Hi friends....

I'm putting this in NC because I feel if we can list some legitimate ways to save $, then maybe a lot of our friends won't be forced to shut down crunching machines as we've seen lately due to escalating heating costs, gas prices, etc.

This is not meant to patronize or demean anyone--just want to put out my ideas to help others.

Here's what I have done in the past 2 years to reduce my costs:

1) Put Silverfoil on my Office and bedroom windows where the machines are. Reduces heat in the summer and minimizes heat loss in the winter. Also as I sleep in the mid-morning, it has the added benefit of reducing sunglare.

2) Put new windows in our basement. This reduced our heating bill to the point where we didn't have to pay for May at all.

Non-in-home methods:

1) Instead of paying $87/month for a full-service workout facility where I only used the weight room and my wife basically used the running track, I joined a place closer to my house that only costs $15/month for Nautilus only and my wife does daily walks around the neighborhood (a good half-mile).

2) Instead of having my brakes done at the dealers, I went to a local outlet of a national chain specializing in brakes/shocks. It's 15 minutes closer to my house and I paid $99 per axle for a total around $250 (rotated tires too) instead of paying almost $400 at the dealer.

Any other ideas??

---

Having lived in California now for almost 30 years, I have yet to own a dryer or an A/C.

Was living without A/C tough at first? Sure, but the choice was, feed us or the electric company. Still hold true today.

I was raised on living green and yes, the AARP has their sights on me.


Great thread Blurf.

---

Pluto will always be a planet to me.

Seti Ambassador
Not to late to order an Anni Shirt

I have installed 4 New dual pane widows w/argon gas in them that are vinyl retrofits, I did this even though they are more costly as aluminum transmits heat and someone I know who lives nearby doesn't get It, He says the one He would get which has an aluminum frame costs less, His would still allow heat to come inside the house and aren't EPA Energy Star certified, Mine don't allow heat in and are EPA Energy Star certified, So I'd rather spend some extra money to save money, the to save a little money on the purchase and see It in My bill. But then You get what You pay for. I still have 3 more to buy and have installed for $1013.22 total. AANR has their sights set on Me.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Rather than paying $10 for a bucket of golf balls at the local driving range, I hit balls in open fields and shag them myself for free. Savings $50 / week.

Rather than paying $10 for a bucket of golf balls at the local driving range, I hit balls in open fields and shag them myself for free. Savings $50 / week.

Ah... divided by a common language! Always better to shag for free... :-)

I wonder if anyone has done a graph of power consumption vs overclocking.
I guess one could save 20% by cutting max overclock by 5%, or something like that.

A good way to cut down on A/C would be to vent the PC fan outlet outside with the kind of tube used for tumble dryer exhaust.

Hopefully the newer processors will be much more economical to run even with insane overclocking.

Aluminium foil and bubble wrap on the windows is a great idea - also cavity wall and thick loft insulation is essential, to keep cool in summer and warm in winter for minimal energy consumption.

Anyone heard of a cold collector? I made one once... A big insulated shiny metal parabolic dish, at the bottom of a large cylinder made of styrofoam and open to the sky... Even on a summer night it can freeze water in a black container suspended at the focus of the dish.

The idea is that the ambient temperature of the night sky is something like -200C and you encourage an object to radiate heat to it by trying to isolate it from the environment... so this is one way to make ice almost for free!

Rather than paying $10 for a bucket of golf balls at the local driving range, I hit balls in open fields and shag them myself for free. Savings $50 / week.

Ah... divided by a common language! Always better to shag for free... :-)

I wonder if anyone has done a graph of power consumption vs overclocking.
I guess one could save 20% by cutting max overclock by 5%, or something like that.

A good way to cut down on A/C would be to vent the PC fan outlet outside with the kind of tube used for tumble dryer exhaust.

Hopefully the newer processors will be much more economical to run even with insane overclocking.

Aluminium foil and bubble wrap on the windows is a great idea - also cavity wall and thick loft insulation is essential, to keep cool in summer and warm in winter for minimal energy consumption.

Anyone heard of a cold collector? I made one once... A big insulated shiny metal parabolic dish, at the bottom of a large cylinder made of styrofoam and open to the sky... Even on a summer night it can freeze water in a black container suspended at the focus of the dish.

The idea is that the ambient temperature of the night sky is something like -200C and you encourage an object to radiate heat to it by trying to isolate it from the environment... so this is one way to make ice almost for free!

LOL, I could attach my hosts to a balloon, at 10Km height, it freezes at that altitude, only those cables . . . (Just a joke ;) )
Never heard off a cold collector, I know Peltier elements, wich can absorb heat, like a fridge. PELTIER cooling
Can you explain this further, it sounds promising . . .

What I did find out about OC'ing is, the hotter the CPU gets, the more power is used (by PSU) , that also gets too hot and therefore the efficiency drops. And it uses about 10% more Watts at 70C to 75C, then it does on 50 to 55C. And maybe worse, it DEstabelizes the whole system, too.

Measured on a Q6600, with a stock cooler at first, then replaced by a bigger/better one (forgot the name) and noticed the drop in temp. but also in power consumption.
On this host, power went down from 240W to 215Watt, with the same OC.
So better cooling also can save money. Unless, you want to heat your room/house with it, too ;)

The difference in using an opti app. is also 15 Watts on my Q6600.

---

Difficult here in the UK with ever increasing costs.
But I've found that 3 reductions help...

1: Reduce Heating Thermostat by 10 Degrees
2: Reduce Washing Machine Temp by 10 degrees
3: Reduce Hot water Temp by 5/10 degrees

They help keep costs to an acceptable level (for us anyway).

The local Conoco/Phillips/76 gas station offers a Mastercard that gives 4% back on gas purchased at participating stations- that's 16 cents at $4/gallon ( to a max rebate of $50/month)>>> free money that adds up to subsidizing the electric bill...
If you are fortunate enough, run your machines at work and get a write off on the power bill at least...

have a Victory garden.
plant vegetables you like to eat.
tomatoes..cucumbers..anything...
save alot of money on the grocery bill.
tomatoes here at stores and farmers market sell
for $2 a pound...i get at least three tomatoes a
day from the garden..for the price of the plants and
fertilizer..and some sweat. and i know these tomatoes
are safe to eat.

---

You can try to get better power supplies. There are now some 90% effienct power supplies. I replaced 6 older ones and have seen about an $80 a month drop in the power bill. So they will pay for themselves in about a year.

I also use the vent to the outside idea. I have my cruchers in a sort of desk rack. 3 tall, 3 wide. They all draw room air from the front and the heated air is pulled out from behind by 4 120mm fans mounted in the window frame behind the desk.

---

You can try to get better power supplies. There are now some 90% effienct power supplies. I replaced 6 older ones and have seen about an $80 a month drop in the power bill. So they will pay for themselves in about a year.

I also use the vent to the outside idea. I have my cruchers in a sort of desk rack. 3 tall, 3 wide. They all draw room air from the front and the heated air is pulled out from behind by 4 120mm fans mounted in the window frame behind the desk.

Except for my Shuttle XPC, all my machines use 80+ certified power supplies, which saves me about $10 month per machine.

OK, so you have hot air being blown outside thru the window.... Where is the air coming into the house?!? You must have a leak somewhere, otherwise the inside of your house would be a vacuum.

You can try to get better power supplies. There are now some 90% effienct power supplies. I replaced 6 older ones and have seen about an $80 a month drop in the power bill. So they will pay for themselves in about a year.

I also use the vent to the outside idea. I have my cruchers in a sort of desk rack. 3 tall, 3 wide. They all draw room air from the front and the heated air is pulled out from behind by 4 120mm fans mounted in the window frame behind the desk.

Except for my Shuttle XPC, all my machines use 80+ certified power supplies, which saves me about $10 month per machine.

OK, so you have hot air being blown outside thru the window.... Where is the air coming into the house?!? You must have a leak somewhere, otherwise the inside of your house would be a vacuum.

I open a window at night or use A/C that draws air in.

---

have a Victory garden.
plant vegetables you like to eat.
tomatoes..cucumbers..anything...
save alot of money on the grocery bill.
tomatoes here at stores and farmers market sell
for $2 a pound...i get at least three tomatoes a
day from the garden..for the price of the plants and
fertilizer..and some sweat. and i know these tomatoes
are safe to eat.

Interesting to see how the fuel/food crunch is hitting world wide - y'can read it in the papers, and experience it yourself but you don't realise how widespread it is until you read threads like this.....

'Grow your own' is really taking off in the UK - the demand for 'allotments' - little bits of land rented from a land-owner for a small fee - demand has outstripped supply, by about by 100,000 a month I believe.

Basic veg is still rather cheap, but I've started planting stuff like Carrots, Broccoli, Basil, Rosemary, Sage, and I'm experimenting planting the humble potato in containers, to keep costs down. I'm in Northern England, and a few years ago growing stuff like Garlic and Chillies would be unthinkable.

Going great now......

As for fuel - well, I don't drive being a stroke survivor, but, my combined gas and electric for a family of 5 is about £100 a month (approx 175 USD.) Country wide those bills have risen by a whopping 35% recently. So The Boss, oterwise known as 'Er'indoors' has has taken to turning off my little systems at night :)

As for using credit? Forget it. Got a BIG penny jar. :)

Sticking veg in between flowers (and garlic plants - keep slugs and snails off ) keeps costs down.

Like most UK buildings, their brick built, so cavity wall insulation, double glazing and loft insulation really helps. As for keeping fit - I picked up some hand-weights from a local catalogue store, and as a frequent wheel chair user, I can take weights on and off - invaluable.

---

Turn Your thermostat down to 82-86F and when It's possible to be comfortable, Go Nude, You won't believe how cool You and Your skin will feel on a hot day, When It's 86F inside It feels great to be Nude(It's not lewd either, As nudity doesn't equal sex). Anything that can be done with clothing on can be done in the nude as Nudity is natural and a GOD given right.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

You can try to get better power supplies. There are now some 90% effienct power supplies. I replaced 6 older ones and have seen about an $80 a month drop in the power bill. So they will pay for themselves in about a year.

I also use the vent to the outside idea. I have my cruchers in a sort of desk rack. 3 tall, 3 wide. They all draw room air from the front and the heated air is pulled out from behind by 4 120mm fans mounted in the window frame behind the desk.

Except for my Shuttle XPC, all my machines use 80+ certified power supplies, which saves me about $10 month per machine.

OK, so you have hot air being blown outside thru the window.... Where is the air coming into the house?!? You must have a leak somewhere, otherwise the inside of your house would be a vacuum.

If you don't exchange some air with the outside, CO2 will build up in the house and O2 will drop -- on a really well sealed house, they'll use a heat exchanger to draw in some outside air, and warm it by recovering the heat "lost" in the exhaust air.

---

Turn Your thermostat down to 82-86F and when It's possible to be comfortable, Go Nude, You won't believe how cool You and Your skin will feel on a hot day, When It's 86F inside It feels great to be Nude(It's not lewd either, As nudity doesn't equal sex). Anything that can be done with clothing on can be done in the nude as Nudity is natural and a GOD given right.

... and you'll save money on Laundry too. <ducking>

---

Difficult here in the UK with ever increasing costs.
But I've found that 3 reductions help...

1: Reduce Heating Thermostat by 10 Degrees
2: Reduce Washing Machine Temp by 10 degrees
3: Reduce Hot water Temp by 5/10 degrees

They help keep costs to an acceptable level (for us anyway).

Heating down by TEN degrees? No way! Everyone will get ill, then where is the saving when you can't go to work. Keep it down, sure, but not too low!

My cost saving tip - slow down in the car. Driving at 80MPH uses about 20% more fuel than driving at 65MPH. Driving slower will not only save fuel, but will put less wear on the car - how many times have you had to hit the breaks on the motorway because the idiot in front did something stupid? If you are driving slower to start with you have longer to react to idiots. At £5.50 a gallon (over $10) for Diesel now there are big savings to be had.

---

One thing my family and I do on a daily basis is go for long walks.

This does a few things that have benefit in these tough times.

First of all, we get needed exercise. The more weight we lose, the less gas it takes to scoot our butts around in cars.

Secondly, if you pick up cans and coins as we do (it's more of a game than anything remotely enviromentally conscious) you actually make a bit of cash in the process. Over the last two years, my family and I have managed to collect and save over $300 from cashing in cans we picked up on the side of the road as well as any coins. Not too shabby!

Another benefit is that the kids get a work out and go to bed without much of a fuss. And this makes the walk worth it in and of itself.

We generally head out after dinner around 6pm and get back around 9pm.

I also have a motorcycle and I use that primarily for my transportation to and from work. I haven't had to fill up yet this month. 70+ MPG is hard to beat. not to mention the $270 a YEAR for full coverage motorcycle insurance.

Keep your tires inflated to spec, keep your toes out of the carb/intake, and above all, don't drive if you don't have to. Walking won't kill you.

$.02

---

Difficult here in the UK with ever increasing costs.
But I've found that 3 reductions help...

1: Reduce Heating Thermostat by 10 Degrees
2: Reduce Washing Machine Temp by 10 degrees
3: Reduce Hot water Temp by 5/10 degrees

They help keep costs to an acceptable level (for us anyway).

Heating down by TEN degrees? No way! Everyone will get ill, then where is the saving when you can't go to work. Keep it down, sure, but not too low!

My cost saving tip - slow down in the car. Driving at 80MPH uses about 20% more fuel than driving at 65MPH. Driving slower will not only save fuel, but will put less wear on the car - how many times have you had to hit the breaks on the motorway because the idiot in front did something stupid? If you are driving slower to start with you have longer to react to idiots. At £5.50 a gallon (over $10) for Diesel now there are big savings to be had.

Too many are doing it in California...Now you are on the freeway twice as long. I'm all for those that want to drive slower to save gas if they do it in the Right lane here in the States...Too many seem to be trying to force people to go slower and that is wrong.

---

Official Abuser of Boinc Buttons...
And no good credit hound!

I installed a huge attic fan and now open the basement door and suck the cool air thru the house. Haven't turned on the A/C yet this summer and only once last summer.

---

Official Abuser of Boinc Buttons...
And no good credit hound!