Doorbell, etc. - Saving $2.50 per month!

[Bill]

I previously posted about re-wiring my doorbell so it would use electricity only when the button was pressed. I also went through my house and placed everything I could find which was "always on" on a switch or power strip.

I replaced power strips which had lights on them with power strips which have no light. I wired switches to all GFCI outlets so I can turn them off when not in use. I have a rooftop TV antenna amplifier which was "always on" and I wired a switch to that.

I placed my entertainment center things on 4 individual power strips (no lights) so I could turn on only what I was using. (Like just TV and DVD, or playstation, or satellite TV - don't need to have on components which are not being used.)

I placed several power strips on my computer stuff. So just computer on - printer on separate power strip and off when not in use. Everything totally off when not in use.

Placed outlet switches on HEPA air cleaners (have always on timers for filter replacement).

Placed power strips (no power on light) on bedroom, garage small stereos. Etc.

Anyway my electric bill is now $2.50 per month less and will be so for the rest of my life. That's $30 a year or being as my electric bill is now under $30 a month - one month of free electricity!

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, My electricity costs 7 cents per KWh locked for 5 years. What if you keep powering up/down multiple devices and a surge cause a damage. The repair cost may far exceed the 2.00 per month. If I wanted to save electric energy my way would be using more efficient devices or minimize the usage by careful planning ahead.

[hallerb]

congrats how much did you spend for all the power strips etc?

some devices may not like being powered off repeatedly like you are doing

congress should legislate a power off control for people who desire to save max energy, a added requirement for energy star

the satellite tv uses off hours to doiwnload guide updates, powered off completely may get you a aging guide.

We use DVRs which arent compatible with no power. Ours record shows all day and all nite long

[clams_casino]

I'm envious. My last electric bill was 18.5 cents / KWhr.

[Charlie Darwin]

You could also flush only every other time, grow your own veggies, only wash the sheets and towels once a month and shut off your car engine at red lights or when going down hill...

[HeyBub]

Yeah, but it costs you an hour a day to reset all the blinking "12:00" things.

[aemeijers]

Oh, please don't encourage the guy. Of course what he is doing is not time or cost effective, but if it gives him the illusion of having some control over his universe, so what?

-- aem sends...

[1D1OT]

Why wash towels - aren't we clean when we use them?

[Pete C.]

I dropped cable and save $50 per month, every month. I'm saving 20X what your savings, and I don't have to go to any effort daily for that savings.

[Jon Danniken]

It's no problem with the fellow in question, but often folks like that tend to want to spread their "blessings" onto other people who have not become so "enlightened", and often by force. That's when it no longer becomes cute and quirky.

Jon

[Rod Speed]

rest of my life.

Nope, not when you get the oxygen machine.

Pity about the cost of all those plug boards.

You'll have to pardon us if we dont actually cream our jeans or sumfin.

[1D1OT]

What do you do about the cost of ironing your socks?

[albundy2]

Plus, his reported savings are likely do to general cutbacks then using power strips without the tiny neon light. It's like when people go on a diet or start concentrating on auto mileage, they start making more and more changes. When his house burns down from using a cheap power strip or running wires on the floor, he won't be posting that event here.

[John Grabowski]

*What is the payback time for the expenses that were outlayed to do all this switching and changes? If you spent $100.00 the payback would be in 40 months based on the $2.50 per month savings.

[K]

Connecticut?

[Phisherman]

... Not all appliances can be turned off when not in use or cutting them off is inconvenient. My (Panasonic) TV loses all the channels and time of day during a power outage, then it takes several minutes to reprogram. I would expect the microwave to keep the time of day, but after a power outage it doesn't. Recently I have been using a power strip to cut off power to a LAN switch and DSL modem--no issues cutting off these though. More savings cutting these off when cooling is needed. It's great to conserve, recycle and re-use, but there are practical limitations.

[clams_casino]

RI

[Gary H]

Sheets and towels can be washed only when they're stinky.

[Gary H]

[snip]

Use electrical tape to solve that problem.

[John Gilmer]

What? Are you talking about the "surge" when you first power up something?

Could be.

$30/year for the convenience of having everything ready to go rather than requiring the hunting down of power strips here and there isn't much.

Seems to me that the "standby" power performance is getting better. I say than only because stuff in "standby" seems to be running cooler.