Home energy saving ideas

[blue gecko]

We've been actively pursuing the idea of minimizing our energy use and thought it might be a good idea to share:

1. Replacing lightbulbs with LED's wherever possible.
Lighting is one of those things people tend to use without thinking and often use higher watt bulbs where a lower watt will do. The difference between a regular incandescent bulb and an LED is significant. If you use a 50 watt bulb it produces a great deal of heat (the surface of the bulb is ~200+ degrees) that is completely wasted. The bulb we were testing was a 3-way (100/150 watts = ~350 degrees). An LED of the same brightness will use approximately 5 watts and raise the temp about 10 degrees from ambient room temp.

example: a 50 watt bulb pulls ~48 watts as compared to a compact flourescent lamp of similar brightness pulling ~11 watts and an LED at ~5 watts


2. We put a timer on the water heater and instead of it running 24/7 it runs from 6am to 10am and 6pm to 8pm. The tank is 80 gal and is VERY well insulated. So far we haven't noticed a bit of difference in meeting our hot water needs. Even when we use hotwater at 5pm the temp of the water is quite near the same temp as when the unit has been working all day. We keep our hot water usage to a minimum during the day to keep the temp inside the tank as stable as possible. The outside of the insulated tank reads 74 degrees so we're not losing much energy at all over the course of the day.

3. We put all of our ghost power equipment (TV, stereo, DVD etc) on powerstrips with on/off switches and when they aren't being used we turn them off. The ghost wattage was drawing 110 watts (TV, Stereo, Amp and Satellite reciever) just sitting there.

4. We're working to combined our freezers into one chest freezer. Any extra space is filled with water bottles.

5. We keep the house at 65 degrees give or take. We heat with wood but have the central unit set at 62 (we have to think about Pete, the parrot) so it can kick on if we're not home to stoke the fire.

6. Blue board panels cover the windows when its cold enough to warrant some extra insulation. Its only 5R but it makes a noticeable difference.

7. We used a laser thermometer to check for insulation leaks and fixed them.

8. We use doors/foyers that have an airlock for coming and going.

9. Meals are cooked on the woodstove whenever possible and we're using a toaster oven instead of the electric oven.

10. Max has an Kil-a-watt (brand) meter and we've compared energy usage by different appliances to determine which ones are more efficient. We've gone appliance by appliance and have been amazed at the difference between them.

We're still getting use to playing with the digital thermometer so our results may vary but at the very least we're having fun! Hopefully, we're saving money at the same time

[blue gecko]

It now takes 70 watts to light my entire kitchen! Its a mix of LED and compact flourescent bulbs and is doing a fine job. The previous wattage required was 660 watts with incandescent bulbs.

[spinnerholic]

Now, that much difference in watts is darned impressive! Congratulations!!!

[blue gecko]

Thanks Spinner! But this is something anyone can do just by changing lightbulbs.

Yesterday Max measured the watts used by the chest freezer (22 cu ft) in a 24 hour period: 2.7 Kw hours. Today he's been measuring the upright freezer (18 cu ft). In 4 hours it has drawn just over a half Kwh. Lessee that extrapolates out to ~3 Kwh/day and we've only opened it once so far today. Uprights tend to use more energy in general because you lose the cold whenever you open the door. Not only does that waste energy but its hard on the food. That subtle change in temp degrades the food faster over time. Looks like we're going to retire the upright freezer. It makes sense to do that. I've gone from a household of 4 to a household of 2 and I really don't need all that freezer space.

3 kwh/day x 30 is 90 kwh that lands on my electric bill....

[flu-n-u]

Can I ask where you found the LED's?

I've mainly converted to those screw-in fluorescent bulbs, but they don't last nearly as long as advertised, and they're a pain to dispose of. Not fond of the mercury issue either; always afraid they'll break. I also hate trying to read or do crafts under them. The quality of the light isn't good, and as I get older I notice it more.

New incandescent bulbs are problematic too now. I have a hanging fixture and 2 floor lamps that use little bulbs. In a number of cases, the little candelabra bulbs have actually separated from the metal screw (without the glass breaking) so I can't even replace the bulbs, since I haven't figured out how to get them out of the sockets.

LED flashlights are great, but I've yet to find light fixtures that use LED bulbs and put out enough light. I USED to read under 50/100/150 3-way incadescents.

Where are you getting your fixtures, and are you confident you'll be able to get replacement bulbs for them? Are they attached and hooked into the wall switches, or free-standing?

[blue gecko]

So far we've been picking up our bulbs from Sam's Club. On-line sources are scanty and most of them are made in China...We'd LOVE to find another manufacturer! We're still working on a better source and will post as soon as we find something reliable. We'd like to find a wholesale source. The technology is still pretty new and some are better than others.

There is a WIDE price range on these bulbs so shop around. So far Sam's has the best price.

The bulbs we're using are standard base sizes. They have multiple LED bulbs in them in various arrays.

[blue gecko]

I'll post more suppliers as I find reasonably priced ones:

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden...sk u=11432846

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1476

[Susie]

Don't heat. You do get used to it...soup, cocoa, porridge, and socks help.

Use plastic bubblewrap on the windows. It really works and you can see outside (even with two layers, the light comes in), and a double layer will work very well if you have a missing windowpane or two.

Take two or less showers a week and only turn on the hot water for that or get a gas system that heats only as you use it. The French have done this forever, and it's not so bad as that. A warm washcloth and a PTA shower will get you through the week.

Don't change clothes every day, or at least don't wash them after each wearing....another French way to save.

Don't use a dryer, but dry your clothes on a laundry line.

If you must cook, do so in multiple batches or make one huge dish and either eat it for several days or divide it and freeze it for another time.

Don't overconsume goods, don't be always buying new stuff...the economy might suffer, but the factories will pollute less.

Eat fruit and vegetables that are local grown and in season. The truckers will hate you and so will the people on the other side of the world that grow your luxuries but you will be contributing less to pollution.

Buy used and secondhand things. China will hate you but your local economy will love you.

Don't drive around in the car just because you have nothing better to do, and make the driving you do count for more by doing many things at once on the same trip or by carpooling or asking your neighbors if you can take them along, too. Or learn to ride a bike to walk.

Save energy at home and strive to save community/global energy by using these ideas.

[kaneohegirl]

Originally Posted by flu-n-u

Can I ask where you found the LED's?



New incandescent bulbs are problematic too now. I have a hanging fixture and 2 floor lamps that use little bulbs. In a number of cases, the little candelabra bulbs have actually separated from the metal screw (without the glass breaking) so I can't even replace the bulbs, since I haven't figured out how to get them out of the sockets.

turn off the power at the breaker and use a potato and push it onto the screw part and then unscrew it...

or if you are 100% positive you have the breaker OFF use pliers and untwist the screw bit... its happened to me several times

[blue gecko]

That potato trick really works!

Today we made a trip to Sam's and picked up more LED's. They've gone down in price to $13 for 3 accent lights. We replaced 60 watt incandescent bulbs (600 watts) and replaced them with 10 LED's (15 watts). We're still using Compact flourescents where we need a brighter light for reading.

There are 11 overhead lights in my kitchen and they are now using 58 watts total. In the Diningroom/livingroom there are now 3 bright CFL, 4 regular CFLs, 8 LED accents and 3 LED candelabras with a total of 131.5 watts instead of 762 watts with regular incandescents.

The company that makes the lights we're using is Lights of America. They're a company out of California and have been doing their own manufacturing..........until now. These new bulbs were made in China

[blue gecko]

We've been using an infrared thermometer to evaluate efficiency and locate cold spots. We found that the central heat vents (we set the thermostat at 62 degrees to assure a minimal temp when the woodstove isn't able to keep up) were blowing cooler air than expected. After some thoughtful evaluation we diverted the air return from the basement to the main floor and found a marked improvement. Still we felt that something was amiss and realized the peripheral air intake system was still open to the greenhouse and was bringing in 47 degree air. Ooops! That meant outside air was being pulled in from the greenhouse which is not air tight. It was being driven by the air being exhausted through the fireplace flue. We closed that airway and immediately the house temp was improved. We need to find away to vent outside replacement air to provide for the draft from the woodstove so its not coming in from around doors and windows. Another project

A couple of days ago Max hung an indoor clothesline in the upstairs loft and we've started drying clothes there. Its amazing how fast it dries. I've been using that space to dry herbs and vegies in the winter and this just adds to the efficiency by using dry heat from the woodstove. It also adds moisture to the inside air making it feel warmer (less skin heat loss due to evaporation).

[blue gecko]

Woot!!! The electric bill just came. Last month it was $143.34
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This month its $83.47

We spent around $40 in lights to replace the incandescent and some of the compact flourescent ones. The savings on my energy bill paid for the new lights and kept $20 in my pocket

[flourbug]

Very nice! Congrats on a job well done.

[Ought Six]

One warning about CFLs. We all know they contain mercury, and that mercury is quite toxic; even more so to children. I was in my walk-in closet a while ago, and I looked up at the naked CFL bulb in the socket in the ceiling. Then it struck me, "what happens if it breaks?" It dawned on me that all my clothes would be contaminated with mercury. Then I walked back into be bedroom, and looked up at the fixture with a CFL in it above my bed. It it somehow got smashed, my bedding and mattress would be contaminated. How would I clean it? And what about kids' rooms? Kids like to throw stuff and roughouse. What would you do if you knew their room was contaminated with mercury?

So when using CFLs, consider what is under and next to them, and how easy it would be to clean up the mercury contamination if they are shattered. I would not use them at all in kids' rooms, or closets full of clothes, or over the bed. I am sure if you stop to think about it, there are other places CFLs simply do not belong.

[blue gecko]

Good news for you Ought, the new CFL's no longer contain Mercury. Read the labels, they've come a long way in a positive direction. None of our CFL's contain Mercury.