Save Money On Your Electric Bill by Using a Block Heater Timer

 This is my first time out of University and my first time not paying my living expenses upfront. So I am only realising now expensive utilities such as power, natural gas, and water actually are.  So four months later once i got settled into my place I looked at each bill one day and realised that I could probably cut back a bit to lower the cost of my utility bills. So I'm going to start with the electricity bill and I will post links to my other hubs for other utilities.

Energy companies often promote energy savings devices to their customers, and I thought this was a bit backwards because they would decrease their business. However the less energy the sell in their province/state, the more they can sell to other pronvices or states at a higher profit. If its time to replace your furnace look for rebates offered by energy companies to make sure you get a nice discount on your furnace and your future electric bill savings.

Another saving tip would be light bulbs. I looked at getting energy efficient light bulbs and found that they are pretty pricy. But if your home has 30-40 light bulbs than this might be a good investment because the energy savings can add up. I only have 8 - 10 bulbs that i use regulary so I don't notice that much. Another investment that I have to make yet is an automated thermostat. They range in price from $30 -$100 but it allows you to set the temperture in your home at different times of the day. You can lower the temperature while you sleep or while you are gone for work and automatically raise it for when you are home. I am not sure if changing your temperature drastically is a good idea because the heater works harder to rebuild your normal temperature. However if you fluxuate the temperature a few degrees every day it can save you a lot of money down the road.

Many things in your kitchen consume enery at a high level, and there are many things you can do to reduce your electricity consumtion without making life difficult. I recieved a toaster oven as a gift 5 years ago and never used it until now. An oven can use a lot of electricity, and since I'm living by myself the toaster oven works just perfectly for meals. I usually cook 2 meals at once, than just reheat the second meal in the microwave the next night. If you don't like to use a toaster oven or if you're looking for a cheaper option, than i reccommend using a slow cooker (usually $30-$40). An oven uses around 3000 Watts, where as a slow cooker uses around 75, making it use a lot less electricity. I prefer the slow cooker becasue i can set it in the morning before work and let it run on low all day until i get home. After a long day at work supper is ready when I walk through the front door. Most recipes involving a 2-3 lbs beef roast calls for 10 hours in most cases. When you cook at a low heat for that long it causes your meat to basically fall apart. I rarely use a knife when i cook with a slow cooker.

The tips above are the easiest and save you the most money, depending on how your lifestyle is and how often you use the stove, it can save anywhere from $5-$10 there alone. below I'll throw some more tips that don't make too much of a difference, but it helps save money in the end.

- When boiling water, use an electric kettle or even the microwave, it is more efficient than firing up the stove.

- Ensure the seals on your fridge and stove are good, most of the time they are, but when there is severe frost build up it can effect the seal, causing your fridge/freezer to work harder.

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Electricity consumtion is based on Kilowatts per hour, so the higher the Watts in a device, the more it will draw. The biggest draw on your electric bill will be your electric stove, oven, and water heater. My rule of thumb is that if the device is intended to produce heat, than it will cost you. If any of the readers are Canadian, than you will understand what a block heater is and what it is used for. Block heaters are installed in your car to warm the coolant in to help start your car when it is cold out. I purchased a block heater timer and beleive it or not it payed for itself in just one month! Block heaters range in size and watts but mine is midrange at 600 watts. I leave for work at 7:30 Am and I get home at 5:30 PM, as soon as I get home from work I automatically plug in my car to ensure that it will start the next day. So my car is plugged in for 14 hours. My block heater uses .6 KW/hr and it costs $0.1086 per KW where I live. So at 14 hours it costs $0.91 each night to make sure my car starts in the morning. After getting my block heater timer I set it so that my block heater turns for 2 hours prior to me leaving to go to work. So I save $0.78 every night, which adds up to $23.46! For those of you who are wondering if my car is harder to start with it plugged in for only 2 horus, i can assure you it is the same. Blockheaters heat the coolent by 10 degrees celcius in the first hour, and 6 degrees for the second hour, and only 3 degrees after that. The coolent temperature plateaus after 4 hours of a block heater running and the biggest temperature increase being in the first 2 hours. 

These calculations are based on 14 hours per day, including weekends(when i leave it plugged in the entire time) so they will be a bit off. Either way, I am saving close to $20 a month by buying a $15 timer. 

In the living room and bed room there are ways to save money there as well on electricity, we'll start with the living room.  I'm going to be as practical as I can here because not many people are going to get rid of their 42 inch tv to get a 42 inch energy efficient tv. But there are still some simple tricks that won't change your way of life. 

- I'm betting that your TV, gaming system, satalite/cable box, and speaker system is plugged into a power bar. Energy companies say that electronics use up to 40% of their power while in standby mode. This is when your TV is off, but still plugged in. Its handy when you want to use the remote to start your tv but otherwise its drawing electricty.  One thing you can do is to turn off the power bar when you are not using the tv, but I usually forget. I have seen special powerbars that have timers on them that automatically shut off at night when you are asleep. There is even one that shuts off everything while your tv is in standby mode. This is a neat idea because lets say if you have a speaker system, gaming console, and satalite reciever all plugged in to a power bar. Your tv acts as the master, so when it is on, the power bar allows power to all of the componants that rely on the tv to work. When the Tv is off (standby mode) the componants shut off and don't have power running to them disabling standby mode.

-at your computer you can set your power settings on your monitor so it shuts off after 10 minutes of inactivity.  You can also do similiar things with your computer by allowing it to go into hibernation mode or in standby, or to shut it off completly when you're not using it. This reduces the power considerably.

- Christmas tree lights can draw quite a bit of power too, the LED lights are more expensive but they last longer and cost a lot less to operate. one string can save you up to 30 cents a month which might not seem like much, but when you have a pile of strings set up the cents start turning into dollars, if they don't pay for themselves in the first year they will by the second year.

- Unplug charging devices when they are not in use, such as phone or battery chargers. Battery chargers are a big drain especailly if you leave the battery in the charger. Depending on the type of battery this practice can also shorten its life span.

Many people don't bother to try and reduce their electricity bill because they think it might inconvience them and I was on that band wagon until i had to start paying the bills.  I am not the person that will live in the dark and eat cold food so i can minimize my bill, but I am open to ideas that can help cut costs. I prefer the tips that don't alter your routine and just require you to set up once, such as the power settings on a computer or the block heater timer.  The savings add up quite a bit and its also good practice to see where your hard earned dollars are going.

If you are looking to save money on your other utility bills take a look at my other hubs to save money on water/waste removal, natural gas, and your phone bill.