In case you have not guessed, this discussion is about saving on your electric bill. Today I am just talking about one way to save money on your electric bill. There are many ways to save and we will visit those other ways at a later date.
Believe it or not, you can save 1-2 % on your electric bill for every one degree you change your thermostat for an 8 hour period. I've done the research and see the results in my own bill. For example, if in the summer you currently run your AC at 72 degrees (I don't but I know a lot of you do) and you change that to 73 degrees you will save somewhere between $9 and $12 a month. We can also do this in the winter regarding heat - same rules apply. If you set your heat to higher than 68 degrees - you are loosing money. If you're cold, put on some sweats. I live in Florida and it's only cold for a couple of months so we set the heater to 68 and don't run around the house in shorts and tank tops (like I know some of you do).
You may think to yourself "Karen, you've lost it". I haven't I think one of the biggest issues that stops us from turning up the temp is we like to sleep in a cool place under a big ole comforter. STOP IT! That's why sheets were invented. Does it make any sense at all to sleep under a giant comforter/blanket and set your thermostat to 72 or 70? Not if you want to save money. On the other hand - keep that big ole comforter around for the winter.
I know what you're thinking now. Pish Posh Karen, what is a measly 2%? I'll tell you what it is - it is 2% more in your pocket. For every one degree you change on your thermostat (for only 8 hours per day) you will save $12.00 per month if your current average bill is $150. If you switch it up 2 degrees you will save $24.00 and so on and so on.
Your savings will vary based on what type of place you live in. I will try to put this into some sort of perspective. Dave and I moved the family from NY to Florida in the summer of 2001. Our first residence was a brand new 4 bedroom apartment with 7 foot ceilings. Back then, we set our thermostat to 72 degrees and the highest electric bill I can remember was $148. We moved into a rented house in 2007 and that's where we live now. Our house has vaulted ceilings and was somewhere around 14 years old when we moved in. Our 4th bedroom is a garage that was converted into a bedroom (a/c vent in place). We also have a back room that used to be the outdoor patio but was converted into a real room. We don't have much in that back room - it's the cat's play place. Anyway, to make a long story short (or at least shorter) during our first summer month we kept the thermostat at 72 (which we were used to) and our first electric bill was $349. I damn near fainted. We were not prepared for the increase in electric. So, we came up with the plan that is discussed above.
To put it in further perspective. $12.00 a month does not seem like much but if you look at that over a 12 month period you are looking at a savings of $144 per year for every one degree you increase on your thermostat for 8 hours per day. So, if you make a one degree increase for 24 hours everyday, you are looking at saving over $400 per year and that's a lot of money staying in your pocket.
Happy saving. See you later.
K
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