Save a little energy

[jmeehan]

In many areas the use of air conditioners is over for the season. If you have electric air conditioning and if it is not a heat pump, then it may be a good idea to turn off the power to the unit. Many systems have a heater circuit that is on most of the time. It does not consume a lot of power, but it does eat some. Turning off the power at the source to the unit will save this power until you need it next summer.

Note: don't forget to turn it back on in the spring and don't try to run the A/C for a day or two after you turn it on.

I also like the idea of killing any circuit that will not need power for an extended period. A dead circuit is just a little bit less likely to cause a problem.

[Bill]

GFCI outlets use a little power. So if you have outside GFCI outlets which you are not going to use all winter, turn them off!

And window air conditioners which have a remote control or electronic display always use electricity. Unplug it for the winter.

[Richard Evans]

I've seen a PSA recently advising people to turn off home entertainment centers and computers when not using them. In my case, there is rarely, if ever, a time I'm not using them.

I don't have a home entertainment center, but I do have an old 32" TV with cable box and DVR. If I completely turned them off, I couldn't record anything overnight. If I turned off my computer, I couldn't run backup and virus check every night, like I do now.

I wonder how many people are in similar circumstances.

[Sharp Dressed Man]

...unless it powering something that needs a little juice to stay healthy or alert....

[HeyBub]

And don't overlook unplugging clocks when not in use.

[terry]

Yes the wasted electricity, every few cents of it, turns into heat/ warmth and helps heat the house during wintertime. So using 25 cents of electrcity may save 15 cents of gas heating, say? Or conversely turning off all the 'gadgets' might save 25 cents of electricity; to be replaced with, say 15 cents of gas or oil heating? Net saving (wntertime) ten cents?