Words from the Woman

Greetings from the inside! This is Andrea. I'm Jeff's wife, and the co-conspirator involved in these experiments. I have been teasing Jeff that "the other half" ought to have a chance to voice the impact that trying to be more energy conscious has had on me.
Jeff has graciously given me a moment on this forum, so....

The LED lights weren't so great. Good idea - poor execution. Made our hallway look like an art museum. Not the look I need when heading for the bathroom at midnight!

The CFL lightbulbs have taken some getting used to - but I love the energy savings. The first generation bulbs cast a brownish light, but these current ones warm up to a yellow, and offer plenty of light. They are even in our bedside lamps.

Jeff put in a programmable thermostat (over my boisterous objection!) - but he's right. It does make a difference to have the thermostat set low during the day, and turn on before we get home.

We've got smart strips in a few places in the house- the most efficient one is the one of the TV. Turn the TV off, and it turns off all the accessories (DVD, VHS, video games, whatever) - but leaves the chargers and the cable box on. Really cool - and makes me happy knowing that all that stuff is off.

Last but absolutely NOT least - my favorite JDS purchase for the house: the little electric meter reader. This little gadget is about $100 - and one small piece is attached to your outside electric meter. The larger display is somewhere in your house - ours is in the kitchen. It's free standing, so you can put it wherever you want. This little gadget tell me how much energy is being pulled into the house at any given minute. You can change the read out to show kilowatt hours, or how much money is being spent at that moment. It has become a game I play - to see how low I can get the house while still enjoying life. Currently I can get down to 0.2-0.3 KW/hr while doing computer work, or watching TV, but still going about my life. It is surprsing to see it suddenly spike to 8 or 10 KW/hr - until you realize that you hear the furnace running, the refrigerator cycling, or some other high energy user.
If you have kids that are inconsistent about turning off lights or using too much water - try this gadget! Knowing how much you energy you are using is the first step in changing behaviors to get more efficient.

Thanks to my host for letting me have this space. Let us know what you think as you try some of your energy ideas.