Top 10 Conservation Tips for Renters

[Daox]

I was poking around and saw this today:

Top 10 Tips for Renters : ENERGY STAR

Its definitely not the best list, but its somewhere to start if you're renting.

Perhaps we can find some better things to add to the list?

[jeff88]

Um, why would you install a 2.5GPM shower head when you can install a 1.25 or 1.5GPM shower head?

A renter can also purchase a portable induction cooktop rather than using the complex supplied appliance (gas or electric).

Use a blanket (or electric blanket) instead of the heater.

Buy a Kill-a-Watt!!!

[ecomodded]

from the list:
Interesting that 90% of the cloths washers energy usage is from the hot water consumed.
I wash and rinse in warm water as Cold water leaves jeans dirty and removes less soap residue when rinsing , is what I find. Hot water is not needed for bright cloths.

[jeff5may]

Hack a window air conditioner and turn it into a heat pump. Beats the holy crap out of electric resistance heat.

[NiHaoMike]

Originally Posted by jeff5may

Hack a window air conditioner and turn it into a heat pump. Beats the holy crap out of electric resistance heat.

Or if modding is out of reach for you, just set the unit in the room with the hot side facing you. No modding needed whatsoever. It would then take the heat that's already in the room and "concentrate" it where you want it. Might work better if you could bypass the thermostat so it will keep working down to lower temperatures, but that's easily done in minutes with common tools.

Bitcoin or something similar might be a good choice if a heat pump is not an option. You can even make use of "unprofitable" used hardware - it just has to make enough to make it worthwhile.

And there's also the "low tech" reflector incandescent or halogen bulb...

[Servicetech]

Originally Posted by NiHaoMike

Or if modding is out of reach for you, just set the unit in the room with the hot side facing you. No modding needed whatsoever. It would then take the heat that's already in the room and "concentrate" it where you want it. Might work better if you could bypass the thermostat so it will keep working down to lower temperatures, but that's easily done in minutes with common tools.

Bitcoin or something similar might be a good choice if a heat pump is not an option. You can even make use of "unprofitable" used hardware - it just has to make enough to make it worthwhile.

And there's also the "low tech" reflector incandescent or halogen bulb...

A standard window AC would freeze up at outdoor temps below about 60. Not useable as a heat pump when simply put in the window backwards.

[NiHaoMike]

Originally Posted by Servicetech

A standard window AC would freeze up at outdoor temps below about 60. Not useable as a heat pump when simply put in the window backwards.

The whole unit is indoors, so it's cooling one part of the room while heating another. If you only need heat in one part of the room, it's always a win compared to resistance heat.

[jeff5may]

Originally Posted by NiHaoMike

The whole unit is indoors, so it's cooling one part of the room while heating another. If you only need heat in one part of the room, it's always a win compared to resistance heat.

You could rig a portable unit to blow cold air out the dryer vent if you have one. Or use the enclosed piping to blow out the window. Works like a Geothermal heat pump, since you are drawing room air into the chiller coil. No loss of capacity at sub-zero temps.

P.S. - I did this in a previous house. No matter what people say about makeup air, heat soak, blah, blah, it works very well. Straight up beats down a space heater for less wattage.

[jfweaver]

Originally Posted by NiHaoMike

Bitcoin or something similar might be a good choice if a heat pump is not an option. You can even make use of "unprofitable" used hardware - it just has to make enough to make it worthwhile.

I have a couple of video cards paying me a few thousand Doge per day to run them. The free heat is a nice side benefit, for now.

[oil pan 4]

Pay rent so you dont get evicted and have to leave everything behind.