Challenge #19: Beat your own electric-record

I just received my electric bill for the month of August. I was quite pleased with the low dollar amount (under $50), but I am not sure how 'good' I am really doing.

I found that the average US household supposedly uses over 10,000 kWh per year of electricity. I saw various estimates that the average US household uses 600-900 kWh per month. Well, I am competitive in nature, so I want to see if I'm "below average" in my electricity use!

I pulled out my electric bills from this year:

date ending.... kWh
1/9/08............ 361
2/10/08.......... 448
3/10/08.......... 549
4/9/08............ 479
5/8/08............ 380
6/10/08.......... 510
7/13/08........... 746
8/10/08 .......... 724
9/8/08............ 483

That averages out to 520 kWh per month and adds up to 4680 kWh for 3/4 of the year. I am doing better than the average household.

This summer, two things changed. Starting in June, I began working full-time from the house (thus, using my computer mostly all-day) and I started trying to be a bit more green. I wanted to evaluate if my new green habits were paying off, so I compared August's bill to the last 4 years:

year...... kWh...... $
8/08..... 724....... $67.28
8/07...... 737....... $68.32
8/06...... 1309...... $111.73 (our highest electric bill in five years)
8/05...... 1241....... $106.31

I don't see a big difference between last year and this year. I guess that's ok, since I am home all day using my electricity instead of my employer's.

I do know what the difference is between 2006 and 2007, when our electric bill cut nearly in half. The first three years we lived in this house, we generally kept the thermostat at ~72 F in the summer. In 2007 we decided to crank it up to 80 F. We also stopped using the window unit in the finished attic (the ceiling follows the roof line, so it is basically a sun-baked oven). Additionally, over the last three years we have added insulation to the attic, sealed around the foundation, and added weather stripping to doors and windows.

Now, what other factors go into our house: we live in the Midwest, where we enjoy the weather extremes of all seasons: the winter is cold, windy, and sometimes snowy or icy (usually a few weeks in the low 20s); the summers are hot and humid (100 F is really freakin hot); our house is modest, approx 1300 sq ft, with a half-story converted attic; our heat and hot water are gas; our clothes dryer is electric; I work from home using a 400 Mhz PowerPC G4 with the flat screen monitor. There's two adults, 1 dog and 1 pet in this household. I can see that more people make a big difference, as we had family here February through April, and our bills at that time are a bit high (see above- and compare to January and May).

So, compare yourself to me and the US averages, and see how much electricity we are using - leave your brags or your new-found motivation in the comments!

I'll also be posting some other energy-saving ideas over the next few weeks.


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Challenge #18: Microwave Waste-free

I often heat leftovers for my lunch or cook a side of veggies in the microwave. We have a plastic dome that fits over a plate to keep the food from splattering and to keep the moisture in. These plastic domes are a sure green alternative to using and thowing away a piece of plastic wrap every time the microwave is engaged.

If you don't have a plastic microwavable dome, invest in one! I recall that ours cost about the same as one roll of plastic wrap, and we've been using it for at least a couple of years (well, since we actually got a microwave, which was about two years ago).

Think of other tiny ways that you can make a LOT less garbage!

These little things can really make a difference!



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Challenge #17: Social Media Apps

I maintain a FaceBook page to keep in touch with friends and family. I am not really into many of the applications that one can add to their page, but one "app" I really like is "(Lil) Green Patch".

In this application, you exchange 'Lil' plants, or plant people, with your friends and maintain your garden with periodic watering or weeding. With every 10 plants you share, a square foot of rain forest is "saved".

At first I was a bit skeptical about this, so I looked into how the site works. It has been covered online and in reputable print newspapers (such as the Wall Street Journal), so I believe that it is legitimate.

The application raises money with clickable ads. They donate a portion of this to the Nature Conservancy, which then purchases rain forest land in Costa Rica to save it from development. I think that if they weren't really donating the money, the Nature Conservancy would have had their name removed. Thus far, they have donated money to purchase over 1100 acres.

I like this because I am not really doing anything, yet money is going to a decent cause. It's so easy! It is also the one application that most of my friends all have. If you have a FaceBook or MySpace page, I recommend getting a (Lil) Green Patch and sending plants to all your friends to get them in on it too!

Use free-to-you applications on your social media sites to raise awareness or funds for environmental issues.

to anyone who sets up (Lil) Green Patch on one of their social sites!

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Challenge #16: Off-Peak Electricity

I just read in the newspaper this morning that the electric company in a neighboring state offers their customers the options of being charged for electricity at different rates depending on the time of day. The rate is determined by the demand for electricity throughout the day. Electricity is more expensive at high noon, when offices are up and running across the whole country and A/Cs are cranking to compete with the heat of the day. Check you local municipality to see if this service is available in your area. A savvy consumer could really save some money.

Unfortunately for me, neither the great state in which I live nor the company from which I must purchase my electricity offer this service. However, I think it would be beneficial to try to use my electricity when the demand is less throughout the nation. At off-peak times, the electric companies can rely on energy productions through hydroelectric and nuclear means instead of "firing up" an additional coal burning furnace.

I live in the central time zone, so the demand for electricity is less in mornings until about 10 AM. It would put less demand on the energy producing systems if I ran my dish machine or clothes dryer before California comes online for the day. This is an easy habit shift to make.

to anyone who tries out a similar "hourly pricing" or "smart metering" program for their utilities.

Timing my "elective" energy use for non-peak times will mean less energy must be generated - meaning less fossil fuels need to be burned.

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Challenge #15: Filtering your water

We live in an old house that still has a few lead pipes carrying the incoming domestic water (like the one coming from the street), and thus consider filtering our water a necessity. We have been using a Brita system for several years. The last time our filter timed out, we decided to try one that mounts directly on the kitchen faucet.

Our first faucet-mounted filter (the one on the left in the accompanying photo) was quite bulky, and occupied too much space under the tap, making it hard to wash pots and pans. It is also a completely disposable, one-time-use model. The whole thing needs to go to the landfill after it's ~one year of service.

When this filter ran out, I went to buy another and saw this new model at the store. The filter is housed to the left of the tap, instead of beneath. The biggest advantage is that the white part, the mount and the two taps, is reusable, and only the silver filter part needs to be disposed of. This filter is also superior to the old model in that our water pressure is still strong coming out of either the unfiltered or the filtered side. It also has two spray styles for the unfiltered water, one is more like the spray hose.

I drink water from this filter not only at home but also whenever I leave the house - I fill up a reusable water container and take it with me. So, even though I am using a filter that is not recyclable, I am not buying bottled water when I am out and about.

When this filter was expiring, I briefly looked into other filtering systems, but cost or space requirements proved to be the limiting factor for us. I do feel, however, that I made the greenest choice that will work for us.

Choose household items on factors such as REusable parts and component REcyclability.

to anyone who gets a ceramic filtering system - I wish I could!

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Challenge 14: Rechargeable Batteries

Almost 2 years ago, I bought my first digital camera, right before going abroad.

Now that you have stopped laughing at me, let me tell you about the batteries.

My camera uses two double A batteries at a time. I invested in a package of rechargeable batteries that came with a charger. Through my three weeks in Taiwan, I didn’t have to buy any batteries (always marked up at the touristy places).

Now I have about 10 batteries. I’ve noticed that a few of the sets don’t last in the camera as long as they used to, particularly when using the flash.

Last week, my wireless mouse started acting a little sluggish, and I figured it was the batteries dying. I took out the old non-reusable heavy metal waste-containing batteries, and stuck in that rechargeable pair that is too old for flash photography.

The mouse is working fine, and when it starts to get tired, I can just charge up the batteries.

One thing I have to remember is to unplug the charger when the batteries are all charged up, so I don’t waste any electricity.

Once my batteries don’t hold a charge, I will find a place to recycle them properly, along with the collection of non-reusable dead batteries that I have.



Rechargeable batteries help to reduce the use of heavy metals.


Recycle all used batteries.


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Challenge 13: Buy Used

As the summer heat starts to break, I am looking forward to an increase in local yard and estate sales. These kind of sales are great places to pick up used home goods. I like to buy solid things such as furniture, glassware and dishes, and books.

I love the retro look that you can easily and inexpensively achieve through buying second-hand.

The best thing about buying glassware at an estate sale is that people often stored their best stemware or dishes in a china cabinet and rarely used it because it was "too nice". These finds are in perfect shape and a true steal for someone in the secondary market, like me.

I look for local sales in the newspaper, on craigslist, and by just biking between the advertised sales and following street signs. I bike to sales for several reasons: it's fun and exercise for me, saves gas, and it keeps me from buying too much!

Reusing second-hand materials decreases the use of primary resources (often mined from the earth or cut from a forest) and saves the energy that would otherwise be used in the manufacturing process.

For anyone who holds a yard sale or donates items that they no longer want and keeps their old 'stuff' out of the landfill!


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