I just found out I have significantly reduces my electricity/heating bill since last year. I did it by changing to a better provider, and keeing an eye on where I wasted.
It was not an expense which threatened my budget, but the savings still make me happy, since they were accomplished without any compromise to my comfort. So that's "free money" which can go to some fun or towards a rainy day, or for a gift to family.
9 comments:
Yeah, you can save a lot this way. Are you using these new energy saving bulbs, as well? You can save a hell of a lot of money!
Actually, I am, yes, in two rooms. I'd forgotten about those.
I'm also unplugging devices I don't use all the time, like my AppleTV box, so I save the standby power.
I'm also unplugging devices I don't use all the time, like my AppleTV box, so I save the standby power.
But that act consumes calories, for which you need to eat more. Transporting and preparing the food consumes fuel and electricity. Not to mention costing money.
Well, I only did it one day I'd fallen down and lay under the table by the cables anyway.
Commendable effort, but you should know that, in most modern gadgets, the standby power is ridiculously low, emphasizing TTL's comment even more.
I just hate the kind of misinformation that goes around on the web about this. Unless it's damaged or extremely poorly built or designed, your average wall cube (phone charger, etc.) draws no significant current when not in use. Nothing you could measure with electrician tools, anyway, not to mention the 15$ multimeter often used to "prove" the existence of a leak.
That's not what I heard about things like the appleTV and, er, whatnot.
Mea culpa. Generalizations are always tricky, I should have learned to shut up by now. But I ran across green propaganda just the other day that couldn't be anything other than blatant lies, and that pisses me off.
If you need a simple rule, let's just say that if it's not warm to the touch, then it's not worth bothering about. It would be interesting to unplug an entire house save the suspect gizmos and then have a look at the utility meter. I'd bet it wouldn't "meter" much.
But, granted, some contraptions are poorly designed, and others "have an agenda". Mostly, the convenience of "instant-on" gizmos oft has a hidden cost. For computers, sleep mode is not the same as off.
The receiver portion of set-top boxes (satellite or digital cable) is also often left operational 24/7 to allow the device to receive software updates at any time, and thus always be ready to use. Most firmware updates are piracy counter-measures, so if you don't get/process those, you can't use the device, and it could take 15 minutes or more of on-time to recover from such a condition (you might miss the start of your favorite program!).
A Skype phone also needs to actively take part in the network if you want instant access. Might take some 30 sec. to boot otherwise. Etc.
So, the real question is: are you ready to sacrifice the convenience for some savings? I believe you should always be given a clear choice in the device setup, but marketing usually will oppose anything that could appear complicated. God forbid you should have to read the manual!
In the end, that one extra-long, super-hot shower you take after having been caught in the rain will cost you more than a year-round supply for those so-called "vampires" (and yet less than the cold medicine you will need if you don't take that hot shower ;).
"If you need a simple rule, let's just say that if it's not warm to the touch, then it's not worth bothering about."
Sounds right.
Well, it's not like my apartment is not still a Christmas tree of variously colored LEDs at night. :-)
eolake said...
"If you need a simple rule, let's just say that if it's not warm to the touch, then it's not worth bothering about."
"Sounds right.
Well, it's not like my apartment is not still a Christmas tree of variously colored LEDs at night. :-)" (Eo, lol!)
I was also thinking that sounded like really good advice, Bert! And...even though it might not be the most power efficient thing to do, putting my laptop in standby is easier on the machine, isn't it? I had always thought so.
I remember a few years back: the electricity gouging issue, in CA. People were getting anal about trying to cut out whatever waste they could find. It got so crazy, people were giving data on the miniscule waste on LED displays on alarm clocks! It was hilarious..."And...how much energy was just wasted broadcasting that information?!" I'd think! lol!
"But that act consumes calories, for which you need to eat more. Transporting and preparing the food consumes fuel and electricity. Not to mention costing money." LOL!, ttl
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