Smart Energy Today

Well we finally got our September electric and gas bills which show the first month results of our energy reduction effort. Since we were only able to install 8 CFLs most of the savings probably came from the new energy star washer and gas dryer that we purchases and installed at the end of August. Here are our usage figures for September:

1. Electric: 891 kwh (Aug: 1492 kwh, Avg: 1043 kwh) - 14.5% Reduction
2. Natural Gas: 20 CCF (Sept. 2006: 34 CCF) - 41% Reduction

The switch from the electric dryer to the new gas dryer did lower our electric usage quite a bit. In fact, our electric usage has been reduce by 14.5% from our average of 1043 kwh/mo mostly due to the new washer and dryer. As for the gas, I was worried that the gas dryer would increase our gas bill from last year. I was surprised that we only used 20 CCF, our lowest monthly figure since we moved into this house. So I am very happy with the new washer and dryer. Another side effect of the new washer is that our water usage has also dropped by almost 30% and is also at its lowest level ever.

Monetarily, the new washer and dryer have saved us $15 on electric bill, $15 on gas bill and $20 on our water bills for a total of $50 this month. Based on their purchase price of $1,300, the washer and dryer will pay for themselves in 26 months. In looking at the purchase as an investment, the annualized return is around 46% (pretty impressive.)

October Plans:

Now that we have made some headway through the month of September, we are not going to work even harder in October to reach our goals.  We plan to replace most of the lights in the house with CFLs and install powerstrips for the computer system and the entertainment system.  In addition we are going to work on getting into the habit of turning things off or unplugging them when not in use or when we leave a room.  Nothing is as wasteful as leaving lights or equipment on in an empty room.