$500 Monthly SDG&E Bill (How to reduce?)

[an]

[quote=poway_seller]This is what it said:

Appliance Annual cost Percentage of total
annual energy bill
Laundry $17 0%
Kitchen Appliances $30 1%
Air Conditioning $123 3%
Home Office $130 3%
Small Appliances $183 5%
Refrigerator/Freezers $404 10%
Pool/Spa $446 11%
Lighting $1,240 31%
Space Heating $1,308 32%
Total $3,881

Underestimates some expenses, but tells me that the POOL is much less an issue than I thought. I need to go home and enter it in FULL detail and then I’ll see where it really helps. [/quote]
Based on this analysis, it shows that the biggest hogs are lighting and space heating. You can totally reduce that if you only have/use 1 bulb per room and only turn on one bulb at a time. Don’t use heater/ac and just extra thick or light clothing. That will make the biggest dent in your energy bill. But then, what’s the point of buying and living in such a big fancy house when you have to resort to that type of measure. Personally, I’d just chalk that up to the cost of buying a nice big house. You can always live in a 2 bedroom apartment and you can run everything 24/7 and still only use ~150/month.

[BGinRB]

Once the usage goes beyond 130% of the baseline the cost of kWh triples.
1hp engine is not that bad – that’s ~746W (~110kWh/month).

[BGinRB]

Once the usage goes beyond 130% of the baseline the cost of kWh triples.
1hp engine is not that bad – that’s ~746W (~110kWh/month).

[BGinRB]

Once the usage goes beyond 130% of the baseline the cost of kWh triples.
1hp engine is not that bad – that’s ~746W (~110kWh/month).

[BGinRB]

Once the usage goes beyond 130% of the baseline the cost of kWh triples.
1hp engine is not that bad – that’s ~746W (~110kWh/month).

[BGinRB]

Once the usage goes beyond 130% of the baseline the cost of kWh triples.
1hp engine is not that bad – that’s ~746W (~110kWh/month).

[Coronita]

[quote=FoamFinger1]A few tricks I used on the old man’s house, cut the bill in half.

1. Get rid of second fridge. Any money saved purchasing discount food stuff will be off set by freezer/fridge exps.

2. Dial back pool pump hours. No heat on pool during off season.

3. Check temp on hot water tank. Usually too hot wasting energy. Also, install insulating blanket.

4. The misc electronics; radios, stereos, tv, vcr ect, should be plugged to a power strip, then all power shut off. Trickle or phantom loads draw small amounts b/c of memory & remote functions… Just flip the switch to that group of electronics you will use, otherwise keep off all other times.

5. Cooling a hot house requires way too much energy. Install plenty of attic fans. Close off extra rooms.

6. Run clothes/dish washers on cold water cycle. Hang more clothes to dry. (you have an extra warm house yes?)

7. Window covering for the sunny side of house should block heat and light. Check seals for leaks/drafts.

8. A three story? With proper venting, you should be able to create a draft to cool the house.

9. You could itemize each appliance down to each light bulb, or do a room by room. Close off one room, no use what so ever. Unplug everything, measure the difference month to month. isolate exps.

10. Compare old useage from one two three years. When did it spike? New tv’s are energy hogs. Anything with a remote or memory or digital function will draw a trickle when not in use.

Good Luck.

[/quote]

To add #3, consider buying a hot water heater blanket from home depot or something, especially if the tank is outside the house in a garage or external closet.

For allergies, i use this. Loud, but does wonders.

http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/7f1169d626a00b7fe58467e101e1dd68/

I wouldn’t recommend a ionizing filter (the kind you find in sharper image).

[Coronita]

[quote=FoamFinger1]A few tricks I used on the old man’s house, cut the bill in half.

1. Get rid of second fridge. Any money saved purchasing discount food stuff will be off set by freezer/fridge exps.

2. Dial back pool pump hours. No heat on pool during off season.

3. Check temp on hot water tank. Usually too hot wasting energy. Also, install insulating blanket.

4. The misc electronics; radios, stereos, tv, vcr ect, should be plugged to a power strip, then all power shut off. Trickle or phantom loads draw small amounts b/c of memory & remote functions… Just flip the switch to that group of electronics you will use, otherwise keep off all other times.

5. Cooling a hot house requires way too much energy. Install plenty of attic fans. Close off extra rooms.

6. Run clothes/dish washers on cold water cycle. Hang more clothes to dry. (you have an extra warm house yes?)

7. Window covering for the sunny side of house should block heat and light. Check seals for leaks/drafts.

8. A three story? With proper venting, you should be able to create a draft to cool the house.

9. You could itemize each appliance down to each light bulb, or do a room by room. Close off one room, no use what so ever. Unplug everything, measure the difference month to month. isolate exps.

10. Compare old useage from one two three years. When did it spike? New tv’s are energy hogs. Anything with a remote or memory or digital function will draw a trickle when not in use.

Good Luck.

[/quote]

To add #3, consider buying a hot water heater blanket from home depot or something, especially if the tank is outside the house in a garage or external closet.

For allergies, i use this. Loud, but does wonders.

http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/7f1169d626a00b7fe58467e101e1dd68/

I wouldn’t recommend a ionizing filter (the kind you find in sharper image).

[Coronita]

[quote=FoamFinger1]A few tricks I used on the old man’s house, cut the bill in half.

1. Get rid of second fridge. Any money saved purchasing discount food stuff will be off set by freezer/fridge exps.

2. Dial back pool pump hours. No heat on pool during off season.

3. Check temp on hot water tank. Usually too hot wasting energy. Also, install insulating blanket.

4. The misc electronics; radios, stereos, tv, vcr ect, should be plugged to a power strip, then all power shut off. Trickle or phantom loads draw small amounts b/c of memory & remote functions… Just flip the switch to that group of electronics you will use, otherwise keep off all other times.

5. Cooling a hot house requires way too much energy. Install plenty of attic fans. Close off extra rooms.

6. Run clothes/dish washers on cold water cycle. Hang more clothes to dry. (you have an extra warm house yes?)

7. Window covering for the sunny side of house should block heat and light. Check seals for leaks/drafts.

8. A three story? With proper venting, you should be able to create a draft to cool the house.

9. You could itemize each appliance down to each light bulb, or do a room by room. Close off one room, no use what so ever. Unplug everything, measure the difference month to month. isolate exps.

10. Compare old useage from one two three years. When did it spike? New tv’s are energy hogs. Anything with a remote or memory or digital function will draw a trickle when not in use.

Good Luck.

[/quote]

To add #3, consider buying a hot water heater blanket from home depot or something, especially if the tank is outside the house in a garage or external closet.

For allergies, i use this. Loud, but does wonders.

http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/7f1169d626a00b7fe58467e101e1dd68/

I wouldn’t recommend a ionizing filter (the kind you find in sharper image).

[Coronita]

[quote=FoamFinger1]A few tricks I used on the old man’s house, cut the bill in half.

1. Get rid of second fridge. Any money saved purchasing discount food stuff will be off set by freezer/fridge exps.

2. Dial back pool pump hours. No heat on pool during off season.

3. Check temp on hot water tank. Usually too hot wasting energy. Also, install insulating blanket.

4. The misc electronics; radios, stereos, tv, vcr ect, should be plugged to a power strip, then all power shut off. Trickle or phantom loads draw small amounts b/c of memory & remote functions… Just flip the switch to that group of electronics you will use, otherwise keep off all other times.

5. Cooling a hot house requires way too much energy. Install plenty of attic fans. Close off extra rooms.

6. Run clothes/dish washers on cold water cycle. Hang more clothes to dry. (you have an extra warm house yes?)

7. Window covering for the sunny side of house should block heat and light. Check seals for leaks/drafts.

8. A three story? With proper venting, you should be able to create a draft to cool the house.

9. You could itemize each appliance down to each light bulb, or do a room by room. Close off one room, no use what so ever. Unplug everything, measure the difference month to month. isolate exps.

10. Compare old useage from one two three years. When did it spike? New tv’s are energy hogs. Anything with a remote or memory or digital function will draw a trickle when not in use.

Good Luck.

[/quote]

To add #3, consider buying a hot water heater blanket from home depot or something, especially if the tank is outside the house in a garage or external closet.

For allergies, i use this. Loud, but does wonders.

http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/7f1169d626a00b7fe58467e101e1dd68/

I wouldn’t recommend a ionizing filter (the kind you find in sharper image).

[Coronita]

[quote=FoamFinger1]A few tricks I used on the old man’s house, cut the bill in half.

1. Get rid of second fridge. Any money saved purchasing discount food stuff will be off set by freezer/fridge exps.

2. Dial back pool pump hours. No heat on pool during off season.

3. Check temp on hot water tank. Usually too hot wasting energy. Also, install insulating blanket.

4. The misc electronics; radios, stereos, tv, vcr ect, should be plugged to a power strip, then all power shut off. Trickle or phantom loads draw small amounts b/c of memory & remote functions… Just flip the switch to that group of electronics you will use, otherwise keep off all other times.

5. Cooling a hot house requires way too much energy. Install plenty of attic fans. Close off extra rooms.

6. Run clothes/dish washers on cold water cycle. Hang more clothes to dry. (you have an extra warm house yes?)

7. Window covering for the sunny side of house should block heat and light. Check seals for leaks/drafts.

8. A three story? With proper venting, you should be able to create a draft to cool the house.

9. You could itemize each appliance down to each light bulb, or do a room by room. Close off one room, no use what so ever. Unplug everything, measure the difference month to month. isolate exps.

10. Compare old useage from one two three years. When did it spike? New tv’s are energy hogs. Anything with a remote or memory or digital function will draw a trickle when not in use.

Good Luck.

[/quote]

To add #3, consider buying a hot water heater blanket from home depot or something, especially if the tank is outside the house in a garage or external closet.

For allergies, i use this. Loud, but does wonders.

http://www.kaz.com/kaz/store/product/7f1169d626a00b7fe58467e101e1dd68/

I wouldn’t recommend a ionizing filter (the kind you find in sharper image).

[meadandale]

Frankly, if you can afford to live in a 5500 square foot house (and think that that much space is necessary to house 2 people and a toddler) than you just need to suck it up. I’m thinking that you can afford to pay a $500 utility bill.

[meadandale]

Frankly, if you can afford to live in a 5500 square foot house (and think that that much space is necessary to house 2 people and a toddler) than you just need to suck it up. I’m thinking that you can afford to pay a $500 utility bill.

[meadandale]

Frankly, if you can afford to live in a 5500 square foot house (and think that that much space is necessary to house 2 people and a toddler) than you just need to suck it up. I’m thinking that you can afford to pay a $500 utility bill.

[meadandale]

Frankly, if you can afford to live in a 5500 square foot house (and think that that much space is necessary to house 2 people and a toddler) than you just need to suck it up. I’m thinking that you can afford to pay a $500 utility bill.

[Author]

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