Electricity
I was replying to Twisted Logic's post about switching over to renewable power and it got me thinking. Casey and I don't do a whole lot to decrease our electricity use, but we are way below average. When we switched over to renewable power, I looked at how much we use compared to the average for a house of our size. We are at aboout 1/4 of the norm. The biggest difference I see is that we don't have kids yet. I'd assume that most people with a 2000 sq. ft. home have two kids. Even if we did and our power usage doubled (which I doubt it would), we'd still be at 1/2 the usage.
So, this is what I think we do to use less electricity.
1. We use some compact fluorescent lights. Some, but the light isn't the best quality, so a lot are normal incandescent.
2. We have pretty new appliances. Our newer fridge and dryer (big energy users)are not Energy Star certified, though.
3. We turn off our lights. This is probably a big difference between us and many people. We're very conscious about turning off lights.
4. No A/C. Seriously, it's only "necessary" for a couple of days a year in Portland. We just slept in the basement for those few days.
There are a few things that should really increase our power usage.
1. Amplified instruments. I don't use them a lot, but my guitar amp is vintage...hence not very effecient.
2. Automatic floodlights. There are lights on motion detectors on the outside of our house. They go on and off during the night. I can't do anything about that.
This just makes me wonder why our power use is so low. Do our small habits really decrease power usage or is there something else we do to use less power?
So, this is what I think we do to use less electricity.
1. We use some compact fluorescent lights. Some, but the light isn't the best quality, so a lot are normal incandescent.
2. We have pretty new appliances. Our newer fridge and dryer (big energy users)are not Energy Star certified, though.
3. We turn off our lights. This is probably a big difference between us and many people. We're very conscious about turning off lights.
4. No A/C. Seriously, it's only "necessary" for a couple of days a year in Portland. We just slept in the basement for those few days.
There are a few things that should really increase our power usage.
1. Amplified instruments. I don't use them a lot, but my guitar amp is vintage...hence not very effecient.
2. Automatic floodlights. There are lights on motion detectors on the outside of our house. They go on and off during the night. I can't do anything about that.
This just makes me wonder why our power use is so low. Do our small habits really decrease power usage or is there something else we do to use less power?