Cutting consumption

My electric bill arrived a few days ago. It said that we’d consumed 917 kWh last month, which, I think, is way too much. Although less than last year at this time, with the prices of energy skyrocketing, it’s time to trim the sails again.

Part of the cost was the air conditioning during the first part of September. I’m not going to quibble over that. Life without AC in this house is unbearable. I’m trying to grow shade trees as fast as I can, but I can encourage them to grow only so much in a year. So, what to do?

Teaching a teenager to turn lights off after he leaves a room is a start. Turning the televisions and radios off when they’re not being used is another good start. Turning computers off at night is a must. I sat the lad down and showed him the electric bill. And we discussed various ways we could cut consumption. Because—the more I spend on utilities is that much less I have to spend on other more enjoyable things. He agreed and got right into the spirit of it.

We’re taking daily readings on the electric meter to see how we’re doing. And we’re doing a rather amazing job.

One of the big changes we made was switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs. They’ve come a long way since they first arrived on the market. Most of them give off a warm steady light now that’s indistinguishable from incandescent. And they are small enough to fit in every light fixture in the house.

A couple of days ago we visited Home Depot and gathered up enough bulbs to outfit all the rest of the fixtures and lamps that didn’t have compact fluorescents already. The prices have come way down so that each bulb is about $2.50 now. And they last for years.

So. After having replaced all the incandescent bulbs, I added up their wattage and the total wattage of the fluorescent bulbs. We cut wattage down from 1254 watts to 284 watts. That’s pretty significant.

And the daily readings on the electric meter have gone from about 27 kilowatt hours per day down to 16. I’d say we’re making good progress, but we’ll continue to look for ways to trim consumption.

---------------

For anyone living in Vermont, Massachusetts, or Rhode Island, the public utilities in those states have a deal with Energy Star Lights. You can purchase fluorescent bulbs in a wide range of styles and sizes at super discounted prices. From their online catalog. Or you can ask for their mail order catalog. I’ve ordered from them in the past to outfit fixtures/lamps that have dimmer switches and 3-way bulbs. They carry several kinds of specialty bulbs.