I don't know if anyone has done this before, but I'd like to start a thread on an aspect of taking control. I think you'll find it helpful if your funds are tight, but even if money is no object it's worthwhile. I started some years ago and it's turned in to something of an obsession. So here goes... 1). Set your thermostat no lower than 79 degrees f during the summer. I know people who set theirs at 72 and wear sweaters.

2). The biggest heat sink in your home is your hot water heater. I live in a warmer climate, so I turn mine on at 6am (I'm an early riser), and off again at 7. Generally, I won't have to turn it on again for 2 or three days. I have an electric unit, and between the A/C and this I literally cut my electric usage in half.

3). All of those little red, blue and yellow lights around the house that are on your tv, coffee pot, phone chargers, computers, etc. are using juice? I ran extension cords all over the house and ran them through a watt meter to see how much those things are costing me, and on average it's about $1.45/day. That's about $40-45/month. Now almost everything is run through gang plugs and is unpowered after use. Now up to this point the net effect on my lifestyle is zero. Zip. Nada. (As an aside, I'm getting at least one tank of gas on the electric company.

Once I started, this became habit forming.

Is anyone else trying stuff like this?