Energy Efficiency and saving Energy - How do you do it?

Okay... in about three years I am going to have to replace my roof (if not sooner)... I live in W PA but would not mind having some solar panels because yes...it does get sunny here (perhaps not like AZ but it does)

I would like to have people post their ideas for saving energy or taking advantage of natural methods...

I have two solatubes which bring natural light into my home. They are cheaper and they work.

I also have a lot of insulation in my attic to save on money!

I use a solar cover for my pool and plan to get a solar heater for it as well.. (I do have a gas heater for it...but use it rarely and alas...am ashamed to have it now.. but remember it does get cold here and I want to at least use my pool)..

I have re-done all of my landscaping so I don't have to use the gas powered mower as much and when it dies...I will get an oldfashioned gass-less mower...

They're making screw-in flourescent bulbs for your lamps. The color balance is a little off but they put out as much or more light for less electrical power.

I think I should put some in my basement work areas...

The colors are almost correct and even the look is not that much different. I don't have a single "normal" bulb in my apartment. And they last way longer than a normal bulb (several times as long; up to 10 years)



And of course the classics: efficient home appliances. (energy- efficiency-class A; water-efficiency-class A).

I like the idea of screw-in fluorescents, but they don't last very long. $8 for a bulb that snuffs it after a month's worth of turning it off and on?! I'll prefer to live in darkness all the same...

I prefer the off-white tinge fluorescents make compared to the sickly yellow incandescents cast off.

We should get corporations to be energy savvy; one of their big office buildings probably eats up more electricity than 1,000 homes.

I bought a bunch of them five or six years ago and brought them with me when I moved. I'm still using all the original bulbs. I did have one that burned out quickly. I think you can return them, if you want to go to the trouble, if they are defective because they do have a warranty. I have a couple that are about 8 years old. I can tell which ones they are, because they look a lot different from the newer ones.

I have one that has been on 24/7 for 8 years in the basement. Seems like a good deal to me.

them out only every couple years.

I use low voltage lighting outside, set on timers, and have the security lights on motion detectors, that way, (knock on wood) since no one ever trips them on, the bulbs last for YEARS and don't consume energy.

I only have the LV lights on for about 3 hours per night, as I said, on a timer.

I keep the front porch light on a photo cell that turns on at dusk off at dawn, that is my only extravagence.

I only wash clothes in cold water, rarely use the dryer, even though it's gas.

Apparently a fridge is the biggest hog in the house, aside from a window air conditioner. Teevees and computers run on very modest amounts of energy.

water heater, you can put a programmable timer on it ($20-40 depending on size of wh) and set it to heat water only when you are normally using it. It has a manual override in case you need hot in off times. I set my to run 1/4 of the day or 6 hrs total in two 3 hour sets. Wrapped the heater in a wh blanket ($15) and have never not had hot water when needed. Better than running 24hrs a day.

Basically anytime you can reduce the heating up process of elect appliances, stove, dryer etc. you can expect to be saving $$. Cook with gas, dry clothes on line when you can etc.

The solar possibilities are good ones as well as the solatubes.

good luck,
dp

tankless water heaters, which is an idea I'm looking into for future reference. The water is not heated all all until you want to use it and then it heats instantaneously. The smaller ones cost a few hundred dollars. Some work by gas (promoted for remote locations) and some by electricity. Either one is supposed to be much, much cheaper to operate than a conventional tank water heater.

in New Orleans. Loved it. Funny thing was....it was a very old one. Fellow who owned the house I rented said he found it in a storage shed and the place had belonged to his grandparents. They had used it many-many years ago. He took it to a plumber, had it all reconditioned, and put in back in the house. Some things are not new, I guess.

Also changed every bulb in my apt to the new ones and have not changed a bulbin over two years. Last year for Christmas I bought packages of these bulbs for everyone on my list.

more or less standard in Europe and it has been around a long, long time. I think the problem was that they weren't efficient enough for a large home. Now, some of he newer models can handle a bigger load, as in running two or three different sources of hot water at the same time. For instance, you couldn't have someone wash dishes, the clothes washer running, and someone taking a shower all at once. It might be a consideration for a large family. But, they have smaller units that you can put in each location where you use hot water, so if you have 10 bathrooms they can all get hot water at once.