Dylan Sorr
Hey guys, any tips on saving on my electricity bill/to bring down my electricity consumption? Also, which are better; CFL or LED lightbulbs? I've also heard LED lightbulbs are extremely hot and much more expensive. Yes, I'm already in the habit of unplugging unused light fixtures and devices (and I've replaced nearly all of the incandescent lightbulbs with CFLs), and I'm thinking of getting some solar panels maybe.
At Spotty: If your going to save money, you have to consider solar panels, CFLs, etc... have high return investments when it comes to buying them.
Answer
Here's something that'll blow your mind: lights just don't use up that much electricity and don't cost very much. In particular the difference between CFLs and comparable LEDs is almost immeasurable. (Obviously LEDs cost a lot more up front but should last much longer -- those are the criteria to judge. Forget about electricity.) Nothing you do with lights will save you any significant amount of money.
You know what consumes most of your electricity? Air conditioning (#1), then probably the refrigerator, TV if you watch it a lot, maybe your computer if you use if hard and often, washer and dryer. Blow dryer if you use it much. For me, by far-far-far and away the primary determinant of my electric bill has always been AC in summer and heater in winter.
Not long ago I got a Kill-a-watt watt meter and invested a good deal of time measuring usage and crunching the numbers.
Things people talk about as "tips" but that simply don't make much of an impact on your bill: lights (unless you operate a football stadium); leaving electronics plugged in when off; leaving chargers plugged in, ceiling fans. Sorry to tell you, unplugging things consumes a lot of effort and saves you essentially nothing.
If you are looking to SAVE money then you certainly don't want to spend any on solar panels.
P.S. don;t believe me? Then by all means get a Kill-a-Watt and check it yourself.
*** Dylan, my point is that those things you are considering do NOT save significant amounts of money and do not pay for themselves. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Solar is a very very costly way to generate electricity. You will never save enough money on your electric bill to pay the cost of a solar panel. It's a losing proposition. CFLs probably do pay for themselves over time, but we're talking a small amount of money, spread out over years to pay for themselves. Next time you buy lunch at McDonalds or Taco Bell you'll spend more money in one lunch hour than you'll save over years of diligently using CFLs. If your goal overall is to save money, than keep your incandescent light bulbs, but eat beans instead of going to McDonalds.
Here's something that'll blow your mind: lights just don't use up that much electricity and don't cost very much. In particular the difference between CFLs and comparable LEDs is almost immeasurable. (Obviously LEDs cost a lot more up front but should last much longer -- those are the criteria to judge. Forget about electricity.) Nothing you do with lights will save you any significant amount of money.
You know what consumes most of your electricity? Air conditioning (#1), then probably the refrigerator, TV if you watch it a lot, maybe your computer if you use if hard and often, washer and dryer. Blow dryer if you use it much. For me, by far-far-far and away the primary determinant of my electric bill has always been AC in summer and heater in winter.
Not long ago I got a Kill-a-watt watt meter and invested a good deal of time measuring usage and crunching the numbers.
Things people talk about as "tips" but that simply don't make much of an impact on your bill: lights (unless you operate a football stadium); leaving electronics plugged in when off; leaving chargers plugged in, ceiling fans. Sorry to tell you, unplugging things consumes a lot of effort and saves you essentially nothing.
If you are looking to SAVE money then you certainly don't want to spend any on solar panels.
P.S. don;t believe me? Then by all means get a Kill-a-Watt and check it yourself.
*** Dylan, my point is that those things you are considering do NOT save significant amounts of money and do not pay for themselves. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Solar is a very very costly way to generate electricity. You will never save enough money on your electric bill to pay the cost of a solar panel. It's a losing proposition. CFLs probably do pay for themselves over time, but we're talking a small amount of money, spread out over years to pay for themselves. Next time you buy lunch at McDonalds or Taco Bell you'll spend more money in one lunch hour than you'll save over years of diligently using CFLs. If your goal overall is to save money, than keep your incandescent light bulbs, but eat beans instead of going to McDonalds.
What's the best HDTV brand for customer support/warranty?
California
I am researching HDTV's and have come across some reviews of brands that have bad customer support and broke on the customers after 4 or 5 years. I don't want to put $1,000 into a TV to have it break a year after the warranty ends. I'm wondering what brand would be best to go with since I'm concerned about things like that. I had initially wanted to buy a Vizio but that is one I've read bad things about. I heard good things about Sony's service but not sure about what they do after warranty. Thanks for any input!
Answer
I have a Samsung TV that is absolutely amazing. I have had it for a year with no issues, and whenever I had questions about features, or programming, Samsung's customer support was excellent. The live online chat was especially helpful, and unless you enjoy sitting on hold for hours, was much better and timelier than phone support.
I can't say I know much about my warranty, but all my previous TV's have been Samsung, and they have always lasted long. I have never had a TV "break" per say, but have had them become obsolete. I would recommend the new LED TV. My friend bought one, and besides the higher picture quality, his electricity usage from the TV is much lower than mine. Also, we accidentally dropped it while mounting it on the wall, and because it was so light it barely even left a mark on the TV.
I have a Samsung TV that is absolutely amazing. I have had it for a year with no issues, and whenever I had questions about features, or programming, Samsung's customer support was excellent. The live online chat was especially helpful, and unless you enjoy sitting on hold for hours, was much better and timelier than phone support.
I can't say I know much about my warranty, but all my previous TV's have been Samsung, and they have always lasted long. I have never had a TV "break" per say, but have had them become obsolete. I would recommend the new LED TV. My friend bought one, and besides the higher picture quality, his electricity usage from the TV is much lower than mine. Also, we accidentally dropped it while mounting it on the wall, and because it was so light it barely even left a mark on the TV.
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Title Post: Electricity consumption tips?
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Author: Yukie
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Rating: 98% based on 988 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Yukie
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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