Loading ...Unplugging to Save Money
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I was recently talking to a friend who eagerly informed me that her family had lowered their electric bill by $150 in one 
month by unplugging one item only.
Impressed, I had to know what it was so here is her story on how she did it.
Their utility bill had been around $300 a month and it was way out hand. Because of this, she had become a utility cop, prowling the house looking for things that were using electricity when not in use. Her kids and spouse were doing a great job of keeping lights and other pieces of electricity off when not in use, but still the high electric bills would come in the mail.
Finally they called the utility company to see if they could get an audit done on their home to see where the problem was located and get it corrected, but the company didn’t do that and suggested they just power off different things in the house and watch the meter dial when plugging items back in to see if one item or another causes a spike. But they didn’t want to do that, so they had a friend who worked for another energy company come out and check it out because these $300 bills were eating into their budget and they needed it fixed quickly. When the auditor showed up, he started in the basement and noticed after checking a couple of items that they had a dehumidifier clicking on and off automatically and determined that this was their culprit.
Since they live in Minnesota and winters are dryer than summers, they didn’t need the de-humidifier and unplugged it. The next bill they got was 151.00 less than the previous bill, and all they had done was unplug the de-humidifier!
In her words,
“Our best guess is that it saved us about $150 by unplugging it. That was what the electrician estimated it would save us when we unplugged it, but the number was so outrageous we really didn’t believe it until we saw it. “
So a word to the wise. I might suggest that you check those items in your home that click on and off throughout the day and try unplugging them for a while, until you need them, and see how that affects your energy bill.
One item to consider in this is that the de-humidifier was an old, non-energy efficient model and when the summer does come, they will look into getting a more energy efficient model. She also added that they are getting a wattage reader to check the rest of their items plugged in around the house.
additional reading:
7 ways to save on electricity
Humidifiers are a necessity during the warmer months but they aren’t really needed during cold weather. Getting a newer one should save a lot of money. Most now come with a built-in hygrometer and will turn themselves off when the humidity drops below a certain level.
November 29th, 2007 at 1:09 pmI cannot believe a de-humidifier would run the bill this high. Luckily my electric bill is low, but if it rises I will remember to investigate.
November 29th, 2007 at 2:01 pm10K~
November 29th, 2007 at 2:19 pmShe said it was an older one that her father had for awhile, so those non-energy star ones can eat through money faster that anything.
I’m the culprit who unplugged my dehumidifier. 10K–I can tell you, quite honestly, that I was irritated (to say the least) when the electrician told us it was the dehumidifier. It had been plugged in, not causing problems for at least 10 years–why should it all of a sudden be a problem now? I was already looking into different agencies/electricians who might come to my area for a “real” audit.
That was the ONLY thing we did–unplug the unit. I was waiting for the next bill, I admit (sheepishly), to tell my other half “I told you that wasn’t it.” A little butter helped those words slide down my throat a little easier.
November 29th, 2007 at 2:52 pmWe live in MN, too. Unfortunately, our house is such so that we have to use a dehumidifier in summer, and a humidifier in winter, just to be comfortable and to not wake up with nosebleeds in the winter.
December 1st, 2007 at 9:26 ami’m trying to come up with something else to unplug, but we pretty much use all of our electronics a lot. We have a power strip for our tv and dvd players, etc. so we turn that off before bed, but i can’t think of much else to do to save on electricity. i was thinking we could move the refrigerator out to the garage, and we wouldn’t have to keep it plugged in, but the temps would go up and down, and i’m pretty sure our stuff would freeze and unfreeze too often to be worth it.
Depending on your energy bill, Jessica, it might be worthwhile to make sure your humidifier and dehumidifier are newer and very energy efficient.
December 1st, 2007 at 10:36 amThey are new. We use them so often, actually, we have to rebuy new ones about every year, but of course just past the manufacturer’s warranty. However, we buy them at outlet stores and so even though they don’t offer extended warranties, they are generally 60-70% less expensive than buying them even at walmart, so it kind of evens out.
December 1st, 2007 at 12:35 pmI started unplugging all the electronics and appliances when I’m not using them. Anything that I think will draw electricity because it has a little light on (my dvd player) or shows the time (my microwave) gets unplugged until I need it. The savings hasn’t been huge, but every little bit counts.
December 3rd, 2007 at 7:34 amI really need to go around my house and unplug things as well. Some things I have to leave plugged in like our TV and Nintendo Wii because that’s not really my say, but I think I can at least unplug our barely used DVD player and the alarm clock in the guest bedroom. I suppose it’s not a huge drain, but I’m sure if everyone makes little changes like this it adds up to real improvements in the amount of energy we use.
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:31 pmJust an fyi. There is a difference in the electrical draw of a humidifier, and a dehumidifier.
A de-humidifier works like a refridgerator, or air conditioner. It uses a compressor (high energy use) to do the work.
A humidifier can use a few different technologies to get moister into the air. humidifiers do not use as much energy to do their job.
Putting moisture in the air is easier (less energy)
You can think of it like this. It takes less energy to drop dirt on the floor than to vacuum it up.
December 16th, 2007 at 9:00 pmtechiesmith68~
December 17th, 2007 at 6:44 amThat is interesting to learn and a good way to remember, thanks!
Cell phone chargers are energy thieves too; unplug them from the wall when you’re not actively charging. Also, your coffee maker and Ipod chargers use energy when they are plugged in.
December 21st, 2007 at 2:04 pmAmy -
December 21st, 2007 at 3:45 pmYou are correct, I unplug the cell phone and the shredder
I recently got a ‘Kill-A-Watt’ from ThinkGeek that you can plug a device in to and it tells you how much power it is using. I’d suspect that the dehumidifier is shorting out somehow and drawing a lot more power than it should have
Kill-A-Watt
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:53 pmWow, $150 per month for one thing. That is… wow. Time to sell the dehumidifier!
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:51 pmWe have our dehumidifier in our laundry room, where I line-dry clothes, so feel that I need the dehumidifier there. However, I’m going to try unplugging it and see if there is any difference in our usage, also. Since the laundry room door is usually open, any additional humidity should be welcome, at least in this colder weather (We live in Iowa). Thanks for the tip, Dawn (and Stacey)!
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:51 am