POWERING DOWNToward a 90 kWh month

WHO ARE WE?

Will Emigh – number cruncher, analyst

Maggie Sullivan – mastermind, implementer

Greencouple.com

SIREN CONTEST

Southern Indiana Renewable Energy Network

Reduce 2010 usage compared to 2009

We already did a lot in 2009; could we do

more?

Terminology: kW vs. Watt, kW vs. kWh

2009 VS. 2010

Janu

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March

April

MayJu

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Augus

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100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2009 2010

OUR GOAL: 90 KWH A MONTH

For the environment, what matters is how much electricity you use

For comparison, it’s useful to look at usage per square foot

675 sq. feet

45 kWh

1350 sq. feet

90 kWh

2700 sq. feet

180 kWh

HOW MUCH IS 3 KWH?

2 60-Watt bulbs on for a day

A 20 year-old refrigerator in a day

One load of clothes in the dryer

A desktop computer and monitor on for a day

HOW DOES THAT COMPARE?

Based on average annual usage Adjusted to our home size

USA

520 kWh

100%

Chicago

380 kWh

70%

Us, 2009

258 kWh

50%

Goal

90 kWh

20%

POP QUIZ!

How much electricity do these items use?

CFL

Laptop

Space heater

Dishwasher

Clothes dryer

CORRECT ANSWER: HOW WOULD I KNOW?

People overestimate low-usage items and

underestimate high-usage items

Unless it’s Energy Star, you probably can’t

tell in the store

A Kill-A-Watt can tell you for plug-in items

ACTUAL ANSWERS

“Public perceptions of energy consumption and savings” by Attari, DeKay, Davidson, de Bruin

ACTUAL ANSWERS

How much electricity do these items use?

CFL 12 Wh

Laptop 30 Wh

Space heater 900 Wh

Dishwasher 1200 Wh

Clothes dryer 6000 Wh

TOO MANY COOKS

There’s lots of advice out there

Not all of it applies to our climate, home, or

lifestyle Our rules:

Track usage Try new things Measure specifically when possible

HOW MIGHT WE DIFFER FROM YOU?

1350 sq ft house Gas heat & stove (although furnace still uses

a lot of power for the fan) Work from home No kids (but a dog) No dishwasher Good house orientation (windows across from

each other, south-facing windows, etc.)

TRACKING (OVER 200 MEASUREMENTS)

1/2/

10

1/11

/10

1/20

/10

1/29

/10

2/7/

10

2/16

/10

2/25

/10

3/6/

10

3/15

/10

3/24

/10

4/2/

10

4/11

/10

4/20

/10

4/29

/10

5/8/

10

5/17

/10

5/26

/10

6/4/

10

6/13

/10

6/22

/10

7/1/

10

7/10

/10

7/19

/10

7/28

/10

8/6/

10

8/15

/10

8/24

/10

9/2/

10

9/11

/10

9/20

/10

0

5

10

15

20

25

TRACKING

I mark down current measurement, time, and

comments every day after work

Can buy real-time monitors, but they tend to

be expensive

Working with Ted Mendoza of Gengee to

create an iPhone app to make it easier

MEASURING

Can’t tell what to focus on when you don’t

know what’s working

Kill-A-Watt works for normal outlets

Larger items (water heater, furnace) can be

estimated through tracking

We turned off our water heater while on vacation

to see how the base load changed

HEATING/COOLING ARE THE BIGGEST CULPRITS

Freezer Refrigerator Hot tub/pool heater A/C Furnace Water heater Dryer Stove/Oven

PRE-CHALLENGE, WHAT DID WE DO?

No impact on our quality of life

No major expenses

No major effort

LOW-POWER SETTING ON LAPTOPS

Desktop with monitor can draw 150 Watts

Laptop draws 30 Watts

Netbook draws 15 Watts

Hibernation is less than 1 Watt

Suspend uses effectively no energy

Over 2 kWh per day for desktop on continuously

Our average laptop usage: < 0.5 kWh

POWER STRIPS FOR ALMOST EVERYTHING

TV

Wii

DVD player

Toaster oven

Stereo

Cable box

Anything with a clock or a remote

LIGHTING: CFLS

Cheap (often free through deals – check with

your utility company)

20% electrical usage compared to

incandescents

Produce less waste heat

Reduced bulbs in fixtures (don’t need 4 bulbs

in the bathroom at night)

HIGH IN THE SUMMER,LOW IN THE WINTER

Set thermostat to 78 in summer (75 during

the hour we’re trying to get to sleep)

Set thermostat to 65 in winter (60 while

asleep)

Check utility company for deals on

programmable thermostats

POST-CHALLENGE, WHAT DID WE DO?

Made sacrifices

Didn’t worry about whether we could

maintain long-term

Spent more money

Tried more things

Cut out tiny things just because we could

Charged laptop during business meetings

Stayed in the same room to reduce light use

NEW REFRIGERATOR

Old one (17 years) drew 2.6 kWh a day!

New Energy Star unit of same size uses 0.6

kWh a day

Cost $700 minus some rebates (check with

your utility company)

Will pay for itself in about 10 years (less if

rates go up)

NO A/C

Closed windows and blinds during the day,

opened at night

Fans set up to encourage air replacement at

night and ceiling fan

Cool water in fridge; ice pops in freezer

Occasional escapes to A/C (movie theater,

etc.)

Got up to 82 in the house (prior to heat wave

in July/August)

NO DRYER (LINE DRYING)

Our dryer uses 4-6 kWh per load!

No such thing as Energy Star dryer

Set up drying rack for underwear/socks

Used two lines that got good afternoon sun to

dry everything else

CAMP SHOWER (WHOA!)

Our water heater uses about 1-2 kWh to reheat

We tried cold showers, but it was too cold!

Purchased a kit at Dick’s Sporting Goods

Black 5-gallon bag with spigot

Plastic privacy barriers that hang from a tree

Put a welcome mat underneath to keep feet cleaner

Put bag in the sun in the morning

Sometimes took bag inside to use, but it was

unwieldy

SOLAR COOKING

Didn’t actually help much, since our stove is

gas (but an electric stove draws 2.4 kW!)

Sometimes replaced slow cooker use, which

is about 600 Wh for ours

Fun to put rice out in the morning and eat it

at night

SMALL SOLAR CHARGER FOR PHONES

Take forever to charge

Phones (even smart phones) don’t draw

much power

Not worth it unless camping or traveling

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!

On-demand water heater

More efficient washer/dryer

Solar water heater

PV panels

Light-colored metal roof

Attic fan

SOLAR FURNACE!

Our winter electrical use is 1.5-2x summer

Furnace fan

Harder to heat water

Solar furnace fan uses 90 Watts

Produces hot air continuously on sunny days

Come visit on Sunday!

WE DID IT!

June 2009

258 kWh

100%

June 2010

71 kWh

28%

NOT SUSTAINABLE

We like taking showers in the morning

Line drying isn’t always convenient

Raining

Too many clothes

Can’t be around to put them out/bring them in

Sometimes it gets really hot!

Winter!

STILL, WE’RE DOING WELL

June

71

28%

July

111

42%

August

157

60%

September

~118

~40%

REMEMBER THIS?

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2009 2010

WHAT DO WE RECOMMEND?

Focus on things that are on a lot

Focus on things that draw a lot of power

Check out new technology

Energy Star refrigerators

Solar furnace/water heater/panel

Don’t worry too much about curtailment

REPLACE INCANDESCENT WITH CFLS

No reason not to at this point

Probably won’t save a lot, but the return on

investment is high

HIBERNATE/SUSPEND COMPUTERS

Leaving a desktop on is worse than leaving a

light on

Leaving a laptop on is worse than leaving a

CFL on

Easy to change power settings

Easy to hibernate/suspend when not in use

REPLACE OLD APPLIANCES

Refrigerator

Greatest change in efficiency in the last 10 years

Water heater

Clothes dryer

Washing machine

Efficient ones cut down on dryer time as well

REMOVE EXTRANEOUS HEATERS/COOLERS

A fridge in the garage

A chest freezer

Even a tiny dorm fridge uses almost as much

as a normal one!

SOLAR WATER HEATING

Makeshift (camp shower)

Cheap

Easy to setup

Professional

Can shower in the morning

Easier to shower inside

LINE DRY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

Clothes dryers are TERRIBLE

Line dry in the summer

Line dry in the winter

If you have to use a clothes dryer

Make sure your washer is spinning most of the

water out

Vent heated air into the home in winter

HOW MUCH ARE WE TALKING?

Jan

$56

$56

Feb

$115

$46

Mar

$56

$50

Apr

$43

$45

May

$42

$39

Jun

$42

$25

Jul

$43

$18

Aug

$43

$23

Sept

$49

$29

All

$489

$331

QUESTIONS?www.greencouple.com