Notable Quote:
"Know something about everything and everything about something."
T.H. Huxley
Friday, September 19, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
10 Electricity-Saving Ideas
Here are some ways that we've used to keep our electricity bill at less than US$100 per month, even in the heat of a Florida summer, and with electricity providing all of our power for filtering and pumping our water, cooking and everything else. Of course, use these ideas at your own discretion, with safety and other factors in mind:
1. Replace every possible bulb in your house with a compact fluorescent, or better yet an LED "bulb."
2. Try keeping the A/C no colder than 78º F. When no one is home, raise it to 81º F and turn off the ceiling fans.
3. If you have a heat recovery system for your A/C (as we do), try turning off your hot-water heater, or at least putting it on a timer that only runs it a few hours a day (coinciding with when you usually take showers, etc.)
4. Turn off lights and other electrical items if leaving a room for more than a short time.
5. If practical, unplug electrical items (like chargers) when not being used. (This also can protect them from lightning-surge damage when you're not home.)
6. Plant shade trees and/or bushes in such a way as to shade your outdoor A/C unit(s), but be sure not to block any air flow.
7. Plant deciduous trees/bushes on the south side of the house. They block summer sun, but then losing leaves, allow winter sun to come through.
8. When you have to replace appliances, buy the most energy-efficient ones you can afford.
9. Remember the more lightly you dress in the house, the less A/C you need. Conversely, the more you wear, the cooler it can be inside (less heat needed).
10. If you live in a place where it's possible, try to dry your clothes on a line outside. Of course you'll save electricty and reduce carbon emissions. But another biggie is that your clothes should last longer, since "dryer lint" is really just material abraded off of your clothes.
1. Replace every possible bulb in your house with a compact fluorescent, or better yet an LED "bulb."
2. Try keeping the A/C no colder than 78º F. When no one is home, raise it to 81º F and turn off the ceiling fans.
3. If you have a heat recovery system for your A/C (as we do), try turning off your hot-water heater, or at least putting it on a timer that only runs it a few hours a day (coinciding with when you usually take showers, etc.)
4. Turn off lights and other electrical items if leaving a room for more than a short time.
5. If practical, unplug electrical items (like chargers) when not being used. (This also can protect them from lightning-surge damage when you're not home.)
6. Plant shade trees and/or bushes in such a way as to shade your outdoor A/C unit(s), but be sure not to block any air flow.
7. Plant deciduous trees/bushes on the south side of the house. They block summer sun, but then losing leaves, allow winter sun to come through.
8. When you have to replace appliances, buy the most energy-efficient ones you can afford.
9. Remember the more lightly you dress in the house, the less A/C you need. Conversely, the more you wear, the cooler it can be inside (less heat needed).
10. If you live in a place where it's possible, try to dry your clothes on a line outside. Of course you'll save electricty and reduce carbon emissions. But another biggie is that your clothes should last longer, since "dryer lint" is really just material abraded off of your clothes.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Notable Quote:
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
Robert A. Heinlein
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
Robert A. Heinlein
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