A Good Read...

about saving money on your energy bill each year, can be found in this article at Walletpop.

Even though my father was in the Air Force, and we lived in base housing and didn't get an engery bill per se, I was still the light police. I made it my mission to turn off all the lights. I felt like I was doing MY part for the government. It's no surprize that I continue to be the energy police today in my own home.

I've tried, when Chuck isn't home (he likes it COLD in summer and HOT in winter, something about the extremes of temperature on the water as a boat captain) to keep our air conditioning at 76-78 degrees on the downstairs unit, and about 80-82 on the upstairs unit. The one exception is when we are sleeping, I'll lower the air to 71-72. In the winter I keep it at 62-65 degrees on both units, all the time.

I've also cut out the amount of lights I use. It may sound funny, but I shower with no lights. We have a window in our bathroom that provides sufficient light, so I'm not in the dark (at least when I shower, I may be "in the dark" in other ways.)

I was pleased to find that some of the ways I'm cutting back were recommended by the professionals in this article. There are still ways I can cut back. Excuse me while I go turn my hot water heater down to 120 degrees.