bc.trip
Well-Known Member
Chances are your electricity bill is causing some pain, especially thanks to all the extra power used up by growing. so how can you bring your bill down? thankfully there're some things you can do that can put a huge dent in that bill.
first there's lighting. not for your plants, for you. start out by unscrewing all those incandescent bulbs if you haven't switched to cfl's yet. cfl's are expensive bulbs, but they'll pay off. you can light a room using 36 watt's with cfls that use to take 240 watts with incandescents, and it'll probably end up being brighter anyway. you can go even further by not using all four bulbs in light fixtures that have four lamps. i personally only need one 9 watt bulb in each room. next, use the sun. if you're at home during the day open the blinds. depending on where your windows are in different rooms you may not need to even use your lights while the sun's up.
next let's look at some of your appliances. most of the power used by electronics like tv's, cable boxes, computers, modems, etc. occur when you're not using them. so go out and get a surge protector for your tv and/or computer area, make sure it's got an on/off switch, and get in the habbit of turning the surge protector off at night while you're asleep, not at the house, and even when you're at the house and just not using the appliances.
now for the a/c. there are a few simple things you can do to use less power while cooling your house. turn the a/c up or down(depending on the season) a couple of degrees while you're at the house, it doesn't seem like much but it saves a lot in the long run. and while you're out turn the a/c up/down(depending on the season, again) a bit. this saves energy and when you get home your a/c doesn't have to work as hard getting back to where you want it as it would if you were to turn the a/c off when you left.
those three things are the biggest tips. but there're a lot of small things you can do as well. unplug all your chargers when you're not using them, don't stand in front of the fridge staring in trying to decide what to eat, and don't use the tv and the computer at the same time. that's what comes to mind at the moment, i'm sure you can think of a lot of other little things you can do.
if you start making some of these energy saving tips a habit you can really save some cash even when growing. i've nearly cut my bill in half from what i was paying before i started growing and using these tips to what i pay now using these tips to what i pay now after i started growing. i hope this helps.
first there's lighting. not for your plants, for you. start out by unscrewing all those incandescent bulbs if you haven't switched to cfl's yet. cfl's are expensive bulbs, but they'll pay off. you can light a room using 36 watt's with cfls that use to take 240 watts with incandescents, and it'll probably end up being brighter anyway. you can go even further by not using all four bulbs in light fixtures that have four lamps. i personally only need one 9 watt bulb in each room. next, use the sun. if you're at home during the day open the blinds. depending on where your windows are in different rooms you may not need to even use your lights while the sun's up.
next let's look at some of your appliances. most of the power used by electronics like tv's, cable boxes, computers, modems, etc. occur when you're not using them. so go out and get a surge protector for your tv and/or computer area, make sure it's got an on/off switch, and get in the habbit of turning the surge protector off at night while you're asleep, not at the house, and even when you're at the house and just not using the appliances.
now for the a/c. there are a few simple things you can do to use less power while cooling your house. turn the a/c up or down(depending on the season) a couple of degrees while you're at the house, it doesn't seem like much but it saves a lot in the long run. and while you're out turn the a/c up/down(depending on the season, again) a bit. this saves energy and when you get home your a/c doesn't have to work as hard getting back to where you want it as it would if you were to turn the a/c off when you left.
those three things are the biggest tips. but there're a lot of small things you can do as well. unplug all your chargers when you're not using them, don't stand in front of the fridge staring in trying to decide what to eat, and don't use the tv and the computer at the same time. that's what comes to mind at the moment, i'm sure you can think of a lot of other little things you can do.
if you start making some of these energy saving tips a habit you can really save some cash even when growing. i've nearly cut my bill in half from what i was paying before i started growing and using these tips to what i pay now using these tips to what i pay now after i started growing. i hope this helps.
