Although you can place your geyser circuit on a timer to only switch on at a certain time. It doesn’t make electrically any sense to me. Because to warm up 150 Liters of water couldn’t use much less electricity than just to keep the same water at a constant temperature.
Therefore I just wrapped my geyser in a thermal blanket to keep the heat in and not having to warm the water that often. I have also replaced all light bulbs with energy saving light bulbs or LED lamps. LED lamps use very low voltage and hardly any amps. Amp usage or KWh (Kilowatt Hour) is what determines your electricity bill.
And the less load you put on your electricity supply, the less you will pay. It’s all about lessening the Amperage use. Which is also why I switched to gas with regard to stove and kettle. Any element will skyrocket your electricity usage. Because it uses a lot more Amperage.
All these applications saved me almost 50% on my electricity bill. But it is rather costly to implement all the shortcuts. It is still a saving no matter which way you look at it.
I am renting a pretty efficient house, especially for New England. I have only used about $500 worth of heat this winter, and that is down from the $1500 that I may usually use living in another house. But that is propane. The place was set up with new efficient appliances when I moved in.To save on electricity, I have lights on a timer, replace all bulbs with LED as they need replacing, and just make sure switches are OFF when I leave. This is challenging with a few kids, but really, we don’t use much. I pay less here in a 3 bedroom house, then I did in a apartment half this size.
3 Likes
KellyFromKeene posted:
I am renting a pretty efficient house, especially for New England. I have only used about $500 worth of heat this winter, and that is down from the $1500 that I may usually use living in another house. But that is propane. The place was set up with new efficient appliances when I moved in.To save on electricity, I have lights on a timer, replace all bulbs with LED as they need replacing, and just make sure switches are OFF when I leave. This is challenging with a few kids, but really, we don’t use much. I pay less here in a 3 bedroom house, then I did in a apartment half this size.
That’s a massive saving indeed @kellyfromkeene. I also experienced the massive drop in cost when moving from an apartment to a house. I think the apartment buildings are being ripped off, but that’s just my opinion.
Great move with the LED lights. It’s a major energy saving factor.
1 Like
And I like the illumination from the LED lights better. It’s brighter, with fewer bulbs. I’m a big fan. They are worth the extra cost.
3 Likes
KellyFromKeene posted:
And I like the illumination from the LED lights better. It’s brighter, with fewer bulbs. I’m a big fan. They are worth the extra cost.
Indeed they are @kellyfromkeene. Brightness of globes is often also categorized into two choices. Warm white (the yellowish light) and Cool White. Which is the brighter light you currently have. Not sure how it works in your area. But it’s something I always check in South Africa.
1 Like
DEON CHRISTIE i turn off all lights when not in use.
i unplug things that aren’t being used
2 Likes
So do I @bonnie.squires. It’s usually rather dark in my house. And I always unplug things not in use. It’s just safer that way right?
1 Like
DEON CHRISTIE it sure is safer that way. At night we leave
2 outside lights on and 1 in the house so hubby and i don’t
get hurt. But every thing else is off or unplugged.
1 Like
We live in an apartment where heat is paid (which was a blessing this winter!) so our electricity bill comes out to around $30 a month which isn’t that bad.
I am not extremely conservative but I did learn the habit of always turning off the light when I leave the room and only keeping it on in areas you are using.
While this is a good habit, it has also gotten me into a couple funny situations in the past couple weeks.
One, I accidentally turned off the light in a public restroom when there was someone using the stall…
And then, I was walking out of a common area where two guys were playing chess, without thinking I flipped the light switch off and they both just stared at me with a look of surprise 
2 Likes
Bonnie Squires posted:
DEON CHRISTIE it sure is safer that way. At night we leave
2 outside lights on and 1 in the house so hubby and i don’t
get hurt. But every thing else is off or unplugged.
I have a little more lights on outside @bonnie.squires. It’s rather advised, I’m in South Africa. Other than that the TV light is quite sufficient.
1 Like
Moore Income posted:
We live in an apartment where heat is paid (which was a blessing this winter!) so our electricity bill comes out to around $30 a month which isn’t that bad.
I am not extremely conservative but I did learn the habit of always turning off the light when I leave the room and only keeping it on in areas you are using.
While this is a good habit, it has also gotten me into a couple funny situations in the past couple weeks.
One, I accidentally turned off the light in a public restroom when there was someone using the stall…
And then, I was walking out of a common area where two guys were playing chess, without thinking I flipped the light switch off and they both just stared at me with a look of surprise 
In South Africa we’re lucky enough to not have the “heating” bill @moore.income. In dollar (ZAR/USD) my electricity bill is around $20 - $30 (300 - 400 ZAR) too.
Turning off the light…lol!?
I hope the occupant cleaned the mess…lol!
1 Like
DEON CHRISTIE we live in a small place so outside
lights we don’t need allot of. We don’t have a TV.
We set an alarm on the computer to get the kids up
for school and work. So there only a need for 1 light
to be on. I’m thinking about getting one of those battery
lights for the stairway because the boys come plain about
going down the stairs at night. We had a light up there but
it kept 1 of our son awake at night and our other son would
leave it on all the time.
Our light bill run about $200 a month but that has our trash
sewer and water not sure what else is on the bill. Than our
lights runs about $150. This is give or take a little bit.
1 Like
MOORE INCOME that is funny i bet the people wasn’t happy at you. lol
I’ve done the same thing before and all i heard was who turned out the lights.
Even done it to our kids during the night. lol
2 Likes
Bonnie Squires posted:
DEON CHRISTIE we live in a small place so outside
lights we don’t need allot of. We don’t have a TV.
We set an alarm on the computer to get the kids up
for school and work. So there only a need for 1 light
to be on. I’m thinking about getting one of those battery
lights for the stairway because the boys come plain about
going down the stairs at night. We had a light up there but
it kept 1 of our son awake at night and our other son would
leave it on all the time.
Our light bill run about $200 a month but that has our trash
sewer and water not sure what else is on the bill. Than our
lights runs about $150. This is give or take a little bit.
That’s quite an electricity bill @bonnie.squires. Do you perhaps have a swimming pool pump or perhaps more than one fridge and/or freezer?
1 Like
No we don’t have a swimming pool pump and only 1 fridge and freezer.
The lights all so has the trash, sewer,water coming in and going out and
i think a couple extra things. But all so they are the middle man so the price
is higher. We have an electric stove and dryer to.
Try switching the stove to gas @bonnie.squires. Depending on how often you use the stove, it can be a massive saving. And yes I think the dryer is your other culprit. Because it has an element it will draw excessive amperage.
1 Like
DEON CHRISTIE I know gas would be cheaper. Just we need
to insulate this house first. We moved in Dec and there was
some cold night and the heather we put on 90 and we was
lucky to get to 70 in the house. Its a 1920 house. Than we
will work on other things in the house.
I love old houses @bonnie.squires. And I’m glad we don’t have the heating to deal with in South Africa.
1 Like
DEON CHRISTIE so do i. I wish they had left the fire place in.
I know there was 1 upstairs. I love sitting in front of one during
the winter with hot chocolate or a cup of tea.
1 Like
Bonnie Squires posted:
DEON CHRISTIE so do i. I wish they had left the fire place in.
I know there was 1 upstairs. I love sitting in front of one during
the winter with hot chocolate or a cup of tea.
Sounds cozy @bonnie.squires. We usually do that on hunting trips in the African Bush-veld. Sit around a bonfire and just enjoy odd moments of silence in all the chatter and laughter. But I would also love a fireplace in my house, although it doesn’t really get extremely cold.
1 Like