Change lightbulbs to CFLs (Change 135)

According to the ENERGY STAR (a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy)  "If every American home replaced just one light bulb with a light bulb that's earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year, save about $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to those from about 800,000 cars."  http://www.energystar.gov

I admit, that is a lot of energy to be saved.  The savings comes from replacing one incandescent bulb with one CFL bulb (compact fluorescent light bulb). It works about to be about 75% less energy than a regular incandescent bulb.

I had questions, though, about the other environmental implications of CFLs.  My main concern was the mercury content in the bulbs.  As long as you don't break a light bulb, you should be OK.  Break it though, and you'd better hope to have a window available to open ASAP.  You do NOT want to breathe that stuff in!  It also means that CFLs are considered hazardous waste, and cannot be disposed of in your regular garbage, but taken to a special waste depot for disposal.  How many people actually clean up broken bulbs properly and dispose of used bulbs properly?  The potential long-term health concerns worry me a little.

Great debate rages, and no one has a real answer.  Your opinion on CFLs mainly depends on which side of the fence you sit on - more concern for the environment or more concern for the perceived impacts on your health and/or wallet.  Natural Resources Canada has a great FAQ on CFLs, for those needing help deciding where to sit (http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/business/manufacturers/11423)

I've done my research, and I sit on the side of the environment.  To me, the potential benefits far outweigh the small risk incurred.  The Government of Canada feels the same (http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/regulations/17725).  By 2014, most lights will use CFL bulbs.

We've decided to start earlier.  Every time we need to replace a bulb, we will be replacing it with a CFL, rather than an incandescent one.  This will be easier on our pocketbook, and won't result in the premature tossing of perfectly good light bulbs into the garbage.

It will also make our environment a little brighter, and the air a little easier to breathe.

Be powerWISE (Day 93)

As part of the theme of saving energy, I decided to calculate exactly how much energy my house was using.  I know I have my hydro bills to tell me, but I don't get the individual breakdown of each appliance.  I visited the powerWISE website (http://powerwise.ca/resources/powerwise-calculator/) to find out.

That was an eye opener.  Did you know that the average toaster uses 1150 watts of hydro per hour?  Or that an electric kettle uses 1500 watts? The average water heater is 3800 watts.

This tool allows me to figure out which appliances are costing me the most money and energy usage, so I can manage my electricity consumption better.  I've targeted a few areas for improvement, and I am anxious to see if my lower consumption goals are reasonable.

Turn furnace fan to "auto" (Day 90)

More electricity saving measures.  I'm got a bee in my bonnet over electricity these days.  I just paid my hydro bill - not pretty.  I don't understand how we're using all of these kW hrs.  Yes, I am home during the day, so certain things are going to be used more often, generating electricity use.  But this last bill was ridiculous.  I'm going to be a "hydro-nazi" until we get our power usage under control.

One of the areas I'm targeting this week is the furnace fan.  We've generally left it running all the time, as we have found the furnace actually comes on less when the air is circulated constantly through the house.  I can't help but think that a fan running all the time is eating up our hydro.  As part of the eco-challenge, DH and I have turned the furnace fan to "auto" - it will only come on when the furnace actually turns on to heat/cool the house.  Since we keep our house fairly cool in the winter, I don't foresee the furnace coming on with greater frequency even though the air is not circulating as much. 

I hope this change is reflected in my next hydro bill.

Invest in front-door screen (Day 31)

This post is a bit of a cheat, because I had already made this change just before I started my eco-challenge.  However, after discussing this idea with friends, I decided to include this as one of my changes.

DH and I bought a retractable screen door for our front door.  With the layout of our house, the front door is a straight line to the back patio doors.  We have a screen on the back door, and always have it open on nice days.  However, until last month, I was unable to take advantage of our corner lot and its constant breeze at the front. The front of the house is also north facing, with a deep front porch, so it keeps the house really cool.


Now, with the front door and back door open, we get a beautiful cross-breeze through the lower part of our house.  I have had the air conditioner on about two days since I've had the screen door, despite several 30C plus days.  We have definitely saved energy as we are not using the air nearly as much.  The house isn't as stuffy, and there is a delightful breeze that blows gently throughout most of the day. 

It's just a little piece of heaven.

I'm no longer plugged in. (Day 7)

Well, sort of.  Not plugged in, I mean. 

I followed another of Vanessa's changes and unplugged any electronic equipment not currently in use in our house.  The toaster, the telephone charger, the coffee maker, some of the table lights.  The only exception was the computer/modem/printer combo, as I am a little leery about messing with that, and the TV/stereo system (as I can't reach it to unplug it.  Like Vanessa, I'd have to move a very heavy stereo stand to get at the plug.)  I shut the computer down every night, so although we are still drawing phantom energy, it is not as much as if the machine was left on all the time.

The coffee maker is the one that concerns me the most. 

Although I am a morning person, I usually need my coffee to really wake up and be ready for the day.  Poor DH can't FUNCTION without the stuff.  He usually stumbles around in the morning trying to figure out where to put the water and the coffee in machine, until I take pity on him and do it for him.  Hence, coffee making is my job.

I have visions of me muttering and mumbling that the stupid thing is broken because it won't turn on, until I remember, like an idiot, that I unplugged it.    I can hear the conversation now - "Honey, the coffee maker isn't working. Do you think we need a new one?" "Did you check to see if it's plugged in?" Silence. "Oh, right". Plug item in. "Never mind."

Wish me luck tomorrow morning - I will probably need it.