CFL Lights - What's the Big Deal?

Everyone talks about the CFL bulbs.  What's the benefiit?  The average household has 30 light fixtures.  Lighting makes up 20% of the average electric bill. 

CFL bulbs are more expensive--especially when buying one or two.  The multipacks are a much better deal.  They even make globe versions for bathroom lighting and flood light versions.  The technology has come a long way. There is still the matter of disposal, since they contain mercury.

In my case, I had roughly 28 to replace.  I did them gradually, with eight packs.  Typiocally, you can get 8 for $10 or so at most stores.  If you're lazy, you can order them on Amazon, with free shipping (orders over $25).

The bathroom lights were the biggest deal--those were roughly $3 a piece.

If you swap all 30 bulbs, assuming they're 60 watt, with 13 watt CFL's, your savings would be as follows:

You can save as much as $188 per year this way.

Sincerely,

The Frugal Maestro

Disclaimer

Insulating Hot Water Pipes

Hot water flows from our hot water heaters to our faucets and shower heads.  Each inch of uninsulated pipe is a slight loss of heat.  Insulating your hot water pipes could raise your hot water temp as much as 4 degrees, allowing you to lower the temperature setting on your hot water heater.  In addition, this can reduce the amount of water that you let flow as you wait for it to heat up.

You can buy a number of types of insulation including tape strips, fiberglass insulation, or styrofoam.  Measure the amount of exposed pipe (pipe you can get at), and the diameter of each section.  Go to a place like Lowes or Home Depot, or buy online HERE.

Insulating your hot water pipes reduces heat loss and can raise water temperature 2ºF–4ºF hotter than uninsulated pipes can deliver, allowing for a lower water temperature setting. You also won't have to wait as long for hot water when you turn on a faucet or showerhead, which helps conserve water.

Insulate all accessible hot water pipes, especially within 3 feet of the water heater. It's also a good idea to insulate the cold water inlet pipes for the first 3 feet. Use quality pipe insulation wrap, or neatly tape strips of fiberglass insulation around the pipes. Pipe sleeves made with polyethylene or neoprene foam are the most common.  Match the pipe size to the inner diameter size of the foam.  Use tie straps to close the foam over the pipe.

On gas water heaters, keep insulation at least 6 inches from the flue. If pipes are within 8 inches of the flue, your safest choice is to use fiberglass pipe-wrap (at least 1-inch thick) without a facing. You can use either wire or aluminum foil tape to secure it to the pipe.

More info can be found at: http://www.energysavers.gov/

They say that every 10 degree water temperature drop saves up to 5 percent of your energy bill.  By this math, a 4 degree reduction could equate to a 2% reduction in energy cost.  This may not seem like much, but a household with the following heating bills
would save some money:

In this example, you save $48 per year.

Sincerely,

The Frugal Maestro

Disclaimer

 

Does Tire Pressure Improve Fuel Economy

Tire Pressure is always a moving target.  Sometimes they check it when you're getting your oil changed, sometimes they don't.  Half the time, the air filler gizmo at the gas station is broken, or takes quarters and I'm fresh out of change.  I'll fill them next time through.  Days turn into weeks.  Weeks into months.  You take a train track too hard here, a pot hole there.  Cold temps, hot temps.  Sometimes, your tire pressure is 10 pounds below.

According to fueleconomy.gov, every one psi drop in all four tires is worth 0.3 percent.  So tires that are 10 psi low equates to a 3 percent fuel economy degradation.

Using our 1000 mile per month, 25 miles per gallon, $3 gallon of gas model, you could save as much as $43.20.  Plus, properly filled and rotated tires last longer.

Sincerely,

The Frugal Maestro

Disclaimer

Does Changing Your Air Filter Really Help Fuel Economy

I change my air filter at the intervals specified in my owners' manual.

Whenever I'm getting my oil changed, the mechanic always tries to upsell me on an airfilter.  First of all, he charges $25 for an air filter I can buy at Sears or Autozone for $7.  I can get it for as low as $4.50 on Amazon.   It takes two minutes to change.

Secondly, he claims that changing your air filter helps your fuel economy.  I've been hearing this for years from people of all walks of life--mechanics, automotive insiders, clergymen--you name it.

A recent study at fueleconomy.gov suggests that for vehicles with engines built after ~1980, an unclogged air filter really does not help with fuel economy, but can help with acceleration time.  Tests suggest that replacing a clogged air filter on an older car with a carbureted engine may improve fuel economy 2 to 6 percent under normal replacement conditions or up to 14 percent if the filter is so clogged that it significantly affects drivability.

Typicacally, city drivers are supposed to replace their air filter every 15,000 miles (more frequently if you're frequently on dirt roads).  If you get your oil changed every 3000 miles, this means every fifth oil change--not every other oil change as the pushy mechanic suggests,

If you drive 1000 miles a month, that's once every 15 months, and again, replace it yourself according to the instuctions in the owners' manual.

If your mechanic is as pushy as mine, and you drive 1000 miles a month, you could save as much as $44 per year.

Sincerely,

The Frugal Maestro

Disclaimer

Thermostat

In colder climates, every year, we're faced with jaw dropping heating bills.  Everyone has a different situation: different living space, different climate, different night-time lows outside, and different home efficiency.

Let's take the case of a family of four, who lives in the Midwest, where it gets mighty cold  from mid November to Mid-March.  Let's say their bill for last January was $400, with the November, December, February and March bills slightly less.  Let's say they keep their house at a comfortable 68F in the winter months, 24 hours a day.

First step: buy a programmable thermostat.  They sell these at Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, etc.  You can also buy one at Amazon, for anywhere between $25 and $100.  The programmable thermostat allows you to lower the temp at night and when everyone is at work.

A common figure that energy experts use is 2.5 percent energy savings per degree.  So in the case of a family who is gone for eight hours during the day, and sleeps eight hours at night, the savings could be as follows:

1) Lower the temp from 70F to 68F when everyone is home.
2) Lower temp from 70F to 64F when everyone is asleep or at work/school.

You could save as much as $175/year by following this type of plan.

Sincerely,

The Frugal Maestro

Disclaimer

Christmas Lights: LED versus Standard Bulbs

When you're decorating your house this holiday season, take into consideration how much energy your decorative lights consume.

Traditional CF7 bulbs use 6 watts per bulb, so a strand of 50 uses 300 watts.  Let's say you use 300 bulbs on your exterior.  Using simple math, at let's say 9 cents per kilowatt hour, six hours per day, for 40 days, that comes to almost $39 in energy over the holiday season.

LED bulbs use 4 watts per 50 light strand.  The same math yields just over 50 cents, using LED bulbs.

In addition, LED bulbs, while more expensive,  last much, much longer, burn cooler (safer). and go on sale at most stores on December 26th.

That's a savings of up to $38 a year.

Sincerely,

The Frugal Maestro

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