03-09-2009, 03:32 PM
I've cut my electric bill by more than 50% with a combination of higher thermostat settings on the A/C, less use of heat on chilly mornings (don't turn it on unless the house temp drops below 60 degrees during the day - doesn't happen often), replaced all (except a few candelabra) light bulbs with CFL which I turn off when not in use, even for a few minutes.
I added remote controlled switches to power strips that relate to certain devices, so any not actively in use can be turned off completely (This includes laptop A/C adapter, external monitor, external speakers, external drives directly connected to a particular computer, scanner). My printers are switched off unless being used (that's a little inconvenient, but I put up with it).
I measured all my 110V electrical devices with a Kil-A-Watt meter in standby mode. Here are consumption figures for several common devices that I do not "unplug" when idle: Airport Express-2 , Sony stereo amp/tuner-0 , SA Cable Box (not a recorder)-14, Pioneer HDD/DVD recorder-12, Tivo-37, Sony 55" LCD projection TV-0, WII-1, Hitachi 50" LCD projection TV-0. I also leave on 24/7 my cable modem, Airport Extreme, IP telephone adapter and 2 USB HDDs used as NAS . Last month's bill was $47 compared to $80+ for the same month last year. Each month since I made the changes has shown similar savings - more so in summer.
I added remote controlled switches to power strips that relate to certain devices, so any not actively in use can be turned off completely (This includes laptop A/C adapter, external monitor, external speakers, external drives directly connected to a particular computer, scanner). My printers are switched off unless being used (that's a little inconvenient, but I put up with it).
I measured all my 110V electrical devices with a Kil-A-Watt meter in standby mode. Here are consumption figures for several common devices that I do not "unplug" when idle: Airport Express-2 , Sony stereo amp/tuner-0 , SA Cable Box (not a recorder)-14, Pioneer HDD/DVD recorder-12, Tivo-37, Sony 55" LCD projection TV-0, WII-1, Hitachi 50" LCD projection TV-0. I also leave on 24/7 my cable modem, Airport Extreme, IP telephone adapter and 2 USB HDDs used as NAS . Last month's bill was $47 compared to $80+ for the same month last year. Each month since I made the changes has shown similar savings - more so in summer.