Energy saving / cost saving ideas

[TPA]

So, it's obvious the cost of living has gotten rather high in recent years. Given such, I figure sharing ideas might be a way to help.

I'll start with one:
Get a spin dryer. I picked up the Ninja one (Made in Argentina) over the Panda (Made in China). Mine's able to remove about 1L of water from a load of laundry. That's 1L of water I'm not trying to evaporate in my dryer. Many items are dry enough to put on the hangar. Others are still slightly damp and I'll use the dryer for them, but only a few minutes in the dryer is needed.

I've not measured the energy difference, but it's pretty substantial. The spin dryer uses ~400 watts for 5 minutes, the electric dryer uses 5500 watts for...variable amounts of time. For argument's sake, the dryer's default setting shows 40 minutes, high temperature. So, 0.03kWh for the spin dryer, 3.67kWh for the dryer (normal). The most recent load I did in the dryer took 10 minutes, so 0.92kWh. So, ~$0.41/load saved. and that doesn't include the pure, air conditioned, dehumidified air I've already paid for that the dryer's pumping out of the house, so possible $0.50/load.

 

[Monocrom]

If you have a bunch of errands you need to run, try to do them all in one trip. Plan out the route ahead, early on; for the least amount of miles traveled. Unless one has health issues, try to walk to as many places as you can. If your favorite supermarket requires a car ride, see if there's one closer that you can walk to, instead; with a personal Laundry/shopping cart. Just one example. Especially if both supermarkets charge about the same for groceries. If you have a spouse or live with family, perhaps borrow and gas up the smallest vehicle available to you that gets the most mpg. (No need to drive to the market in your Ford Explorer, if your brother's Mitsubishi Mirage is an option you can borrow.)

For many, reducing weekly gas consumption is going to help a lot.

 

[bykfixer]

I hang numorous articles of clothing on hangers instead of using a dryer. They smell great and last longer. The dryer is for the under clothes and low heat setting gets it done. No shrinking them either.

A table fan in front of an air vent helps boost the ac air.

Plug stuff to 6 strip outlets like phone chargers and turn off said 6 strip outlet when not in use.

Full plastic bottle with water to fill unused spaces in the refrigerator and freezer helps keep it cooler.

Drive the speed limit. It's amazing how much you save on fuel versus keeping up with the commuter train each day. You'll arrive about 2 minutes later than driving fast enough to keep up with the crowd.

 

[letschat7]

Back when I was in prison I worked for a male-to-female transgender washing laundry by hand. We or me with another worker would ring out the items that were big items and hang them to dry on a wall or rarely on some sort of line.

This yielded better results than using an industrial dryer ran by idiots. I also could afford all the soy sauce, fish pouches, and brown rice that I wanted to eat every night.

 

[alpg88]

Think hard before you vote, think numbers, and facts not emotions and great sounding promises, and maybe, just maybe you will not need to go out of your way to save a gallon of gas, or kw of electricity, cuz it will not be as expensive, and you might just get a higher paying job due to rising economy.

 

[Monocrom]

Think hard before you vote, think numbers, and facts not emotions and great sounding promises, and maybe, just maybe you will not need to go out of your way to save a gallon of gas, or kw of electricity, cuz it will not be as expensive, and you might just get a higher paying job due to rising economy.

You are assuming there are candidates actually worth voting for.

The selection of political candidates is like the selection found on the menu from a Scottish restaurant. Very limited.... and nothing you actually want.

 

[alpg88]

You are assuming there are candidates actually worth voting for.

The selection of political candidates is like the selection found on the menu from a Scottish restaurant. Very limited.... and nothing you actually want.

If you want restaurant analogy, we keep eating same thing over and over get food poisoning, puke,.... but we still wont buy something else.
You live in NYC so you'll understand me, Do you think we'd have same problems if enough voted for zeldin and sliwa? i'm pretty sure we would not have sanctuary status, no concealed carry restriction, no 2 year permit wait, no bragg.... the list goes on and on

 

[Monocrom]

If you want restaurant analogy, we keep eating same thing over and over get food poisoning, puke,.... but we still wont buy something else.

There is nothing else.... That's the problem.
Like living in a small neighborhood that has only two restaurants in it. Both of them are Italian. You have Tony's, and you have Sal's. THOSE are your choices. Your ONLY choices. You want something different, you want something better? I want to walk down the street with a perfect 10 Supermodel on each arm, headed to my stretch SUV limo, taking us to my Mansion in Beverly Hills. But unfortunately I'm stuck having to deal with reality. So are American voters.

How are folks supposed to vote for better candidates when all of them taste like processed crap sauce from a jar. Doesn't matter if the name on the pizza box says "Tony" or "Sal."

There was a comedy film once. Spanish town with two political parties. Red and Blue.... Literally the same guy on both posters. Two officers standing at a wall. Looking at both posters. One of them says, "I think I will vote for Blue." The other one replies, "Go ahead, it is a free dictatorship."

(Funny joke. Thing is, in America, the faces might be different. But our choices.... It's the same damn candidate. Not so funny anymore, is it?)

Edit: Clarification.

 

[alpg88]

Of course there is a difference. Just look at policies and laws the other guys pass, in Florida or Texas for example. there is a world of difference lately, completely different priorities, I would agree with you 25-30 years ago, but today they are more different that they ever were.

 

[Toulouse42]

So, it's obvious the cost of living has gotten rather high in recent years. Given such, I figure sharing ideas might be a way to help.

I'll start with one:
Get a spin dryer. I picked up the Ninja one (Made in Argentina) over the Panda (Made in China). Mine's able to remove about 1L of water from a load of laundry. That's 1L of water I'm not trying to evaporate in my dryer. Many items are dry enough to put on the hangar. Others are still slightly damp and I'll use the dryer for them, but only a few minutes in the dryer is needed.

I've not measured the energy difference, but it's pretty substantial. The spin dryer uses ~400 watts for 5 minutes, the electric dryer uses 5500 watts for...variable amounts of time. For argument's sake, the dryer's default setting shows 40 minutes, high temperature. So, 0.03kWh for the spin dryer, 3.67kWh for the dryer (normal). The most recent load I did in the dryer took 10 minutes, so 0.92kWh. So, ~$0.41/load saved. and that doesn't include the pure, air conditioned, dehumidified air I've already paid for that the dryer's pumping out of the house, so possible $0.50/load.

That's a good idea. We just had to change our old tumble dryer for a new one. The old one would Nuke stuff for an hour and it was dry. The new one is more gentle but takes almost 4 hours for a load of cottons. Then its not quite dry.

My tip is be so careful about where you buy batteries. The supermarket prices are several times higher than some other places. Use rechargeables if you can.

As far as politicians are concerned a british MP described our two main parties as "two cheeks of the same backside" He used a different word for backside but I can't write that.

To clarify, our two main parties agree on Climate Change, Covid, Big Government, High Taxes, Small military, gender issues, High immigration, not building more houses, schools and hospitals for that immigration, the Marrakesh agreement, WHO etc. There really is not much else. As they say, you couldn't get a playing card between them.

 

[Monocrom]

Of course there is a difference. Just look at policies and laws the other guys pass, in Florida or Texas for example. there is a world of difference lately, completely different priorities, I would agree with you 25-30 years ago, but today they are more different that they ever were.

Perhaps you're right. I just honestly have a hard time seeing it. And when it comes to voting for who'll be President.... Well, our choices are Red or Blue. It's a free dictatorship.

 

[Monocrom]

....My tip is be so careful about where you buy batteries. The supermarket prices are several times higher than some other places. Use rechargeables if you can....

Is there anyone left on CPF who still uses primaries ONLY?
I think I might have been the very last hold-out.
But battery prices just got to a point where I honestly felt ridiculous buying them all the time. Using quality Eneloops made the transition much easier. And I guess I just subconsciously made the switch to single 18650 rechargeable models that could function with 2xCR123 primaries as a back-up. But yeah, save boat-loads of money using rechargeables. Especially if you use your lights on a daily basis.

 

[alpg88]

Do not buy cheap batteries, from unknown sources. after they crap out you will still have to buy good ones, do not spend money twice,

 

[orbital]

+

Lets just say saving energy & money are the same for a minute.

conservatively, you can get 300 full recharges on an 18650 or 21700.
A 21700 over its lifetime will give you the same usable energy as 1350 AA batteries (in Wh)*

That's a car trunk worth of AA batteries
.. I'm not going to do the math on the money savings$$$$$

*
18 Wh for an average 21700
4 Wh for a very good AA

 

[pnwoutdoors]

Energy saving / cost saving ideas

A couple of things I've long done:

1. Reducing water heating needs at home -- Maintaining a gym membership and taking nearly all showers there. Depending on one's water heater efficiency, it can eliminate ~$30 (at least given my area's energy rates) off the monthly energy costs.

2. HVAC thermostat -- Setting the thermostat a bit higher for A/C to kick in, and a bit lower for heating. Using the night and early-morning ambient temps as much as possible, opening key windows can end up avoiding HVAC the entire day, depending.

3. For oven/stove cooking, cook in batches for several meals' worth -- Works well for soup, any "casserole" dish (entree or side). Lasagna is a typical such dish, making enough for 8-10 servings then freezing the extras. Tied to grocery shopping, it can cut oven use down to once a week, along with the time savings, versus doing a new heated meal daily. Need to have a good collection of freezer-safe air-tight containers, but those are inexpensive. Also s

4. For groceries/supplies, buying some items in bulk -- Fresh items needing more-regular replacement (ie, fresh greens, milk) can be acquired more frequently, but many items can be just once or twice each month (if that). Can often save quite a bit, if waiting for the "sale" items to come along and then purchasing several (to get the extra discounts). Assumes one has the "extra" storage space for the excess ... with (for example) toilet paper in the 18- or 24-ct packs. A good example was fresh cherries, a couple of years back; when it hit $0.99/lb (down from $3.50-4.00/lb), I stocked-up with a couple dozen pounds, pitted them all and then froze most of it, providing more than a year's worth of cherries at a cut-rate price.

5. Cooking grease capture -- Minor item, but perhaps worthwhile for some. Haven't seen many do this, in recent decades, but growing up we always had a glazed stoneware jug+lid that'd hold the drippings from the cooking. For the one-time price of a "jug," it saves on the cost of butter/margarine/oil for many dishes.

6. Garden choices for regional plants -- Selecting regionally-appropriate plants for the garden areas can reduce incidence of plant diseases/damage and reduce water consumption, as compared to ones not as suitable for the area.

 

[The Hawk]

I make my coffee at home. It amazes me how much people will spend for a cup of coffee compared to how inexpensive it is to make it at home.

 

[Toulouse42]

Is there anyone left on CPF who still uses primaries ONLY?
I think I might have been the very last hold-out.
But battery prices just got to a point where I honestly felt ridiculous buying them all the time. Using quality Eneloops made the transition much easier. And I guess I just subconsciously made the switch to single 18650 rechargeable models that could function with 2xCR123 primaries as a back-up. But yeah, save boat-loads of money using rechargeables. Especially if you use your lights on a daily basis.

To answer your question - I hope not. Primaries do have a use. For example the flashlights in my car use lithium primaries. Otherwise I use 18650s 21700s. 14500s and eneloops. But, I'm a grandfather and AA primaries are useful and convenient. After all I don't have the time and inclination to use only rechargeable for all the kiddie stuff. Also my better half struggles to understand why AAs may not be the best. Years ago I got tired of my family throwing away rechargeable because they were "dead". My son in law does get it so there is hope.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

I always use primaries (only) in our smoke and/or carbon monoxide detectors. They seem to last much longer than rechargeables, which keeps me from having to climb the ladder as often.

 

[letschat7]

I use a lot of primaries because I run older lights and I like the battery companies. Once upon a time the light wasn't as important as running an Energizer, a Duracell, or a Panasonic alkaline. Then I got ahold of a MagLite and the quality of the light mattered too.

 

[Dave_H]

I make my coffee at home. It amazes me how much people will spend for a cup of coffee compared to how inexpensive it is to make it at home.

I calculated cost of a cup of coffee made at home by buying regular quality beans, grinding, and using coffee press. It included everything down to cost of water, and electricity to boil, grind, and reheat. At that time I could get about 2 lb. for $10, now it's typically $15 and up.

Cost per cup was about 15-20 cents (CDN). It's up somewhat but even if that doubles, that's way less than buying the cheapest coffee outside; but I do this on occasion.

Dave