EnergyMiser101

Switch to Compact Fluorescents and Save Money

     There's probably no quicker way to cut your electrical usage than to start replacing your standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights.

     I was shocked when I counted 45 light bulbs in and around our house and garage. Of those, about  20, do the heavy lifting of providing lighting on a constant basis. The rest, such as basement lights, are turned on only occasionally.

     Assuming those consistently-used lights are left on an average of five hours a day, we'd spend $27 a month to power those bulbs. With fluorescents, we'd shell out only about $6!  See my appliance usage table here.

     But before you run out to the home center to buy a pack of fluorescents, there are lots of things you should know to make a smarter purchasing decision.

How Much Does It Cost to Dry My Clothes?

   Presidents Day weekend was a time for household activities. It's kind of humdrum because last weekend we treated ourselves to seeing The Importance of Being Earnest at the Paper Mill Playhouse, and the weekend before was an even bigger treat of spending two nights at a cozy inn in Vermont to celebrate my birthday.

    So, with the whirring of the clothes dryer crowding out thoughts of Oscar Wilde, and of candle-lit dining rooms in the mountains, I started to settle back to the practical. Just how much, I wondered, does it cost to burn natural gas and churn through electricity to get our family clothes dry.  The quick answer is about 25 cents for a 40-minute load. To see how we figured it out, read on. . . .

Should You Switch from Oil to Natural Gas Heat?

(2010 Update: See how we saved on oil consumption year by year.)  

     Oil or gas heat? That is the question we have been pondering for a while now, especially with oil prices so high. So, when we got a flier recently from PSE&G, our local utility, encouraging us to call them for a free estimate on converting to gas, we decided to take them up on the offer. For us, it doesn't pay to change. Here's why.

    I should start by saying that we decided a few years ago to replace our 80-year-old coal-burning furnace, that at some point in the distant past was converted to oil, with a newer, more efficient model.  (We affectionately called the old unit Frosty because it was covered with white asbestos and reminded our then 5-year-old daughter of a snowman!) The new furnace, which cost about $6,500 in 2002, cut our oil use by more than half—from about 1,600 gallons a winter to 750. (At the current price of about $2.60 a gallon, that's a seasonal savings of roughly $2,200—not bad!)