Saving energy for renters
If you're renting an apartment or house, what are you doing to conserve energy and save money on your utility bills? You can't very well install new windows, after all.
The EnergyStar site offers suggestions on the energystar.gov site. These include ideas that work well for homeowners, too --- turn down the thermostat if you can control it, closing the shades in the summer and opening them in the winter and screwing in compact fluorescent light bulbs.
However, using only cold water in the washing machine and limiting dryer use won't bring much relief to tenants who schelp their clothes to a laundromat, but there are other ways to conserve.
Here's a tip I'd never heard before but makes so much sense: if you have a room air conditioner and can't remove it in the winter, wrap it in plastic sheeting and seal it with duct tape to keep drafts out. Or you could buy a ready-made version if your decorating motif is not inspired by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
And be sure to rid your home of an infestation of energy vampires!
Check out this video on HowStuffWorks.com about how appliances draw power even when turned off.
The dudes used a device called a Kill-a-Watt to measure how much electricity televisions and mobile phone chargers drain when they're not in use but still plugged in.
Your TV is a big offender. Remember how back in the day how it used to take more than a few seconds for the screen to warm up and materialize? Now they seem to snap to attention as soon as you hit the clicker ... because they're on standby!
So, consider plugging your appliances into a surge protector so you can cut off the flow of electricity at the touch of a button.
It might not be a huge amount --- the TV only used 0.3 kilowatt-hours during the video recording --- but over time it adds up. And hey, you could use a few dollars to buy a compact fluorescent light bulb.
Any other ideas for folks who can't do major renovations?
A native of Vietnam, 