Category Archives: Energy Saving

Electricity Versus Natural Gas Cost For 2009

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With such cold temperatures sticking around Florida, I got to thinking, how much cheaper would it be to have natural gas to warm up the house versus electricity.  Energy used to heat the house probably takes up the largest percentage of the electric bill (that is during cold times). Other big energy guzzlers like the water heater, clothes dryer, the oven can be powered by the natural gas as well. For my number crunching, I got most of the data from Energy Information Administration website.

National average for electricity in 2009 was 10.4 cents per one kilowatt-hour and 1.29 cents per one Therm of gas. Since one kilowatt-hour is equal to 3.412 therms, the electricity cost is 3.05 cents per Therm. So looks like the electricity was almost 2 ½ times more expensive than the natural gas.

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I Saved $50 On My Energy Bill!

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In September I actually followed through with the idea from one of my earlier blogposts about turning off my garage freezer in order to save some money on my energy bill. Around the same time I also started rinsing my dishes with cold water before putting them in the dishwasher and the same goes with washing my hands.  The rest of our energy consumption stayed relatively the same, since this September in Florida was just as hot, if not hotter as the rest of the summer months.

One of the motivators for making this adjustment was the increase in energy bill over the prior couple of months. Usually our electric bill is under tolerable amount of $200, but in July and August of this year, it hit as high as $230. That’s when I decided to go ahead and turn off the old freezer in our hot garage. I am assuming that the freezer was on constantly, since I heard its buzzing sound every time I would pass by it, whether it was day or night. The freezer is quite old, the insulation is worn out, the poor thing had to work nonstop in order to compensate for 100 degree + temperature in our garage. And we had to pay for it!

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Shatterproof CFL Bulbs

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Wouldn’t it be nice to have an option of purchasing a shatterproof CFL light bulb, so in case the bulb breaks the mercury stays contained within the bulb? Even though Environmental Protection Agency issued a thorough clean up procedure for mercury spills including broken CFL bulbs, many consumers still have concerns with using CFL bulbs in their house. I happen to share this concern since I have a toddler, a dog, a cat and an oblivious husband!

So is there a solution?

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My Garage Freezer, Energy and My Energy Bill

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I am on the quest to lead a more eco-friendly lifestyle this year. And another thing I decided to tackle is our garage freezer!  It barely has anything in it and I am positive that our fridge’s freezer will be able to handle a little extra. I think I can make it work!

Why am I doing it?

Well, obviously by turning off the freezer I will be able to eliminate a hefty source of energy consumption.  This will result in lower energy consumption, lower energy bill and less emissions from the power plant!

How much energy will I save?

Let’s see, my little freezer draws 5 amps of current and a voltage of 115 volts.  It is quite old, so assuming that it runs 50% of the time during cooler months here in Florida, I should be able to save

115V * 5A / 1000 * 30 days * 24 hrs * 50% = 207 kilowatt-hours per month of energy.

How much money will I save?

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CFL Bulbs and Mercury

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Many have concern with using CFL light bulbs because of the mercury found inside the bulb. CFL bulbs contain about 3.5-5 milligrams of mercury. Mercury is used to ignite the phosphorus particles inside the bulb in order to create the light.

But when looking at it objectively, what carries a higher risk for the mercury exposure using CFL or incandescent lights?

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How Much Will I Save By Replacing Incandescent With CFL Light Bulbs?

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It’s a hot topic of the day, should I go ahead and replace all my house lights with CFLs?  How much money will I have to spend upfront?  How much energy will I save a month?

Basically, is it worth doing?

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Save Money On Laundry

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Average clothes washer uses 40 gallons of water per cycle.  Its energy use will depend on the cycle’s water temperature.  The hotter the temperature, the more energy it will use.  The mechanical operation of washer itself does not consume a lot of energy.

You can find out how much power your washer uses by checking out Find Energy Use by Appliance. So here are some tips:

  • Choose a cycle with cold rinse, rather than warm or hot rinse.  It is not the “washing” part that takes a lot of water, it is the “rinsing” part.  So washing in hot or warm water won’t consume nearly as much energy as rinsing in hot or warm water.
  • Choose a cycle with automatic temperature sensor.  This way the washer will use appropriate amount of cold water to accommodate for the required temperature setting, potentially saving energy on hot water use.
  • Try to maximize clothes load every time you use a laundry machine.

Save Energy Use By Dishwasher

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Many people have a misconception that running a dishwasher is more energy consuming than doing the dishes by hand.  I will explain the two scenarios as I go over the energy saving tips for washing dishes.  So you can decide on your own:

Are LED Christmas Lights Worth The Investment?

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My next-door neighbor invested in new LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights this Christmas season.    So I started thinking whether we should do the same.  I decided to do my own financial analysis comparing the initial cost, energy cost and the replacement cost between the two kinds of lights. By the way, the inspiration for this analysis came from Jessica Knows who is running a Nickelodeon Holiday Money Saving Contest for $500 Wal-Mart gift certificate.  (I hope I win!!)

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Managing Energy Use By Water Heater

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Water Heater is the second largest contributor to the energy bill after the air conditioner/central heat. Water has high heat capacity, so it takes a lot of energy to warm up. For example, it takes one kilowatt-hour to warm up about 10 gallons of water from 80F to 120F. Your electric or gas bill is noticeably affected by how much hot water you use in your house. That includes showering, clothes washer, dishwasher. Here are some general guidelines for how you can reduce your water heater energy use:

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