Saving Resources and $1,000 (or more) a Year

Former VP Al Gore was on the television talk show circuit this week, promoting his new book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, which stresses energy conservation and renewable energy sources—essential elements of a frugal lifestyle.

I had actually started exploring these ideas long before I watched Gore on TV, of course, but energy savings really hit home last week when the furnace maintenance man came to install a new filter and instead had to turn off the furnace because it was emitting carbon monoxide gas. I now have a new furnace that works at 92 percent efficiency—my old one was closer to 80 percent—so my heating bill should go down accordingly.

I also learned a few things by living in an unheated house for a couple of days: I learned to wear a sweater or two (duh) and to use an electric blanket or mattress pad (but never together, to avoid overheating) on my bed at night. If I use a space heater (a new, efficient one) in the room where I am, it allows me to keep my house a degree or two cooler and save as much as a couple hundred dollars a year.

My furnace experience lead me to do some more research on saving energy. Speaking of sweaters, for instance, dress your water heater in one of those insulating blankets so the heat does not “leak” into the air. And dial down the temperature on your water heater to 120°F.

“Standby power” can use a lot of electricity, so unplug computers, printers, microwave ovens, programmable coffeemakers, electric toothbrushes, et al. To make it easy on yourself, plug groups of appliances into a power strip; then all you have to do is just unplug the power strip.

Wash clothes in cold water. Almost all detergents these days are formulated to perform well in cold water, even for white loads. Let your dirty laundry pile up: It takes less energy to do a full load of laundry than several small loads. You’ll use less water and less power.

Hang your clothes to dry (and to provide humidity, which keeps the furnace from kicking on as often—more savings). I use the dryer to avoid wrinkles, but if I take out the clothes after 10 minutes and hang them on hangers, the wrinkles are usually gone by the next day.

Shorten your shower to use less hot water. When you take a bath, use less water, and leave water in the tub for a while after you get out to let all that lovely warm humidity into dry, winter air.

I know everyone knows this, but replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFL).

These suggestions may seem simple and even simplistic, but they’re easily implemented, and even Al thinks they’re important ways to save money and resources. And Michael Bluejay (Mr. Electricity) estimates in his “savings” table that following all these suggestions could save you between $1,000 and $2,000 a year on energy costs. (His Web site also explains watts, amps, kwh, etc., so that the lay person can understand it, and if I can, believe me, anyone can.)—Alice Rose Kieft