I received my electric bill a couple of days ago. When I opened it, I was quite shocked. Not in the amount due, but the kilowatts used. I use average pay, so my monthly amount due is $69.79. This billing cycle was 32 days using 686 kilowatts translating in 21.6 kilowatts per day. Those figures are up from last year when I was billed for 29 days, 636 kilowatts which translated into 21.2 kilowatts per day.
I don't understand, since over the past few months I have been diligent about turning lights off when I leave a room, watching TV less. Actually, the only light burning more often is the yard light, that didn't exist last year at this time. It has a compact fluorescent bulb and comes on at dusk and turns off automatically at dawn. However, over the last couple months the electric bill has been smaller then the previous year.
Also in the last month especially I have replaced 3 burnt out incandescents with compact fluorescent. More bulb changes will occur as more bulbs burn out. I am hoping to eventually get the electric rate down to $50/month.
While I complain in this post about the rising kilowatt usage, I realize the bill could be a lot worst. Still, I am stumped why it was higher this month then previous months when compared to the year previous.
Any other ideas to get my bill down to the target of $50/month? I expect to be 100% compact fluorescent in the next year.
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Do you line dry your clothes? I find that helps a lot and then I just throw them in the dryer for a couple minutes to fluff them up. Also, do you have a lot of things plugged in even when not in use? What settings do you have your refrigerator and freezer set at? Adjusting those just a bit can make a difference too. Hope those ideas help.
ReplyDeleteHome electronics use electricity just being plugged in. I worked for a home electronics store and they filled a braker every night so the TVs, VCRs, stereos. ect would not use the extra electricity (althogh it was a pain to reprogram everything the next morning!).
ReplyDeleteOne word of warning with the compact floresent (sic?) bulbs. They must be disposed of properly because they contain mercury (see, I knew that listenting to NPR was going to pay off some day). I am not certain what is the proper disposal technique for the CFLs but I would imagine you'll have to store them until the city has one of their toxic trash days.
ReplyDeletespend more time at your friends' places!
ReplyDeleteand replace your Computer monitor and old TV with LCDs. they consume less power.
I smash all of my CF bulbs and i've never seen mercury come out ;-)