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This is with just about everything off. The only thing left are clocks and phantom loads from appliances.
That is correct, 50 Watts! That is why I took a picture!
Think recycling plastics is enough. Well, think again. I guess a glass jar with a metal lid is the next best thing. Maybe someone will invent something that eats plastic. That could spawn another problem. Reducing consumption is the best solution.
Menard’s is having a sale on LED lights. So I got two more. I have two fixtures in my house that would be perfect for the new LED lights. One is in a closet and really acts as a night-light for my daughter. The other is over the kitchen sink that acts as a night-light for me. (Midnight snack or drink). I purchased an A15 and A19 bulb. I think the A15 is brighter but it actually has less LEDs inside. Both fixtures are on for at least 12 hours a night. Sometimes longer. Let’s look at the math.
12 x (14 – 1.5) X 365 X 0.12 X 0.001 = $6.57
12 hours a day,
(Current wattage – new wattage),
365 days in a year,
$0.12 per kW hour,
convert watts to kilowatts,
And you get the total cost for the year. These bulbs should last 50,000 hours or five to ten times longer then the light they replace. CFLs can be found for less than a dollar now. But if the LED bulb lasts ten years and the CFL would have been replaced 5 times($5). The total saving would be $5 + (10 x $6.57) – $7 = $63.70. Don’t forget I have two fixtures. That would be $127.40. These new LED lights should pay for themselves in a little over a year. That is good in my book.
Since I won’t actually get my bill for another week, this is an unofficial record. Depending on when they gather the reading, I will be very close to 600 kW hours. This is a nice improvement. From my previous rant we know that I have removed some vampire loads. I think this has helped reduce it to the current level. Additionally, the HVAC is not running but for maybe 30 minutes in the morning.
Unless I replace my fridge and dishwasher I don’t think it is going to get much lower. My current fridge is a 25 cu. ft. model. It has been averaging right at 2 kw Hours a day. With a new fridge I could knock that down to 1.5 kW hours a day. Sadly, if I got cold water fish I could save more. My 55 gallon aquarium heater uses more than 500 Watts. If I had understood energy usage more back then I would have passed on it altogether.
600 kW hours is about 20 kW hours a day. I feel for a family of four with someone always home all the time, that this is a really good number. As always, I will continue to reduce my usage. I just have to think about what to do next? I maybe at the point of diminishing returns. But, then again I am not doing this for the money. I am doing this because I find it to be like a game. And who does not like to win!
So I was trying to calculate heating requirements for my house. I was using this site for a little reference. I have R-19 walls and had R-38 ceiling. I run the numbers and I kept getting about half the BTUs. I was racking my brain and then it hit me. What about the windows and doors. You mean to tell me that I need 100% more energy just because I have windows and doors. Not to mention any air leaks. The short answer. YES!!!
Well, that is humbling. I guess when I replace the windows and doors I will look at getting the best I can buy. Also installation is key too. A great window installed incorrectly is just as efficient as a cheap window that has been installed perfectly. Weather sealing and expanding foam can make a huge difference. (IMHO anyway)
Amazon.com has quite a few review on this product. Most are very good. Only a few are 1 star. So I thought I would give it a try. Since I have a front load washer. One box should last for 160 loads. At the rate I do laundry, one box will last half a year.
How does it measure up? Well, I notice no difference at all. So in my book, that is a good thing. I took a risk buying it because I got four boxes. That would last almost 2 years. I figured if I did not like it I could sell it on eBay. For me, I just add it to the dispenser. The machine adds water and the mixture does not go on the clothes. It goes into the tub. This is good because the powerful mixture can ruin clothes. I’m safe!
Seventh Generation Claim
I can’t find any info about Country Save not using petroleum, but it is a powder!
It is a 25 Watt replacement. A15 bulb style. (normal bulbs are A19) This one is going into the freezer.
Here is a picture of a 40 Watt incandescent.
Original 40 Watt incandescent
Here is a picture of the “25 Watt” LED replacement.
"25 Watt" replacement LED
These are without flash and the same shutter speed. As you can see the LED is dimmer but it is also rated lower. The LED light is also directed out the front of the bulb. How does it look in the freezer? It looks just fine and the wife has not complained. Perfect!
First assumption is that you will throw away the CFL instead of recycling it. I am not going to do that and most likely neither are you. Let say you did. The biggest difference is that the mercury would be in a landfill and not in the air. Then after it rain it gets into the water way and …
While googling I found a great mercury coal resource for Indiana. I mean perfectly wonderful. The average amount of mercury in Indiana Coal is 0.11 mg/kg.
How much energy is in one kg of coal? According to Wikipedia. 2kW hours / kg.
If a CFL lasts 10,000 hours and it is a 23 Watt (100W incandescent), you would have to burn;
CFL >> 10,000 x 23 Watts = 230 kW hours
Incandescent >> 10,000 x 100 = 1000 kW hours
Difference of >> 770 kW hours or 770 kW hours / 2 kW per kg x 0.11 mg
42 mg of mercury
That seems to jive with what ours have calculated. Basically, it is better to use a CFL for reducing mercury then to stick with an incandescent. It is even better when you recycle the spent CFL.
I think if people used more gas appliances in their homes they could make “going solar” much easier. My last months bill was for 800 kW hours. I know that 100 kW hours is from my hot water heat pump. (If I had a resistive water heater it would have been at least three times that much) I also know that by removing some loads I have reduced my daily usage by about another 3 kW hours. That is almost another 100 kW hours. That would put me at 600 kW hours.
I have been running my gas furnace for over a week now. The furnace fan does not use as much wattage as I feared. Somewhere around 600 Watts. This has kept my daily usage well below 20 kW hours for this billing cycle. (below 600 kW hours for the month) If I could stay below the 600 kW hours mark during the winter, maybe that could help with the summer AC demands. (A new AC unit would really help that. Also a nicer blower fan too.)
I know that my electric stove uses around 2 kW hours a day to cook with. That is another 60 kW hours. (down to 540 kW hours) Now If I had a new fridge and dishwasher I bet I could reduce even more. Say 20 kW hours a month. (down to 520 kW hours) Now I would be really close to my 500kW hour goal.
If I could keep my month average to about 700 kW hours. I could get away with a 6 kW system. Still very expensive and not really doable. Even with prices on solar panels coming down, it would still cost at least $7 a watt installed, or $42,000. Minus the 30% incentive, $30,000.
What about gas assist solar air conditioning. That would be another blog.
I looked but I can not find one anywhere. So I made my own. I had an extra roll of R-13 insulation. I cut the roll into strips and taped the end together. Looks okay, but you have to remember this is in the utility room anyway.
Not Pretty, but not an issue.
I will have to watch the kill-a-watt and see if I get any better? Now with winter coming maybe my kw hrs won’t go up that much.
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