Do you know how much electricity you’re using right now? I do because I have a whole-house energy monitor that tells me in real-time exactly how much electricity my house is using. Right now we’re using 5.7 kwh and paying roughly $.70/hour for it. But when I turn my clothes dryer off these numbers plummet to .46 kwh and $.05/hour (I try to but don’t always hang my clothes to dry!). Energy monitors are great change motivators, for kids and adults alike: if your family is anything like mine, an energy monitor will soon have you playing “how low can we go.”
There are two basic types of monitors: a hard-wired monitor like The Energy Detective and a wireless monitor like the Blue Line. The downsides of hard wired monitors are that you need an electrician to set them up and they need to remain plugged in (and only work in certain outlets). The upside is that there is no lag time between your usage and your display unit. While you can install a wireless monitor yourself, installation can be tricky. Because the display unit is wireless too, you can use it anywhere in your house it receives a signal from the sensor attached to your meter (which in my house isn’t everywhere). Also there is a slight lag time between your actual usage and the usage you see on your display unit. They both cost about the same: lower end models for both are run around $120
You can find out more about your options by visiting The Energy Detective and Blue Line Innovations.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
Located at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, the Toxic Use Reduction Institute promotes alternatives to toxic chemicals in industrial production and consumer goods and services TURI’s programs and services include research and testing of chemicals; trainings of toxic use professionals; outreach; and education. While TURI works primarily with researchers, government agenices and businesses, the community page of its website provides a wealth of information, tips and resources for consumers. TURI also publishes a weekly bulletin, called the “Greenlist Bulletin” which previews recent publications and websites relevant to toxic use reduction. The Greenlist Bulletin is one of the few email bulletins I subscribe to that I always read. The publication previews are accessible to the general public and provide cutting edge information about our exposure to environmental health hazards.
When I first started my green journey in 2007 I would never have dreamed that my family would cut our gas use by 34% and our electricity use by 55% in three years. Three years ago we already kept our heat set at 68, turned our computers off at night, and used very little lighting during the day. How would we wring so much savings out of habits that we perceived as being already frugal?
Of course, we didn’t have automated thermostats. And we often forgot to set our heat back at night. And we had two refrigerators. But we didn’t notice these things until we ran the numbers and found out exactly how much energy we were using: 13,000 kWh per year (2006), about 800 kWh more than the average American, and just shy of 2000 therms per year (for 2007).
In 2009 we were down to 6256 kWh and 1299 therms. How did we get there? Well it turns out to have been a combination of investments in home performance and changes in behavior.
Given that our house was built in 1895 we weren’t surprised that a lot of energy was leaking out through our home’s “envelope.” One of the first things we did to cut our heating bill was to insulate our attic, which we followed with a more comprehensive round of insulation and air sealing last year.
But energy upgrades alone cannot account for the vast reductions we have achieved. In regards to heating, we could never have made such steep cuts in our gas usage without programmable thermostats which enable us to consistently set our heat back at night. And our electrical reductions are due almost entirely by behavioral changes and small investments such as:
- unplugging our second fridge (now we plug it in only when we need it for entertaining, which isn’t all that much),
- changing out almost every light in our house to CFLs (we even installed a few LED lights last year),
- leaving our central air off (we use fans except on the hottest nights of the year–generally when the indoor temperature rises above 80),
- plugging our entertainment center and home office equipment into smart strips (which completely power down connected devices when they aren’t in use),
- washing our clothes in warm or cold water and line drying as much as we can manage,
- setting our dishwasher to the optimizer setting, and
- installing a whole house electricity monitor to track our electricity usage and keep us honest.
None of these changes cost very much money upfront. In fact the most impactful of them (leaving our air conditioner off and unplugging our second fridge) were free and resulted in immediate savings.
So if you’ve been wondering whether the little things–like turning things off, unplugging things, and installing CFLs–really work, our reductions–particularly our electrical reductions–are proof that they do. Which isn’t to minimize the importance of tightening your envelope: if your home leaks like a sieve you will certainly undercut the efficacy of weatherstripping your doors and setting back your heat at night.
The lesson, I think, is that low cost changes can add up to big savings, especially when they are joined to investments in measurable improvements to your home’s energy performance.
I’m not saying that making low-cost behavioral changes are easy–often it isn’t. But it can be done. It is being done in houses all across the country. And what I want to know is this: How is it being done in your house?
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
Healthy Home Plans is an online resource for people who want to make their homes healthier. For those interested in building a new home, the site sells healthy home plans. For those interested in remodeling and/or improving home health, the site provides a wealth of information about indoor air quality and healthy building materials. I also like their resource section, which contains links to vetted online retailers, service providers and information sources.
The news about biodiversity loss never ceases to depress. Polar bears are again in the news, this time for increased cannibalism, which is hardly a winning adaptation to sea ice loss. It’s not surprising that The World Wildlife Fund included this beloved species, whose struggles have become a potent symbol of global warming, on its list of 2010′s 10 most threatened species on earth–along with the tiger, the monarch butterfly, bluefin tuna, and the panda (click here to see the full list).
This week the UN is launching its International Year of Bioviersity in the face of a rather inauspicious conservation record: Despite an international agreement eight years ago to significantly reduce the rate of species extinction, human beings continue to wipe out species at a rate 1000 times higher than the natural rate of extinction. 1000 times higher!
Of course the news has been bad for years now and with every new headline we are predictably shocked and saddened, but then we return to business as usual. The question is why? While there are many answers to this question having to do with the challenges and complexity of systemic change, I think that our belief about our relationship to other species play a role.
Our response to biodiversity loss seems to assume this is a problem primarily for the species we are wiping out, that at some baseline level it is separate from us, and thus it’s impact can be contained, deflected or otherwise managed. In other words we haven’t yet absorbed the reality that species loss threatens our own existence–that conservation isn’t simply a moral imperative but is also in our best interest. And not just in the future. But right here, right now.
When we think about extinction we tend to focus on high-profile threats to iconic mammals halfway around the world. But there are many threatened species that are much closer to home, both in terms of proximity and impact on our way of life. Here are just two examples:
Honeybees: Over the last three years, honey bee colonies throughout the US and Europe have been plagued with Colony Collapse Disorder, whereby bees abandon their hives. Losses to US apiaries have hovered around 30% for the last three years. It’s hard to underestimate the impact of honeybees on our way of life (think fresh fruits and veggies).
Bats: Since emerging in 2006, “White-Nose Syndrome” has devastated bat populations throughout the Northeast, killing off more than a million bats during hibernation. Exposed populations suffer alarming mortality rates–some as high as 90%. Without these insect munching mammals, mosquitoes and other insect pests are likely to increase, making us more vulnerable to mosquito-born illnesses and our crops more vulnerable to infestation (click here and here for more information).
Bat and bee population declines hit closer to home for another reason as well: scientists are investigating whether low-level exposure to pesticides may be playing a causative role, weakening or otherwise disrupting immune systems, leaving the animals vulnerable to disease (research into this link is further along in bees; a recent study demonstrates a link between pesticide exposure and rates of infection).
Sound familiar? It should. Think about the recent spate of reports about the human health impacts of low-level exposure to chemicals such as BPA and pthalates (among others). We are only just beginning to understand the relationship between early-life, long-term and low-level chemical exposure and human disease. Bat and bee die-offs are a warning of what may happen if we wait until we fully understand.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
If you’ve been delaying replacing aging, inefficient appliances, now–or rather soon–may be the time to act. Thanks to $300 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 it’s about to get a little cheaper to invest in Energy Star qualified appliances.
Within the next couple of months all 50 states will be rolling out rebate programs for consumers who meet state eligibility requirements and purchase qualified products. The Department of Energy, which is coordinating and overseeing the initiative, has given states leeway to design their own programs, with the result that timing and eligibility will vary by state. You can stay abreast of what’s happening in your state and when by visiting Energy Savers (a DOE website).
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
In theory, CFLs are a great thing. They last longer and use less energy than incandescents; it’s even possible to get them for free (MA residents visit Mass Save for a free energy audit that includes free replacement of incandescents with CFLs; click here to learn more about Mass Save). In practice, however, transitioning to CFLs can cause major headaches.
For example, you can’t just put any old CFL in a fixture with a dimmable switch. You need a special dimmable CFL and even then, the dimmable CFL may not work well with your fixture and/or your switch. And even if you find one that works, whose light quality you like and that does not buzz (a tall order), you may find that the bulbs need time to reach full capacity, that they won’t fully dim and/or that will not turn on if your dimmer switch is lowered.
Here are some tips to make your transition to energy efficient lighting go as smoothly as possible:
- Check out the Energy Star Guide to choosing CFLs to make sure you get the right light for your application.
- Make sure to buy Energy Star rated bulbs (believe it or not, there are some CFLs that do not have Energy Star rating).
- The lumen rating tells you how much light the bulb puts out. For general room lighting you want a bulb with roughly 900-1300. For reading you may want a bulb with a lumen rating in the 1700 range.
- The kelvin rating tells you the color of the light. For a warm color equivalent to the color of a conventional incandescent bulb, look for a 2700 kelvin CFL.
- CFL bulbs come in a variety of shapes and sizes beyond the spiral. There are bulbs for recessed lights, outdoor lights, chandeliers and decorative fixtures. A great online source for a variety of CFLs is Energy Federation Incorporated, or EFI.
- When replacing bulbs in a dimmable fixture, make sure to buy dimmable bulbs from a source (like EFI) that will take them back if they don’t work well with your fixture and/or dimmer switch.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
It’s great to see energy monitors taking off in the US; they’ve made a huge impact here in the UK. Current Cost here is about to celebrate selling its one millionth monitor.
Would be interesting to see how electricity use compares between the countries. My baseline when is 80 watts.
Comment by Kimberley Nanson — January 27, 2010 @ 4:20 am
Great to see you taking a stand on cutting energy costs. Its one thing to do it on your own but sharing your results is fantastic !! I would like to see you share this experience on my blog @www.greenfilledideas.com . Thanks again
Comment by Woody — February 25, 2010 @ 10:21 am