

And Thrifty Fun says that leaky windows can account for up to 40% of your home's heat loss. Yikes!

It's a bit time consuming, but my room already feels a ton warmer. Now if only I could insulate my walls as easily...

Energy Vending?

I think one of the smartest business decisions utilities made was divorcing the dollar from the service. By keeping the utility bill as far removed from the meter as possible, and by keeping the meter as far away from the power-using device as possible, it's easy to forget what it costs to turn on the coffee maker.


So I started to wonder and plugged in some numbers. To wash and dry a load of laundry, you pay around $0.79 in energy costs. How different would our energy use be if we dropped quarters in a slot to power the TV?

Here are some common costs for common household actions:

$3.13 to keep the house heated to 70 degrees each day
$0.56 to keep food cold in the refrigerator every day
$0.54 to run a load of clothes through the washer
$0.31 to heat water for showers and handwashing for one person each day
$0.29 to run a load of dishes through the dishwasher
$0.25 to bake something for an hour
$0.25 to run a load of clothes through the dryer
$0.09 to cook something for an hour on the stovetop
$0.06 to leave a single light bulb on while you are gone for the day
$0.05 to dry your hair with a hair dryer
$0.03 to watch TV for an hour
$0.03 to vacuum for a half hour
$0.01 to run the blender
$0.01 to run the coffee maker
$0.01 to toast toast
$0.01 to run a computer for an hour

Check out your own energy use here.