Lessons from one’s children
A 100-car plus coal train rumbling through town caught our children’s attention last summer in a different way. This is a typical train that runs through town a couple of times per day, at least that we know of. The parent-children volley was a tag team between my 7 year old twins, 9 year old and myself. It went like this:
‘What’s that stuff in the train cars?’
‘Coal.’
‘Why is coal on the trains?’
‘Electricity’.
‘Coal makes electricity’?
‘Eventually. By burning coal, power plants boil water, which produces steam, which turns large turbines, which generate electricity’. (Long pause.)
‘Burning things pollutes the environment’.
‘Yes, it is absolutely not the best solution. Let’s do some math… (calculations) That’s quite a few tons of coal day after day’.
‘Where else can we get electricity’? Ding!
We got home, looked around online, found http://www.powertochoose.org/ and made the switch to Green Mountain energy. At least we made the attempt, more on that later… The kids were ‘proud’ of their parents for making the right choice about using wind generated electricity. I was more excited about their making a difference. Easy to get so caught up in life or believing my own space on the planet can’t make a difference. Easy to lose consciousness that it starts here, and then with the next generation, etc. Basic stuff, right?
This is where ‘dork dad’, as my wife says, engaged. We went around and looked at all of the electricity that we used, that we could see. We then began calculating watt hours (the number of watts something consumes in an hour) of light bulbs and various appliances.
We had over 50 incandescent lights in the house (excluding the small chandelier bulbs, whatever they’re called) that averaged between 60 and 100 watts each (If all were on concurrently, those alone would use around 4000 watts of electricity per hour, or 4 kilowatts).
Kids run out the door to catch the bus or play, and invariably leave their light fixtures on. 240 watts each. Ceiling fans. Nightlights. Closet lights. TV’s. Bathroom lights. Radios. All consuming. $450-$500 electric bill? Duh.
Light bulbs were the ‘low hanging fruit’. With a trip to Costco, we purchased CFC’s which consume 13-15 watts each but illuminate just as well, including recessed lighting (only some work with dimmers, research first). Then nightlights. These things typically burn 4 watts each, but are pretty much on 7X24.
We found, again at Costco, ½ watt LED nightlights that last a long, long time. The type we found also have color selection, my wife was able to set the color, by pushing a button, to the individual room. I got a passing grade on that one. She’s still getting used to the CFCs; they’re not ‘instant on’ but gradual. They do take a short while to warm up. Fifty CFC light bulbs later, a package of ½ watt LED nightlights, and we can save (if all lights are on at once), around 3300 watts per hour.
We spent around $60 on this project, which was recovered in the first month. I firmly believe by being more conscious, as well as making the switch made this payoff occur so quickly. Our electricity bill has averaged 25% lower month over month vs. last year same months, since September ‘06.
The fridge, washer and dryer were next. Front load GE washers and dryers replaced the Maytag top load washer and older dryer. We have lowered water consumption by over 1000 gallons per month. In terms of 1 gallon milk jugs, that’s a fair amount. Electric consumption went down again due to better spin cycle on front load, and more efficient dryer with moisture sensors that shut off automatically, not when the dial makes it around to the ‘off’ position. With the fridge, the kids must know what they want before they open the door. The coils are vacuumed every few months as pointed out in other articles on this site.
Found and repaired drafty areas in the home; door jams with additional weather stripping, areas in attic with uneven insulation cover (if you place your hand on the ceiling during high temperature differentiation days; colder or warmer outside than in), you can feel areas that have less insulation cover in the attic. Thanks kids for the eye opener.
Solar is next if the HOA allows it. A bill was recently passed that may eliminate the need to gain approval for adding solar, which is encouraging. We’ll see how that pans out.
Closing off on Green Mountain Energy… I live in a ‘Regulated’ area and cannot switch; Tri-County Co-Op is the monopoly of choice for now. Make the switch for us until we’re able to do the right thing here.
With the TXU announcement yesterday of ‘no unilateral action’ shutting down plants, Disregarding $2.5Bn profits last year, we should all think about what is really going on, and what we really need to do. Smells like energy providers out west some years ago. What was the name of the energy outfit that was involved? Where is California now with being more conscientious? Most of the time ‘conservation’ runs against the grain in casual conversation. We need to each do the right thing to make an impact. Thanks to the editor for bringing awareness and a forum to facilitate a positive change.
