Saving on Electricity - a Progress Report
Our annual meter reading just came up and the numbers are in. Did we make it? Did we use less electricity than last year? Read on to get all the numbers.
First true option to compare
This year (Nov 16- Nov 17) is the first real option we have to compare our use of electricity. We moved into our current flat in May of 2015, our son was born in November of 2015, so when comparing this year's usage to last years, it's as close to apples to apples as we can get. Over the two years, we've made a lot of changes. We've added a freezer and a dishwasher, we've gotten a new TV and my husband got an Xbox and we exchanged a couple of light bulbs for LEDs. All of these changes have happened gradually, so there's no telling when they affected or usage from.
The numbers
In our first full year of living in the flat, we used 1676 kWh. It's difficult to find actual numbers to compare that to but from what I can tell, based on our energy company's site, we use about 45-50% less than the average family of our size. I'm not too concerned with that number though. We are not motivated by the climate, or holier-than-thou feelings in our energy saving efforts, we're motivated by our wallet.
This year, our total energy usage came in at 1671 kWh, so it was essentially the same at last year, saving us a grand total of about $2.
This gives us a weekly average usage of about 32 kWh.
What's next
I'm very happy that our usage hasn't gone up. The addition of the Xbox was a concern for me, and the new LED bulbs have only had a couple of months to do their magic in. I still want to lower our overall usage and since it can literally be days without the TV being turned on I want to see if we can turn it completely off in the meantime. I'm a little afraid that it will mess up its internet connection, but we'll see. I also have yet to experiment with turning off the internet at night.
As for setting a somewhat realistic goal, I would love to lower our average weekly usage to 30 kWh, which would be 2 kWh less than this year, or a total of 104 kWh less for the entire year. If we could manage that, it would save us about $37 a year and that's a lot of money in our world.
The sad thing of where I live is that because I have done a good job of cutting back electricity for me it now costs more to bring the electricity to the house then the amount I use every month!!! Now that is frustrating!!!!
I can see that. We pay a lot more fees as well as the simple cost of the electricity, but I've chosen to count that as the cost of the electricity in my mind to make it less painful.
OMGosh!
I have to look. I mean, I know I keep track of it to some degree; but where we live and our utility provider, we are on a "Budget-Wise" program and we pay the same amount every month. But twice a year they review our account and make adjustments.
I know they also offer a home visit where they come out and tell you how and where to save money.
You have given me the incentive to pull up my last year's worth of billings and have them come out and do a walk-through to see where we can save.
THANK YOU!!
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YES! Do that! I would be really interested in hearing what they advise you to do. I'm glad I could be of some service to you :)
Our plan is billed quarterly but on the same equal billing principle. We should have paid a couple of $ more than what we actually used, so I'm expecting a tiny refund some time soon.
And thank you so much for the extra boost.
I also know that our state, specifically our county, has a FREE program that has an employee and energy person come out and checks for drafts, appliance efficiency, etc... all ways to save money. You're allowed to have the inspection once every 10 years (I think it is) and if you financially qualify, they allow you money and PAY for Energy Star appliance updates, furnace cleanings, etc. I may have a new project for this week.
Oh yes! You have given me some food for thought on this chilly Thursday morning!
Do you know what that program is called?
It's been forever and a day since I did an article about it for the newspaper- back in 2005-2006 but I think it was something like weatherization energy program. It was through the state dept of health and human services. I imagine if you search or google those keywords for your state you may find something comparable
Thanks I believe I found it.
https://energy.gov/eere/wipo/weatherization-assistance-program
Those are some really good initiatives.
I replaced all the bulbs in this house with LED shortly after moving in, they are brighter and use less electricity so it's worth the investment.
Agreed. We still have some energy saving bulbs as well, but everytime we need a new one we've opted for LED
We use on average a little under 5000 kWh per year - a figure I would much like to reduce. But living in a 200 year old farmhouse with 3 children it is quite difficult. The stone walls are hard to insulate and the windows are small so we need lights on most of the time.
Next year we should be getting the first of our PV solar panels so I am hoping they will begin to offset our electricity usage.
That is sooooo cool. I want solar badly, but with the current regulations, I'm not sure it will be worth it for us once we move.
It will be interesting to see how much it will save you and how long it will take to recoup the cost.
We redid most of the stuff in our house. LEDs throughout. Ceiling fans instead of aircon. Reinsulated the ceiling, blinds and pelmets. We saw a huge drop in use
I can imagine that. Thankfully we don't need to heat or cool our home with electricity.
You have me interested to look into ways that I can save on our electricity! Thank you for that!
You're welcome.
Great inniative,well done very creative work..
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