You can line dry in the winter too. We have a rack to dry small things. Bigger things I put on hangers and hang them around, places like the shower rod or other large rods used for door curtains. I even put a spring-loaded rod in an alcove behind a door to hang clothes to dry. Clothes can even be hung outside. Thinner stuff, like sheets, dry pretty well. Heavier stuff takes longer. A tip to feel more comfortable in warmer temperatures: wet the neck opening and shoulder area of your shirt. Put a few drops of peppermint oil on the back of your neck. Cool as a cucumber--especially if you've got moving air. Amazing.
These are all great tips. Something else I do is have a designated heat up the kitchen day. I'll hard cook eggs for egg salad and tuna salad sandwiches, bake a whole large package of chicken or a roast at once and have it ready for sandwiches and salads and bake a pan of bar cookies. All this happens very early in the morning or late at night and only once a month. Another saver is to put out solar lights in the morning and bring them in the house in the evening. It's enough light for showering, watching tv, getting ready for bed etc.
Here in Southern California I’ve always cooked using crock pot in the summer on the back patio . We also use the barbecue often to prevent heat in the house
We have a back patio, but it's not covered. So, sometimes I set the crockpot on the covered front porch and plug it in there. I always wonder what the mailman thinks. LOL! At least he gets a nice whiff of whatever I'm cooking for supper while he's dropping off the mail.
@@17topaz But do not forget to open the window now and then to let the humid air out. Otherwise you get mould. Maybe is better to dry it in the garage. Especially if you have a good isolated home.
We moved into our current home over 20 years ago and have never used our ac. We open windows and turn on fans. Very rarely do I use the dryer. When it's nice outside, I hang the laundry outside. In winter I hang it in the bathroom. I have a rack that I put over the heating vent. Recently I purchased an extra shower curtain rod to hang clothes on it.
I love the idea of using an extra shower rod to hang clothes. Very clever. Unfortunately, we have to use our AC more often than we would like because of the humidity. If we don't turn it on at a certain point we start to get mold.
Frugal lady here. Been line drying for years. Our combination Hesting and air conditioning unit is 30 years old. Every year when the maintenance guy comes to check it he says he can't belive it has lasted this long. The average life is 20 years for this unit We do keep our heat very low in the winter 58 at night and 62 during the day. We put on sweatshirts and socks. My friend told us the reason the furnace has lasted so long is because we never use it LOL
It luckily doesn’t get that hot in France, it gets to 40 at a maximum in our area. We open the windows at night, then shut them in the morning, we put a bucket of ice in front of a fan. We don’t have any air conditioning.
My parents had their laundry line on a pulley so that my mom would just stand on the back porch and pull the rope and hang the clothes without taking any steps. She had bad arthritis so this was helpful.
I grew up opening the windows in the morning to cool the house. My husband and kids have bad allergies and asthma. I cannot do that now because at least one person will end up with an asthma attack. It was definitely a change for me.
One tip that I don’t see a lot of people talk about: During the summer, shower with your bathroom window wide open and your exhaust fan going on high. As soon as the shower is done, close the window but keep the exhaust fan going until all of the moisture is gone. You’ll also want to shower at a cooler temperature. I love me some hot showers, but during the summer, I try to keep it more on the lukewarm side of things instead. During the winter, you just do the opposite of the above. When taking a shower, have it as hot as you’d like; this warms you up to the core along with producing heat and moisture for the house. Do NOT open the bathroom window or run the exhaust fan. You want to keep all of that moisture and heat inside of your house, not lose it. For reference, I live in the high desert of the Intermountain West, so our winters are cold and dry. We heat our house with a wood stove, so our air inside the house is always stupidly dry. We even put a pot of water on the wood stove and add steam to the air that way while the fire is going, just because it’s sooooo dry in here. So moisture from a shower is a godsend in the winter (and a nightmare during the summer!) Good luck to all! 🍀
I love that you share the out-takes from your videos - it's such a lot of fun. I also like very much that you laugh so much - whether alone or together. So much in life is silly or ridiculous, but as adults, it's easy to forget that when we are dealing with problems or an urgent need to save money. I value laughter a great deal to leaven the bread of life!
When I met Larry 40 years ago my mother told me to date him. She said, "He makes you laugh and in a marriage it's important to remember to laugh together." It was great advice!
We have the curtain set up like you do, but living with out air conditioning for years and doing all the tricks you mentioned, some days are worse than others for a couple of months here, we added putting a piece of cardboard between the curtain and window during the hottest part of the day, yes darker room. But cooler and worth it.
I saved big boxes which I flattened for the purpose of window insulation. I'm glad to know that helps you. I also got 1/2 umbrellas to shade the window and glass patio door on the east side. I got privacy screens/ room dividers which I can move around as needed to block the heat from the windows/ glass patio doors, too.
Growing up in the 70's & 80's....we put a few box fans in the windows...when the heat of the day finally broke we pointed select fans outwards, pushing the heat out. Once that was done the fans were turned round to capture the cooler air outside and bring it in. A couple of fans would run all night in select areas, keeping in mind the benefits of a cross breeze . As soon as that heat started coming back around 8:00 am the fans were taken out of the window and the blinds were closed. 🪭 🆒 ❄️
Thank you so much! I do all but the cleaning of the outside AC unit which I will check in to tomorrow. I have been mocked for doing some of the things and now feel better that I am not alone.
I'm researching for a new video with more summer tips. Maybe in a couple of weeks. Right now I'm still getting through high school graduation season. Lots of parties to attend and one to plan for our son who just graduated.
Our summers are stinking hot with temperatures reaching between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius. We have external and internal blinds to keep the sun out and have a well insulated ceiling space. On those super hot days and nights the heat still gets into the house eventually and air con is essential. Solar panels on the roof greatly reduce the cost of our summer cooling. You have given some great tips for saving on power. Much appreciated.
For us, it's the humidity. When the humidity goes way up, we really have to turn on the air conditioning. Otherwise, our basement starts to mold. But, we wait as long as we can before turning it on and then keep the AC temperature set between 75-77.
Better insulation not only keeps it warmer in winter, it keeps it cooler in summer as well. When you live in an area where the sun shines a lot consider installing photo voltaic (solar panels).
Line drying is the norm here in Ireland and the weather isn't that good either. A dryer is something that isn't needed. It's a luxury and can also ruin your clothes.
I got grey blinds but they are thermal blinds. On the back side of them it is a reflective sort of material that is white. They are really good for keeping the heat out, but they where very costly. I have to say I definately am going to end up getting a pressure cooker one day. I do do a lot of freezer cooking and the slow cooker does a good job but it takes a long time. I keep the slow cooker on a shelf in the laundry which is not very well ventilated and I definately don't have counterspace for one. There is a power company here that lets you have one hour of off peak power every day for free, so I think I might switch to this company and just do everything in that hour.
Where I live in Ontario, Canada it gets very hot and humid even mid day in the summer, being a sahm I am home all day, never been without central air in my 40 some years......the central air is a necessity and even at 76 the upstairs feels warm. We never open the windows at night after dark for safety reasons...... I have lines in my basement where I hang pants, shirts......we also have a gas dryer......let clothes dry overnight on lines in the basement and toss in dryer for 10 min to soften.
Here's a crazy tip that most people don't realize if ur Windows are very old . ( we didn't realize our Windows needed to be replace until this winter storm our windows had ice in the inside) cold & hot air will come in. Also window units are much cheaper on energy then central air. ( Ours went out and we got window units and our light bill went down)
I remember ice on the inside of the window panes very well when I was a kid. Those old double hung windows leaked massive amounts of air. You are right, also on the AC units. The window units are much cheaper to run that the whole house AC.
I know. Some climates are just brutal when it comes to the heat. Using fans may help you to be able to raise the thermostat a bit, though. Each degree will lower your bill by 1-3%.
When I was young, my grandparents babysat me while my mother worked. I have always remembered how my grandma had a whole seasonal system with the fan, windows, curtains and blinds, and she had me help her throughout the day. I am now retired,on a fixed income, and I follow her system all year long to save money! They survived during the depression and learned many things that are valuable now!
Hi folks. I saved on electric in my houshold by not using my freezer and cooler from December till today. Over 2,7 month. Today we have 16 Celsius therefore I had to put my stuff bag in my cooler. To be honest my saving is not that much because I have a A+++ freezer and this one only need 150 KWH per year. But it is a nice feeling to do something for the environment.
I'm happy to know that a fan with central air will help. I also got 2 Arctic Coolers. I absolutely have to keep my son's room cool for his MS and my severe asthma. I do have plans for power outage.
My air con died at the start of a heat wave😑. I am using fans on the top floor windows facing out. Chimneying heat up the stair well with doors open to the stair well. The heat exhausts out the top floor. The basement is down right chilly. The first floor is comfortable. The top floor is only used at night after it cools down. On a 101°F day the first floor never got to 80°F. I don't think I will replace the air con any time soon.
We had friends who lived in the MidWest near us. They had a Victorian home and really didn't want to pay the costs for central air. They said that they were able to maintain the home at a comfortable temperature most of the warm season. About two weeks of the entire year they sort of yearned for central air. They put a couple of small window units in the bedrooms for those really hot days and never regretted not getting central air. For us, our basement molds if we don't turn it on after the humidity rises. But, our current home seems more prone to mold than our first home did.
All great tips. I do most of these. Not the central air unit. I don't have that. I try not to cook full meals, bake, or use the pressure cooker when it's very hot. I save that for cooler morning temps or wait for coffee days. I cook enough servings at one time so that I have that days, refrigerate 2 for the next two days, and freeze 1 or 2 servings for later.
So true.Even when it is 98 degrees with heat index of 104 because of humidity, I am able to keep thermostat at 78 because I have the dehumidifier going all Summer.Dry air , ceiling fan, stand up fan to move the air feels very comfortable. I also have the plastic window film kits on every window year round( due to allergies)and switched to all LED bulbs and fluorescent. We have almost 3000 sq ft house , business shop, vacant 42’ travel trailer, our electric bill this month $207. I’m also using a power switch to turn tv off at night. 12:08
Hi Hope, thank you for all the tips on energy savings. Would love to hear some suggestions for those of us who live in the southwest, in the desert. It is a unique environment, so some of your tips would not work down here. For example, it does not cool off at night during at least four months out of the year, temps won’t go below the mid 80s so we can’t open our doors and windows to cool anything off in the evening. In fact, our evenings, at least until midnight, are often over 100°. As far as being able to cycle the AC and turn it off for several hours, that won’t work here, either. Our daytime temperatures in the summer average around 110°. I do have thermal curtains, and double window coverings on all windows. But the way our HVAC systems are designed down here, it pulls in about 10% of the outside air, so you can see that the HVAC system, when pulling in 110° air, works even harder down here. Also, because of the heat here, we have 9 foot ceilings and that is designed so the hotter air will be above your living space. I have tried using the ceiling fan, but I notice no matter what direction it is in, it naturally will circulate the air at the 9 foot level, which is hotter, and brings it down to the living space, which makes the AC work even harder. So I really can’t use the ceiling fan. I do have a tower fan that does not disturb that hot air at the 9 foot level. Anyway, any suggestions on reducing costs in the desert? 😊 By the way, my thermostat is set at 81/82, which I know is pretty warm, but I really can’t afford to set it at a more comfortable level because of the costs of cooling.
Cooling is definitely an issue in your climate. The tower fan is a great solution to avoid pulling down that warm air at the ceiling. They are inexpensive. So, you might consider one in the living or family room and one in the bedroom. A lot of heat gets trapped at your roofline. You can keep excess heat out of the interior of your home by making certain you have roof vents or other ventilation in your attic. That way the heat is going out of the roof and not hanging out inside the house. The other thing you can do is make certain you aren't heating up the house when cooking. Use crockpots to cook. If you have a front or back porch, you can even plug in the crockpot outdoors so that no heat is getting into the house through cooking. Finally, be sure that you are maximizing your savings in other areas of your home to help keep your utility bill as low as possible. I hope this helps.
What about swamp coolers? We live in Wisconsin with humid summers, so swamp coolers wouldn't work for us. But, they seem pretty cheap to purchase and operate. You can even make one yourself. And, what if you just "air conditioned" (or swamp cooled) the rooms you are using at any given time. Then, how about a whole house fan or even a fan blowing out a window on the lee side of the house after midnight--with a window open on the north side to draw in cool air?
another reason to line dry... You are more likely to fold items such as sheets as they come off the line. It is easier too when you are doing it alone.
I live in Northern Wisconsin. I didn’t even have any air conditioning until a couple of years ago. I still don’t use it more than a couple of weeks in a year. I have a couple of cheap box fans. I throw all the windows open at bedtime. Except for the rare days it’s still too hot or humid. I run the box fans blowing out it pulls cool air in all the other windows all over the house. I shut it all down in the early Am. I actually put a large white sheet over my patio doors to block out the sun in the summer. It lets in light and blocks out heat. It also blocks the view if I’m hanging out in my bathing suit. Most days it doesn’t need the AC at all or at most I run it in the afternoon.
We're in Alaska and dread our utility bill in winter most. Between heat and less daylight, oh boy does that bill hurt then. Now, it's almost June and our furnace is still on because our weather is just hanging on to the cool spring temps.
If it makes you feel better, the temperatures here in Illinois hit about 42 degrees a couple of days ago. We had to turn the furnace back on! But, yes, it seems that the cold is just hanging on this year.
You can’t shut the central a/c off, down here in Lake Corpus Christi, Texas. It gets so hot!! I have 2 windows in my upstairs bedroom, So I keep the blinds and drapes closed.”
Wait, I'm not sure about where she lives, but the humidity/temps dropping at night is just *not* at thing in the south... It's still 75 at night here with a "feels like" temp of like, 78-80.
First off, Hope, I’m sorry you have so many viewers lacking imagination. “This one tip doesn’t work for me bc of [special circumstances] so therefore your whole video is worthless.” 🙄🙄 Hell, I don’t have central AC so a fair number of your tips don’t apply to me in the slightest, but I am adult enough to understand that this doesn’t mean they aren’t applicable to someone else. 🤦🏻♀️ Keep up the good work and don’t let the people completely incapable of thinking ruin your desire to do useful CZcams videos. ❤️❤️
My research showed that ultimately one saves more money by regulating the thermostat. It has to do with the scientific principle of how long it takes for heat to be gained or lost in a physical space. However, we appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
@@UndertheMedian I concur with you, Under the Median. the best way to minimize electric energy on the AC and optimize the comfort is that the set temperature (interior temperature) follows the ambient temperature. So the *difference* between the inside temperature and the exterior temperature is constant. Keeping the *difference constant* guarantees that the AC unit will always draw the same energy from the grid. Of course, I am not saying you will get the lowest electric energy consumption. That is when shut off completly the AC. And the maxium comfort is when you keep the inside temperature at 73 F constant.
To optimize on energy usage for the AC unit, the key is to keep the *difference* between the interior and the exterior temperatures *constant*. If outside temperature rises by 5 degrees, then the set point temperature of the interior of the house must be raised 5 F also. that way the compressor of the AC unit will work at constant power. It is expensive to maintain the interior temperature fixed. Maintaining a constant difference temperature will save you a lot of money. Run the experiment.
I keep my temp at 74 F in the summer. I keep my blinds closed and curtains drawn. My home is 1200 sq ft. My bill averages about $160 in the summer. I think it's better to just set the thermostat and forget it.
Get a 5 Gal bucket cut 2 inch holes 2 ins around top put bag ice still n bag in bucket bungee box fan to top of bucket blowing hot air down into bucket it chills from ice emerging from holes super cold place bucket at highest point n room. Fan uses only one cent per hour versus 36 cents from ac yet u get same cold It it works
Great tips! However I have that exact thermostat in my apartment and I absolutely hate it! I was happier with the old school 80's thermostat, much more simple and my apartment stayed at that temperature until I turned it off.
We don't have central air, so...... However, we turn the window A/C off at night and only cool our bedroom. Then, we don't turn the others on until it starts to feel stuffy the next day.
I suppose we can go back to using candles for lighting, but candles aren’t cheap either. It is so cold and damp here in the UK 🇬🇧 and even in summer we only get a couple of weeks at 70-80 degrees farenheit. I wear a dressing gown over my clothes indoors all year round, to keep warm, and I wear a woolly knitted hat indoors in the winter. Our problem is how to keep warm, and how to keep damp out of our closets.
Get some solar lights, like they use for outside. You can get some really pretty ones fairly cheap. Hang them in the sunny windows and you will have light for the evening. The ones I have do charge on overcast days, just not as strongly. For warmth, hot water bottles are great! I have two, one for bed and a smaller one to tuck inside my hoodie or housecoat. I also invested in an electric blanket. Spread underneath you with warm blankets on top so the heat rises and gets trapped under the blanket. I've never had to turn it on the "high" setting to stay warm. (I live in Michigan in the States. We get brutal winters!) The electric bill didn't go up that much, and doing a few things to cut down on energy elsewhere covered the cost by a mile!
You clearly don’t know anything about Florida nights. Sometimes it only gets down to 80 degrees at night. With horrendous humidity at night. Opening summer windows is a no go
For those of us living in Phoenix deactivating the AC mid July is not really an option for 8 hours a day. Perhaps for upper Northern parts of the US they can get away with this. 😆
I’m surprised you didn’t address the second most electricity consumption in the house, correct me if I’m wrong but your fridge appears to be a 1990 product . It would be lovely if Larry could look up the cost difference between keeping the old fridge or replacing it with a new fridge . Love your channel .
Dia, you are correct. The fridge came with the house when we bought it 11 years ago. We aren't opposed to it, but we would need to do a return on investment calculation to figure out when we would break even when considering the replacement cost against the price of a new fridge. We did replace our very old chest freezer this year, because we felt that an energy efficient unit would cost less to cool. We saw a drop in electricity use during the last half of the year, but that could be because two of the four boys moved out, too.
The flip side of that is newer appliances are not being built as well and are having to be repaired more frequently and repacked sooner, so hang on to the old reliables as long as possible you can even find CZcams videos on this topic problem.
I've read all the comments. I'm glad you get only a small proportion of kind of snarky or "I can't possibly do what you do" comments. I watch your channel because you, and Larry, too, give me good ideas, but mostly because you are so darn pleasant. Your videos serve as both inspiration and mood-lifter. Thank you.
You can line dry in the winter too. We have a rack to dry small things. Bigger things I put on hangers and hang them around, places like the shower rod or other large rods used for door curtains. I even put a spring-loaded rod in an alcove behind a door to hang clothes to dry. Clothes can even be hung outside. Thinner stuff, like sheets, dry pretty well. Heavier stuff takes longer.
A tip to feel more comfortable in warmer temperatures: wet the neck opening and shoulder area of your shirt. Put a few drops of peppermint oil on the back of your neck. Cool as a cucumber--especially if you've got moving air. Amazing.
I bulk cook, too. I do my cooking very early in the morning during the Summer heat, and late in the day/evening during the Winter cold.
These are all great tips. Something else I do is have a designated heat up the kitchen day. I'll hard cook eggs for egg salad and tuna salad sandwiches, bake a whole large package of chicken or a roast at once and have it ready for sandwiches and salads and bake a pan of bar cookies. All this happens very early in the morning or late at night and only once a month. Another saver is to put out solar lights in the morning and bring them in the house in the evening. It's enough light for showering, watching tv, getting ready for bed etc.
Great ideas!
Here in Southern California I’ve always cooked using crock pot in the summer on the back patio . We also use the barbecue often to prevent heat in the house
We have a back patio, but it's not covered. So, sometimes I set the crockpot on the covered front porch and plug it in there. I always wonder what the mailman thinks. LOL! At least he gets a nice whiff of whatever I'm cooking for supper while he's dropping off the mail.
Line drying is the best thing to do, rarely use a dryer.. clothes are out on the balcony in the sun! :)
In the winter you can buy clothes racks to put inside house for drying clothes without using dryer .
@@17topaz But do not forget to open the window now and then to let the humid air out. Otherwise you get mould. Maybe is better to dry it in the garage. Especially if you have a good isolated home.
I dry my clothes in the basement. No fading. My dryer hasn't plugged in for months.
Stuff smells better too.
Line drying is tough if there is a ton of pollen or your neighbor smokes meat all the time! I just hand in basement year round
We moved into our current home over 20 years ago and have never used our ac. We open windows and turn on fans. Very rarely do I use the dryer. When it's nice outside, I hang the laundry outside. In winter I hang it in the bathroom. I have a rack that I put over the heating vent. Recently I purchased an extra shower curtain rod to hang clothes on it.
I love the idea of using an extra shower rod to hang clothes. Very clever. Unfortunately, we have to use our AC more often than we would like because of the humidity. If we don't turn it on at a certain point we start to get mold.
Frugal lady here. Been line drying for years. Our combination Hesting and air conditioning unit is 30 years old. Every year when the maintenance guy comes to check it he says he can't belive it has lasted this long. The average life is 20 years for this unit
We do keep our heat very low in the winter 58 at night and 62 during the day. We put on sweatshirts and socks. My friend told us the reason the furnace has lasted so long is because we never use it
LOL
LOL! I love a friend with a great sense of humor.
@@UndertheMedian How do we contact you ? Text? EMAIL?
hope@underthemedian.com is the contact email.
It luckily doesn’t get that hot in France, it gets to 40 at a maximum in our area. We open the windows at night, then shut them in the morning, we put a bucket of ice in front of a fan. We don’t have any air conditioning.
Hey, thanks for sharing. I did not now that there was such moderate climate in France. Really interesting idea with the ice.
I've done the ice in front of a fan too. It really works!
40° Celsius? That's hot!
@@emilyhart2252
How much for the ice?
@LivesSimpleWoman that’s exactly what we do here if it gets hot
My parents had their laundry line on a pulley so that my mom would just stand on the back porch and pull the rope and hang the clothes without taking any steps. She had bad arthritis so this was helpful.
I grew up opening the windows in the morning to cool the house. My husband and kids have bad allergies and asthma. I cannot do that now because at least one person will end up with an asthma attack. It was definitely a change for me.
One tip that I don’t see a lot of people talk about:
During the summer, shower with your bathroom window wide open and your exhaust fan going on high. As soon as the shower is done, close the window but keep the exhaust fan going until all of the moisture is gone.
You’ll also want to shower at a cooler temperature. I love me some hot showers, but during the summer, I try to keep it more on the lukewarm side of things instead.
During the winter, you just do the opposite of the above. When taking a shower, have it as hot as you’d like; this warms you up to the core along with producing heat and moisture for the house.
Do NOT open the bathroom window or run the exhaust fan. You want to keep all of that moisture and heat inside of your house, not lose it.
For reference, I live in the high desert of the Intermountain West, so our winters are cold and dry. We heat our house with a wood stove, so our air inside the house is always stupidly dry. We even put a pot of water on the wood stove and add steam to the air that way while the fire is going, just because it’s sooooo dry in here. So moisture from a shower is a godsend in the winter (and a nightmare during the summer!)
Good luck to all! 🍀
Wow! This is great and I would never have thought of using this strategy. Thanks.
I love that you share the out-takes from your videos - it's such a lot of fun. I also like very much that you laugh so much - whether alone or together. So much in life is silly or ridiculous, but as adults, it's easy to forget that when we are dealing with problems or an urgent need to save money. I value laughter a great deal to leaven the bread of life!
When I met Larry 40 years ago my mother told me to date him. She said, "He makes you laugh and in a marriage it's important to remember to laugh together." It was great advice!
@@UndertheMedian I could not agree more. Sometimes our mothers do know best!
We have the curtain set up like you do, but living with out air conditioning for years and doing all the tricks you mentioned, some days are worse than others for a couple of months here, we added putting a piece of cardboard between the curtain and window during the hottest part of the day, yes darker room. But cooler and worth it.
I saved big boxes which I flattened for the purpose of window insulation. I'm glad to know that helps you.
I also got 1/2 umbrellas to shade the window and glass patio door on the east side. I got privacy screens/ room dividers which I can move around as needed to block the heat from the windows/ glass patio doors, too.
Growing up in the 70's & 80's....we put a few box fans in the windows...when the heat of the day finally broke we pointed select fans outwards, pushing the heat out. Once that was done the fans were turned round to capture the cooler air outside and bring it in. A couple of fans would run all night in select areas, keeping in mind the benefits of a cross breeze . As soon as that heat started coming back around 8:00 am the fans were taken out of the window and the blinds were closed. 🪭 🆒 ❄️
Thank you so much! I do all but the cleaning of the outside AC unit which I will check in to tomorrow. I have been mocked for doing some of the things and now feel better that I am not alone.
Watching again in Summer '22 for the reminder! 💪 Thank you so much for all you do for the community here on CZcams
I'm researching for a new video with more summer tips. Maybe in a couple of weeks. Right now I'm still getting through high school graduation season. Lots of parties to attend and one to plan for our son who just graduated.
@@UndertheMedian Oh congratulations to you all!! Praying your celebrations go well and that you don't overwork yourselves too much
Our summers are stinking hot with temperatures reaching between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius. We have external and internal blinds to keep the sun out and have a well insulated ceiling space. On those super hot days and nights the heat still gets into the house eventually and air con is essential. Solar panels on the roof greatly reduce the cost of our summer cooling. You have given some great tips for saving on power. Much appreciated.
For us, it's the humidity. When the humidity goes way up, we really have to turn on the air conditioning. Otherwise, our basement starts to mold. But, we wait as long as we can before turning it on and then keep the AC temperature set between 75-77.
Better insulation not only keeps it warmer in winter, it keeps it cooler in summer as well. When you live in an area where the sun shines a lot consider installing photo voltaic (solar panels).
One trick we use is cover windows with old blankets during the brightest time of day.this has helped our heating stay low,and our air is lower,too
That's a really good tip! Easy to put the blanket on during the day and then take it down in late afternoon each day.
Line drying is the norm here in Ireland and the weather isn't that good either. A dryer is something that isn't needed. It's a luxury and can also ruin your clothes.
I got grey blinds but they are thermal blinds. On the back side of them it is a reflective sort of material that is white. They are really good for keeping the heat out, but they where very costly. I have to say I definately am going to end up getting a pressure cooker one day. I do do a lot of freezer cooking and the slow cooker does a good job but it takes a long time. I keep the slow cooker on a shelf in the laundry which is not very well ventilated and I definately don't have counterspace for one. There is a power company here that lets you have one hour of off peak power every day for free, so I think I might switch to this company and just do everything in that hour.
We are on an hourly electric pricing plan, which has saved us nearly 12% overall in the 3 years we've been on the plan.
Where I live in Ontario, Canada it gets very hot and humid even mid day in the summer, being a sahm I am home all day, never been without central air in my 40 some years......the central air is a necessity and even at 76 the upstairs feels warm. We never open the windows at night after dark for safety reasons......
I have lines in my basement where I hang pants, shirts......we also have a gas dryer......let clothes dry overnight on lines in the basement and toss in dryer for 10 min to soften.
I don’t think people realize what a huge difference summer is up north so if you get a 90° day you have to understand that the days last for 18 hours.
Our neighborhood frowns on outside clothes lines, but I have a small pulley one under our deck. I use it sparingly.
Here's a crazy tip that most people don't realize if ur Windows are very old . ( we didn't realize our Windows needed to be replace until this winter storm our windows had ice in the inside) cold & hot air will come in. Also window units are much cheaper on energy then central air. ( Ours went out and we got window units and our light bill went down)
I remember ice on the inside of the window panes very well when I was a kid. Those old double hung windows leaked massive amounts of air. You are right, also on the AC units. The window units are much cheaper to run that the whole house AC.
We can’t open the window here in Texas, the heat is brutal😀😀😀
I know. Some climates are just brutal when it comes to the heat. Using fans may help you to be able to raise the thermostat a bit, though. Each degree will lower your bill by 1-3%.
When I was young, my grandparents babysat me while my mother worked. I have always remembered how my grandma had a whole seasonal system with the fan, windows, curtains and blinds, and she had me help her throughout the day.
I am now retired,on a fixed income, and I follow her system all year long to save money! They survived during the depression and learned many things that are valuable now!
Hi folks. I saved on electric in my houshold by not using my freezer and cooler from December till today. Over 2,7 month. Today we have 16 Celsius therefore I had to put my stuff bag in my cooler. To be honest my saving is not that much because I have a A+++ freezer and this one only need 150 KWH per year. But it is a nice feeling to do something for the environment.
I'm happy to know that a fan with central air will help. I also got 2 Arctic Coolers. I absolutely have to keep my son's room cool for his MS and my severe asthma. I do have plans for power outage.
My air con died at the start of a heat wave😑. I am using fans on the top floor windows facing out. Chimneying heat up the stair well with doors open to the stair well. The heat exhausts out the top floor.
The basement is down right chilly. The first floor is comfortable. The top floor is only used at night after it cools down.
On a 101°F day the first floor never got to 80°F.
I don't think I will replace the air con any time soon.
We had friends who lived in the MidWest near us. They had a Victorian home and really didn't want to pay the costs for central air. They said that they were able to maintain the home at a comfortable temperature most of the warm season. About two weeks of the entire year they sort of yearned for central air. They put a couple of small window units in the bedrooms for those really hot days and never regretted not getting central air. For us, our basement molds if we don't turn it on after the humidity rises. But, our current home seems more prone to mold than our first home did.
All great tips. I do most of these. Not the central air unit. I don't have that. I try not to cook full meals, bake, or use the pressure cooker when it's very hot. I save that for cooler morning temps or wait for coffee days. I cook enough servings at one time so that I have that days, refrigerate 2 for the next two days, and freeze 1 or 2 servings for later.
A dehumidifier is great for the humid south! You feel comfortable in higher temperatures. It really saves money.
So true.Even when it is 98 degrees with heat index of 104 because of humidity, I am able to keep thermostat at 78 because I have the dehumidifier going all Summer.Dry air , ceiling fan, stand up fan to move the air feels very comfortable.
I also have the plastic window film kits on every window year round( due to allergies)and switched to all LED bulbs and fluorescent.
We have almost 3000 sq ft house , business shop, vacant 42’ travel trailer, our electric bill this month $207.
I’m also using a power switch to turn tv off at night. 12:08
Hi Hope, thank you for all the tips on energy savings. Would love to hear some suggestions for those of us who live in the southwest, in the desert. It is a unique environment, so some of your tips would not work down here. For example, it does not cool off at night during at least four months out of the year, temps won’t go below the mid 80s so we can’t open our doors and windows to cool anything off in the evening. In fact, our evenings, at least until midnight, are often over 100°. As far as being able to cycle the AC and turn it off for several hours, that won’t work here, either. Our daytime temperatures in the summer average around 110°. I do have thermal curtains, and double window coverings on all windows. But the way our HVAC systems are designed down here, it pulls in about 10% of the outside air, so you can see that the HVAC system, when pulling in 110° air, works even harder down here. Also, because of the heat here, we have 9 foot ceilings and that is designed so the hotter air will be above your living space. I have tried using the ceiling fan, but I notice no matter what direction it is in, it naturally will circulate the air at the 9 foot level, which is hotter, and brings it down to the living space, which makes the AC work even harder. So I really can’t use the ceiling fan. I do have a tower fan that does not disturb that hot air at the 9 foot level. Anyway, any suggestions on reducing costs in the desert? 😊 By the way, my thermostat is set at 81/82, which I know is pretty warm, but I really can’t afford to set it at a more comfortable level because of the costs of cooling.
Cooling is definitely an issue in your climate. The tower fan is a great solution to avoid pulling down that warm air at the ceiling. They are inexpensive. So, you might consider one in the living or family room and one in the bedroom. A lot of heat gets trapped at your roofline. You can keep excess heat out of the interior of your home by making certain you have roof vents or other ventilation in your attic. That way the heat is going out of the roof and not hanging out inside the house. The other thing you can do is make certain you aren't heating up the house when cooking. Use crockpots to cook. If you have a front or back porch, you can even plug in the crockpot outdoors so that no heat is getting into the house through cooking. Finally, be sure that you are maximizing your savings in other areas of your home to help keep your utility bill as low as possible. I hope this helps.
What about swamp coolers? We live in Wisconsin with humid summers, so swamp coolers wouldn't work for us. But, they seem pretty cheap to purchase and operate. You can even make one yourself. And, what if you just "air conditioned" (or swamp cooled) the rooms you are using at any given time. Then, how about a whole house fan or even a fan blowing out a window on the lee side of the house after midnight--with a window open on the north side to draw in cool air?
another reason to line dry... You are more likely to fold items such as sheets as they come off the line. It is easier too when you are doing it alone.
Yep. I fold as I take them off the line. You're right. Super easy.
I live in Northern Wisconsin. I didn’t even have any air conditioning until a couple of years ago. I still don’t use it more than a couple of weeks in a year. I have a couple of cheap box fans. I throw all the windows open at bedtime. Except for the rare days it’s still too hot or humid. I run the box fans blowing out it pulls cool air in all the other windows all over the house. I shut it all down in the early Am. I actually put a large white sheet over my patio doors to block out the sun in the summer. It lets in light and blocks out heat. It also blocks the view if I’m hanging out in my bathing suit. Most days it doesn’t need the AC at all or at most I run it in the afternoon.
I have done this for years and it truly works great suggestions and ideas. Keep the videos coming
I absolutely love your personality thank you for your tips on saving money on utilities.
Thank you for this video!
We're in Alaska and dread our utility bill in winter most. Between heat and less daylight, oh boy does that bill hurt then. Now, it's almost June and our furnace is still on because our weather is just hanging on to the cool spring temps.
If it makes you feel better, the temperatures here in Illinois hit about 42 degrees a couple of days ago. We had to turn the furnace back on! But, yes, it seems that the cold is just hanging on this year.
Great info! Thank you!!
You can’t shut the central a/c off, down here in Lake Corpus Christi, Texas. It gets so hot!! I have 2 windows in my upstairs bedroom,
So I keep the blinds and drapes closed.”
You are so smart! I love your videos. Thanks, so helpful!
Wait, I'm not sure about where she lives, but the humidity/temps dropping at night is just *not* at thing in the south... It's still 75 at night here with a "feels like" temp of like, 78-80.
Good points and reminders of what we can and should be doing to save on our utility bills. Thanks much. 👍
First off, Hope, I’m sorry you have so many viewers lacking imagination. “This one tip doesn’t work for me bc of [special circumstances] so therefore your whole video is worthless.”
🙄🙄
Hell, I don’t have central AC so a fair number of your tips don’t apply to me in the slightest, but I am adult enough to understand that this doesn’t mean they aren’t applicable to someone else. 🤦🏻♀️
Keep up the good work and don’t let the people completely incapable of thinking ruin your desire to do useful CZcams videos. ❤️❤️
Wrong on the turning thermostat down. It cost more energy to be constantly moving thermostat up n down then it cost to maintain a temp.
My research showed that ultimately one saves more money by regulating the thermostat. It has to do with the scientific principle of how long it takes for heat to be gained or lost in a physical space. However, we appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
@@UndertheMedian
I concur with you, Under the Median.
the best way to minimize electric energy on the AC and optimize the comfort is that the set temperature (interior temperature) follows the ambient temperature. So the *difference* between the inside temperature and the exterior temperature is constant.
Keeping the *difference constant* guarantees that the AC unit will always draw the same energy from the grid.
Of course, I am not saying you will get the lowest electric energy consumption. That is when shut off completly the AC. And the maxium comfort is when you keep the inside temperature at 73 F constant.
To optimize on energy usage for the AC unit, the key is to keep the *difference* between the interior and the exterior temperatures *constant*.
If outside temperature rises by 5 degrees, then the set point temperature of the interior of the house must be raised 5 F also.
that way the compressor of the AC unit will work at constant power.
It is expensive to maintain the interior temperature fixed. Maintaining a constant difference temperature will save you a lot of money.
Run the experiment.
We don't sleep till 730 am . Ever. But we only use air conditioners when we need to
I keep my temp at 74 F in the summer. I keep my blinds closed and curtains drawn. My home is 1200 sq ft. My bill averages about $160 in the summer. I think it's better to just set the thermostat and forget it.
In Texas we have 4-5 months of air conditioning.
Well thank you you gave us really good information but I have a question Why do you have 8 to 10 loads of laundry for two people lol
When we did this video we still had all four of our sons at home. Since that time, two of them have moved out.
Get a 5 Gal bucket cut 2 inch holes 2 ins around top put bag ice still n bag in bucket bungee box fan to top of bucket blowing hot air down into bucket it chills from ice emerging from holes super cold place bucket at highest point n room. Fan uses only one cent per hour versus 36 cents from ac yet u get same cold It it works
Also tape aluminum foil on windows to reflect sun shine back out u won't bieve how much it'll cool your place
Love you guys!
No these tips don't work I live in Arizona in the desert once it's hot in the summer you can't open the windows
I gave 9 tips - only one of which involved opening the windows. Perhaps you'll find the other 8 tips helpful.
Iit gets so hot in Atlanta. I live on the 3rd floor apartment, and it has been a challenge to save.its about 1200 feet
Where do you live that the humidity drops at night? I wake up to wet grass, so I assume the humidity is up but laying on the yard.
We live near Baltimore MD, and the humidity doesn't stop until about October.
Great tips! However I have that exact thermostat in my apartment and I absolutely hate it! I was happier with the old school 80's thermostat, much more simple and my apartment stayed at that temperature until I turned it off.
We don't have central air, so...... However, we turn the window A/C off at night and only cool our bedroom. Then, we don't turn the others on until it starts to feel stuffy the next day.
Older video,but a lot of these tips work in winter,too.
The best video I have ever seen about saving money on electricity
We use air on 78 and fans in rooms we are in during the day. Keeps humidity out and air running less. We open windows around 5 a.m. It seems to save.
Excellent Video
Good tips
Thank you, Jackie. Thanks for joining us for the video.
@@UndertheMedian
*Great tips*
The best time to use electricity I after 7 pm the 2nd best time is between 5 to, 7 pm
I suppose we can go back to using candles for lighting, but candles aren’t cheap either. It is so cold and damp here in the UK 🇬🇧 and even in summer we only get a couple of weeks at 70-80 degrees farenheit. I wear a dressing gown over my clothes indoors all year round, to keep warm, and I wear a woolly knitted hat indoors in the winter. Our problem is how to keep warm, and how to keep damp out of our closets.
Get some solar lights, like they use for outside. You can get some really pretty ones fairly cheap. Hang them in the sunny windows and you will have light for the evening. The ones I have do charge on overcast days, just not as strongly. For warmth, hot water bottles are great! I have two, one for bed and a smaller one to tuck inside my hoodie or housecoat. I also invested in an electric blanket. Spread underneath you with warm blankets on top so the heat rises and gets trapped under the blanket. I've never had to turn it on the "high" setting to stay warm. (I live in Michigan in the States. We get brutal winters!) The electric bill didn't go up that much, and doing a few things to cut down on energy elsewhere covered the cost by a mile!
I live in a ranch style house so opening the windows at night is a no no in the city🫣
Why not fry beacon
I just read an energy saving tip on fans,and the writer said fans are meant to cool people,not rooms, so only use them in the room you are in.
2 yrs later Everthing has doubled
what about crunchy towells?
Does a smart thermostat save you?
...would it be possible to have your fridge door switched to open from the other side. God bless. From Jill.
You can do that with most refrigerators.
Fridge and most dryer doors can be switched around. If buying a new unit have the delivery crew turn the door to best swing for the space.
You clearly don’t know anything about Florida nights. Sometimes it only gets down to 80 degrees at night. With horrendous humidity at night. Opening summer windows is a no go
For those of us living in Phoenix deactivating the AC mid July is not really an option for 8 hours a day. Perhaps for upper Northern parts of the US they can get away with this. 😆
We where told to just leave it alone and it will take care of it self !!!
There's no cool air to pull in
I have found that a roof fan lowers my cooling bills. Not to be confused with an attic fan.
I’m surprised you didn’t address the second most electricity consumption in the house, correct me if I’m wrong but your fridge appears to be a 1990 product . It would be lovely if Larry could look up the cost difference between keeping the old fridge or replacing it with a new fridge .
Love your channel .
Dia, you are correct. The fridge came with the house when we bought it 11 years ago. We aren't opposed to it, but we would need to do a return on investment calculation to figure out when we would break even when considering the replacement cost against the price of a new fridge. We did replace our very old chest freezer this year, because we felt that an energy efficient unit would cost less to cool. We saw a drop in electricity use during the last half of the year, but that could be because two of the four boys moved out, too.
The flip side of that is newer appliances are not being built as well and are having to be repaired more frequently and repacked sooner, so hang on to the old reliables as long as possible you can even find CZcams videos on this topic problem.
@@gail7138 There’s no such thing as durable goods anymore the last washer I had only lasted two years the one I had before that lasted 20
Do you really need a big home or could you live better and cheaper in a smaller home less cubit feet too heat and cool
Much faster to do laundry by line drying!
Can't stand the texture of line dried laundry.
6:10
I've read all the comments. I'm glad you get only a small proportion of kind of snarky or "I can't possibly do what you do" comments.
I watch your channel because you, and Larry, too, give me good ideas, but mostly because you are so darn pleasant. Your videos serve as both inspiration and mood-lifter. Thank you.
You keep saying science as though its not common sense. This video has the same information as 500000 other videos but your video is 5x as long