Residential electric heat

How can I save on electricity costs?

I have residential electric heat in my rented room and my electric bills are sky high - what can I do to save? I've already tried:

• Turning the heat off when I leave the house
• Doing as little laundry as possible
• I have one energy efficient spiral light bulb
• I turn my lights off when I don't need them

Answer from Green Energy Efficient Homes

You need to figure out where your energy use is high.

Start taking daily readings of your electricity meter and take note of whether consumption fluctuates day-to-day or stays the same. If it spikes on certain days, think about what you did that day (or whether, if you heat with electricity, it was a particularly cold day). Perhaps you'll discover a big energy hog. If you see a spike when the weather turns cold, then your electric heating is the problem. Electric heaters draw a lot of power.

Turning the lights off is a good idea; your spiral light bulb is a compact fluorescent, and yes, it is energy efficient. Turning the heat off in your room is probably safe - I am assuming you don't have any plumbing in your room.

My hunch is that your residential electric heat is by far your biggest source of electrical use. You may want to add better window coverings or insulating window kits to your windows to cut down on heat loss there, but there aren't that many things you can do as a renter to cut down on heat loss.

Another possibility is that you are heating your own hot water with electricity - in which case you can save by (A) lowering the temperature setting on your heater from the factory default setting (usually 140F) to 120F, and (B) wrapping the hot water heater in a hot water heater insulation blanket.

Green Energy Efficient Homes articles cited

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