Red, purple and blue towels flap in the breeze as Ellen Ferlazzo of Pleasanton, Calif., pins them on her clothesline — one of many low-cost, low-tech to no-tech strategies she uses to save money and cut carbon emissions.
“When I started using a clothesline instead of the dryer, it cut my electricity bill in half,” said Ferlazzo, a single mother of two who makes her living as a software designer and author of recipe site CheapCooking.com. “My children swim, so we use a lot of towels.”
Being a computer geek, Ferlazzo went online to see how much money she could save by doing an end run around the dryer. She visited Pacific Gas & Electric’s site, www.pge.com, went to the “Your Home” section and checked out energy-saving resources. “There are calculators that show how much you can save and how much energy various appliances use.”
She also saved a boatload of energy by jettisoning an ancient freezer.
“A neighbor was moving and gave it to me. But when I got the next bill, it went up $20 to $25 a month. I knew the freezer was old and inefficient, but when I saw the bill, it was like, ‘Oh, my God,'” Ferlazzo said.
Here are some similar tips from Ferlazzo and other energy mavens.
Through one of its rebate programs, PG&E not only hauled off the energy hog but sent Ferlazzo a check for $35 to boot. “I would have paid them $35 to take it away,” she said. Though old, inefficient freezers and refrigerators suck a lot of energy, the major drain for many households is actually the air conditioner. To keep air conditioning costs down, keep the thermostat up — or at least higher. Set the thermostat to 78 degrees when you’re home and 85 degrees when you’re away, Graillat suggested.
Ferlazzo barbecues often during the summer to keep the heat outside the house. Or you can use your microwave; it uses two-thirds less energy and doesn’t heat up the house.
Another low-tech electricity saver: Kill your energy vampires. What’s an energy vampire? Cell phone and other appliance chargers are the chief culprits. There’s a reason those bad boys feel warm even when they’re not charging a phone: They’re still drawing current.
Another example is power strips for appliances. Jamie Delman of San Francisco said she turns off power strips when she’s not using them. In fact, any appliance with transformers or lights that stay lit even when off is continuing to use electricity.
Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to work from home as Ferlazzo does, “but you can ask about telecommuting one day a week,” she said.
And,. when you are behind the wheel, save money by taking it easy. All vehicles lose fuel economy above 55 miles per hour, Graillat said. “Driving 65 instead of 75 miles per hour reduces fuel costs by 13 percent, while driving 55 would save as much as 25 percent,” she said. Try to accelerate evenly, instead of pretending you’re Danica Patrick, Graillat suggested.
Air conditioning increases energy costs 13 percent to 21 percent. If it’s cool enough, use the flow-through ventilation instead of rolling down windows or running the AC.
For gas-saving pointers, Elaine Richards of Berkeley, Calif., visits hypermiler Web sites such as www.hypermiling .c om. Hypermilers are folks who are fanatical about saving gas. While it’s important to vet their tips for safety, there’s some good information on the sites.
If you’re really willing to go low-tech, you might want to consider going back to the land, so to speak.
“Grow your own fruits and vegetables,” said Gail Morrison of Richmond, Calif., whose back-yard garden is legendary in her neighborhood. “It saves the fuel that would have been used to transport your food to the grocery store from who knows where, and the fuel you would have to expend to go to the store and buy them.”
Graillat said more people are aware of the things they can do to save money and energy. But, she said, “it’s difficult to say if more people are doing them.”
Armed with these tips, you can save up to 30 percent of your transportation and home energy costs, according to the California Energy Commission. So arise, unplug and conquer.
