saving on utility bills

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21

Re: saving on utility bills

experts are not the one paying our water bill. They can go to hell. :snooty:

22

Re: saving on utility bills

lol. agricultural countries usually irrigate water in night.

23

Re: saving on utility bills

  • installing water conversation devices on faucets, showers, and toilets.
  • In winter, heat should be max of 68 during the day and 60-64 for night...I used to maintain it like that even when I didnt have to pay for heating.
  • In summer, cross ventilation on a good day and AC on a hot n humid day while keeping all doors and windows closed. (I cant even begin to explain how many times I have seen AC running with all windows open which takes forever for the room to cool down) and probably a window fan during the night time? sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
  • Energy saver bulbs? I dont follow that one because we like white light and don't care about the watts but again its not like a bulb will drill a hole in our wallet!
24

Re: saving on utility bills

What in the world?!! Who does that?!

25

Re: saving on utility bills

umm a few desis that I know of.. and sometimes even my mom (but she is excused because she forgets :D)

26

Re: saving on utility bills

Lol…ok that’s weird…because even since bachpan I’ve always known that u close the windows and stuff to turn on AC…in fact I have never known a single person who does that.

Heating on teh other hand, when I was a teenager I’d get really hot and open the window in my room. Nevermind the heat was on so it was probably going to waste… but my parents never daant’ed me for that :@: :hehe:

27

Re: saving on utility bills

You are right, they do it at night because they use canal system where the water goes into the roots of their crop and does not end up on the stems and leaves of their crops , that is where fungal diseases start from.
From TLC:
Avoid watering disease-susceptible plants at night. If water sits on plant foliage for hours, it can encourage fungal diseases to attack leaves, buds, flowers, and fruit. Plants susceptible to leaf spots, fruit rots, and flower blights are best watered in the morning, when the warming sun will quickly dry the leaves and discourage fungus development.

28

Re: saving on utility bills

I am not a big fan of energy saver bulbs. First of all the same watt bulb does not give enough light as a regular bulb. Then the price is too high and that off sets any saving that you might experience in your bill.

29

Re: saving on utility bills

And the new breed of those bulbs do not last long enough. :bummer: I bought some 11 years ago , they are still going and the new ones I bought when I bought this house they go bad pretty fast. I do not know what gives .

30

Re: saving on utility bills

Incorrect. The energy savers are not the same wattage as traditional incandescent bulbs. That is the whole purpose of energy savers, they run on lower wattage and that is why they cannot match the 'brightness' of traditional bulbs. Also, the prices will definitely reflect on your bill over time. True story.

31

Re: saving on utility bills

What is your take on them frying up faster then they should specially the compact ones.

32

Re: saving on utility bills

I feel that American’s don’t understand energy saving bulbs. I always hear negative and incorrect things about them.

They use about 20% off the wattage of incandescent to give out the same amount of light and here at least, they are packaged to show the equivalent.
Philips - United Kingdom … they have a table under the energy saver facts tab.

The only downside is that they take a few mins to reach full brightness.

An incandescent lasts about a year or two. Energy saving bulbs last about 10 years. So the purchase cost is about even. So you are saving on your lighting electricity bill by 80%.

33

Re: saving on utility bills

I can only assume there is a problem with the particular brand. Energy-saver bulbs are virtually guaranteed to last longer than traditional bulbs so I don’t know what to make of your personal experience other than you should try one of the bigger/better brands out there.

Word!

34

Re: saving on utility bills

Haan ji, we americans are jahil japat and cannot match the intellect of you UK people. Bus allah ne aisa hee banaya diya he hum ko ..

BTW, I agree with Mirch that they dont last for 10 years, so purchase cost is not even .. and dont forget that energy savers are also made of glass, so if you knock your lamp off the table, it will break the bulb as easily ...

in nutshell
1. They dont last as long as their marketing department claims.
2. they are not accident proof
3. they are not as bright as incandescent ones ..

these cons outweigh the only pro that is long term saving on bill.

35

Re: saving on utility bills

What can be a better brand than GE. I bought some by Lights of America 11 years ago they are still going , but they are bigger and bulkier than the traditional light bulbs. The GE brand compact ones are frying very fast. I have not seen Lights of America brand in this city. Incidentally Lights of America is owned and operated by a Pakistani family.

36

Re: saving on utility bills

  1. They are virtually guaranteed to last longer. Forget marketing departments, look at real world research/testing.
  2. They are about as much accident proof as incandescent bulbs so your point is moot.
  3. They are not as bright but even throwing together two energy savers will result in more saving.

Energy savers are better in the long run and the only con would be they are less bright. But that is also a problem of people who cannot get used immediately to the 'lower' luminescence of energy-saver bulbs. Given time, everyone adjusts and hey, even if you don't want to you can just add two energy savers!

So your point about cons outweighing the pros is well, pointless.

37

Re: saving on utility bills

There are better CFL brands than GE but I have never heard of such poor performance by GE nor can I, after a quick Google search, confirm the frequency of your experience with GE CFL's failing. I don't quite know what to make of it but perhaps you can try one of the better rated models? Philips or N:Vision perhaps?

38

Re: saving on utility bills

You said it, not me.

The understanding is not there because as a society, you do not want to understand. The rest of the world is trying to save energy and/or look to renewables but you guys are quite content to live in the present and drive around in your gas guzzling cars.

39

Re: saving on utility bills

dudette, you guys drive golf carts in the name of family cars in UK, not because you love to save energy, but because a hummer cannot pass through your teeny streets without having both sides scratched at the same time ..

baray aa’ay hain hamari hummer kee buraa’ee kerne walay .. :snooty:

40

Re: saving on utility bills

You shouldn’t brag about Hummers, they are some of the worst cars ever. Sitting in a bath-tub going ‘Vroom! Vroom!’ is more fun than driving a Hummer.

The H1 does not count because it was designed as a military solution and is therefore badass.