Are You Spending Too Much Monthly on Electricity?

A few years ago I noticed my electric bill was creeping up slowly. It was now $191.00 per month from $150 the year before. I asked myself, "How can I reclaim some of this money"?

I started to look around the house and see where there may be room for improvement in the energy efficiency area. The first place I looked was the attic. I noticed there wasn't much insulation. The thought of adding more seemed like a daunting task. Sometimes the best way to eat an elephant is-one bite at a time.

I decided to add to the insulation slowly on a regular basis the same way as I would add money to a bank account because after all anything I could do had to lower the bill.

Every time I received a package with the Styrofoam popcorn in it I would simply throw the free insulation in the attic and then blow it to the far reaches of the large space with-a garden blower and slowly insulate it with more for free!

While I was doing that I would look for other things I could do to save some energy as well. Even though the water heater was protected in a closet I decided to wrap it anyway to keep the heat "in". The fiberglass insulation wrap was a total cost of $8. I noticed the plumbing pipes were bare and exposed to the elements so I wrapped them with rubber pipe wrap for $15.

I was really getting into this project and looked for more ways to save some money and energy. I changed all of the light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. I pulled off all of the receptacle covers and filled the gaps with caulk to prevent outside air from coming in. Next, I checked under the sinks and everywhere the pipes entered the house I caulked around them as well to stop air leaks.

I replaced the wall switches with motion sensors on timers in the most frequently used places like the pantry, closets and bathrooms for a cost of $22. It turned on the lights automatically when I entered and off at an interval I selected. In my case on for 2 minutes on-then off again.

I noticed that there was very little ventilation in the attic and on very hot days the hot air would stay in. I went up on the roof and cut a ridge vent the length of the house and added the vents purchased at Lows. It was a cost of $8 per 3 ft. piece and I used 8 pieces. Now there was cool air coming into the hot attic and the heat pump didn't need to work so hard and was on less time during the day thus saving more electricity and money.

I looked at the heat pump one day and realized something. Hey! This thing is in the heat all day. I touched the black fins designed to act as a heat sink to cool off the freon and Wow-was it hot! I cut a half sheet of plywood and then a 3 foot circle to accommodate the size of the fan on the top of the heat pump. I placed it on top of the heat pump similar to a hat with a hole in it to shade it without obstructing the fan air flow. The edges hung over the pump and shaded it. Later the same day I placed my hand back on the fins and they were much cooler. I hooked up a spray mister I picked up in the plant section of the hardware store and placed a spray nozzle on each of the four sides of the heat pump and put it on a timer to "spray" the fins with water during the hottest part of the day. They were cooling better already. Again the heat pump didn't have to work so hard!

I was at the local building salvage supply store one day and noticed some used windows-they were double paned insulated glass for $20 each! I bought as many as I needed and replaced all of my single paned windows with these new "used" energy efficient glass. Man, I was on a roll now!

I was in my favorite place one day-the refrigerator when I thought, "Why not replace all three of these heat producing light bulbs in the refrigerator with compact fluorescent bulbs like the rest of the house? So, I did.

I looked around again at all I had done. Could I do more? Yes! I replaced my small hot water heater with an 80 gallon heater which keeps the water hotter longer and re-insulated it to keep the heat in. A timer was also added so that it went on only 3 hours per day to bring the temperature back up to where I needed it. It cost a total of $330.

I looked around again and thought-"Is there more I can do"? I noticed that there was one spot in the house in front of a large window that was hotter because it got more sun. I replaced the clear glass with tinted glass to cut down on the heat entering the house for about $100. It worked-It was much cooler now.

There were several rooms in the house not being used at all. Why cool or heat them? I closed off the air vents and shut the doors at a cost of zero. Am I making any progress here yet?

After a year of adding styrofoam popcorn from my packages to the attic and letting the timers and compact bulbs do their jobs as well as all the insulating on the pipes and water heater I was beginning to feel like I had a full time energy staff in the house working for me every day.

Over a period of a year I noticed the electric bill taking a dive. At the end of the year It was at the lowest point $39 per month. It has evened out at about $50 per month on a regular basis. It's like getting a raise every month.

Everything that is done to reduce the cost of energy not only has a financial benefit but an environmental benefit as well. Look around the house and see what you can do for yourself to lower your energy consumption and do it! Start today.

Rick Mariner - Owner and founder of Haywire Value Priced Custom Guitars - http://www.HaywireCustomGuitars.com and a member of The Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans (A.S.I.A.) as well as a guitar player. He holds a bachelors degree from University of Md. and a Masters degree from George Washington University.

Haywire developed an 8 - Point Gig- Ready guitar process that allows for Haywire Custom Guitars that are "GIG-READY".

With many years of development and guitar set-up experience, we pride ourselves in helping to build you the Just Right Haywire guitar for you at prices well below market.

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