Saving Money on Your Electric Bill, One Plant at a Time
Kill vampire power.
There's an excellent chance that your phone charger, toaster, Nintendo Wii, or some other appliance is leaking electricity when plugged in all the time.
It's called "vampire power.
" And yep, that's electricity that you're paying for.
Unplug your chargers and appliances when you're not immediately using them to avoid wasting power.
You may also want to invest in a Kill-a-Watt, an electricity monitor that gives you real-time wattage numbers.
Instead of an electric air purifier, buy plants.
Sure, you could invest in a high-tech, cutting-edge air purifier.
Or you could just buy plants.
Certain plant species are adept at filtering and drawing toxins out of the air, with the added advantage of being low-cost and low-maintenance.
Sold yet? Check out the Peace Lily, Pot Mum, and Gerbera Daisy for starters.
Refresh your appliances for better power savings.
Those old appliances that are still running, because everything built in the '80s lasts forever? It's time for a new model.
Old appliances are almost definitely costing you more money to run than comparable modern-day ones.
Best of all, many states have rebates for buying energy-efficient fridges, air conditioners, water heaters, you name it.
Hibernate your computer instead of leaving it on.
You want to turn off your computer, but you don't want to wait ten minutes for Windows to boot up.
You want to run standby mode, but you don't want to run standby mode because it consumes power and runs down the battery.
There's one solution: hibernation.
Hibernation is a neat feature on Windows AND Mac OS X that takes a snapshot of what you're doing, stores it onto your hard drive, and reloads it the next time you turn on your computer.
It is very, very cool, and it saves a bunch of electricity too.
Start using LED and compact fluorescent lights.
LED and compact fluorescent bulbs are far more efficient than your yellow-bellied ones.
They cost a little more, but end up wasting less electricity, and they also don't generate as much heat.
Keep your freezer full.
Here's a trick to saving money in the kitchen: keep a fully stocked fridge and freezer.
It takes less energy to maintain a cooler temperature for a loaded fridge than an empty one.
Don't have anything to put in the fridge? Try some water bottles.
Change your air filters every couple of months (more frequently if necessary).
Air filters can get clogged with all kinds of dust and dander, and prevent cold or warm air from getting to its destination.
That means your heater or air conditioner is working harder to cool or heat your home.
Depending on the air quality in your home and area, you may need to check your air filter every month.
It also helps to write down the date on the filter the day you start using it.
There's an excellent chance that your phone charger, toaster, Nintendo Wii, or some other appliance is leaking electricity when plugged in all the time.
It's called "vampire power.
" And yep, that's electricity that you're paying for.
Unplug your chargers and appliances when you're not immediately using them to avoid wasting power.
You may also want to invest in a Kill-a-Watt, an electricity monitor that gives you real-time wattage numbers.
Instead of an electric air purifier, buy plants.
Sure, you could invest in a high-tech, cutting-edge air purifier.
Or you could just buy plants.
Certain plant species are adept at filtering and drawing toxins out of the air, with the added advantage of being low-cost and low-maintenance.
Sold yet? Check out the Peace Lily, Pot Mum, and Gerbera Daisy for starters.
Refresh your appliances for better power savings.
Those old appliances that are still running, because everything built in the '80s lasts forever? It's time for a new model.
Old appliances are almost definitely costing you more money to run than comparable modern-day ones.
Best of all, many states have rebates for buying energy-efficient fridges, air conditioners, water heaters, you name it.
Hibernate your computer instead of leaving it on.
You want to turn off your computer, but you don't want to wait ten minutes for Windows to boot up.
You want to run standby mode, but you don't want to run standby mode because it consumes power and runs down the battery.
There's one solution: hibernation.
Hibernation is a neat feature on Windows AND Mac OS X that takes a snapshot of what you're doing, stores it onto your hard drive, and reloads it the next time you turn on your computer.
It is very, very cool, and it saves a bunch of electricity too.
Start using LED and compact fluorescent lights.
LED and compact fluorescent bulbs are far more efficient than your yellow-bellied ones.
They cost a little more, but end up wasting less electricity, and they also don't generate as much heat.
Keep your freezer full.
Here's a trick to saving money in the kitchen: keep a fully stocked fridge and freezer.
It takes less energy to maintain a cooler temperature for a loaded fridge than an empty one.
Don't have anything to put in the fridge? Try some water bottles.
Change your air filters every couple of months (more frequently if necessary).
Air filters can get clogged with all kinds of dust and dander, and prevent cold or warm air from getting to its destination.
That means your heater or air conditioner is working harder to cool or heat your home.
Depending on the air quality in your home and area, you may need to check your air filter every month.
It also helps to write down the date on the filter the day you start using it.
