I am trying to save on my electric bill

I'm with (*steve*) here, I'm all about saving energy and money but I don't think this project is feasible or cost effective.

If you want to save money start other places in the home, change incandescent bulbs out for LED or CFL versions (pay attention here, you could easily spend more on the bulbs than you'll save on electricity), turn off unused appliances and if possible unplug them (including cell phone chargers!), turn off computers when they're not being used, raise the thermostat a few degrees in the summer, make use of natural light and so on.

 

Good question but perhaps to personal a question for this forum... We need a moderator to clean up the potty language in this thread.

 

Don't forget refrigerators, probably the next biggest consumer, it's kind of a must have but I still wanted to mention it. Also make sure your water heater isn't turned down so low that your dishwasher doesn't properly sanitize your dishes. I seem to remember a temp of 140 degrees and up is acceptable, above that temp the heating element in the dishwasher have the proper effect.

 

Seems like you thought of just about everything at this point. Have you tried switching off all of the lights, turning off and unplugging what appliances you can to check for power draw you're unaware of? With everything off check the power meter, if it's still spinning something is burning power you don't know about.

I live in Saint Louis and with a house of three people, three TVs on most of the time, three computers either on or in standby, a fridge, dryer used every few days, washer used just as often, dishwasher twice a week, AC set to 70 (which means it cycles about every 15mins), a room air conditioner for an upstairs bedroom and countless other devices our bill doesn't hit 200/month. I find it hard to believe cost per/kw is the only reason. And no, our appliances are not high efficiency models unfortunately.

 

Just came across this post while searching for something else - great forum I could waste a lot of time here. Back to the point. I am a Brit now living in Hungary, a great little country that has been in the news of late due to its politics - it will blow over nuff said.
I have built a house here and heat the place with 3 cubic metres of wood a year and have 5 solar hot water panels on the roof. We use the washer a lot and as it only has a cold fill, run it from the hot for 5 minutes before switching to cold - a bit Heath Robinson but I cannot see a way around it. The dishwasher only has a cold fill so i have thought about a mixer valve so it can pull "free" hot water.(no way of easily fitting a hot and cold tap as per the washer in the cellar) However i did read that the first cold rinse is important so you don't "set" proteins i.e. egg etc on the dishes. Is this correct and if so what temp should I set the mixer to to avoid the dishwasher using too much electricity to heat the water? Sorry not quite an electronics question.
Next house if I live long enough will be off grid! Any good links appreciated

 

Going totally off grid is not a good idea. You will have to spend a lot of money buying batteries, and believe me, you will spend a lot of time maintaining those batteries. Don't ask me how I know! Solar power with a grid tie is the way to go. When you are not using power the meter turns backwards and when you do need power for something like a motor, you will have it.

 

You need to be careful about this though. I had some people question me over something like solar power. Needless to say where I live, you would barely pay back the initial cost of a solar system before you died. I say that because the sun's power is not the same in all places on this earth. I live in Pa and it is one of the worst places in the country (USA) for solar energy. Add to that constant cleaning of the panels and corrosive damage from the harsh winters.

Personally I think wind power is far superior to solar. When you use the most power in your house the wind will be at its strongest outside. Just the opposite for the sun (unless you need AC, which would go against everything in being GREEN.)

Nothing against going green, but if you decide to do it, do your research. It could be more costly then you could ever have imagined.

 

totally agree, but I hate cleaning windows. Can't see myself ever cleaning my solar panels with the amount of dirt you find in most rural areas.