The Secret To Lowering Summertime Electric Bills

My energy guzzling lifesaver We were thrilled to see the electric bill come in the mail these summer months. We used to dread those bills but not any more. We have made some major changes in the way we consume energy and we’re delighted to see how our efforts have saved us money.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I compared the bills from this year and last year. Check it out:

July 2006	$325.03	August 2006	$357.81
July 2007	$161.19	August 2007	$164.90
Savings	$163.84 or 50%	Savings	$192.91 or 54%

How did we do it? I’m sure a lot of little things added up to that success, like turning off the lights and the TV when not in use, unplugging unused appliances, and changing to CFLs. Although all the steps we took were important the change that had the most impact on our electric bill was reducing our use of A/C this summer.

We live in the south so just turning off the air conditioner and opening the windows is not a reasonable option. It gets hot here, folks. And we happen to both like it cold. Really cold. Last year at this time, we would have the A/C cranked at 68-70 degrees all day and all night. It was constantly running, trying to keep up with the demand against the 100 degree heat.

When we created a budget and made some financial goals for ourselves this year we realized our summer electric bills were out of control. We knew we had to make some radical changes in our A/C usage. In the spring we decided to start gradually weaning ourselves off the super-low temps, relying more on fans rather than A/C cooling. By the time June hit we had adjusted to life at 76 degrees. That may not seem very high to some, but for us that is huge. Normally, we would find this unbearable but the standing fans really made a difference. They use less energy and keep us cool by circulating the air. They really do work.

I’m not saying that we are always completely comfortable. Some nights, I must admit, I long for the cool 68 degree air of last year, but all-in-all it’s not so bad. We are adjusting well and by August we were up to 78 degrees. We feel it is a challenge now, which makes me smile.

Even if we can’t tolerate much higher temps than 78 degrees we have already made quite a difference in our energy consumption. Getting used to warmer temperatures and using less A/C has allowed us to slash our energy bills in half. I’d call that a fantastic success.

Image Source: aw223

You Know It’s Bad When The Furniture Gives Up

But I might need this stuff! I think we finally got a sign that we have collected too much “stuff”. We have 2 cheap plastic shelving units that we use to store excess junk in a spare bedroom upstairs. They are jam packed. I couldn’t even tell you what is on these shelves. They tend to stay out of sight, out of mind.

We have been talking about doing a preemptive strike on this junk before the move. Since we haven’t been using it we might as well organize and box it up so we have one less thing to worry about. Well, apparently it is time.

When I tried to enter the room the other day I couldn’t open the door. The shelving units had fallen over and the contents were everywhere. I officially felt like I had way too much stuff. I couldn’t even get in the room due to the mess.

Even though it looked like a reasonable amount when neatly organized on the shelves, on the ground it looked like an incredible pile of random and useless junk. It was sobering to look at. When thrown together on the floor you really got a sense of the sheer volume of it all.

I don’t know how the shelves got knocked over. Nobody has been in that room and the door has been closed. Maybe the shelves just gave up and threw themselves to the floor? Maybe they accumulated one too many specs of dust and it couldn’t take the weight? Who knows?

Anyways, we must go through it all now. The shelves have spoken. It is time.

The Method

We are thinking of making three piles: Keep, Sell, and Give.

Anything we want to keep will have to go through a litmus test of worthiness:

Have I used this in the past year?
Can I put this to good use right now?
Does it have any real sentimental value?

For things to qualify as “keep” items they need to satisfy 2 of the 3 tests above. I will make exceptions for extreme sentimental value but honestly, if it was so special why did it get put on a shelf in a room we rarely use?

Moving is presenting us with the chance to take stock of all of our belongings and decide what comes with us and what doesn’t. We need to take advantage of that and really “clean house”. Simplify.

If it doesn’t get to make the move with us we must decide if we should sell it or give it away. Anything that is interesting and in good shape we will try to sell on eBay or through a garage sale. Everything else will be offered to our friends or donated to charity. Hopefully someone will want this “stuff”.

Obviously the shelves don’t.

The Costs Of A New Home: It’s More Than Just The Mortgage

Can we afford this? If moving into a new home is a goal of yours, I’m sure you have already thought about the impact the higher mortgage will have on your budget. But have you considered how the new home could affect your other bills?

To best prepare for the real costs associated with that new home you should look at the ways the new home could influence all of your bills.

Each home is unique and will have different costs associated with it. For instance, a “fixer upper” will need more in household/maintenance costs than a brand new home. A new home will likely need window coverings that might otherwise have come with an older home. Does the new home have significantly more windows that face the sun? If so, your energy bills could be affected.

Consider these questions:

Will your new home have a bigger yard?
Will you have an electric or gas cook top/oven or dryer?
Will you have more or less interior space to cool/heat?
Is the home in need of repairs or improvements?
Does the home include features that require additional maintenance (like a pool, garden, or professional landscaping)?
Will you now have to pay HOA fees?
Is the new home farther from work or the stores you shop at?

These are just a few of the things that could impact your budgeting in the new home. If any of these are “yes” you will likely need to revisit your current budget to account for the increase/decrease in those areas.

We are planning on moving out of an older home and into a larger to-be-built home by the beginning of next year. In addition to the increased mortgage costs, we are planning for the following increases in our future budget:

Electric Bill – it costs more to cool a larger area and to top it off we will have an electric oven instead of gas
Water Bill – it will likely cost more to water a bigger lawn and tend to a garden
Household - we increased this budget for all the little things that are needed after a move like missing hardware or small repairs
HOA - our HOA costs are raising so we needed to account for that in the budget
Alarm - we expect that monitoring the new alarm system will cost more monthly
Vet - we have projected a temporary increase in vet bills because the stress of the move could mean a higher potential for illness.
Furniture Savings – we have created a new budget area where we save a small amount each month earmarked for furniture. We want to save up for quality used or discounted furniture to fill out the home piece by piece.
Miscellaneous - we increased this budget because we are expecting to run into odd expenses that defy other categorization.

To be safe we are estimating high. Once we are in the new home and get a better idea of the actual costs we can fine tune the budget. But for now an estimate will have to do. We want to feel confident that we can afford not only the jump in mortgage payment, but also all of the changes that come along with it.

AC Addiction? How To Adjust To A Warmer Way Of Life

Fans help beat the heat We made a commitment this summer. We decided that we would change our ways when it came to our air conditioner in an effort to reduce our electric bills (averaging well over $350 in the hot summer months).

Unfortunately, especially for people who live in horribly hot climates like we do, moving that thermostat dial a little higher can be harder to do than you would think. It’s very easy to become AC-addicted when every time you walk outside you hit a wall of heat that just makes you want to pass out or jump in a pool. By increasing your thermostat 10 degrees, your AC unit will not need to run as often and you will save (potentially big!) on your energy costs.

Here are a few tips on how to get used to the higher temps when raising your thermostat.

Slow but steady. Don’t just jack up the thermostat 10 degrees and expect to adjust overnight. You will feel miserable. If you increase the thermostat a degree or two once a week, this helps your body get used to it and hopefully that will lessen the impact. Once you reach your desired temperature give yourself at least 2 weeks to adjust to it. According to the University of Iowa:

“Acclimatization usually occurs over a period of about two weeks in healthy, normal persons,” he adds. “This process is faster in response to heat, but slower in the cold.”

We increased the thermostat gradually and when we felt comfortable at the current temp we knew it was time to try another degree. By the end of the month we were comfortably living 10 degrees higher than normal. Our thermostat has never even seen temps this high before (my husband and I used to like it “unnaturally” cool in the house). I understand that eventually we will hit a ceiling, a point at which we sacrifice personal comfort, and that is when we will know we have gone too far. Frugality shouldn’t be torture and the law of diminishing returns definitely applies here.

Use fans liberally. Well, at least at first to help with the transition. We have a system of fans blowing cooler air into our bedroom while we sleep. We are very much cold weather people and sleeping in warmer weather can make for some sleepless nights. Eventually we’re hoping to turn off (or at least reduce) this network of fans but so far we still depend on them to sleep through the night without waking up in a sweat.

It will cost some money initially to get the fans (either box or ceiling fans) but it is worth the expense. Portable fans use less energy to run, provide focused and concentrated cooling, and can be used many places in the home where the AC doesn’t seem as effective. Why pay to cool parts of your home you aren’t currently occupying? That being said – be sure to turn off the fans when you leave that room. We are trying to save electricity, after all, and fans don’t run on love.

Keep in mind that in hot climates ceiling and box fans do not really replace air conditioning – they provide a wind chill effect but can not reduce the air temperature in your home. Most people find the best way to maintain a comfortable home AND reduce their energy bills is to use a combination of air conditioning and fans.

Wear lighter clothing. Wearing lighter clothing to stay cooler may seem like a no-brainer but sometimes we forget to make small changes like this. I always used to wear pajama pants to bed because we would keep the temperature so low. I also had a comforter to snuggle in if I got too chilly. When we turned the temperature up I didn’t immediately think to change my wardrobe or bedding to help feel cool. Making these small changes helped out.

Take it to the floor. If it feels too warm while you are adjusting consider spending some quality time on the floor. Hot air rises so it is naturally a little bit cooler closer to the ground. Try enjoying an evening on the floor for a change – have an indoor “picnic”, play a game with your children or pets, or just watch a movie or read.