Last month, I received a very scary power bill in my inbox. Unusually high temps for June had made my bill absolutely skyrocket. The AC had run seemingly nonstop and my bill reflected it. Yesterday, I got the new one... I opened it with trepidation (especially after how much money I spent over the weekend!). I was actually very pleasantly surprised. My bill went down! That never happens in the month of July! Usually that is the highest bill of the entire year! The bill went from a high last month of 46 kw hours and $173.17 to 40 kw hours and $149.41. That is a reduction of $23.76! And as an aside, last year's bill for this same period reflected 44 kw hours --- so I reduced our consumption over last month AND last year!
I think several things contributed to these savings ----
1. We have actually had some rain in the past two weeks which have cooled things off in the afternoon a bit. Slightly cooler afternoons means the AC doesn't have to run as hard.
2. For the most part, I bumped up the thermostat 1 degree from where we had it set --- day and evening!
3. I was out of town for a few days, which means the AC wasn't running (I also made sure I unplugged or turned off power bars).
4. Most meals were cooked in the microwave or crockpot in order to keep from turning the oven on and heating up the entire house.
5. I haven't used the dryer since early June.
However, I am not content to rest on my laurels.With the announced 3% increase in power costs looming, I need to find a way to conserve even more! Especially since I know that come winter, the air drying won't be quite as easy of an option for me! For now though, I'm celebrating the fact that a conscientious effort to reduce energy costs resulted in REAL savings!
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