What have you done lately to cut your energy use ?

[all_about_the_glide]

1. Near 100% CFL/LED at home for years.
2. Complete T12 to T8 retrofit at work in 2010...can"t remember the number of fixtures, but it cost our landlord $9k as part of our lease renewal...also had them put in a new smaller high efficiency heating/cooling rooftop unit at the same time...plus dock door insulation.
3. Ugly but effective plastic sheet window insulation kits every winter...a few stay on 365.
4. Electric lawn mower plug-in/no battery.
5. Have not started snow blower in over 3 years (easy this past winter---a lot of huffing and puffing in 2010-2011).
6. Unplug entertainment center when not in use (more frequently).
7. Pipe and Hvac insulation/tightening.
8. High efficiency appliances in 2010.
9. Spend more time upstairs in winter to take advantage of passive solar heating...more time downstairs in summer to stay cool.
10. Unplugged the small coffee bar refrigerator at work...run downstairs to the lunch room when we need milk products or ice.
11. At work started employing power strips with timers to make sure energy hungry equipment is off most of the day.
12. Replacing IT gear with low power units over time (2 atom based nettops + one i-Core 3 + Synology network attached storage box so far. Details in the lowest utility bill thread).
13. Installed Granola power management software on work and home computers. It says it's working, seems to make a difference with a simple killawatt meter, but I can't prove it.
14. Low flow water fixtures.
15. 2 - weighted plastic water bottles in toilet tanks to reduce flushing volume.
16. Tell people at work that we one-upped Jimmy Carter with our programmable thermostat: sweater in the winter plus shorts in the summer.

17. Read this thread: new ideas + inspiration, thanks!

[ALS]

When I talked to my electrician tonight about the T12 to T8 swap he was extremely enthusiastic on the retrofit. He kept going on and on how much I was going to save not just in cutting my light bill but the drop I would see in my A/C usage. He said you have no idea how much heat each one of the those older four bulb fixtures produces each day.

I'm looking at doing the first twelve fixtures in about two to three weeks and the other eight sometime in July. When he told me the price I almost had to change my underwear. $250 for the front 12 fixtures which is less than $21 to remove the old unit and install the new fixture. Can you say easy 12 month payback?

Once this is done not much left to do at work. I've been doing everything I can over the last twelve years to keep my over head down. This light fixture swap with the exit lights is an easy additional $75 per month savings

The house well there is enough things I can do to cut my energy costs to keep me busy for a few years. Lots of little things where it saves me a few bucks here and a few bucks there. I already did the normal things such a low volume faucets all around, 1.28 gallon toilets, CFL's in all the lamps, ceiling lights, porch and walk way lights.

The garage, back yard motion detector flood lights and the attic are still incandescent. I been thinking if I ever get the spare time to install a new fluorescent fixture in the attic I'm going to. The appliances are all new and all pretty much the most efficient I could buy. Replaced the broken attic fan with a new more efficient unit that has drastically cut down on my A/C usage.

Before I had it fixed, the ceiling on the top floor was warm to the touch during 80 degree days. Now with a working attic fan set to kick on at 90 degrees the ceiling feels close to room temperatures. The month before I got it fixed I had a $120 electric bill. After replacing it, the next months bill dropped to a little over $60.

I also have an electric plug in lawn mower, a rechargeable string trimmer and hedge clipper. I had to get a gas snow blower due to my steep drive way. I only used it once last year for maybe 20 minutes so I could figure out how it worked. What snow we had this winter the snow blower was over kill, a shovel worked just a well. I drained its gas tank and used the fuel in the car.

If you have a cat and very high water bills I may have found that water leak you can never pin down.

[CRT1]

In the past 12 months:

1. New highly efficient windows Installed
2. Cellose dense pack insulation in walls and attic
3. Installed 5.25 kW PV array on roof - will exceed yearly household electric usage
4. Installed Solar Hot Water system, will provide 80% of hot water, electric element for back-up
5. Installing ceiling fans to reduce AC use in the summer months.
6. STARTED HYPERMILING THANKS TO CleanMPG!!!!

Cheers!

[50 mpg by 2012]

I forgot a biggy ... the under eve soffit vent! No fan required if used in conjunction with ridge or peak vents, a solar driven thermo-siphon.

When we lived in Austin TX we installed this vent system.

Prior to installation the summer temperature at the attic insulation surface was often between 130°F~150°F during the day. After instalation, the temp was about 110°F~115°F with an outdoor temp in the 100°F range. Makes a big difference in heat gain in the rooms below. And, obviously cooling costs!

Interestingly, if used in snowy climates, this can, in many cases, eliminate ice dam build-ups on roof overhangs.

[RedylC94]

Will you close those soffit vents in the winter?

[50 mpg by 2012]

Originally Posted by RedylC94

Will you close those soffit vents in the winter?

I guess the system could design to allow closing.

However, to avoid ice dams in snowy conditions the vents would have to be open and operational.

[WriConsult]

We did most of the easy basics years ago during the previous century. Since that time we've had front-load washing machines, Asko dishwashers and bottom-freezer fridges, 90-95% CFL lighting, an electric mower and a programmable thermostat. We've also had low-flush Toto toilets for a few years now, including a dual-flush model in the most-used bathroom that is just 0.6gal in "#1" mode.

Recently I switched our two outdoor lights to 2.5W LEDs, and they provide more than enough light for basic security. Christmas lights are all LED, as well.

We could stand to improve our 110 year old house's insulation, but it is better than many of our neighbors'. Thanks to our mild climate, single-pane windows and minimal insulation are still common, but we have double-pane windows and a basic amount of insulation. We still have some other items higher on the fix-it list, but additional insulation will bubble its way to the top in the next few years.

We only have an AC in our bedroom, and only use it 10-12 nights in an average year. It's 10 EER and kinda flaky, so we may relegate it to the guest room and get a more efficient one for "primary" use, such as it is. I do need to get our attic fan replaced -- it burned out a couple years ago and I haven't bothered dealing with it because it's been so cool. But I think the La Nina spell is finally broken, and we'll be wishing for it more this year.

If we were in the financial position to do it, after adding more insulation we'd be installing solar - both PV and hot h2o. Our home is well situated, and contrary to outsiders' popular belief western Oregon actually has decent solar potential.

[RedylC94]

Just "lately"? ...
1972 - Started commuting to work by bike on most non-rainy days
1972 - Replaced 19mpg car with 38mpg car
1977 - Replaced most-used incandescent with 22W flourescent
1980 - Replaced 38mpg car with 45mpg car
1982 - Moved south
1983 - Using bikes for most local shopping and errands
1983 - Water heater turned off most of the time
1985?-Swore off gas & electric clothes dryers
1987 - Replaced 3W 120VAC alarm clock with AA-powered one
1996 - Replaced most-used incandescent with 15W CFL
2004 - Replaced 22W flourescent with 13W CFL
2011 - Started using 2W radio instead of 25W stereo part-time
2011 - Further increased tire pressures and FAS

I can't reduce electrical usage significantly in summer without giving up the computer, refrigerated food, or bathing.

[PaleMelanesian]

What do you do about the hot summer days?

Edit:
Oh. I see. Greenville summer tops out at 90F average and 100F record. We're closer to 100 average and 110 record highs.

(32C, 38C vs 38C, 43C)

[booferama]

My wife and I don't have A/C in the house (we live in upstate NY), but we're thinking of getting a whole house fan installed. Anybody have one of those? Thoughts?