I cut my electric bill by HALF! here's how....

[RandyR]

My electric bill for the past few yrs at the salon has been running $1400 to $1600 per month peak, $1000 to $1200 slow season.
It just seems to rise every year just a little, and the electric company seems to always hike their rates at least 3 to 5% per year.
We constantly have door to door solicitors selling everything from stuffed animals and cheap perfume to dead bonsai trees and greeting cards. Included with them have been the solicitors pushing their own brand of electricity, attempting to entice us to their side to enjoy the savings of "up to 10%" on our monthly electric bill. Well usually they get the boot before they can introduce themselves, but about five months ago on a slow morning we let one salesperson go thru the charade. I figured why not switch electric companies, i was frustrated with the bill anyway, so might as well. The company we switched to is called Green Mountain Energy. They generate their own power using "less-polluting sources like wind, water, solar, biomass, geothermal, and natural gas." OK...sounded good to us...where do we sign?? Long story short, our fist bill from GME was $895. I thought it was a mistake. Next month $908. I still cant believe it. Next month $905...and this is peak time! We were in the middle of a salon makeover and equipment upgrade so I swapped all of our incadescent ceiling can lights to compact flourescent bulbs (appox 36 bulbs). They are more expensive than even the quartz halogen bulbs I had in there, but last at least ten times longer and burn about 100 times cooler. Next electric bill was $728. I just got this month's bill and its $722.

FREE MONEY...I LOVE IT!!!
Hopefully this is more than just a regional Texas company. If you're interested go to:

http://www.greenmountain.com

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[ This Message was edited by: RandyR on 2004-08-10 12:59 ]

[engfant]

are you SURE that's the web site? It's just google sponsered links.

[geotanner]

thanx for tip I know for sure you are using less electic because of the bulb switch I use 15 - 20 watt flourescent bulbs in everything at home when I moved in there were 20 - 75 watt incadescent bulbs that I switched. Do the math and thats at home at salon lights are on all day all of them. They even make low watt flood lights "watts are small but they add up"

[gripmarketing]

Good move Randy.

[RandyR]

SORRY FOR THE BAD LINK!! its www.greenmountain.com

[RandyR]

The newest technology is LED lights, an array of 30 to 60 leds that emit extrememly cool light at a FRACTION of the power consumption of even compact flourescents. You can replace a 40 watt incandescent bulb with an led fixture of comparable light output but use only 2 to 3 watts of electricity! There still a little pricey, about $36 each but prices WILL come down.

[tropicgirl]

I have a friend who is in the electrical business and he said changing out all of my florescent bulbs to a different type would be much less inexpensive in the long run as far as electricity goes. I wasnt sure if I should believe that, but I think I'll give it a try! I thought my 450 dollar a month bill was bad!!

[chile]

Here's another tip to cut your electric bill in half or more!! My heating and cooling man put an economizer on my air conditioning units. Basically they use the outside air whenever the temperuture is below 50 degrees, which is most of the busy season in Michigan. The economizer shuts down the compressor and draws outside air using only the fan motor. Ask your HVAC man! It was incredible how much savings I saw.

[RandyR]

Chile, how much did your economizer cost and what size is your cooling unit?

[Brandy1]

We use green mountain at our salon. They are a great company. Anybody have any other tips to save on electric?