How to save on electricity?
I saw this post on Get Rich Slowly a couple of days ago. It’s about the current electricity crisis in Alaska.
Last Wednesday, they had a avalanche which affected their electricity generation. Their electricity costs went from $0.11 per kilowatt-hour to $0.50. The people in Juneau, Alaska are asking for solutions and tips to save their electricity usage.
I lived in a very cold climate in China once; the people there don’t have much resources. Therefore, they are forced to live through cold winters without much energy supplies . Here is what I learned and hopefully it helps someone.
- Unplug your refrigerator- Since it is still cold outside, place your food outside in an closed container.
- Fill small pillow cases with rice- This is a tip from a friend of mine. She saved on her heating bill filling a small pillow case with rice. She put the pillow case in an oven or microwave for a couple of minutes and she goes to bed with the rice pillow. She said the pillow can keep her warm through out the night during the frigid New England winter.
- Boil your bath water on the stove- This only works if you have a gas stove.
- Use your shower water to wash your clothes- This is a perfect idea, so you don’t end up washing your clothes with cold water. However, make sure you use soap instead of laundry detergent because laundry detergent is a lot more difficult to wash off.
- Dry your clothes outside- In the very cold weather, your clothes will freeze. So make sure you go break off the ice the next day and allow it to air dry for 2-3 days.
- Eat a lots of BBQ and Salad - If you have a electric stove, BBQ your food when you can.
- Get Fluorescent light bulbs- I just recently converted all my light bulbs to Fluorescent. They are great. I believe I’ve saved at least $10 per month.
- Use a fire place when at home- 90% of the people in the town where I stayed in China are using fire places for heat in the winter. Some of them even BBQ with their fire places.
- Cover your windows and walls with blankets- This really works, especially with wooden houses, but it requires a lot of fabric.
- Place rice pillows inside of your clothes- In China, people use a thick plastic water bag filled with hot water, but I always found that to be scary. I think the rice pillow will have the same effect but safer.
- Unplug all electric equipment when you are not using it- Any electric equipment still uses small amounts of electricity even when you are not operating it. Unplug them completely to save that small amount.
- Eat a lots of stew and spicy food- After a hot stew and spicy meal, you feel warm for a couple of hours. Hey…that is still a couple of hours, right?
- Check out my post on how to save cooking energy to save more electricity on cooking.
- Read a lot of books.