100 kWh challenge
For the last 4 months my electricity usage has been in the 115-120kWh range. One month it was only 105kWh. Ever since then I've idly wondered if I could get it below 100kWh because it is a beautiful round number. I've not tried real hard (or at all) to get that so it hasn't happened. Thus, I've decided my next billing period (approximately Jan 22nd - Feb 22nd) will be my 100kWh challenge. I want to challenge myself to have a reasonably normal month but bring my energy consumption below 100.
Starting Point
For all good challenges, it's important to keep in mind the starting point. If I was blasting a space heater, always kept my TV on, and used standard light bulbs it might be easier to cut my energy that quick 20%. However, I'm at a pretty low usage of electricity as it is already. My heat and stove are gas so that doesn't factor in. Energy conservation that I already do
Everyone has their limits. I'm sure I could do a drastic reduction and make extreme lifestyle changes, but I have certain comfort limits. There just aren't things I won't give up to hit the pretty 100 number. I won't drastically change my eating habits. I'll admit it, I love using my electric rice cooker rather than needing to keep an eye on it on the stove. I won't give up my electric blanket (though I may try to do some usage reduction). As I posted earlier, I'm still doing the Freeze Yer Buns Challenge and thus have my apartment set at 60 degrees. I already sleep with 4 blankets and a hat, so I'd rather use an electric blanket than raise the rest of the temp with my furnance. I won't completely give up TV/DVD time. Sometimes I just need the mental break that comes from watching a move. Lastly, I do want to make this a "normal" month. I won't play time games by doing all my laundry right before the period and making it stretch until after the experiment just so I don't use the washer and dryer. I probably could make the shirts last that long, but I'd be pushing it.
Details
The changes that I will make in order to attempt this reduction from January 20th to February 25th (just to give some buffer room on the billing periods) are:
As the challenge month goes on I'll do a couple updates but I probably won't be able to give the final results until mid-March since the billing is delayed.
Starting Point
For all good challenges, it's important to keep in mind the starting point. If I was blasting a space heater, always kept my TV on, and used standard light bulbs it might be easier to cut my energy that quick 20%. However, I'm at a pretty low usage of electricity as it is already. My heat and stove are gas so that doesn't factor in. Energy conservation that I already do
- Majority of light bulbs are CFLs (except in bathroom)
- Power strips to the TV, DVD player, Microwave, and second computer are left off unless being specifically used
- For every two wash loads of shirts/pants I only do one load in the dryer and the rest are air dried.
- I used natural light until it gets to dark to accomplish my task (read, navigate, etc)
Everyone has their limits. I'm sure I could do a drastic reduction and make extreme lifestyle changes, but I have certain comfort limits. There just aren't things I won't give up to hit the pretty 100 number. I won't drastically change my eating habits. I'll admit it, I love using my electric rice cooker rather than needing to keep an eye on it on the stove. I won't give up my electric blanket (though I may try to do some usage reduction). As I posted earlier, I'm still doing the Freeze Yer Buns Challenge and thus have my apartment set at 60 degrees. I already sleep with 4 blankets and a hat, so I'd rather use an electric blanket than raise the rest of the temp with my furnance. I won't completely give up TV/DVD time. Sometimes I just need the mental break that comes from watching a move. Lastly, I do want to make this a "normal" month. I won't play time games by doing all my laundry right before the period and making it stretch until after the experiment just so I don't use the washer and dryer. I probably could make the shirts last that long, but I'd be pushing it.
Details
The changes that I will make in order to attempt this reduction from January 20th to February 25th (just to give some buffer room on the billing periods) are:
- Reduce TV/DVD entertainment by not watching any reruns. I have a bad (?) habit of watching Scrubs for an hour every night while making/eating dinner. I've seen every episode at least 4 times.
- Instead of "watching" a movie while sewing, I will just listen to my iPod because surely it uses less energy than a TV and DVD player both going. I tend to watch Broadway Musicals while sewing since it's easy to keep track of where I am just by listening to the songs. However, I have the same and more soundtracks from these musical on my iPod.
- Try for 3 to 1 laundry load to dryer ratio. This will require pulling out more items to be air dried and shifting how I sort laundry, but I think it can be done. The greatest challenge here is honestly running out of drying rack space. In general (beyond this challenge) I need to look into getting a clothes line.
- Turn off my laptop and internet overnight. Only the laptop/cable modem and my fridge continously have power. The laptop and internet is that I just don't like waiting for the modem to start up and my computer to start up before checking email in the morning. Realistically, I could do without the morning email check all together since I can easily check it less than 30 minutes later at work.
- Do not use the microwave just for the timer function. I can use a watch or one of the other clocks to judge how long its been cooking..
As the challenge month goes on I'll do a couple updates but I probably won't be able to give the final results until mid-March since the billing is delayed.