Lol I don’t even use it for heat or cooling. 10 people live here and it is a big house with 5 bdrm and 3 bath. We live on an island and have to pay diesel surcharge to maintain a diesel power station in case the hydro power fails. We also have a water pump which probably adds to it.
My heating fuel has been as high as $700 in one month in winter. A friend pays over a thousand because their house is not insulated properly.
That is why it is scary when they talk about rates going up. I am already making hard decisions about what to eat. There isn’t wiggle room for continuous rate increases. We will obviously find a way, but it sucks for sure.
That sucks. Especially having to make poor people financial decisions, you often can’t afford to make changes that will save you money in the long run. Been there done that.
Still, there may be some things you can do to save electricity.
Cheapo line meter. I use one on my well pump. It shows usage over time. You can figure out what’s using the most juice. It does 200v as well as 110 and clamps on. Does have to be wired in to for it’s power supply and ground.
Also, Kill-a-Watt clones. $9.99. Shows you how much plug in things use.
Offhand things that might help:
Hot water heater on a timer and turn down the thermostat. There wil be bitching.
If you have an electric stove, inductance stoves are supposed to be the most efficent, but you probably can’t afford one. Electric kettles for boiling water probably beat using a stove to heat water.
Use a kill-a-watt to figure out what is using juice when appliances/TV/PC/etc. is on standbym
Check freezer temp, it may be colder than you have to have it, turn up the thermostat.
Check anything with a motor that plugs in with the kill-a-watt, like box fans to see if they’re pulling too much juice, when the motor bearings get shitty, you’ll pull more over coming friction.
Use that clamp meter to check things like whole house blower fans, bathroom fans.
Lol I don’t even use it for heat or cooling. 10 people live here and it is a big house with 5 bdrm and 3 bath. We live on an island and have to pay diesel surcharge to maintain a diesel power station in case the hydro power fails. We also have a water pump which probably adds to it.
My heating fuel has been as high as $700 in one month in winter. A friend pays over a thousand because their house is not insulated properly.
That is why it is scary when they talk about rates going up. I am already making hard decisions about what to eat. There isn’t wiggle room for continuous rate increases. We will obviously find a way, but it sucks for sure.
Not OP.
That sucks. Especially having to make poor people financial decisions, you often can’t afford to make changes that will save you money in the long run. Been there done that.
Still, there may be some things you can do to save electricity.
Cheapo line meter. I use one on my well pump. It shows usage over time. You can figure out what’s using the most juice. It does 200v as well as 110 and clamps on. Does have to be wired in to for it’s power supply and ground.
Also, Kill-a-Watt clones. $9.99. Shows you how much plug in things use.
Offhand things that might help:
Good luck.