View Single Post
  #63  
Old 10-10-2012, 05:16 PM
CoogarXR's Avatar
CoogarXR CoogarXR is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 641
I have a few random thoughts on this topic:

Dehumidifiers:
I bought an 80s model (I forget the brand) for a rental house I had. I sold the rental, and moved the dehumidifier over to the basement at my house. An opportunity came to upgrade to a new "energy star" model, so I bought it. That thing did half as good, and my electric bill went up $40! Good thing I kept the ol' 80s model...

Fridges:
At my day job, at the recycler, I see a few fridges. Most of the new ones have the coils in the side walls! If you get a slight dent in the side wall, it kinks the line, and it's dead. They are sealed with spray foam, so there's no way to fix them.

Older Plasma TVs:
My 50" 1998 Pioneer Plasma is rated at 640w I believe, heh. I never put a meter on it though. Oh well, that's one luxury I will continue to pay to run. What's cheaper, a TV that lasts, or a cheap TV that I have to buy 5 times? Plus, it keeps my TV room toasty in the winter. It sees daily action, but not crazy amounts of hours.

AC Units:
I have an ancient GoldStar unit in my garage. It has no front on it, so I don't know anything about it. I keep the fins clean, and it keeps the shop cool. No fancy thermostats, just a two big knobs, "off, cool, fan" and "low,med,high" lol. At the recycler I see many of the rolling portable AC units junked for leaks and bad exhaust motors. Those things are crazy expensive and total crap.

Light bulbs:
I do use the CFL bulbs. Only the yellow-ish ones, I hate the blue-ish ones. I don't really have common the longevity problems. I think I have had one in the house burn out in 5 years. Now, the one in the porch light burns out all the time, but I bet the cold weather kills it. I do also like the LED floodlights. I use them for my ebay picture booth, and in a billiard-style light that hangs over my workbench. Nice white light with no heat.
Reply With Quote