help us all :]

Team XLink Administrator Joined: 04 Jun 2004 Posts: 4371

ok .. its hot out .. i know alot of you (me me!!) have central air and are living indoors these days .. great way to beat the heat but also a great way to waste alot of power .. power that everybody needs, remember the blackout ?.. now i know your thinkin "oh shit here comes the treehuggin!" but i hate to tell you my main motivation for anything i've done is money :] .. sure i care about the enviroment and blah blah bird blah trees and shit but saving power to me is more about saving me money ..

this happens in a few ways , use less power = costs you less , everyone uses less power = demand goes down supply goes up price falls http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_and_demand .. also by using something less such as your computer monitor its life will be that little bit longer ..

alot of people have a strange misconception that to save power you have to do something or pay alot for it .."ok ok what the hell are u getting at this is getting boring!!" ..ha , drugs.. the reason i started this thread was so that i could share some of the things i've done to help reduce my energy use that are either free or damn close and require very little effort on your part..

if you know any post them ..

- set pc monitors to a lower shutoff time than u have and just shut your monitor off when you leave .. the monitor is the biggest waste of power in a pc ..

-obviously if you can, shut your computer off when not in use , this does something else u didn't think of .. get your office into the habit of shutting off all their computers so they have to wait for them to boot in the morning and get an extra few minutes to do nothing , tell the boss it saves money and everyone wins :]

- use the sleep function on your tv when u know damn well you'll be asleep in 30 - 60 or 90 mins :]

- if your freezer / deep freeze are not full than fill the remaining space with bottles full of water .. here comes the science! .. a freezer uses less energy the more their is in the freezer .. a fridge works the other way ..

- appliances have clocks , all of them .. how many times do u need to see the time when you walk into the kitchen ? .. unplug stuff that you don't use that often that have power drain ie .. coffee maker clock , microwave .. they even sell switchs that u plug into the wall and than plug the appliance into it so u can kill it at the source ..

- speaking of drain .. hook up your entertainment system through a power bar so that when your not going to be home for awhile you can turn it off .. all your stuff drains energy , vcr , tv , xbox , reciver all have standby modes that constantly use power .. just do this one when u go on vaction ..

- unplug shavers / radios / hair dryers and all other bathroom appliances .. 2 things , most of them are junk and a huge fire hazard and others have energy drain .. ever notice that strange humming noise the electric shaver makes when its plugged in not in use!?

- put a brick in the tank behind your toilet , use less water ..

- get aluminum tape and fill the gaps in the ductwork in the basement , helps for heating and cooling ..

- close vents in rooms your not in / don't use and basement vents ..

- keep your blinds shut on sunny days it will keep your house cooler .. open them in the winter during the day so the sun heats your house ..

- empty the lint trap on your dryer everytime you use it .. the dryer will run more efficiently and use less power..

- try and use a cloths line to dry your cloths .. i can't , my dog loves to run and rip them off the line ..

- u know those bottles of water you froze a few lines up , use them to put in front of fans or on you to keep yourself cooler ..

- buy a bag of those baby plug covers (walmart baby section) and use them to cover all the outlets you don't use in your house .. they are holes in your wall, ever put your hand over one in the winter and notice cold air coming in!? .. not all house are built equal :] ..

- speakin of outlets , spend 10 and buy gaskets for behind the outlets ..

- buy pipe insulation and insulate the pipes coming from your water heater , hot and cold .. also if your water heater feels hot to the touch its probably turned up to high and is wasting heat .. u can buy jackets for your water heater , just make sure you don't cover the hole where the flame is :]

- buy florecent lights , install solar panels and fans and.... "get off my lawn you treehuggin hippy!"

Kai Lover Joined: 19 May 2006 Posts: 879

like the list.

I usually always forget to turn my box or PC off, but i cant sleep with the TV on.

never thought about the water bottles in the freezer.

Kai Beginner Joined: 14 May 2004 Posts: 62

im not a earth freak but its good to see someones looking out for the world! Very Happy

Team XLink Baker Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 676

Ok well I must be one of the worst power abusers around. My computers at home stay up all the time however I do turn off the power on the monitors.

My a/c is pumping out pretty much all summer long and especially in this heat.

As for closing the basement vents well I have a finished basement which has a window and walk out to the back yard so heat does tend to penetrate that area in the afternoon so I leave those vents open because my 3 pug dogs stay down there during the day and because of there flat faces they have a hard time breathing.

Anyone who has ever played on Kai with me can always hear them snorting in the back ground.

As for unplugging the appliances well man that is just way too much effort. I mean really to have to reset all those clocks again is too time consuming.

I don't like to waste hydro but I could not live in my house in this kind of weather if there was no a/c.

So do I want to save money? hell yeah but some things are worth spending money on and a/c is worth every penny to me.

I like the plug cover idea. Good suggestions man. Very Happy

Gunslinger

Wink

Kai Spammer Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 8681

Quote:

Anyone who has ever played with me can always hear them snorting in the back ground.

Hey gun watch how you say things lol Very Happy

Team XLink Baker Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 676

Get your mind out of the gutter Morty. Laughing

Gunny

Team XLink Administrator Joined: 04 Jun 2004 Posts: 4371

Quote:

im not a earth freak but its good to see someones looking out for the world!

thats the point right there .. do one of those things on the list and you'll save power , its not a hard thing to do and doesn't require you to be an "earth freak" .. throwing water bottles in your freezer so it uses less energy is a one time thing that cost $0 and takes 5 mins .. every little bit counts ..

if your pc monitor is set to shut off after 15 mins of no use , change it to 10 mins , you just cut your power use by alot more than u think .. again not hard , free , and takes less than a minute ..

more ..

- install those florecent lights .. 2 things these do .. 1 they save energy and 2 they give off less heat than incandescent (normal bulb) lights ..

- turn off lights when your not in the room ..

- car tip .. shut off your radio and unplug your cell chargers, shut off air/ heat when you shut your car off .. less strain on your starter next time you start your car .. starter lasts longer and works better :]

Team XLink Moderator Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 1536

you need to pass that shit you're smokin' Very Happy

lol kidding Wink

Team XLink Administrator Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 4061

U-huh..can see where your coming from hicaow. Good list there.

Pass the dutch though. Cool

Kai Spammer Joined: 01 Jul 2005 Posts: 1065

Well I hate to be a spoil sport... but weren't the blackouts man-made? I seem to remember watching something about Enron and how they caused the California blackouts to raise the hydro rates.

Kai Lover Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 585

Sure Enron traders are evil. But thats besides the point we should save power anyway, because unless you haven't noticed oil prices keep increasing. Because rumour has it that oil stocks are declining more rapidly than anticipated and now that the Middle East is hardly our best buddies, they are pumping up the prices but not the oil.

That hits you and i in the pockets from all angles; prices at the pumps, electrcity costs (yes even if you have hydro or nuclear) and the goods you buy in the street. Has anyone noticed servings in restaurants getting smaller recently? Well they are in Thailand and that my matey's is inflation.

Save power and save money in more places than you can imagine. It also helps your economy which helps business and keeps you (or your parents) in a job making lots of nice bonuses and wage rises.

Sure it helps the planet too, but thats just a nice side effect if you ask me.

I like the $$$$$$ Very Happy

Kai Spammer Joined: 01 Jul 2005 Posts: 1065

Conserving oil and other non-renuable natural resources is a good move. Most of the electricity comes from Nuclear and Coal though, and roughly 10% comes from dams and such. Nuclear and hydroelectricity are fully renewable, and providing theres not another chernobyl, easy on the environment. Give it a few years and eventually they'll start to run out of the non-renuable sources and finally switch to wind. With hydro, nuclear and wind power. You could power everything in an environmentally friendly way, and be completely renewable. Its just a matter of the fat cats involved in the oil and coal industries not wanting to give up their fortunes.

I applaud energy conservation. However by the same stretch. You should be riding your bike or walking everywhere if you want to make a bigger impact. Unplugging your monitor, and not cranking out the AC is going to help, but not as much as turning off that smog machine when you go to work. Smile

Kai Spammer Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 8681

Quote:

I applaud energy conservation. However by the same stretch. You should be riding your bike or walking everywhere if you want to make a bigger impact. Unplugging your monitor, and not cranking out the AC is going to help, but not as much as turning off that smog machine when you go to work.

More people should also switch to Hybrid cars. There easy on the environment cause there is basicly no exhaust. And its alot easier on your wallet with gas prices as high as they are now. I can see my self owning one in the near future Smile

Kai Admirer Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 470

Been riding it for 5 years. I have 4000 miles on it this year. I basicly ride it to and from work or small shopping trips to the grocery store. If I drive my truck all week it costs around $50.00. If I drive my Zuma all week it costs me $3.00. When I bought it, I figured it would pay for itself in gas alone, in 7 years. But, I didn't factor in that gas would be hitting 3.10 a gallon here in the states, in that time period, so really...it's paid for itself.

Oh yeah...I can carry 3 cases of beer on it too. Wink

Kai Enthusiast Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 210

boxorox wrote:

Oh yeah...I can carry 3 cases of beer on it too. Wink

Well, as long as it does that it's a good investment. Laughing

Team XLink Baker Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 676

My moped

That is not my exact one but they look the same.

I really wanted a moped because at the time I did not have a car yet I worked close to home so this was the best solution for me and it was a fun ride.

P bought me the moped as a wedding gift. I really should fix it up. It would be fun to ride it again.

Gunslinger