Show of hands, who likes their electric company? Mine happens to be the worst of the worst. Highest rates in the country and extremely poor service. During Hurricane Sandy, the entirety of Long Island was without power for an extended period of time. There were no shortage of stories on in the media about how ineffective they were both in preparation and restoration.
To say I'm not crazy about them would be an understatement. They are however the only game in town. Not much I can do, or so I thought. I realized there are some things I can do and that's figure out ways to reduce my costs. I've been everything but what you'd call a 'green' guy, but my dislike for my local power authority has definitely pushed me in that direction.
I'm just starting out, but I'm genuinely excited about reducing my payment to the LIPA cartel. The first step today was picking up a few LED lights. They're pricey, but you pay a fraction (about 1/6th) of a normal incandescent bulb. They also look a bit funky and the color is cool - it seems to be highly dependent upon wall color and your fixtures.
I figured a few other quick fixes would be to pick up Belkin Conserve Power Switches. I plan on using these for our Keurig, printer and not sure where else. Also got a power strip from Belkin that has a remote, so you can effectively turn off your computer, removing any draw from the outlet. This will eliminate 'phantom power usage'.
I love power. I use it quite a bit in my home. There are devices everywhere. I run a Mac Pro, which could heat a small office. I'm not about to start shedding my technology, but I can use technology to help reduce my monthly electric bill. We've only been in the house a few months, so we don't have a great idea of our average monthly intake. The central air was running regularly for most of the first few months, so it's not an accurate assessment of average usage. I know we can cut it down, just wish we had some numbers, so I could have some measurement of savings.
If you have any tips for becoming more energy efficient, I'd love to hear them.
To say I'm not crazy about them would be an understatement. They are however the only game in town. Not much I can do, or so I thought. I realized there are some things I can do and that's figure out ways to reduce my costs. I've been everything but what you'd call a 'green' guy, but my dislike for my local power authority has definitely pushed me in that direction.
I'm just starting out, but I'm genuinely excited about reducing my payment to the LIPA cartel. The first step today was picking up a few LED lights. They're pricey, but you pay a fraction (about 1/6th) of a normal incandescent bulb. They also look a bit funky and the color is cool - it seems to be highly dependent upon wall color and your fixtures.
I figured a few other quick fixes would be to pick up Belkin Conserve Power Switches. I plan on using these for our Keurig, printer and not sure where else. Also got a power strip from Belkin that has a remote, so you can effectively turn off your computer, removing any draw from the outlet. This will eliminate 'phantom power usage'.
I love power. I use it quite a bit in my home. There are devices everywhere. I run a Mac Pro, which could heat a small office. I'm not about to start shedding my technology, but I can use technology to help reduce my monthly electric bill. We've only been in the house a few months, so we don't have a great idea of our average monthly intake. The central air was running regularly for most of the first few months, so it's not an accurate assessment of average usage. I know we can cut it down, just wish we had some numbers, so I could have some measurement of savings.
If you have any tips for becoming more energy efficient, I'd love to hear them.
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...Yep location and prices make it a difficult choice sometimes.
