Here is an idea that I was trying to do before winter, but many other projects prevented it.
Add about a four foot section of copper pipe to your shower drain (maybe a few dents in it would help), then circulate the incoming cold water around it to pull some waste heat an raise the temperature of the water coming into the shower.
 
If you can raise the water coming in even 15 degrees, that could help dramatically to use less hot water.
 

Great topic idea.

Well, besides using JT circuits for all of my summer/winter interior lighting, I use alcohol burners to add heat in the winter over here.  I also burn kerocene lamps that give off both light and heat.

This winter I am going to invest in a 5,000 BTU alcohol stove that is similar in the design of one we used to go across the country in the 1960's.  (Camping)  No problem with CO and you can make your own alcohol to heat your house.  (Might be illegal to do so, check federal and state laws on this.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Qm9&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=denatured+alcohol+stove&revid=75718134&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1263&bih=558&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=10716306896597489433&sa=X&ei=qc_BTrblF4TqggeC8cXJBw&ved=0CHUQ8wIwAw

I have no ties to this product but, it resembles the one we used such a long time ago.  I live in a small apartment and I can usually keep my electric bill below $40/month in the winter.  (Less in the summer)  Everthing here is electric, water heater, stove, heat/cooling, lights....so I do not think I am doing too bad.

Just tossing this out as an idea but, if you really get serious, it is amazing what you can do and still have light and be warm.

Bill

What about geothermal?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBHHqw6TRXk

Thanx, TechStuf. So, we have very good and ready idea. Here is the short story:
http://newenergyandfuel.com/http:/newenergyandfuel/com/2010/01/22/the-missing-geothermal-technology/

Unfortunately, not for me: I live in Chicago and here making simple hole on own yard is impossible without permits. And permits are obtainable only by proper, documented professionals.

Qwert, dig at night.
 
lol

There you go.  They can't control us 24/7....yet.

Bill

Excellent I'm shocked at the amount of responses I have got within a weeks time it is just proof that there is a real need for this type of thing.

Anyone care to share some pictures of their designs.

I am going to be doing a bit of my winterizing here soon I will take some pictures...

I like the idea of the black blinds I may use a similar approach to this problem...

I also plan on starting an indoor winter garden to grow some fresh produce this winter.
I will be trying:
mini bell peppers supposed to grow well in winter
brussle sprouts unsure if they grow well
chives unsure if they grow well
sibirean tomatoes smuggled from russia long ago and used during the winter for a good indoor grower
black strawberries best growing strawberry for indoors
bonsi blueberries supposed to grow well on a patio dunno about indoors but from what I have read it is the best shot
spinach a variety that was made for winter
lettuce unsure if it will grow but going to try
maybe even more to be honest dunno

I have been brainstorming cheapest ideas for setting up my indoor grow operation like containers and things I could repurpose for growing. Have not settled completely but I will share when I do settle.
knowing this during daylight hours I will need to maintain close to 70 degrees for growing I have an unused room upstairs rather then owning more JUNK or hoarding I plan to make logical use of this living space.

I also plan to seal up my home fairly well this winter by:
Caulking the windows around the inside frame works.
Possibly using something to collect heat like the black blind idea on windows I do not really need to see out of.
Then indoors on the outside of all of my windows (on the frame) I plan to use some clear plastic duck kits.
I plan on weather stripping around all non hinged edges of all of my doors.
I plan on completely sealing off one of my exits with a thick heavy mil plastic because we never use it!
I plan on completely sealing off the basement access doors to the outside with heavy mil plastic as well because we never use it.
I plan on putting foam covering on both my cold and hot water pipes.


I would kill for a double barrel setup or an alcohol burner but when you rent a home there is always issues with burning anything for insurance reasons. I really wish there was a way around this for me but it appears that my landlords will not permit me to burn anything for heat other than gas from my local coop... But please do not stop posting these ideas because they are of value to many people.

Does anyone have anything done yet that they can share some good pics of ? I would really love to see all your hard work and good setups and put some visualizations in this project that everyone can have! I realize I am asking a lot to have you charge up your batteries to that digital camera and upload files to your computer and then to overunity.com as it can be painstaking but I will tell you what if you folks purchase an eye-fi sd card rather then the typical sd card you can save a lot of your troubles and allow your camera to upload via your wireless router automagically!

We really need to get some pictures going this is really going to strike interest with the general public and grab some more attention and in return we may get to see some more folks like us at these forums sharing some great ideas that might save all of us some money.

I also plan on looking into some home based work over the internet during the winter months if I can find something decent that doesn't just pay 5 cents or something crazy for doing 30 minutes of work... Amazon mechanical turk is interesting but the pay rates on there are like highway robbery! It took me about 2 weeks of doing odd crap on there to earn a lousy 7.00 not too exciting and not making me want to head back to that any time soon other than to check if the wages improve the rates are dependent upon who posts them so it is subject to change by the minute technically. I have found some other microjob type websites that have not seemed to pan out the greatest either but still on the hunt!

If you have a suggestion on online working you do not wish to share in public feel free to msg me I know how it can be sometimes you prefer not to speak of online work and would rather it be kept confidential because it is personal to you and you may not want to look like you are advertising for the company which would be considered spam in most cases... With anything if you have something you would like to keep confidential I am always open to this and would gladly allow you to share with me on an individual basis but I do prefer public domain where possible as we can encourage each other to do more for each other.

The way I see it if we want to fix this world we have to fix our point of view instead of the world being considered a Me World we need to switch our point of view to how can we redefine this world as a We World we are all accountable for our society and the things and the types of people that are produced from it! Look at some of the interesting thought testing that was going on in Einsteins era you will find that the action of just thinking and believing in something invokes changes in the universe. This may sound crazy but the notion was backed up with albeit limited testing that was done to prove the theory but the results while limited did seem to amaze. Many ancient cultures were aware of this as well if you study your history.



KEEP SHARING
PICTURES Please add your Pictures!

Well, besides using JT circuits for all of my summer/winter interior lighting, I use alcohol burners to add heat in the winter over here.  I also burn kerocene lamps

There ought to be a method of fermenting grass cuttings (full of carbohydrates) to make a dilute alcohol solution and then distilling it.

Is there such a method?