*Is it better to keep lights on or to turn them on and off when you are in a room?
*Do security outdoor motion sensor night lights really elevate your bill? I have four outside. Only one of them is an energy saver bulb. The one on the side of the house has two bulbs that stay on for a long time when anyTHING passes by. Do solar lights stay on all night?
*How much electricity does a refrigerator burn? There is one on the first floor and one in the basement that are both running.
More Pages:
- Solar Lights: What Simple Steps Are You Doing To Cut Down On Your Electric Bill? (6/6/2011)
- Solar Lights: Looking For Outdoor Spotlight/floodlight? (11/30/2011)
- Solar Products: What Kind Of Lights Would Be Best For A Patio Umbrella-electric, Battery, Or Solar? (8/23/2011)
- Solar Lights: Where Can I Find Solar Powered Dusk-to-dawn Security Lights? (10/22/2011)
- Solar Lights: Solar Energy In Pakistan? (7/31/2011)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
My electric utility provider has a wonderful cost estimator on its website that tells you what it costs per kilowatt hour to run lights, appliances, HVAC down to electric blankets and night lights. And, they just put out a handy little guide called, “Your Energy Costs: A Room by Room Guide” that tells you about the same thing, but you can keep it handy when you are deciding to run an electric gadget.
You should see whether your electric company has either because it matters how they tier their rates and what they charge per kilowatt hour. We just had a smart meter installed which means they will no longer tier our rates by how much over our baseline allowance we go by percentage of useage. Rather, we will be tiered by the time of day we use the power with 7AM-7PM being the highest charge per kilowatt hour. See how your utility charges you.
For us, an outdoor motion sensor light set to activate from dusk to dawn will cost much less that the exact same type of flood light in the house used during the daytime hours. For example, a 150 watt outdoor security light used dusk to dawn is 2 cents an hour, but that same light inside is 5 cents an hour used during the day.
My solar lights will stay on all night IF they were charged on a sunny day which most are here in SoCal for most of the year. But, during the daylight savings time, most of the time they don’t get charged enough on cloudy days to stay on all night.
Depending on how old and the size the fridge is, the costs to operate vary widely. If it is an older model, it can cost up to $ 18.62 per month to operate according to my handy little booklet. If it is energy star rated and less than 3 years old, it runs $ 6.35-$ 13.97 per month depending on whether you are a low or high useage household. They define a high useage household as someone who goes over their baseline allottment (which you do by using more power from 7AM-7PM).
Ah, by now you are thinking about how complicated this all is. They make it that way on purpose LOL! They want you to be confused, they don’t want you to exactly understand how they are charging you because they are in business to make money not to save your money!
Unplug your T.V. at night,
unplug your computer at night,
unplug your phone charger when not needed.
unplug your T.V. satellite box at night.
turn down central heating by 3 degrees at night or put on a timer and turn off from 3am till 6am.
turn off lights when not in the room.
make sure your hot water tank is lagged.
only do your washing when you have a full load, use a warm wash instead of a hot wash when you can.
hang clothes out to dry instead of using the dryer.
all these little things will reduce your bill by 20% good luck.