I have taken many steps this year to save energy. Some involve the car but many involve home heating fuel. I think more people would try to save energy if they had some good ideas for conservation measures they can take. Most of mine are the obvious but lets hear about the energy saving ideas you have implemented with success.

These are what I have done.
1) turn down Thermostat. I turned mine down to 50 all the time I'm not home and at night when I'm sleeping. I have 3 heating zones and close the doors to the areas not used so that i don't get cross talk between the heating zone thermostats.

2) Turn down the hot water heater. My water is now just about usable as all hot water. I used to have it so hot i needed more cold than hot to get the temp down. this means i can take an hour shower but who needs to. I have enough hot water at the lower setting to meet my needs , no more excess temp.

3) I cook by starting with cold water in the pan instead of hot. I used to get the nice hot water into the pan from the water heater and then bring it to a boil. Now I use cold and bring just that pot full to high temp.

4) I combine trips in the car now. i try to do the coffee run , grocery store run , bank run etc all at the same time. i used to get coffee on saturday at 9 , bank at 11 , groceries at 5 PM , etc.

5) I changed almost all my lighting to flourescent. 16 watts instead of 60 and 22 instead of 100. I also use just 1 or two bulbs in the 5 bulb light fixtures. Sure its not like high noon anymore but i can see fine. My electric bill is now half what it had been.

6) I close the shades and pull the curtains over the windows when its very cold. this insulates the windows so less heat is lost and less draft gets in.

7) I roll up a towel and pul it along the bottom of the door. This cuts down on a lot of drafts and heat loss.

8) i simply do not go out as often with the car. If I'm board I read or watch TV instead of going shopping or driving around siteseeing.

9) I never take a ride to get gas. i always buy it along the way. I also try to buy it near work where its cheaper than near my house. Yes sometimes I'm only buying 2/3 of a tank instead of waiting till its empty but i save sometimes as much as 16 cents per gallon by buying at the cheaper stations while I am in the area.

10) I wait until the dishwasher is full before running it. i used to run it with just a few dishes but now it full before i run a cycle.

11) I wear more sweaters and sweatshirts and even sometimes a jacket while in the house in the winter. If you have a hooded sweatshirt on , you can be confortable at 60 or even less compared to needing 68 if you are running around in your underwear.

12) I try to sleep with someone nice and warm as often as possible so i can keep the heat down low at night. oh wait , I always tried to sleep with someone soft and warm as much as possible so i guess that's not a new energy saving measure! :)

Please add your own energy saving tips.

13) I'm going to take note of all the Xterras in my neighborhood and siphon off the gas on Monday nights after they fill up for the workweek.

13) I'm going to take note of all the Xterras in my neighborhood and siphon off the gas on Monday nights after they fill up for the workweek.

But Joe you would have to leave the basement to do that

Good point. This winter I had some gas go bad in my tank.

3) I cook by starting with cold water in the pan instead of hot. I used to get the nice hot water into the pan from the water heater and then bring it to a boil. Now I use cold and bring just that pot full to high temp.
You should do this regardless. Cold water containes fewer impurities...you should never use hot water out of the tap when cooking. WORD.

Otherwise good advice. We try to keep the thermostat as low as possible...sometimes my home office will fall into the 50's and my fingers turn blue. I then know it's ok to turn it up to 60 :hee:

-spence

I turn my furnace down to 1600 degres at night and put a firebrick over the flue to restrict heat loss.

Then in the morning i crank it back up to 2100 :eek:

A note about fluorescent bulbs: They use a lot of energy to turn on, but very little once started. Incandescent bulbs are the opposite - a lot less energy is used to turn them on, but they consume a lot more electricity over time. You should use fluorescent bulbs in areas where lights will be turned on and stay on for some time (I believe an hour is the break even point) and incandescents where lights will be turned on and off.

You should do this regardless. Cold water containes fewer impurities...you should never use hot water out of the tap when cooking. WORD.

Otherwise good advice. We try to keep the thermostat as low as possible...sometimes my home office will fall into the 50's and my fingers turn blue. I then know it's ok to turn it up to 60 :hee:

-spence

i use just enough gas to climb the hill then i let gravity
help out .....so the engine is running much slower
and i have longer brake life........ not rushing around.
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Spence,
i kind of like the Chinese method of heating the table
with the wok in the center of it and the table cloth hanging down
so the people sitting at the table are warmed by the cooking heat.

i try to apply that principle or method in any situation
" if possible "

striving to heat up the person rather than the whole room.

Anybody use window quilts? easy to use or PITA?