Saving on electricity?
By oneidmnster
@oneidmnster (1385)
United States
9 responses
@loveyevi (513)
• United States
29 Jan 09
This does actually work because when you have an appliance plugged in it is on standby, even if it is turned off. It drains minimal power, but if you unplugged everything that you are not in the process of using it could save you some money on your bill. This is especially true for chargers of other electronic devices because they are continously using power even when nothing is plugged in.
I have been trying to do this and as of yet have not noticed a big decrease in my bill, but with the amount my heater has to work to heat my house I am not surprised.
@Ravenladyj (22904)
• United States
30 Jan 09
does switching off the power bars count do you know or do the items have to actually be unplugged from the wall?
@loveyevi (513)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Power bars are the most effect way of saving electricity because you can just turn off the power bar and that cuts off the appliences from the outlet. So you just plug in all your appliences into one and it is very easy to shut them all off at the same time.
@explorations (1712)
• United States
29 Jan 09
It's worked for me quite well! I do that, plus I switched to better light bulbs, and we shut off the lights in rooms we aren't in. We went from a $225 bill down to a $95 bill when we finally realized how wasteful we were being! It was a huge shock. We've been implimenting these money saving practices for four years, and now it's a habit.
@Ravenladyj (22904)
• United States
30 Jan 09
ARE YOU SERIOUS??? you saved that much but shutting off lights (which we do already) and unplugning things? REALLY?? Unplugging what though? Just lamps and whatnot or pretty much everything?
@explorations (1712)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Yep, that in addition to using the better light bulbs. We put a lot of lights on dimmers, too, which I forgot to mention in my original post. I unplug absolutely everything that doesn't need to stay plugged in. It drove everyone nuts at first, but now it's part of our regular routine to plug-in before using something.
@Loverbear (4918)
• United States
30 Jan 09
I unplug any appliances and chargers when they aren't in use. It has saved me between 10 and fifteen dollars a month on my electric bill. It's well worth the time to do all the unplugging and plugging. I also use energy star appliances and light bulbs.
I use my wood burning stove for heating water for my dishes (I have a dish washer but quit using it years ago. I now use it for a dish drainer), cooking stuff that I would normally do on my stove top, and heating water for my tea. I have cut my electric bill from $65 a month to $35 a month. My daughter, son in law, grand daughters and my son in laws uncle stayed with me for nine months and they wouldn't turn off lights, unplug chargers, and insisted on having a kitchen light on all night and all day. My electric bill went up from $35 a month to $125 a month!!! It dropped back down to normal after they left...so it proved to me that all the light turning off and unplugging was worth the effort.
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
29 Jan 09
I don't unplug things but I do turn off all the 'standby' switches.
After reading here though I am going to unplug my computer too when I am not using it at night. That way the only things that will actually be running will be the fridge and my cordless phone as everything else is turned off.
When I get my next bill I'll update as to whether I noticed a difference after unplugging too.
@snowy22315 (170083)
• United States
29 Jan 09
I hope so because I am desperate to save on my electric bill. The cost of it is much too much. This bill I had this month was the highest electric bill that I have ever had. I do not wnat to have to pay over two hundred a month for an electric bill. I simply can not afford that type of money every month. it is way high.
@Loverbear (4918)
• United States
30 Jan 09
If your bill is excessively high, you might want to have the electric company come and check out your meter...the meters can go bad. Also if the weather has been bad in your area the electric companies will sometimes estimate how much electric you have used.
You might also check and see if they have a discount program for seniors and people with disabilities and low income. In California it is called "Care". It lowers my bill by 10% a month.
If you are in a cold area, and if you heat with electric you might want to cover your windows with blankets or comforters. The extra fabric will help the house retain the heat. It isn't pretty, but when it comes to lowering the electric bill pretty doesn't matter. I have lowered my costs both in Montana where I picked up the idea and in California (which isn't as warm as people think, at least not in the area where I live in.). It cut my bill by 15%!!!
I have a wood burning stove that I use for heating water for doing dishes, cooking, and heating water for my tea. It really cuts the electric bill considerably.
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
29 Jan 09
Someone told me that just by unpluging her computer at night her electric bill dropped tremendous. I don't do it personally. I should start though.
@dvschic (1795)
• United States
29 Jan 09
i have all my chargers plugged into a power strip and when i'm done for the4 night, i turn off the power strip. every electronic device will use some bit of energy even when off. it really depends on how many devices you have. in my house, we have 5 cell phone chargers alone plus two laptops and 2 tvs, so turning off their power helps a lot. it will vary per household and i dont know how much we save, since i never let them be on.. i should check into that though..
@lokiblitz (169)
• Philippines
29 Jan 09
Unplugging your appliances that are not in use surely saves you some electricity.Im not sure how much but its worth your extra time unplugging those devices and it prevents hazards too.
