Anonymous wrote:Our electricity bill (NOVA) has gone through the roof. We have kids but we are pretty strict in turning off lights and things. Now my husband is saying we have to start unplugging all our appliances (Not the Fridge) and other electric things to save money. I leave my lights plugged in, my charger, my computer. Will it really save that much electricity to unplug when we aren't using?

Live in NOVA as well. 2,300 Sq Ft home, August bill was under $80. Keep thermostat at 70 all summer long. Distribution charges and taxes and fees are 40% of the bill. Even if I got 10% savings from unplugging things it would only be $5 a month. Not worth the effort.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your husband is a weirdo

+1

Taxes, fees, scholarship charges, etc. are over 70% of a utility bill. Some are fixed, some are multipliers on usage.

This is a big factor. The creeping socialism charges. Used to be the electric bill was a flat $4.95 service fee and any additional KW usage. If you didn't use any electricty, your bill was simply $4.95. Now there are taxes, fees, more taxes, more fees, service fees, service taxes,. more taxes.

It's gotten out of hand. 70-80% of a person's gross income is spent on some form of taxes, fees, licenses, etc. now.

You're nuts and/or very bad at math.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your husband is a weirdo

+1

Taxes, fees, scholarship charges, etc. are over 70% of a utility bill. Some are fixed, some are multipliers on usage.

This is a big factor. The creeping socialism charges. Used to be the electric bill was a flat $4.95 service fee and any additional KW usage. If you didn't use any electricty, your bill was simply $4.95. Now there are taxes, fees, more taxes, more fees, service fees, service taxes,. more taxes.

It's gotten out of hand. 70-80% of a person's gross income is spent on some form of taxes, fees, licenses, etc. now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You won't see a major impact on your electricity bill from unplugging things. Assuming your using modern efficiency light bulbs you also won't see much impact from turning off the lights more. Biggest bang for your buck is changing your AC/heat use, major appliances and electric car charging. But honestly I don't think you're going to be able to make a huge dent in your bill.

This.

My husband is an electrical engineer and actually works on appliance efficiency. He says your appliances are not drawing power when they are not turned on. It's a switch and it's off. Unplugging doesn't matter. He says the bolded is correct.

I am an electrical engineer. He's right depending on the appliance. It you have electronic controls, the appliance is drawing a tiny amount of power watching for button presses.

Besides changing your thermostat, go into your attic and stick a few more inches of insulation up there. Whatever you had initially has probably compressed or was 1960s/1970s code compliant, i.e., practically nothing.

+1 Such great advice! We live in a 2300 sq foot brick home built in the 50s by a well regarded builder. We could not believe the difference in our bills after adding more insulation in the attic. We save about $250 - 300 dollars every month on our utility bills.

yes, you should unplug things that you aren't actively using...some of those are a bigger pain than others. But the bigger sources are heating and cooling - so do your best to move the thermostat and keep your hot or cold air inside.

Anonymous wrote:Your husband is a weirdo

+1

Taxes, fees, scholarship charges, etc. are over 70% of a utility bill. Some are fixed, some are multipliers on usage.

Anonymous wrote:Probably the biggest way to use less electricity is to have a smaller house in the first place.

This is actual helpful advice.

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a bad idea. It’s actually a very good idea and I might take your husband‘s lead on this in my home. Some of these are vampire electronics, and they’re sucking electricity whether or not you’re using them.

I am adamant about turning off any light I’m not using and my usage seems to be low, but my electric electricity bill keeps increasing. This is a good next step.

This is nonsense.

Never

Anonymous wrote:I read that unplugging will save you at most $100-200 over a year. Which isn’t nothing, but I’m guessing OP’s husband wants to save $100 a month, not per year. You can ask your power company to come in and do a survey to see where you are wasting power. And you can also adjust your lifestyle to use power at off peak times. We have solar and 2 EV’s, so we try to charge the cars during the day, as well as the dishwasher and washer/dryer. In the winter, when daylight is more scarce, we try to run everything at night when price per kWh is lower. We average $40/month in the summer and $110/month in the winter for a large 6000 sqft house. We also live in a really cold climate, and radiant heating saves us a lot of money.

I don't know where you read such nonsense but the savings are pennys, not dollars. You are mostly unplugging things that don't draw any power and a few that use a few cents worth of power a month. You won't see any difference in your electrical bill.

Anonymous wrote:Put your refrigerator on a separate circuit and then just flip all your other breakers when you go to bed.

This. Or put appliances on power strips with automatic timers that shut off during non usuage hours. That way one doesn't have to even think about it.

The thread glows. It's not the electric useage, which is the distraction, it's the spy tech.

Put your refrigerator on a separate circuit and then just flip all your other breakers when you go to bed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You won't see a major impact on your electricity bill from unplugging things. Assuming your using modern efficiency light bulbs you also won't see much impact from turning off the lights more. Biggest bang for your buck is changing your AC/heat use, major appliances and electric car charging. But honestly I don't think you're going to be able to make a huge dent in your bill.

This.

My husband is an electrical engineer and actually works on appliance efficiency. He says your appliances are not drawing power when they are not turned on. It's a switch and it's off. Unplugging doesn't matter. He says the bolded is correct.

I am an electrical engineer. He's right depending on the appliance. It you have electronic controls, the appliance is drawing a tiny amount of power watching for button presses.

Besides changing your thermostat, go into your attic and stick a few more inches of insulation up there. Whatever you had initially has probably compressed or was 1960s/1970s code compliant, i.e., practically nothing.

I read that unplugging will save you at most $100-200 over a year. Which isn’t nothing, but I’m guessing OP’s husband wants to save $100 a month, not per year. You can ask your power company to come in and do a survey to see where you are wasting power. And you can also adjust your lifestyle to use power at off peak times. We have solar and 2 EV’s, so we try to charge the cars during the day, as well as the dishwasher and washer/dryer. In the winter, when daylight is more scarce, we try to run everything at night when price per kWh is lower. We average $40/month in the summer and $110/month in the winter for a large 6000 sqft house. We also live in a really cold climate, and radiant heating saves us a lot of money.