A little experiment is being run at my house. I want to see what happens to the electric usage when all those little lights are not on. I unplug the microwave and only plug it in when I want to use it. I have to turn the Bunn Coffee maker on in the morning to heat the water since I turn off the surge protector that it is plugged in to. Surge protectors also get turned off at the T.V. and stereo equipment. Even the little T.V. upstairs. The phone with the light is unplugged unless I am downstairs where I might need it. All the lights in the house have CFL light bulbs in them. Chargers are unplugged when not in use. Even the computer's surge protector is turned off when the computer is not in use. No more little lights blinking on the modem or anywhere for that matter. Except for the alarm clock. Guess I am too lazy to re-set it every night. Should go get a wind up one. Naw, I would forget to wind it.
Will it make much of a difference. I don't know yet. Time will tell.
6 comments:
You will have to let me know how it works out. I did turn my furnance down 5 degrees this winter brrrr but did see a small differance.
Assuming you pay 20 cents per KwH for electricity, a four watt bulb (typical night light wattage) will burn one kilowatt of electricity in 250 hours. Unplug it for a month and you'll save ~60 cents. I know the "wall wart" power supplies burn energy even when they are not being used. Not sure how much. Let us know how this comes out. If you fall asleep with the TV on though, you could skew the results. :-)
An alarm clock is a necessity in every household to keep us on time with our daily activities especially if you're always on the go.
Good point about falling asleep with the TV on, except it won't skew the results because I always sleep with the TV on. The next CILCO bill should give me an indication.
Good for you! I walk around my house and see things that are plugged in that I never use. I think I like this idea.... definitely keep us updated.
I signed us up for the powersmartpricing option, where you buy your electricity by the hour, instead of a flat rate. We saved $45 last month...granted we use more electricity than the average household. If you have the flexibility to NOT run certain appliances like electric dryers or electric water heaters at certain times of day, then I would recommend everybody sign up for powersmartpricing.
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