How much electricity does it take to run fans? I wonder whether fans really are more efficient than air conditioning.

THE difference in energy use between running air conditioning and running an electric fan is huge. In the typical home, air conditioning uses more electricity than anything else – about 16 per cent of the total electricity used.

In warmer regions, air conditioning can be 60 to 70 per cent of your summer electric bill.

Electricity is measured and billed according to the number of kilowatt-hours you use, with a scale of 1,000 watts per hour. A 2.5-ton central air-conditioning system uses 3,500 watts per hour of use, which is 3.5 kilowatt-hours. A medium-sized window AC unit uses 900 watts per hour, or 0.9 kilowatt hours. A floor fan uses 0.1 kilowatt hours on the highest speed, and a 42-inch ceiling fan set on high uses only 0.075 kilowatt hours. Where I live in California, we pay 17 cents per kilowatt-hour billed. That means it costs about 60 cents per hour to run a home central air conditioner and only about 1.3 cents per hour to run a ceiling fan.

How can I get my spouse on the same page I’m on when it comes to saving money? I’d like to save on our electricity by using a clothesline and installing more power strips that we can switch off at night to stop the phantom load. I know both of these can reduce our costs significantly. My husband doesn’t see the point of either of these ideas, nor does he like the feeling of clothes dried on a line. How can I bring him around? I’d like to reduce our costs so we can build a fund for the winter months, when our power bills are sky-high.

YOUR best bet is to compromise. Make a deal with him that if you can get the laundry soft without using so much expensive energy, then he’ll install a good, strong clothesline at a height and location best for you.

When line-dried laundry comes out stiff, it means the detergent is not getting rinsed out completely. Use only the amount of detergent recommended on the container. Add a half-cup of white vinegar to the last rinse to get all of the soap rinsed out. Jeans and bath towels receive the most complaints. To prevent their stiffness, remove them from the line when they are almost dry and run them through the dryer for five to 10 minutes.

Take the responsibility yourself of installing power strips and turning them off at the end of the day. Start keeping track of the amount your utility bills drop as a result of these simple techniques. Then show him in black and white how much money you’re not spending. I think he’ll come around when he starts seeing those dollar signs.

– Creators News Service