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Post by Fredo on Jul 16, 2010 10:10:58 GMT -5
I've become obsessed with getting the power bills in this house as low as possible without living in the dark and turning off the A/C. It's come to the point to at I'm looking at getting a whole house electric usage monitor. Like this oneMy concern is that I'll spend all of my time chasing people around making them turn off the lights. Obsession is like that.
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Post by raphael on Jul 16, 2010 10:18:20 GMT -5
You don't want TED watching your house! ;D That device would put you into official geekdom. Now if you could only control your thermostats, lights, etc. by a touch on your cell phone.
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Post by manlyman on Jul 16, 2010 10:21:11 GMT -5
If you aren't having trouble paying your electric biil and it doesn't seem out-of-line, lighten up. Life is to short to obsess about the small stuff. Relax. You got a new electricity burner on the way.
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Post by Fredo on Jul 16, 2010 10:31:28 GMT -5
That technology is readily available.
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Post by Fredo on Jul 16, 2010 10:36:03 GMT -5
If you aren't having trouble paying your electric biil and it doesn't seem out-of-line, lighten up. Life is to short to obsess about the small stuff. Relax. You got a new electricity burner on the way. It's kind of a matter of principle. My power bill last month was $191 to condition 4400sf. If I can get it even lower, or offset it entirely by finding a creative way to do solar, it will be a real thumb in the eye of the greenies who want to convince people that they have to radically reshape their lives in order to shrink their footprint. I'm convinced that by planning a bit, a person can live a normal lifestyle and still reduce his environmental impact. Had I known that TVA would be restarting it's green power buyback program, I would have done solar during the build. I could have offset a $150 (+/-) power bill for about $20 a month on the mortgage. That's the kind of "green" that I can get behind.
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Post by 502blue on Jul 16, 2010 15:09:43 GMT -5
Few large consumers are the "ghost" electricity. Cable box, TV, stereos, washers..etc. I know someone who put most of there "ghost" equipment on power strips, cut at least $30 a month of there bills. these are items that you turn off, but they really just power down and consume electricity. You put them on power strips and shut off the power strips at night. Another good reason to power them down, is you get transients, thus, eventually eating away at the life span of the chips inside these electronics ( i had to go to one of these classes).......best power/surge strip on the market, if you want your electronics to last a long time.......is this one...http://www.levitonproducts.com/catalog/model_5300-PS.htm?sid=0A4A48B9E317D394EB25151D0DAB046C&pid=1208
Electric companies send constant surges thru lines "clearing" , thus it hits your electronics, which we don't know, and those little surges eat at the chips.
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Post by Southern Belle on Jul 17, 2010 15:51:31 GMT -5
Thanks for that info, 502. I've been trying to lighten up here, too. I'm not a nazi (YET) but am trying to unplug everything that isn't being used. So you're saying that even when my computer, etc., is turned OFF, I should unplug it also to save the chips? That makes sense. Maybe I'll become a nazi after all!
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Post by misinglink on Jul 17, 2010 20:35:01 GMT -5
A suggestion..... Eat out!!
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Post by Southern Belle on Jul 17, 2010 20:44:40 GMT -5
A suggestion..... Eat out!! I do like your way of thinking!!
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Post by 502blue on Jul 18, 2010 17:42:04 GMT -5
yes mam, unplug it! It is eating electricity when not in use.
I am going to start as soon as the kiddo is back in school. Right now, he runs amuck with the electricity with games and computers all night....arghhh
I'm going to put most everything on those power strips ( i have a few already) this way I can cut my power bill, AND make my electronics last longer. I remember years ago I use to bitch about how appliances, etc , didn't last as long as they use to. Well, DOH, the chips get eaten with surges! Made complete sense to me also when I had to take some classes on this.
Leviton (as I am sure a few others, but they were the first) make electrical boxes you can replace your outlets with also. I have a few of those, just haven't had the time to tackle changing them out. Not much bigger than outlets inside boxes. These are the boxes with outlets made into them that protect from transients, so you don't have to use power strips for major appliances. They make a really good one for the whole house you can put on your circuit box. Cost about $200 bucks.
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