Pocketbook Pinch – Saving Cash Daily

Save Electricity by Unplugging Unused Electronic/Appliances

In the case of plug in appliance or electronics, just because you have turned the machine or item off doesn’t mean it isn’t using energy. Most electrical appliances will draw a very small to moderate current flow when plugged in, but not being used. Such culprits would be your TV, cellphone changer, microwave, DVD player, computer, computer monitor and/or a stereo system. Even your household furnace will draw energy for the electronic controls and internal transformer even when the thermostat is turned off.

Sure the power drain won’t be much in each case, but if you multiply it was 10-20 units or more over the course of a year, it will add to your power bill. So the trick is to find a way to turn them completely off or unplugging them when they are not needed. Another way is through using a power bar with a power switch which can be handy in such cases such as your home theater system. When you are done watching you programming, simply turn off the units, then flick the switch to shut the power off to everything. Do not use the power bar to turn everything off. Make sure you turn the TV off by the remote control and then turn off the power bar.

Waste not, want not is a common spoken phrase relating to a person not wanting to waste resources or money and through this small tip, you can stop wasting energy when it is not needed. Simply unplug your way to savings.

Using Your Clothes Dryer Properly to Save Money

To start off, this technique can be used to save money if you use a clothes dryer at a laundromat or while using the clothes dryer in your home.

If you don’t already know, two of the biggest energy hogs in your home is your water heater and your dryer. Your dryer is essentially a self-contained heater and thus, will consumer relatively large amounts of energy. What a lot of people don’t know, is a lot of the energy used in drying your clothes is wasted either through setting the temperature too high, not filling the dryer up enough to take advantage of a cycle, or setting it to run for too long.

Try setting your dryer at a lower temperature and stick to the same time interval. I bet your the clothes will still come out dry. Try filling up your dryer instead of drying one wash load at a time. Dry two washer loads at a time to save energy. Also, consider air drying heavier item such as jeans and sweaters on a drying rack. Not only will they save you money, but your jeans and sweaters will last longer.

Another thing that is often forgotten is to clean your lint tray after every load. It is not a daily thing and it has to be cleaned after every cycle.  Even a small restriction to airflow will slow the drying process significantly by not allowing the dryer to get rid of the moist air properly.

To solve a lot of this problems with dryer energy waste, some dryers have a feature that automatically senses when the clothes are dry and will shut down. Even though this is a feature than might lead you to a more expensive dryer, the premium will pay for itself over and over during the life of the product. It also will net you a high quality dryer which in most cases will last longer and will be built with better parts and thus a better warranty.

With these small dryer energy tips, you can save money monthly while extended the life of your clothes and your dryer. You can’t complain with that deal.

Though this will be a small savings, when coupled with other small savings around your home, it can lead to a greatly reduced power bill at the end of the month.

Try it out.

Tags: dryer, energy savings, green, home, laundry

Compact Fluorescent (CFL) Bulbs Save Money

Compact fluorescent bulbs or “CFL’s” are becoming more and more popular daily as the average consumer realises that using the older standard light bulb is not very cost effective and can be a little irritating.

Before the last 5 years or so, standard light bulbs were all that was available and were seen as a part of your everyday life and budget. Sure you had to replace it every year and sure it technically burned a lot of energy, but with no alternative, no one knew the difference.

But when the first compact fluorescent bulbs were introduced onto the market, they were both very expensive, hard to find and gave off a type of light that was not very comfortable for your eyes.  But through time and as they gained popularity, these disadvantages were ironed out. What also helped is some governments banning the sale of the standard lightbulb after a certain date.

Sure the compact fluorescent bulb was still more expensive than your average everyday 50 cent incandescent bulb, but it also consumed only 13watts of power when compared to the 60watts consumed by the older bulb. If you have a house with 20 bulbs as an example, you will be saving 940watts per hour. Say you use them for 6 hours a day for a year and you will save 61758000 watts/hours  per year! Now I know that people will not be having 20 bulbs blazing for 6 hours, but you can certainly see how it will add up over time.

Also you need to realize that compact fluorescent bulbs have an average lifespan of 50,000 hours whereas the standard long life incandescent bulb is only 2000 hours. So, you will be changing a incandescent bulb 25 times before you change a compact fluorescent.

With compact fluorescent bulbs being priced at about $2 now for 50000 hours use, it is a far better deal that replacing a 50 cent bulb 25 times which results in an approximate cost of $12.50.

So with operating costs and energy savings, the bulb pays for itself on average in SIX MONTHS! Then everything from there is cash back in your pocket.

Forget the initial cost and start saving huge money by switching your house over to compact fluorescent today! Every hour you don’t you are throwing away money.

Tags: Compact fluorescent, energy saving, home, household, light bulb, save money