Conserving Energy

With colder weather and shorter days, we've been using the heaters and lights more.  Our power bill spiked $50 last month.  I'm trying to conserve energy, but there's a fine line between being conservative about energy usage, and walking around an apartment that's dark during the day.  I blame the apartment for most of our energy costs, anyway.  The thermostats are old and inaccurate, and I constantly have to turn them up or down because they're always about  5 degrees off where I put the thermostat needle.  They have old storm windows from the '70s, and I doubt the weather stripping has been replaced since then.  In order to prevent black mildew from growing in the condensation between the windows, we've been instructed to leave the outer window open a crack for ventilation.  Not that it really works.  It just prevents the windows from fogging up, but lets out the heat, and mildew grows anyway.  Actually, it’s probably the draft from the window that triggers the thermostat to overheat the room. The fan in the bathroom has to be run for hours to get rid of the steam, and it still mildews in there, too.  And then I'm running almost twice the loads of laundry because the washing machine is so small.  As we continue our house hunt, energy saving features like central heat and dual-paned windows are becoming more important priorities for me.  It would be so nice to know our home is energy efficient!