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@Monkeyface: this is 2 funny...I was talking to my neighbor about htis problem like 5 minutes ago. My FI lowers the heat to 65 when we go to bed and turn it back up when we wake up in the morning. We do have thoe energy save lights and they are great. We try not to use as my hot water as that is going to cost us since everything is electric. We have candles in burn them for some energy. If we are just watching TV we turn off the light. The biggest help we got was our complex put new storm windows and we got a new boiler. My bill went form 250 to like 175 for the winter.
Hand washing your dishes helps too! (if you're currently using a dish washer) And washing on cold for your laundry.
Keeping lights turned off (obviously)
And keeping the heat down if can. Our downstairs is always colder than our upstairs so I have a few pillar candles I usually have lit when we're down here... amazingly 4 or 5 candles lit makes a pretty big difference in temperature.
Here's a tip sheet that our hydro supplier developed.
http://www.bchydro.com/guides_tips/green-your-home.html
The things that use the most electricity are those that make heat. You also use a significant amount of energy in phantom use- energy used by appliances that remain "on" even when they are off. If there is a light glowing- on the PVR, computer, coffee maker etc they are still drawing power.
Program your thermostat (or get a programmable thermostat installed) so that the temp is automatically turned down overnight and anytime you are regularly out of the apartment.
Do you have all of your computer components plugged in to a power strip that you leave on? If so, switch the power strip off anytime they're not used for longer than 8-10 hours. Those buggers actually pull quite a bit of electricity even if the computer is in sleep mode.
We also turn the heat down to 64 when we're not actually in the apartment.
We turn our heat wayyyyyy down at night...like 55. We have heated mattress pads/blankets. During the day our heat never goes higher than 67, usual 65. Although we're in a house not an apartment. We also have a fireplace with a blower (not sure if that is the real term) It takes in air heats it under the fire, then blow's out the hot air. Our back room gets soooooo warm.
Thank you! I do have power strips for everything so that it is switched off when computers and office stuff are not in use. I'm just cringing every month for the electric bill! I've always had apartments and it has never been this high!
We have gas heat, but I hear you on electric. Ours soared during the summer months, so I was always trying to cut down on AC usage.
For the heat though, we always turn ours down at night too, like PP's said. Sometimes even as low as 60-62. I know it's low, but just wear sweats to bed with a few extra blankets. For REALLY cold nights, I also have an electric blanket under my sheet that I will turn on low and it is really warm!
I also turn the heat down to 60-62 if I'm going to work, or won't be home during the day. I only keep it above 65 when I'm going to be home. If it's not too terribly cold out, I do try to keep it set at 65 and just wear an extra layer, I know it's not the most comfortable situation, but it really helps.
Don't wash laundry with a hot cycle, like amnystik said, handwash dishes (but don't have the hot water runnin the whole time, fill a sink load, wash and rinse), take shorter showers, use power strips for big appliances like TVs, PC's etc and unplug even phone chargers during the day - unplug ANYTHING you won't be needing/using. I even unplug my lamps if I'm not using them! Sounds drastic, but it all helps.
Hopefully you can find a way to lower the bill some! Good luck!
@miss-spunkin: unplug ANYTHING you won't be needing/using. I even unplug my lamps if I'm not using them!
Yes. This. Biggest help I learned from a college prof.
My two biggest savings are always washing in cold water and hanging clothes to dry outside (even in the winter, though it takes a few days), and hooking up most everything to power bars. When I am done with my computer, tv, small appliances, etc, I push the button and they all turn off. Apparently a plugged in, but turned off tv, can use up to $50 of electricity a year!
I use lots of candles for lighting at night (and a wee bit of warmth). I even bought the candle lanterns that can be carried from room to room. You can use organic candles if your concerned about the burnoff toxins etc!
I second unplugging anything not in use! It drives my FI crazy to have to plug things in, but I swear, it saves a ton. Look into weatherproofing your windows, if you have a lot of them - tons of heat escapes. They sell kits at Home Depot and you can google DIYing it. Also, call your electirc company, and check to see if they check your meter monthly, or bi-monthly. I found out that they had been just "extrapolating" and then credited my money back. Its worth a shot.
Unplug your appliances when they are not in use, even if they are turned off they still pull electricity.
If you are out during the day at work, turn your heat off. You're in an apartment building, so you shouldn't have to worry about pipes freezing since they're insulated and intertwined with pipes from other apartments. But you're not home, no sense keeping your furniture comfortable at 69*!
We shut our heat off when we aren't here during the day and turn it way down while we're sleeping. Helps quite a bit.
We unplug everything that's not in use (even lamps, and our toaster/coffee maker) when they're not in use. We also use only CFL energy saving lightbulbs. We live in a super mild climate, and I think our apartment neighbours like to walk around in bikinis in the middle of winter and keep THEIR apartment boiling, because we actually just turned the heat on for the first time on Thursday night, and only for a couple hours while we were watching tv and it seemed a little chilly.
Oh man, i just realized how cheap I am when I saw that you keep it at 69 degrees. I wouldn't let it go over 65 when you are home, and I would turn it down to 60 when you are gone. My landlord has really inefficient and expensive base board heating in our place. They told us that keeping it on one low, stable setting gives more efficiency than turning it off and on.
My sister uses bubble wrap in her windows for extra insulation.
If you have a dishwasher, pre rinse your dishes in cold, not hot water.
Use power strips for cell phone chargers, etc. that you can turn on and off with the click of a button.
Keep your fridge fuller, but not too full.
Wear a sweater, use an extra comforter, eat more fat so you don't get cold? LOL!
Check the temperature that your water heater is set at. There's a minimum safe temperature, but everything above that just uses extra electricity.
I just learned something a bit disturbing about this from our apartment office manager last week. She said that most apartment buildings (at least here) don't really have separate meters for each apartment unit in the building. They take the total amount of electricity used for the WHOLE building, then divide this amount evenly between the total number of units. So if your neighbors are still using a ton of electric, it might not matter how much you try to cut corners!! I was pretty shocked! Not to say that all these ideas won't help (it is all great advice), but you might need to speak to your apartment manager to see how the bill is split. You might need to get your neighbors on board with cutting back usage too. :(
There have been a lot of good suggestions from PPs but I will add:
Be sure to open your blinds on sunny days to allow the heat from the sun to warm up your apartment.
Also, if you cook something in the oven, consider leaving the door open after to allow the heat that you have already paid for to make its way into the room.
Shut vents/doors to rooms that you don't really use (if you are in a 2 bedroom).
Check around your doors to be sure that they are sealed appropriately and not sending a draft of cold air in. Consult with maintenance to fix any problems.
I hated electric heat in my apartments. The only good thing about it, was that I only needed to heat the room that I was in.
So I'm not going to lie here, but my electric bill in my 1500 sq. ft. house is less than $50 (yes fifty) a month. We have all energy star appliances and light blubs. We have a gas dryer so that cuts down that cost also. When I lived in an apartment with electic heat, my roommate and I couldn't get our bill any lower than $60ish during the spring/fall in our 1050 sq. ft apartment.
As for cutting costs..
Turn down the heat! We keep our downstairs thermostat at 62 and upstairs at 60. I turn the heat up to 64-65 downstairs when I'm home and I might turn the upstairs up to 62 around bedtime. Keeping your heat up when you're not home is a complete waste of money.
If each room has a seperate heat control, keep one on during the day on a low setting then turn up the room you'll be in when you get home.
The other option is to talk to your electic company and see if you can be put on a fixed budget plan so that you're average costs are divided out over the year. We're doing this with our gas bill.
Unfortunately, being in an apartment, especially in a complex, there isn't much you can do. It sucks, I've been there.
I didn't read all the responses- so forgive me if someone mentioned this. But you can buy this thin plastic sheeting that you put over the windows and heat it with your hairdryer to seal it into the frame. It stops all the drafts. And then in the spring it peels off easily. We used to use that when we lived in an old drafty house- it might help. You can get it at Home Depot.
If you have electric heat, that is really the bulk of it and there really isnt much you can do except turn down the heat. Unfortunately electric heat is the most inefficient.... literally like a giant blow dryer. We have the same problem with our upstairs being electric heat - we keep the thermostat at 50 and just suffer for a few minutes while we warm up in bed, and spend the rest of our time downstairs where we have slightly more efficient oil heating the space.
Most people have recommended turning down the heat - we also do this. Just keep a nice thick pair of slippers and sweats to wear around the house and it's perfectly comfortable.
Also, I turn the "heat dry" feature off on our dishwasher (if you have one) to save on energy costs. And never run your dishwasher half full.
I also usually wash all of our clothes in cold water unless they are excessively sweaty/smelly (gym attire). Less harsh on the fabric, too, so it's a win-win.
Turn your computers completely off when they're not in use, don't just leave them hibernating. Unplug any small appliances in the kitchen when not in use.
You also might be getting drafts in from doors that lead outside. You might consider purchasing a few draft blockers to help keep the chilly air from coming in underneath.
Follow the motto: if you aren't using it, keep it unplugged. There's such thing as 'vampire voltage' that uses energy even if something is turned off. Also, I don't know if this is true or not, but when I had an actual thermostat (before moving to NYC where it's super rare) my energy company told me that turning the heat or ac totally off when you leave then back on when you come home is actually a huge energy suck since it requires more energy to start back up again every day than to run at multiple temps throughout the day.
Now we have radiator heat, so I can't even turn the thermostat up or down but we try to conserve in other ways like always turning off the lights and using energy efficient bulbs. We also use the dishwasher conservatively and don't have the fridge on too cold a temp.
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I am floored over my electric bill in my apartment and I really don't know what to do. This is my first apartment with electric heat so I know that adds to a bill. With energy saver light bulbs, plastic on the windows to keep heat in, I dont know what else I can do. The heat is set to 69.
We do have two att cable boxes which I'm guessing is on all the time and just had our refridgerator replaced because it was running all the time. I know its only an apartment so I can't structurally fix anything but does anyone have any suggestions on how to save energy and lower my bill?