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Ways to Save Money on Heat and Electricity – Rebekah Answered

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In case you haven’t heard, I am offering free personal finance advice.

Visit the Ask Matt Jabs page and fill in the form to ask your question… for free!

How to save money on heat and electricity?

DFA reader Rebekah asked:

What is the most efficient way to stay warm with electric heat that won’t break the bank? She thinks we should keep bedroom doors open during the day and I think we should close them. Also I’ve been going around trying to keep phone charges etc. unplugged because I’ve heard that they continue to use power even when they aren’t charging, however when I got online to today I came across some articles that said they didn’t really use that much… who should I believe? She also has heat lamps in the bathroom, does that use a lot of energy? What about space heaters?? Thanks Matt!

Lower your thermostat or go off the grid

Hi Rebekah, great question… and thanks for reading DFA.

Your desire to cut costs associated with heat and electricity mirror the same desires I had early in 2009.  Back then I too was looking for ways to cut costs wherever and whenever possible.  From your question I assume you are not looking for advice on large, costly home projects like improving basement insulation to increase energy efficiency, but rather frugal tricks you can employ right away.

Before I get into the tips, I’ll advise you not to use space heaters… they draw quite a bit of juice making them a less than frugal choice.  Regarding the bedroom doors… I’m not sure it makes much of a difference since the furnace likely heats the house the same regardless.

Here are a few practices we adopted back then that are still saving us money today.

  1. Turn your heat down – You may be used to a 72 degree home, but it is time to sacrifice in order to cut costs.  Last winter my wife and I moved our thermostat from 70 down to 64.  It seemed cold at first but our bodies acclimated much quicker than we suspected they would.  Nowadays we slip into a cozy sweater, fleece, sweatshirt, or even our Slankets (not Snuggie) instead of turning up the heat.  🙂  If your home is empty during the day, consider turning your thermostat down to around 58, then turning it back to 64 when you get home.  If you can afford it consider installing a programmable thermostat to do this automatically – they are relatively inexpensive and easy to install.
  2. Change furnace filters monthly – Depending on the type of filters you employ the can require changing as often as once per month.  If you have a very dirty and clogged filter you could increase efficiency quickly and easily by simply replacing it.  Filters are easy to change and cost very little.
  3. Off the grid Saturdays – This was an article I wrote and had published on FiveCentNickel.com that lays out how we go “off the gird” on Saturdays by committing to no TV time and limited use of all other electronic devices.  The benefits of this exercise go far beyond saving money… if you employ it you will read more, spend more time with family, and increase your productivity.  Frugal Dad also wrote about ‘off the grid days‘ and the benefits they can bring.
  4. Reduce standby power – The last tip I’ll give you is to simply encourage your idea to reduce your use of standby power.  Read the article I published last May that gives my detailed write up of the concept.

Simply being aware of costs will help you be more likely to keep them down.  Combine that awareness with the tips given above and you should see a noticeable difference in your monthly energy costs.

What do you think?

What are some tips I may have missed that Rebekah could use to cut her heating and electrical costs?

If you need personal finance advice… ask Matt Jabs.

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Lower Electricity Costs by Reducing Standby Power – DFA Tip of the Week – 5/18/2009

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There are many ways to reduce costs in our every day lives, so to help do just that each Monday (or maybe later in the week) I will post a money saving “Tip of the Week”.

“And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.”  – Luke 19:17

This weeks tip involves…reducing your electricity bill by turning off certain breakers.

The Problem

I’m sure you’ve heard it before…your cell phone charger (and/or other electronic devices) hog power even when not in use.

Standby power (aka vampire power, phantom load, low power mode, or leaking electricity) – energy consumed by devices when they’re plugged in but not in use – costs the average American household between $200 – $300 a year and typically accounts for 5 – 10% of total residential electric consumption.

Today I will show you my action plan to reduce this problem in my home.

Here are examples of devices in your home that drain standby power as long as they are plugged into a live power source:

  • Satellite DVR boxes
  • Notebook (laptop) computers
  • Home audio systems
  • Televisions (especially rear projection)
  • DVD players
  • Microwave ovens
  • Cell phone chargers
  • Night lights – most people leave them plugged in & running 24/7/365
  • Alarm clocks – electric ones of course

One common solution you will hear is to install power strips in areas with many electronic devices – such as your entertainment center or office desk.  I have a easier, quicker, & cheaper solution!

So What’s The Answer?

To reduce the consumption of standby power in our home, without paying for a bunch of power strips, I looked no further than our home breaker box.

First I strategically marked any breaker not requiring a live power connection during the course of a normal day with blue tape, then added a quick & simple step to my daily routine.  Every morning before leaving for work I head down to the basement and flip any breakers marked with the blue tape.  When I get home, I head back down to the basement and flip the breakers back to their live position.

I made sure not to include breakers connected to necessary appliances such as my refrigerator, freezer, and range oven (because I don’t like resetting its digital clock every day).

Some may find this information incredibly useful while others may deem it a waste of time.  To the latter I remind you that every penny counts and the more areas you cut costs, the quicker you reduce your debt, and the quicker you’re able to reach financial freedom.  I have been employing this tip for some time now and find the implementation into my daily routine was adopted with nearly zero inconvenience.  The most time consuming part of the entire exercise is deciphering which breakers you can flip and which you must leave powered on.

On that note let me tell you why we leave some on:

  • Garage – because we didn’t leave it on at first then came home in a rain storm and couldn’t open the garage door!
  • Sump – do I really need to explain this one?  Okay, I will…we don’t want to come home to a flooded basement.
  • Furnace – I’m still debating whether or not I could turn this off.  Right now I am doing so in the summer, but not in the winter.
  • Basement – because we need light in the basement in order to turn the breakers on & off.
  • Family room, kitchen lights, master bedroom, microwave, and range (as mentioned above) are all left on because they have digital clocks that I got sick of resetting every day.  This sort of defeats the purpose, so after writing this post I’m recommitting myself to turning these off, then just resetting the clocks.  I’ll probably just never reset certain clocks, like on the range since there is a battery operated wall clock right next to it.

What do you think?  Is this something you would implement into your life to save a few hundred bucks a year?  Before you answer, let me leave you with this famous yet brilliantly simple quote:

“A penny saved is a penny earned!”

– Benjamin Franklin

Click here to see all our past DFA Tips of the Week.

DFA is passionately dedicated to helping others break the bondage of debt using biblical principles.

Manually Report Utility Meter Readings To Avoid Being Overcharged

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I strongly urge you to read this post.  It will help you avoid being overcharged as I was.

Last month I wrote a post titled Automatic Bill Pay Concerns that urged readers to closely monitor any auto-drafts they set up for monthly bills.  To summarize the article:

If you use automatic bill paying features, MAKE SURE you check each & every bill for accuracy.  Though it may not happen every month, you may be surprised how many times there is a Monopoly type “money error in your favor”.  Pass go, collect $200!

Today I felt the need to be more specific and beseech you to start reporting manual meter readings for you natural gas and/or electric provider immediately to avoid being errantly overcharged!  It happened to me the last two consecutive months.  To manually report your natural gas and/or electric meter reading, simply contact your utility provider by phone or visit their website for specific & detailed instructions.  In my experience I just read the gas meter and called it in to a customer service rep.

How To Read Your Natural Gas Meter

Here’s how much my manual reading saved me…

April 2009 – Gas & Electric Bill

My original bill on 4/13/2009 was for $319.14.  I suspected the amount to be unusually high and called to ensure a correct reading had been taken and to report my manual reading.  After a few minutes the customer service rep delivered the good news that their initial meter reading was indeed incorrect & my new bill amount was $202.46.  A total savings of $116.68 for the month of April!

May 2009 – Gas & Electric Bill

Late last week I logged into my online billing to see the original amount of $194.87.  I thought about it for a minute, figured the amount could be high (especially after what happened a month prior) and decided I would call in my reading again to see if there was any error.  Once again, after a few minutes the CSR informed me their reading was once again incorrect and that my new bill amount was $151.42.  A savings of $43.45 for the month of May.

To Summarize…

By calling in and reporting my gas & electric (I have one provider for both services) meter readings manually for two straight months I was able to reclaim a total of $160.13 of errant charges.  Was this happenstance, or is my utility company using this practice on many of its customers to pad its bottom line in rough economic times?  What do you think?