how do I keep my electrical bill down

Ok I got my bill this month and it was 300 for the electricity. Yikes!! Anyone with any ideas on how to cut this cost down? Other than stealing from my neightbor (just kidding..well maybe)I'm at a loss for ideas. I have one 1000 watt halide, carbon filter and some fans that's it. I guess I could burn candles at night and cut down other places, but how does everyone else do it? Thanks.

i got a 600 lumatek old ass 1000 from96' 3 fans and my florecents that switch between 18 and 24 bill 100.00

change all your light bulbs in the house to cfl's. put your water heater on a switch, so you can shut it off when your at work or the house is empty. put 3 min timer switches on lights that always get left on, such as in hallways... buy a good, digital thermostat with a 7day schedule, take the time and program it to run in economy mode when the house is empty. get better attic insulation, run your op on a reverse lighting schedule (lights on at night, off during daytime) this will reduce a/c costs in the summer, and reduce heating in the winter, and also get your op off of peak power times where the power company can bill you a higher rate in some area. (pro rated billing can only happen if your electrical meter is a smart meter) if your going hydro, use a gravity powered drip system controlled by a solenoid vavle, that way you can lose costly pumps runnin a few mins each hour... theres tons of things you can do...

but what is ur normal bill like with out the light? did it jump 300 bucks up? how old is this light? im just curious cause i run an ac in my room caus ei cant sleep without it and i was told if i shut that off and use my 400 watt mh light i just bought i shouldnt see any difference i should actually see it go down? does the ac really use that much power? the guy at the store told me using this light would probbly boost the bill up 18 bucks. how true is this?

an average window unit uses roughly 1100w per hour.. so yeah, you would notice an increase.

The electrical company isnt going to know you have a grow going. If you need to cut back your electricity, make the rest of your house more efficient. Like stoned said, replace your current bulbs with CFLs and energy savers and program your thermostat down while you are away from the house and stuff. There are plenty of ways to save energy without messing with your grow.

IAm5toned said:

change all your light bulbs in the house to cfl's. put your water heater on a switch, so you can shut it off when your at work or the house is empty. put 3 min timer switches on lights that always get left on, such as in hallways... buy a good, digital thermostat with a 7day schedule, take the time and program it to run in economy mode when the house is empty. get better attic insulation, run your op on a reverse lighting schedule (lights on at night, off during daytime) this will reduce a/c costs in the summer, and reduce heating in the winter, and also get your op off of peak power times where the power company can bill you a higher rate in some area. (pro rated billing can only happen if your electrical meter is a smart meter) if your going hydro, use a gravity powered drip system controlled by a solenoid vavle, that way you can lose costly pumps runnin a few mins each hour... theres tons of things you can do...

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great tips... I'd like to add that, if you are the homeowner, many of the energy saving improvements like adding attic insulation, windows, & energy star appliances will qualify for a tax credit also. Thereby saving you additional $$$. Talk to your accountant before making any purchases or you can DIY the info at irs.gov.

don't give uncle sam one red penny more than the law requires.

To me, it sounds like electric heating is your problem. Have you lived there at this same time of year? What is your average price per kilowatt?

IAm5toned said:

change all your light bulbs in the house to cfl's. put your water heater on a switch, so you can shut it off when your at work or the house is empty. put 3 min timer switches on lights that always get left on, such as in hallways... buy a good, digital thermostat with a 7day schedule, take the time and program it to run in economy mode when the house is empty. get better attic insulation, run your op on a reverse lighting schedule (lights on at night, off during daytime) this will reduce a/c costs in the summer, and reduce heating in the winter, and also get your op off of peak power times where the power company can bill you a higher rate in some area. (pro rated billing can only happen if your electrical meter is a smart meter) if your going hydro, use a gravity powered drip system controlled by a solenoid vavle, that way you can lose costly pumps runnin a few mins each hour... theres tons of things you can do...

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Nice ideas Like your thinking here

IAm5toned said:

an average window unit uses roughly 1100w per hour.. so yeah, you would notice an increase.

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I think you are a little high in watts here. My 13,000 BTU portable AC pulls 950w max. My 5,000 BTU window units only pull 500w.

okeydokey said:

great tips... I'd like to add that, if you are the homeowner, many of the energy saving improvements like adding attic insulation, windows, & energy star appliances will qualify for a tax credit also. Thereby saving you additional $$$. Talk to your accountant before making any purchases or you can DIY the info at irs.gov.

don't give uncle sam one red penny more than the law requires.

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Good thinking here. Thats some serious money saving in the long run!

all cfls in my house i couldn't believe how much i saved!!!! its a must growing or not!! and i turned my water heater down and watched my bill drop 25.00 a month(yes its very new one too) kids will run it to death!!

great ideas!!! im always looking to save money...I love finding new lil ways to decrease my bill...Right On!!!!

takin inventory off all lights...going to replace with energy eff cfls.....

more more...efficiency experts give us more...

anyone know how I would go about putting a switch on a water heater ? is this worth it or would lowering it be enough ? Im assuming it runs continously turning back on whenever the temp in the resi get to a set point ? so its just constatly turning on throughtout the day to get that temp back up so that you may have hot water instantly when you turn on a faucet ? is this basically it ?

The Tron Box Written by The GREAT Captain Crunch!!
Courtesy of Exodus
------------------R-----F----
I I I I
I I I I-
(C) (C) (C)
I I I I-
I I I I
-----------------------------
(C)=CAPACITOR
F =FUSE
R =RESISTOR
I,- ARE WIRE
PARTS LIST:
(3) ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS RATED AT 50V(LOWEST) .47UF
(1) 20-30OHM 1/2 WATT RESISTOR
(1) 120VOLT FUSE (AMP RATING BEST TO USE AT LEAST HALF OF TOTAL
HOUSE CURRENT OR EVEN LESS IT KEEPS YOU FROM BLOWING YOUR
BREAKER JUST IN CASE...)
(1) POWER CORD (CUT UP AN EXTENSTION CORD. NEED PLUG PART AND WIRE)
(1) ELECTRICALLY INSULATED BOX

REST OF SIF YOUR DONT FILL COMFORTABLE ABOUT ELECTRICITY THEN DONT
PLAY WITH THIS THERE IS VOLTAGE PRESENT THAT WILL
***KILL*** YOU......................
THE THING WORKS WHEN THE LOAD IN YOUR HOUSE IS LOW LIKE AT NIGHT TIME. IT
WILL PUT A REVERSE PHASE SIGNAL ON THE LINE AND CANCEL OUT THE OTHER PHASE
AND PUT A REVERSE PHASE RUNNING EVERYTHING IN THE HOUSE. WELL IF YOU HAVE
EVER SWITCHED THE POWER LEADS ON A D.C. (BATTERY POWERED) MOTOR YOU
WILL SEE THAT IT RUNS BACKWARDS WELL YOUR ELECTRIC METER SORT OF WORKS
THIS WAY...SO REVERSE PHASE MAKES THE METER SLOW DOWN AND IF YOUR
LUCKY IT WILL GO BACKWARDS. ANYWAY IT MEANS A CHEAPER ELECTRIC BILL.



that looks like it came from the anarchist cookbook and if it did it's way too old to work, especially on newer digital meters..not saying dont try it but i would be scared if the power co. caught on and decided to investigate for fraud or whatever.

I like the idea of using a nearby streetlight, shoot the bulb out though..and run wires from the pole..heh..shoot the bulb so you can use it without a noticable dimming

if u got an older house ur ok....i think in some areas.

mofizzle415 said:

takin inventory off all lights...going to replace with energy eff cfls.....

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u might want to try a few before replacing all of them. only reason I say that is I switched all a few yrs ago, but wasn't happy w/ the light quality in a few rooms. I spend 12 hrs/day in a windowless room & had to go w/ Reveal bulbs to keep from going batcrap crazy... the CFL's were just too... well.. fluorescent

if your happy w/ the light quality, though, they'll save plenty of electricity & last so much longer.

live at home with parents they pay the bill thats my problem lol they see a jump there gunna be on my shit

jimcity21 said:

live at home with parents they pay the bill thats my problem lol they see a jump there gunna be on my shit

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Growing in your parents house is just a no-no, seriously.

My last two energy bills were 400 and then 600. I was 400% at .44 cents a kilowatt hour. Two 1k space heaters, 1k light and accessories, 1k veg room. I don't know how but I had 300 kilowatt hours at .44 cents per hour. I am going to call PGE because I don't really see how I could have used this much energy.