I use the cheap solar yard lights..charge them outside..have a pretty planter filled with sand..put them out in the morning..bring them in at night and put them in vase on the sideboard..move them where needed.
That info about the fan vs. AC blew me away! (Haha, no pun intended.). We started air drying clothes & washing on “cold tap”, and my husband noticed a difference in our power bill. Now that we’re in the summer months, I’ve got my finger on the AC temp so it’s manageable, and I also try and cook in the mornings in one chunk of time. During the hottest part of the day, my kids have screen time, & i turn off the lights and pull the curtains (we have a small home, so the light that gets past the curtains is sufficient for our needs around the house), and that keeps the temperature cool enough. There are dozens of tricks out there! Thanks for all your insight! You guys are amazing! 😊
In our house the saying is, "if it's glowing it's flowing". We unplug everything when not in use including the microwave. When we know we're both going to be gone for four or more hours, we turn off the power strip for the TV.
Cont. We set our AC 10 degrees below the outside temp. Usually we don't need the fans. This was a recommendation from my brother who's been in the HVAC industry for 40+ years.
With this last heat snap we decided to get out our camping gear-cooling towels for everyone to wear and the solar oven which uses zero power. It’s also important to keep your freezer full so it doesn’t run as often. We partially filled milk jugs with water, froze them and put one on each shelf in the fridge. Afterward the fridge only ran 4 times in a day versus the 10 times we counted the day before. We don’t have a very energy efficient home so we had to get creative.
I know that I’m posting this late, but we just got our WE Energies bill, and it’s DOWN $7.00 per month! That might not sound like much, but it’s a start.
A winter bill in 2022 of $900+ for ONE MONTH I had a complete overview of our electric use. Everything I could unplug, cool showers especially in summer, shorter showers in general, computers off. Basically everything you two have been teaching I did. We ended the year of 2023 in a $1200 CREDIT I kid you not. I was so proud of myself. This year, the utility company got another rate increase, even though we are using less KwH our bill is now higher. So, I got the Hybrid Light you recommended a few months back and implementing those solar changes into our use. We have Jackery's as well and didn't use but kept for emergencies, now the small one is out for a light use. Stopped using oven, now use a small ninja cooker, instant pot, line drying all year long, motion activated rechargeable floor lights in hall instead of flipping a switch on, a rechargeable light in bathroom instead of flipping switch on, same for bedroom. Thank you for all you do, and I love the breakdown of the energy use by appliance.....I am going to track daily what we are using as well!
You won't believe this but in heatwave, our body benefits from eating cold food. I didn't even cook for days. Like mediterranean salads, few min cooking seafood, we have 3 minute pasta in stores... Now is time for that caprese salad, seafood spaghetti (we have 3 min pasta selection, everything is cooked in 3 minutes.) You can even kneed pasta from scratch and then it's cooked in 1 minute. Cold cuts, sandwiches, bag of chips with plain unsweetened yoghurt (ever tried it?)... I have one fan, so good to hear about how less energy it spends than AC! Sending love from Adriatic! 🏊♀❤
Theatre grade black out curtains from Amazon, putting curtains over the front door where the sun hits our thermometer, outdoor solar lights, and solar lanterns from Aldi really has helped us. A box fan in the living room, a small desk fan in the kitchen keeps it cool. The blackout thermal grade curtains make a huge difference. So thankful for them. East and west sides of the house really get the heat and that is where we watxh the most.
I had to chuckle through this video. Wanted so bad to shut the light off behind you.😊 As good as you guys are at this saving money, you pribably had it on your battery pak thiugh. 🎯 Looking into solar powered fans now with the possibility of power outages getting more and more common.
I would have had a coronary with a $182 electric bill. I was happy that I saved 1.00 over June of 2023. $104 vs $105. I bought a duel fan window fan ($40 Amazon) to remove any heat that has built up in the top floor during the day. Draft Busters (cloth bags with Styrofoam tubes inside) under the doors of unused rooms on the top level have been big energy savors in both summer and winter. About two hours before I go to bed I put the fan in an open window in the bedroom. On my lower level, I open my sliding glass doors to bring cooler air in to replace the warmer air getting removed by the fan on the top floor. BTW my electric rate is .20 per KwH. This next bill due in August is the biggest one of the year and last year it was $135 so I'm hoping to beat that by $10-$15. These last few weeks of 90 degree plus days, are making it really hard. Last year we had mostly 85-86 degree days so the AC wasn't used much.
We live in the desert where it is always over 100 degrees and can reach 118 easily. That being said in social groups I hear of people paying over $800 a month for electric. Our electric company rates are by season. November to April off peak 8.85¢ on peak 11.45¢ Summer 9.03/22.70 and now we are into Summer PEAK 9.06¢ and peak hours 25.85¢ this is for July and August. We are also on budget billing AND EZ3 which our peak usage times are 3-6 pm. In the desert it is expensive no matter what. We had company last Friday and had to keep the house cool while they were here for dinner. our bill for that day was almost $16. We try everything we can to keep our electricity bill low. I can tell you after reading what others are paying ours is significantly less. With budget billing we are sitting at 160 a month, after 3 months it will be readjusted and continue every 3 months. Our bill will go up even though we have tried so hard. washing in cold water, unplugging things we aren't using etc, on our peak hours ac is set at 80 after that we drop it to 78 (and believe me many here in AZ keep it at 73 round the clock). We cannot turn our ac off during the summer. ever.... It is a never ending battle.
We are billed every other month for electricity with no electric company predictability. In June '22 we did a major budget, buying, and usage reset with a 24% electricity rate hike looming an about Oct of that year. We are reasonably frugal with our our usage but we had had some life style creap. We spent the next couple of months doubling down with a number of the things you did. We do not have solar powered battery banks and we do strive to not turn the a/c on. We do have and hang both the exterior, plastic roll down blinds/ shades; also black mesh sun shade tarps wrapped around the covered back deck amd hanging from the eaves. We also started using the gas grill more often and the clothes line when ever possible; water went up because in Aug-Sept our brain woke up and we did the bedding and extra washing all at once before the fall,rains started rather than after as usual. In the process we did have some reduction in the dollars spent but when the rate hike hit, our cost did not go up although the rates had gone up 24%. Virtually all of this was done a little here and there.
Used my power station for the first time and saved my fridge food with it after multiple hours of outage due to heat wave. Great time to buy Ecoflow/Bluetti sales are good.
I have had a challenge with this since we have had an added raise in our rates from 3-7 pm. Trying to not run the air then really has me running it well into the night to cut down my use on super hot and humid days.
Yesterday I was replacing the electrical panel in the camper trailer I just bought. (1983 sunline) I also ran 2 new circuits. It was 95* in lower NY. At about 2 in the afternoon I put a portable AC directly in front of where I was working and ran the exhaust hose out the open door. I was working in there until about 9PM, when my take out was delivered. By that time I turned off the AC and set up a fan. As I was eating I was very comfortable and surprised that it was still 80* outside. It honestly felt 5-8* cooler. I did however feel the fact that it was still 80* when I was cleaning up all the wire scraps and stripped pieces after dinner. If your sitting doing nothing it will feel cool with just a fan, if your working or moving around it still feels hot!
I have put a stand up fan in the LR to move air back and forth towards the couch when we are watching tv and also we are using our ceiling fan . By doing this I have been able to gradually get us more comfortable with the thermostat set at 78 or 79 even when it is 99 degrees w heat index of 102🥵. I am now turning off the power strip that the TV is plugged into over night. I unplug a power strip on my nightstand that my alarm clock, sound machine and lamp is all plugged into. Our electric bill this month was $207 , the electric company said it was 23% lower than last year this same billing cycle! It also has helped that last December we had our attic insulation added to to get up to 14.” Due to allergies 🤧we keep plastic window film kits on all our windows year round and run a dehumidifier all Summer to take out moisture in the air. Thank you Larry & Hope for all your tips to lower our expenses 🙂 11:28
Using your principles for several.months my electric bill is so much less than other comparables homes that my electric company notified me that I get 35% off of my electric bill!! I use my ac 4 hours a day.. My electric bill just arrived $6.42 for the month.!!!! I live alone and I do not have a computer.. But I do have a dehumidifier a furnace( ran a few times in June) refrigerator ,washer and floor lamp that I can slide from one room to the other..
I wish my electric company provided this level of detail on usage. I reached out to ask and they said their current system doesn’t have this capability. I believe they manually read the meter once a month. It would be encouraging to have more immediate feedback on changes we make.
Thank you for sharing the information. When received our electric bill for May, I was shocked. I made a lot of adjustments for the month of June and have cut my bill in half. I don’t think I can go above 79 on the a/c. I am running the ceiling fans. The outdoor temperatures have been in the high 90s with the heat index being over 100 for the past three weeks. It’s been pretty hot and humid. My husband won’t be home tomorrow, so I might try adjusting the thermostat to 80 to see if I can tolerate it. Honestly, if it’s too uncomfortable- back to 79. Because of your video tonight- I just went and turned off and unplugged my laptop for the night. I will start doing that every evening for now on! And, bringing in a solar light from outdoors is a good idea that I might try- as my husband can’t stand walking around a “dark” house at night - he can’t see in the dark, like I can do! 😊
We met the challenge of not running our heater last winter. I did take a hot water bottle to bed occasionally. Our AC is broken, so fans will have to suffice through the summer. Ceiling fans and two floor fans, coupled with closing and opening window treatments, windows and doors will get us through the summer.
(Abby typing) I only have 2 small window air conditioners, a Ninja Foodi and a small convection oven. My husband uses our small washer/dryer unit once a week. I do have a small chest freezer and separate regular size fridge. When the power went out for 13 hours I only lost a few items.
I use ceiling fans, religiously, and leave them on. I turn off the lights with them, if they have any, but I leave the fan on. The movement combined with the room cooler and cool showers is wonderful.
Our temperatures last week hit 125 degrees so the AC ran constantly. Over the last few days our temps have cooled to 110 and our estimated bill has dropped $15 to $335. That is the highest estimate we have ever had. I am hoping that as temps lower it will continue to go down. I turn off power strips until they are needed and use solar lights to illuminate walkways, etc. Hanging the laundry outside. It dries in about 20 minutes with our heat.
We use the Harbor Freight Tools, black mesh, 60%- 70% UV ray blocking, sun shade tarps. We can hang them from eaves to shade windows and siding on the east and west sides of the house plus wrap the covered deck in them. In times past, we used them as curtain liners for a friend in an apartment. We have also wrapped them around 4'x4' s on the roof; the work better with bit of a dead air space. Because we tend to have drought condition dry heat ( an area known for its rain, but as arid as arid deserts in the summer) we also work to eliminate standing water and anything which evaporates water as much as possible by shutting putting down the toilet lid, shutting off the bathrooms, no soaking dishes in the sink, no boiling on the stove as much as possible, etc... TVs, monitors, desk top towers, gaming units,, and electronics are huge for off heating both with ghost energy and when in use. When we had a tremendous heat wave a couple of years ago, we found that even LED lights produce enough heat to notice; we feel hot beginning at 80 yet went to 115.
Glad you have the bill under $200. If you have an electric bill of 200-250 dollars a month, the best move is solar. A $24000 install is a 7kw system. That is around a 10 year return on investment. There are incentives that make it even shorter depending on your state. Sizing it to handle a high efficiency heat pump, EV will save you even more. Insulating windows using fabric like warm window fabric really keeps the house cool. This is a cheaper option but not everyone can handle the humid air. I am doing things outside so the house feels cool.
I set my room cooler at 81 degrees- with the fan on not bad. Of course it is blowing the cold air almost directly onto my back. Also, cold drinks, cold showers, both can be inexpensive-I use unsweetened ice tea, and plain cold water.
Loved loved this video! You both inspire me to do better, and I can't wait for your next video! When the rates go up we have to figure new ways to survive these high prices! THANK YOU So VERY MUCH. I would love a video on how to teach adult children,dren how to save on living expences, without ticking them off.
I got a small window A/C for two adjoining rooms with doors closed to the rest of the house, and two fans pointed at me when I sleep. I turn up the thermostat to 85 on my the central air. Bills are better.
My predicted August bill (Ameren Electric) was going to be 92.00 instead it's $78.34!!! Small changes add up!! We're on the daytime savers plan so our a/c daytime temp is usually 78 to 80° and we use a dehumidifier and fans. I cook using my ninja foodi air fryer (it's the mini oven style) or my crockpot, or one burner on the stove top. I charge our power chairs during nonpeak hours (9pm-6am) at the cheaper rate. We use smart powerstrips that shut things down when you turn off the main item plugged in
Okay, I don't have central AC at the moment. My AC died. I bought a room cooler for $300 when I found that fixing the AC would cost $3000 and I don't have it. The same company also recommended that I scrap it, as it does not have the capacity to cool the trailer. My energy bill this month was $134, which I griped about because I was only working part-time, and I was just fired off of that job. It was a terrible place to work, and I took the job to earn some quick cash to tide me over the summer and it didn't work.
(Abby typing) Larry I still want to get a solar generator and have been researching what size. I will go get a kill-o-watt reader to add up what I would need. I don't want to lose my bulk freezer items in the future. I also live in IL .
I am in Florida so AC is a MUST but I do have FPL for my utility provider and check my projected bill a lot and it does help keep things in check. Power stations do help. I charge them when electricity goes to non-peak hours
I’m able to keep drapes pulled back to allow natural light in. Unless it’s cloudy or rainy, I don’t turn my lights on at all until it gets too dark to see to read. And I do use fans to help with the cooling!
A bad storm was headed right toward us during the chat. So, we were a little distracted during the chat, anyway. The storm is mostly through our area, now. Winds of 105 mph just North of us. We're fine, but it's been a little bit of an anxious night.
@@UndertheMedian Thank God you are okay and did not get hit. We had a wild storm hit with rain, lightning, and thunder around 1:30. It was crazy, but passed through. Today looks beautiful! Have a great day. Thanks for all you do to help others learn about frugality. You are super!
A few thoughts. We recently decided to purchase ac for our downstairs. We bought a 12000 window unit. We ended up returning it and installing a mini split. The mini split is using far less power and it’s 24000
I also do that.....unplug things not in use. But I FORGOT about my printer!!! THANKS for the reminder! lol I JUST went and unplugged it; also just went and raised my A/C temp from 71 to 73.....lets see if this 'works' for me, tomorrow in the day time. (I cannot handle HEAT/HUMIDITY! lol) Lemmie see.....the only things in my apartment that are plugged in/always running are..... my fridge my laptop the router the A/C kitchen ceiling fan (in the winter, I don't run the ceiling fan and no A/C, obviously; heat by gas.) I rarely use lamps at night (the light from the laptop is fine); and the kitchen overhead light and table lamp rarely get used at night. I'll turn my free-standing fan on, at night when I sleep.....because my A/C is in a kitchen window. And I have a kitchen & bathroom night light on at night, which is why I really don't have to turn on the kitchen light(s) at night. My stove is gas and I'll mostly make stove-top meals.......sometimes use the toaster oven & crockpot. I own a microwave, but RARELY use it; microwaves turn food into 'DEAD' food. It will kill all of the vitamins & minerals in food.....and I eat REAL (aka Organic) foods. 'DEAD' food = WASTED food; it may fill you, but will not NOURISH you. So I tend to stay away from microwaves.....NOT good for ones HEALTH!
No AC for me this year, after the past 3 years of RISING prices I eat the minimum I can to survive and rarely drive more than 80 miles a month in a car I have had for 22 years. Food and Gas prices are killing me!! Anyway, I bought a $19.99 small table fan at Target and I'm okay when the temp reaches 95 in my condo. If it goes over 100 at anytime during this summer I'll probably head out to the community pool. California Electricity IS INSANLY EXPENSIVE so no AC for me!
I can so relate here in CA, you're not alone. I try to use no AC and take transit to work 3-4 hours daily as every bill has increased so much the last few years. I spend less on food than a few years ago, only because I have to, to pay the other skyrocketing essentials that I can't lower any further. Sounds like you have it dialed in to save where you can!
@@Michelle-bw1xg I do have an ADVANTAGE that younger condo renter's don't have. My 1 bedroom is 27% under market price of $2,100 because I have been here since 2011. A new younger girl just moved in below me paying $2,100. I FEEL sorry for the younger generation. They are getting beat to death by this economic catastrophe!
@@danielhackney7806 That's fortunate to have a rent below the current market; but can still require daily smart budget decisions. In my area 1BR is easily $2800.
I love this! I keep an electricity diary too. 😂No one else I know does this. It sounds crazy to my co workers. They laughed. But who’s got the lowest electric bill 🤚 me.
Smart! I log in every couple days to utility company. It helped me see an enormous spike on the only day I used AC for a little while, and how much that cost. I honestly thought it was an error at first. Rates have gone up multiple times per year at 10-25% each time so conserving is essential as income did not do the same. Cheers...
Here in CA electricity is $0.58/kwh with generation charges!! Had nearly 2 weeks over 100 degrees, ran AC for only 6 hours total on one day at 78+(which increased daily cost x 2.5!!) and 1 floor fan the rest of the time. Don't recommend this severity of action but had to prevent bill in the few hundred range to stay in budget. Do use blackout curtains in bedrooms.
Besides the solar rechargeable yard lamps, in winter i use an oil lamp when it gets dark in winter. The big jug at Walmart lasts about a month, and the lamp gives off some heat as well. (May not be appropriate if you have young rambunctious kids and be sure to open a window a crack so as to not deplete oxygen periodically!)
Hope & Larry...... DID YOU KNOW...... That Elec companies have 'PEAK' times and 'OFF-PEAK' times, in the course of the day/night, and that the 'OFF-PEAK' times are cheaper (rates) to run things, such as washer & dryer?? I don't know why your Elec company would not have peak/off times/rates; we do, here in CT. I usually do my laundry at night/'OFF-PEAK'.
im so very happy u posted this i have been trying to lower all my bills. this week im really working on the electric bill. i live in an apt in central florida so i desperately need ac bc of the heat. i leave the ac thermostat det at 83. and i have 3 lasko brand stand up fans. i do not use my oven bc it makes alot of heat. i use a nesco roasting pan. and i have gadgets too. rice cooker. a small waffle iron electric skillet. etc. ty for posting this i greatly appreciate it
so im back again. my bill is right at $88 due july 20 i called the electric company they said if i went on the monthly budget plan my bill would be $82 a month. but then the man i was speaking to said. 8-9 monthe of the yr im paying an abg of $60 to no more than $70 if that. so it would be more beneficial to set aside $20 extra a month to add tonthe higher months but then i keep my bill set abt $65-$70!monthly. he said inhad the lowest bill in my apt building and surrounding neighborhood. i know i can get this lower but i will take his advice and see how well ot goes. again ty for posting this for us.
I get up around 4-5am at the coolest part of the night. I completely turn of AC, period. Then around 11 or noon, as the highest heat of the day starts and its 79/80° in the house i turn it back on. It slowly brings it down to 70-72° over time and maintains that until about 5pm when i turn it completely off again until bed time around 9pm. I cant sleep when its hot, so i turn it back on. It really doesn't use much more than leaving it running and typically saves about 35% turning it COMPLETELY OFF for 9+/- hours a day (about 1/3 of the day). I have USB rechargeable fans, which as you note, also saves money, and try not use AC (extension of off time of AC) until the fam just doesn't do it, so i can extend AC time completely off to as much as 12 hours off so half a day ac is off. I can solar recharge either the fan itself or on the solar battery backup like my Opes. (Im home on medical leave all day, so yes it makes a difference. Today will be 99-100° and "feels like" will be 107-110° today where i live. The AC has been completely off for 2 hours and its 73° comfy in shorts and tshirt. It is currently 80° outside at 6:35 am.
How.much would like a ceiling fan be? We have 4 going at all times. Bathroom exhaust fan? Things that are just ON? I NEED To get me one of those reader gadgets! We have 4tvs 2 xboxes and DVD players always plugged in. I keep telling my kiddos to flip their power strip to help!
Thank you for the price breakdown on fans vs A/C! I dont get my next paycheck til end of Aug and have been trying to survive this hot hot North Carolina summer without breaking the bank. Ive had A/C turned off, but fans running very often and was wondering if that was going to help any
I am being honest, I have very little plugged in. My frig, my stove, one ceiling fan. Everything else is unplugged except for AC. I had the AC cleaned last week. I share the same energy company so I too watch the estimated billing notifications. Watch the last part of your bill at all the state regulated taxes....in July it was an addl 14.00 totalling 38.00. That I cant control.
Lol, I use 3M hooks to hang solar lights higher on the window panel to the glass because my cats think they should play soccer or hockey with them. Lol.
Oh I thought it you guys only use fans omg no wonder Im worried about mine I wish LA had a power usage thingy online. We do not have within LADWP. I am gonna buy one of those meters too. I have been turning off and on the switch in my room and living room too. I was trying to look for a solar generator and all sold out and I was damnit. I worried about August bill now. I like the solar lanterns.
I’m wondering the same. I’m usually OCD about the air conditioner in our house not going below 75. But with feel like temps in the 100s where I live not only is my air conditioning set for 73 but I also have two fans running to push colder air to upper levels of our house. Our main floor is an open floor plan with a vaulted ceiling and setting the air above 75 means our main living area is soon in the 80 to 85 degree range and extremely humid as well. I’ll try to save money elsewhere but I won’t be uncomfortable in my own home.
Just checked😢 my kitchen for phantom electricity. Found 6 plugs in kitchen and 3 in living room now all unplugged. I think that is a lot. Can’t wait to see if it makes a difference. From UK
Hi UK Also take out all the light bulbs you don't need...It's automatic to go turn the lights on even in the hight of Summer. But if there not in to come on.. its not going dark till 10pm and daylight from 5am...
I think the utility company is fleecing us. We don’t have central heat or AC. I have no idea why every summer it’s 50% higher. We use lights less because it doesn’t get dark early. The green house has no heat or grow lights this time of year, we opt for cold meals prepared once or twice a week. Honestly it should be lower.
Do they charge higher rates during the summer? I would be using a meter to audit my own usage - I have heard of companies charging based on average usage instead of sending someone out to read the meters.
Do washers and stoves use phantom power? I am about halfway into the video. Hot water heaters use 1/3 of energy bill, I am told. Thanks. Liked and subbed
@momstheword11 I turn OFF my water heater at the breaker 22 hours of every day..I just use a electric kettle if I need a bit if hot water during the rest of they day...I did find that one thing lowered my usage about 25%
How is the weather in your area? Raining and flooding? I moved far away from my house to a location where the temperature is 12 to 32 degrees different. My nightly downpour of rain is due in 2 or 3 hours.
My ceiling fans have 1 by 1 quit working over the years. I have found mini ceiling fans on Amazon for 18 dollars each that run on 5W. Much less energy than the ones that plug in on a 110 outlet.
Do you mean ‘turn off at the switch’ ? Or do I have to pull the plug actually out of the wall ? It cant use power whilst the power is disconnected, right ?
The general thrifty advice is to unplug anything with a screen (coffee makers, microwaves, etc.) AND anything that can be turned on with a remote. Power strips can make the job a little easier.
You can really save money by not using your air-conditioning at all. I have not used air-conditioning about 10 years. I just run a box fan and a small fan where I sit and relaxing. Yes it hot, I have to big maple tree on the north side of the house. That really makes a difference in the cooling bills. Yes it hot ,I live in Michigan west of flint.
Same! The design of our home is such that we have no attic above our main floor thus no insulation except for the roofing material. No AC means I will have excessive humidity building up in my home to the point of water running down the walls.
You have to test this for yourself because a lot of factors could be at play - home (N/S or E/W exposure, low ceilings or vaulted, number and size of windows, single pane or triple pane, etc.), a/c unit (old or new), utility company (one rate plan or different options), climate (moderately warm or oven-hot).
