03-25-2008, 03:47 AM
Putting in a photovoltaic or any other alternate source of power is getting more and more financially reasonable every day. The higher the electric rates the more reason to provide your own power with quicker pay back times.
First thing everyone can do is put in those compact florescent light bulbs. Burning 100 watt incandescent lights is insane at grid electricity rates. Another way to lower electric bills is to put up a "solar" clothes dryer. (a clothesline) If the clothes aren't soft enough from being hung on the line, they can be put in a dryer and set on a non-heat setting such as "fluff" for several minutes. As long as you aren't using electricity to heat stuff it generally doesn't take too much power. Electric blankets are one of the few electric heating sources I know of which don't suck up power big time. Then get power strips with an "off" switch and plug all your computers, monitors, TVs, DVDs, etc. into that so you can actually turn them off. Frequently electronic devices don't turn off but go into "standby" mode which lets them turn on a few seconds earlier but also sucks up power while waiting. If your refrigerator is more than ten years old, check to see how much power it is using. Older refrigerators used a lot more power than the new efficient ones.
First thing everyone can do is put in those compact florescent light bulbs. Burning 100 watt incandescent lights is insane at grid electricity rates. Another way to lower electric bills is to put up a "solar" clothes dryer. (a clothesline) If the clothes aren't soft enough from being hung on the line, they can be put in a dryer and set on a non-heat setting such as "fluff" for several minutes. As long as you aren't using electricity to heat stuff it generally doesn't take too much power. Electric blankets are one of the few electric heating sources I know of which don't suck up power big time. Then get power strips with an "off" switch and plug all your computers, monitors, TVs, DVDs, etc. into that so you can actually turn them off. Frequently electronic devices don't turn off but go into "standby" mode which lets them turn on a few seconds earlier but also sucks up power while waiting. If your refrigerator is more than ten years old, check to see how much power it is using. Older refrigerators used a lot more power than the new efficient ones.
Kurt Wilson