Save Money in 2010

• If you live in a region that is cold in the winter, heating costs take a big bite out of your monthly budget for 25 - 50% of the year. Due to the rapidly escalating costs of home heating oil, propane, and kerosene, you may be paying twice as much to heat your house as you did just a few years ago. You can cut your heating costs significantly by following these money-saving tips.
  
  
• Do an energy audit of your house, identifying areas where heated air is leaking out. Check around doors, windows, fireplaces, and other areas that may feel drafty. Use caulk, weather stripping, door sweeps, plastic, and other appropriate means to close off these leaks. If your house is poorly insulated, adding additional insulation will pay for itself in reduced heating costs.
  
  
• Minimize your use of ventilation fans such as bathroom fans and kitchen hood fans in winter. A bathroom fan can suck all the heated air out of the average house in little more than an hour. Over the course of the winter, ventilation fans can increase your heating costs by a surprising amount.
  
  
• Don't heat areas of your house you don't use regularly, such as guest rooms. Close heating vents or turn back thermostats in those areas and close the doors for a painless reduction in heating costs.
  
  
  
• Turn down the heat and use space heaters to heat the room you spend time in.
  
  
• Keep your furnace, heat pump, or other heating equipment in top operating condition. Dirty filters reduce the efficiency of your furnace or heat pump. Poorly tuned units are inefficient and use more fuel. An annual maintenance agreement is well worth the money to ensure that your equipment is properly maintained and will last as long as possible.
  
  
• Don't turn your thermostat up above the desired temperature. It won't heat up any more quickly and will make your furnace work harder. Also, while it makes sense to turn the heat back when you're sleeping or not at home, turning it down too low can actually cost you more because the contents of the house have to be re-heated in addition to the air. 68 to 70 degrees while you're home and awake, and 60 to 65% while you're asleep or not at home are reasonable temperatures.
  
  
• Consider a programmable thermostat to raise and lower the temperature at pre-set times.
  
  
• Check the temperature setting on your hot water heater. If you have a dishwasher, your water should be heated to 120%. Otherwise, it can be somewhat lower.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• If your water heater is in an unheated space like an unfinished basement, wrap it in an insulation blanket available at hardware stores to prevent heat loss.
  
  
  
• Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible.
  
  
• It's tempting to stand under a hot shower on a cold morning for as long as possible, but cutting your shower time in half can save up to 33% on your hot water heating costs.
  
  
• In winter, open the blinds and curtains on the sunny side of the house (the south-facing side) when the sun is shining and close them as soon as the sun goes down to retain the solar heat. Close curtains on the shady side of the house (north-facing side). If you don't have curtains, consider installing some. Curtains made from heavy fabric with lots of folds (fullness) can prevent cold air from seeping in and warm air from seeping out, which reduces your heating costs.

If you're trying to decide whether to invest in a more energy-efficient appliance or you'd like to determine your electricity loads, you may want to estimate appliance energy consumption.

Multiply this by the number of days you use the appliance during the year for the annual consumption. You can then calculate the annual cost to run an appliance by multiplying the kWh per year by your local utility's rate per kWh consumed.

Note: To estimate the number of hours that a refrigerator actually operates at its maximum wattage, divide the total time the refrigerator is plugged in by three. Refrigerators, although turned "on" all the time, actually cycle on and off as needed to maintain interior temperatures.

Window fan:
• (200 Watts × 4 hours/day × 120 days/year) ÷ 1000
• = 96 kWh × 8.5 cents/kWh
• = $8.16/year

Personal Computer and Monitor:
• (120 + 150 Watts × 4 hours/day × 365 days/year) ÷ 1000
• = 394 kWh × 8.5 cents/kWh
• = $33.51/year

You can usually find the wattage of most appliances stamped on the bottom or back of the appliance, or on its nameplate. The wattage listed is the maximum power drawn by the appliance. Since many appliances have a range of settings (for example, the volume on a radio), the actual amount of power consumed depends on the setting used at any one time.

If the wattage is not listed on the appliance, you can still estimate it by finding the current draw (in amperes) and multiplying that by the voltage used by the appliance. Most appliances in the United States use 120 volts. Larger appliances, such as clothes dryers and electric cooktops, use 240 volts. The amperes might be stamped on the unit in place of the wattage. If not, find a clamp-on ammeter—an electrician's tool that clamps around one of the two wires on the appliance—to measure the current flowing through it. You can obtain this type of ammeter in stores that sell electrical and electronic equipment. Take a reading while the device is running; this is the actual amount of current being used at that instant.

When measuring the current drawn by a motor, note that the meter will show about three times more current in the first second that the motor starts than when it is running smoothly.

Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched "off." These "phantom loads" occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. Most phantom loads will increase the appliance's energy consumption a few watt-hours. These loads can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance.

Here are some examples of the range of nameplate wattages for various household appliances:
• Aquarium = 50–1210 Watts
• Clock radio = 10
• Coffee maker = 900–1200
• Clothes washer = 350–500
• Clothes dryer = 1800–5000
• Dishwasher = 1200–2400 (using the drying feature greatly increases energy consumption)
• Dehumidifier = 785
• Electric blanket- Single/Double = 60 / 100
• Fans
  • Ceiling = 65–175
  • Window = 55–250
  • Furnace = 750
  • Whole house = 240–750
  
• Hair dryer = 1200–1875
• Heater (portable) = 750–1500
• Clothes iron = 1000–1800
• Microwave oven = 750–1100
• Personal computer
  • CPU - awake / asleep = 120 / 30 or less
  • Monitor - awake / asleep = 150 / 30 or less
  • Laptop = 50
• Radio (stereo) = 70–400
• Refrigerator (frost-free, 16 cubic feet) = 725
• Televisions (color)
  • 19" = 65–110
  • 27" = 113
  • 36" = 133
  • 53"-61" Projection = 170
  • Flat screen = 120
• Toaster = 800–1400
• Toaster oven = 1225
• VCR/DVD = 17–21 / 20–25
• Vacuum cleaner = 1000–1440
• Water heater (40 gallon) = 4500–5500
• Water pump (deep well) = 250–1100
• Water bed (with heater, no cover) = 120–380

• It is estimated that phantom appliances use about 450 kWH per household annually (eere.energy.gov). This adds up to 43 billion kWH lost due to idle appliances in the U.S. each year (eere.energy.gov), equivalent to the output of 26 power plants (Vanity Fair, April 2006).
• Turning off the un-used electronic devices in an average American home would prevent over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions annually. (Source: stopglobalwarming.org).
• Unplug all appliances and chargers that are not in use to save them from draining energy. The easiest way to do this is to plug groups of similar appliances, such as the television, VHS player, and DVD player, into a power strip or surge protector. This way you can stop electricity drainage with a single flip of a switch.

Clean your Refrigerator Condenser Coils!
• Condenser coils attract dust and pet hair, which cause the refrigerator's compressor to run too hot. The result is lower efficiency, higher electric bills, more service calls and a reduced lifetime for the appliance.
• A coil brush costs less than $5. Use it 3 or 4 times a year (be sure to unplug the refrigerator first) and you'll eliminate more than 70 percent of service calls and see an immediate reduction in your utility bills.

HomeDoctor.net - Do it yourself remodel and repair tips

The remarkable new EdenPure heater and SunTwin heater are advanced quartz infrared portable heaters that can cut your heating bills dramatically. These heaters have been known to pay for themselves in a matter of months. The mobility of these heaters allows you to heat whatever part of your house you like.

The advanced space-age EdenPURE & SunTwin heaters will also heat the room evenly, wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling... See Diagram: How the EdenPURE heater Works.

Other heating sources heat rooms unevenly with most of the heat concentrated high in the room and to the center of the room. With our EdenPure heaters, the temperature will not vary much in any part of the room. Room temperature is controlled by a thermostat which automatically turns the heater on and off as needed.

The outside of these space heaters only gets warm to the touch so that it will not burn children or pets. Pets can sleep on it when it is operating without harm. This beautiful piece of furniture can also be used as an end-table.

The EdenPure heater features high quality casters on the larger 1500 watt heater for easy mobility and on the back is a permanent (washable) air filter.

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