Resolutions

I have one big resolution for this year: I resolve to improve my living environment.

It's embarrassing to admit that this area of my life is not under control.  There are many things that I could improve, and I could easily overwhelm myself with a long list of habits to change, but not all of them affect my bank statement. This one does.

After seeing 6 months worth of energy usage reports from my electric utility, SMUD, I will finally admit that the results are not due to unusual circumstances, but really do reflect our typical usage. 

It seems that we are a household of energy hogs.

Sure, we've replaced our light bulbs with compact fluorescents, we've weather-stripped the doors, we've planted shade trees and purchased Energy Star appliances. I use laundry racks to dry our clothes when it's sunny. These things have not made a sizable dent in our bill.

We like our technological comforts. Our computers, televisions, and many other things that plug into the wall each get quite a workout. All day. Sometimes all night.

Squeeze used SMUD's usage calculator last night and we have found several things we can do to reduce our electricity consumption by changing our habits.

For January, we are going to attempt an experiment to see how late night energy use affects our overall consumption. The boys have agreed to try to get to bed by 11, with lights, computers, and televisions turned off. We will do the same.

To reduce hidden usage, we're going to put our entertainment appliances on power strips, and turn them off there so they don't lurk in standby mode.

There are many other things on my mental list of things that can be done to improve our energy efficiency, but we have to start somewhere.

And January the time for new beginnings.