Our First Hydro Bill for Our New Home

I mentioned in another house that it is very difficult to compare energy usage between two houses even if they are identical home.  There are a lot of factors that affect energy usage.  We just received our first hydro bill for our new home.  We moved in on September 1 and the billing period ended October 5.  We used a total of 523 kWh with 336 kWh at off peak rate.  The good news is a good portion of our hydro usage is during off peak hours.  The bad news is the consumption is up from September of last year at our old house.  I certainly was not impressed to see that 79.86% of neighbouring homes used less hydro than we did for that month.  We are used to being on the lower end of hydro use.  Given we were away for two weeks during September of each year, I would have expected our usage at the new house to be lower but instead it was higher.  One month is not enough usage to determine if our hydro usage will remain higher here especially since there was higher usage due to the actual move (eg. AC on but doors constantly opening to bring things in, power tools, charging lawn mower batteries, and etc.).  However, I am speculating over the course of a year our overall consumption will be about the same.  Here are some of the changes from our last house to this one.  The ones that will save us money are in green while the ones that will cost us money are in red.  Hopefully, there will be enough in the green to keep us on track.

• cooking - We used hydro for cooking at our last house but using natural gas for cooking here.  This is a big change as natural gas is about a third of the cost of hydro here so we should see a difference on hydro usage.
• lighting - By design it was necessary to have 8 to 12 lights on even during the day at our old house from the time we got up to late evening.  This house has plenty of natural light so at most one or two lights are on but only on the dull, dreary days or briefly when in the laundry room or pantry.  Ceiling lighting in the games room and our bedroom is halogen and one bathroom has the narrow base incandescent bulbs.  The games room lights are recessed so would be a pain to change out and they are only on when the room is being used for larger gatherings so we will likely leave them as is.  Neither bathroom has a window meaning the lights are on when in use.  We are installing a solar tube in the upper level bathroom in the spring.
• air conditioning - Our old house was on waterfront property (natural cooling effect) with a good cross air current.  The main living was on the lower level that was mainly below grade so was always cool in the summer.  As a result the air conditioning was only used on the uncomfortably humid days.  Our new house is wide open on one side and the back but lacks the natural cooling effect of a larger body of water.  We anticipate having to run the central air more often here.  The unit is likely as old as the house, almost 14 years.  The central air at our last house was only 4 years old so more efficient.  Clogged floor vents were discovered here and the furnace filter was blocked that would make the AC work harder but we did get them cleared out so the HVAC should work more efficiently. 
• televisions - We had a television in the family room, game room and master bedroom of our last house, each with satellite receivers.  Two of the tvs were in regular usage almost daily and quite often I would have the family room tv on during the day for the noise.  In this house we still have three tvs.  Two are brand new Phillips LCD 32" screen to replace the two older CRT (tube) televisions.  These are hooked to one satellite receiver rather than two, eliminating one hot box.  They are EnergyStar® certified and are only on when the games room is being used, about once a month.  We eliminated the television from our bedroom entirely and I've returned to not having the television on during the day.
• refrigerators - We had a Whirlpool ED2FHXSQ02 22 cubic foot side-by-side refrigerator and an Igloo Party refrigerator (4.6 cubic feet) at our last house.  We brought both with us but the Igloo is not plugged in and the Whirlpool is now the games room refrigerator.  We have a 26 cubic foot Maytag MZD2666KEB in the kitchen.  Both the Whirlpool and Maytag refrigerators are EnergyStar® certified but obviously running two larger fridges will cost us a bit more.  Of note, the Maytag was so blocked underneath with dust and hair that it clogged the vacuum twice while trying to clean out the clog.  This was costing in terms of higher energy usage but now we have it cleaned out so the cost should be reduced.
• dishwasher - Our old house had a Bosch SHE44C02UC bought in 2007 when we moved into our last house.  It was a nice machine and I have no complaints but I chose a Whirlpool Gold Quiet Partner Esquire GU2475XTVB1 for this house.  The Bosch is super energy efficient but we got an excellent deal on the Whirlpool because we bought the natural gas stove at the same time.  It is EnergyStar® certified using 40% less energy than older models because it has a low wattage motor but it is not as energy efficient as the Bosch.  It says that some loads can average 2 to 3 hours but I have not experienced that yet.  The loads are running the normal hour or so.  The nice feature is there is a 4 hour delay so I can load the dishwasher then set it to run during off-peak hours something I could not do with the Bosch.
• swimming pool - We had swimming pools in our first two houses but not our last three so we are aware of the associated costs.  Right now there is no way of telling how much hydro the pool will use but it is newer equipment so shouldn't be too bad.  There is no doubt it will cost though for the months of June through September.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Electricity Conservation

Originally the TOU electricity pricing came into effect in Ontario to promote energy conservation.  The concept was rather simple.  Shifting certain electricity usage to off-peak hours it would lessen the strain on the aging electrical grid in Ontario as well as to help phase in green sources of energy.  In light of this I thought I would share a few electricity conservation tips:

• lighting - In Ontario lighting comprises 4% of the electricity used portion of the bill which 43% of the total bill or $1.72 but in reality with service charges lighting costs $4 per month.  In the big picture aside of switching to CFL and/or solar there really is very little that can be done with respect to lighting to save money.  The mantra as always is off is better than on but quite frankly there will be little noticeable difference if you forget to turn off a CFL.  Now every little bit helps so get into the habit of turning off lights.  An alternative is to install solar tubes wherever possible in your home.  Candle light is nice at night but it does cost about 3X as much as electricity so while it is nice for atmosphere it is not a practical substitution.  
• washer - Switching running the washer using cold water from on-peak to off-peak hours with save 5¢ per load.  At one or two loads per week there isn't much incentive but at 5 loads that's 25¢ or $13 per year.
• dryer - If you have a gas dryer the electricity used is miniscule likely less than a penny per load if that.  If you have an electric dryer the best bet is to use air drying of some sort either by hanging the clothes indoor or outdoors to dry eliminating the electric dryer use entirely.  There are a number of outdoor and indoor drying devices, even fold up ones that take up little space when not in use. 
• in the kitchen - Some small electric kitchen appliances earn their keep while others are a waste of electricity.  Barring motility issues an electric can opener is a waste of electricity.  When it comes to cooking choose the least expensive piece of equipment or electrical appliance to get the same results.  Based on our previous prices that have gone up but comparisons remain the same, a table top roaster costs 18¢/kWh while an the oven costs 31¢, the slow cooker 4¢ and the large burner 25¢ per kWH.  On the surface the slow cooker looks to be the best deal but consider a slow cooker running for 8 hours costs 32¢ (almost doubled with new rates running between 7 AM and 9 PM weekdeays) while the same meal can be cooked in a pressure cooker in 40 minutes or about 18.75¢.  A table top roaster will give the same great results as an oven while using almost half the electricity.   A stand mixer is cheaper to run than a breadmachine and more versatile.  Manual options exist for a lot of small kitchen appliances so these are always an option.
• large kitchen appliances - Refrigerators need to be kept clean and decluttered to allow good air flow.  Use a refrigerator thermometer to ensure the cabinet temperature is set to the safe zone.  Freezers waste a lot of energy unless kept about three quarters full.  It's better to have 2 small chest freezers rather than one large one.  Use the second to take any seasonal overflow then allow it to dwindle down and leave unplugged until the next influx of freezer food.  The oven should be maximized for energy efficiency when using.  Cook the entire meal or multiple dishes it it at one time.  Unless baking, pre-heating is a waste of electricity.  When cooking on the stovetop match the size pan to the burner to prevent heat wastage.  Use a lid.  Choose steaming over boiling for vegetables.  The dishwasher should only be run wihen completely filled and during off-peak hours if at all possible. 
• the furnace - If you have a furnace that runs on natural gas it still takes a significant draw on electricity to run the fan.  If you have a natural gas fireplace it is cheaper to run it for radiant heat than the furnace in the cool but not cold months.  Solar heating is good for supplemental heat as well.  Radiant wood heat is also another good supplemental source of heat providing you can get wood for less than the cost of electricity.  
• hot boxes - Hot boxes include cable and satellite receivers, game consoles, and those types of electrical items.  They produce heat when they are running costing much more in electricity than you would think.  Even when they are off these boxes are using electricity.  These should be put on a power bar to be turned off when not in use. 
• phantom drains - A lot of little things add up to electrical enery wastage.  These include night lights, appliances with displays, alarm clocks, phone set adapters, programmable thermostats, battery charges, some small appliances and those types of things use a trickle of electricity on a constant basis.  Unplug and eliminate what you can.  Replace nightlights with flashlights and electric alarm clocks with wind-up models.  Unplug appliances especially those with lit displays when not in use. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Ontario Clean Energy Benefit

The Ontario government announced the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit, a 10% electricity rebate applicable to the entire electric bill, as part of their fall economic update today.  The rebate will go into effect January 1, 2011 but some will not see the rebate until May of 2011.  The rebate is retro-active to January though.  In perspective as a result of TOU pricing and the HST our hydro rates have gone up 17%.   So even with the rebate the end result will be a 7% increase on the hydro bill.  Initial predictions were by the end of 2011 hydro prices would be increased by 32%.  Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced today that hydro rates will continue to rise with a projected increase of 46% by 2015.  The reality is as hydro prices continue to rise the rebate of 10% means virtually nothing!

As a result of today's announcements, I have stepped up our plans to get off the grid (going completely solar, not connected to grid at all).  We had a 5 year plan but now I'm rethinking that.  We will be using both passive and active solar.  I am seriously tired of being held hostage by the Ontario government and Hydro One.  The only consideration is the house being on the market.  If we sell, a solar system will be installed upon moving in at a DIY cost of $5,000 to $7,000.  If we don't sell then we will install a DIY solar system here.  We have no intentions of installing a solar system that would feed back into the hydro system (grid-tied) either.  Rather it will be a completely have no use for the grid including feeding into it.  At $5,000 the pay back period with average current hydro bill of $125 would be 3.4 years so even if we went as high as $10,000 with a pay back of about 7 years we would still be well ahead and no longer dependent on the grid.  After that the system is basically making money for us.  However, with the projected rate increases the system will realize a shorter payback period 6 years at the $10,000 price tag.

A bit of research found a few in southern Ontario that are fully solar.  One house in particular is very impressive.  This house is considerably larger than our current house or any we are likely to buy.  I find this very encouraging because if others are doing it, we can too!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

A Few Tips For Saving on Electricity

I have been focusing on our use of electricity over the last few posts.  The reason for this is many in Ontario are having a hard time adjusting to the new TOU pricing combined with the additional HST of 8% that has brought hydro bills to a total of 17% higher.  The TOU pricing per kWh is 5.3¢ off-peak, 8¢ mid-peak and 9.9¢ on peak.  The reality is the cost per kWh is only 43% of the total hydro bill so the actual cost per kWh is more than double the stated cost.  In short during on-peak hours the actual cost per kWh including all the service charges is 23¢.  Hydro One Networks gives a few pithy tips for conserving electricity like running the dishwasher and washer during off-peak hours.  If you run the dishwasher during off-peak hours you will save 17¢ and if you run the washer during off-peak hours you will save 5¢.  Quite frankly this is not much of an incentive to alter your daily routine and it certainly will not make much of a difference in the additional 8% due to the HST.  There are however a few more ways I've discovered to help save a little electricity.  None by themselves will are enough to cover the $8 in HST on an average $100 hydro bill but every little bit does help.

• dishwasher - While the savings is only 17¢ per load by switching to running the dishwasher during off-peak pricing the average family with 5 loads per week will save 85¢ per week or $3.40 per month which is a good chuck of savings towards what the HST costs.
• washer - Switching to off-peak hours saves 5¢ per load.  An average family at 5 loads per week saves 25¢ or $1 per month.
• furnace -  I have been taking advantage of the milder weather by using the gas fireplace during the day which stops the furnace from coming on.  Currently natural gas is considerably less expensive than electricity so I'm saving there as well as not paying for the furnace fan to run.  Ideally, our plans are to switch the furnace fan to solar which will eliminate any electricity being used by the furnace.
• off is better than on - I have gone through the house unplugging anything that doesn't need to be plugged in.  The premise is off is better than on and unplugged is even better because there can be no phantom electricity use.
• timed, auto-shut off and programmable appliances -  Years ago I went to an auto-shut off iron and curling iron.  The nice thing about auto-shut off is these appliances shut off automatically removing the threat of overheating.  I also experimented with home automation and while the system itself does use trickle electricity the money it saves outweighs the cost.  This house due to design does not warrant using home automation so I have all my modules safely tucked away for the next house.  Timers and programmable appliances are a must with the new TOU pricing especially small kitchen appliances.  My largest slow cooker has been slowly dying so I replaced it with a programmable, auto-off model bought on sale of course.  I now know this appliance will not be on any longer than absolutely necessary and it will turn off by itself if I happen to forget.
• being conscious - I'm paying attention to the TOU pricing that is currently in the winter cycle meaning the on-peak hours (highest cost) are from 7 AM to 11 AM and 5 PM to 9 PM during the week.  The morning hours are easy to reduce electricity usage since we seldom have a hot breakfast during the week and the most we have on extra is the percolator, a few CFL lights due to the layout of our house and my iMac (energy efficient).  The evening hours are a bit more difficult to adjust what with cooking dinner and the television on but I'm making a few cutbacks there as well.  The busiest of the canning season has passed as well so I have been able to switch canning sessions to off-peak hours usually on the weekends.  I should be able to get through most of the winter using this strategy but in fairness I save so much by canning that if I had to run the canners during on-peak hours I would without thinking twice.  The same can be said for meals cooked at home.  The only thing I've cut down a bit on is dehydrating via electrical means.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Let's Talk About the Logistics of Saving Electricity

Energy conservation is on everyone's minds with the rising costs of electricity.  In Ontario we have the new TOU pricing combined with an addition 8% tax due to the HST.  Despite energy conservation and paring down electricity usage as well as switching higher energy using appliances to off-peak hours, many Ontarians are seeing an increase on their electric bills.  The bottom line is no amount of energy conservation can compensate for the increased rates and new tax.  The media is even referring to this period as Ontario's dark days or dark ages as more simply refuse to use any more electricity than needed at home.

Many take electricity for granted but it's only been around since the late 18^th century and it was slow to spread from urban to rural communities.  There are still many areas in Canada where electricity is not easily available and if it is quite costly to set up.  So while many in densely populated areas are used to flicking that switch those of us who have had experienced with more remote areas know that hydro from the grid cannot be take for granted.

In the 18^th century and early 19^th century electricity was still a novelty.  Sure there were the gas lanterns, coal oil lights and candles but even then folks knew enough to conserve their light source.  They went to bed earlier and got up at the crack of dawn basically working with the natural daylight hours.  Every room in the house wasn't lit and they weren't constantly bombarded with televisions, electronics and other electricity sucking devices. 

From a logistical point, going without hydro is quite doable.  All across North America folks are taking the initiative to move off the grid and become self sufficient.  The Amish and Mennonites in Ontario manage to live quite nicely without using electricity at all.  Many Ontarians have unplugged their televisions and media out of personal choice.    We camped with full amenities in a self-contained unit that included a refrigerator with freezer (run on propane), shower, running water, heat, cooking facilities and lighting for a number of years.  We could get 11 days of comfortable living while practicing energy conservation off our batteries but that increased when we added solar back-up.  Solar has been used for years in cottage country so going totally solar for normal home use is also feasible.  My husband's aunt and uncle were 100% solar so they were off the grid entirely yet they had all the amenities including internet, television and all major appliances.  Solar allows us to move forward in the 20^th century without remaining slaves to Hydro One or other electricity providers.  What is quite interesting though with moving to solar there are Wi-Fi hotspots and wireless connections so you can still have internet and even television via internet as well.   It's not as if we have to regress to the 18^th century to be able to do what we need and want to do in the 20^th century.

The alternative is moving back into the dark ages, going to bed when it is dark and getting up at dawn.  If we continue to follow Dalton McGuinty's government and Hydro One we will be moving back to the dark ages.  It is time to take action and move towards solar as well as any alternative methods of heating and cooling.   It is time to send a strong message to the Ontario government and Hydro One to say enough is enough, we can get what we want without you!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

The Value of Electricity

Our Smartmeter was activated on September 9 meaning that we are now on TOU pricing for electricity.  Across Ontario there are outcries that the Smatmeters are actually costing people money.  It is a definite that the TOU pricing combined with the new HST have raised the cost of electricity in Ontario.  The HST alone has raised the price of electricity by 8% bringing the total tax on hydro bills to 13%.  The NDP have a petition to remove the HST immediately from the hydro bills but so far the HST is still in effect.  We get flyers in with our hydro bill to keep us informed.

First off Hydro One shows a pie chart of where our electricity dollars go.  Only 43% of our electricity dollars are used for actual hydro.  The rest is all in services charges including taxes.  The pie chart is wrong in that is says the HST is 12% when in fact it is 13%¹.  In an attempt to make us feel good about the rising costs of electricity that are predicted to be an increase of 32% by the end of 2011, Hydro One gives us a couple of lame tips for saving electricity like not preheating the oven, waiting until the dishwasher is full and doing laundry during off-peak pricing.  Well that's all and good but the price saved by doing any of these would not even add up enough to offset the HST!  These types are at best a feeble attempt on the part of Hydro One to con you into thinking you are actually able to do anything to help with the costs of electricity.

Furthermore Hydro One tries to convince us that electricity is  a goof value compared to other activities.  I think most of us know this but they use rather dramatic comparisons to prove their point like:

• dinner cooked at home for 4 costs about 80¢  but eating out could cost $60 - Somewhere along the lines they forgot to add in the cost of food for 4.  Quite frankly if they can cook dinner for 4 for 80¢ I'd love them to give me a few tips!
• the cost of keeping a family of four connected to the internet, cable and 3 cell phones could cost around $180 per month - True it could cost that much but they did not factor in the cost of the electricity for these services nor did they acknowledge that electricity is needed for these services.  Some families are trying to make a living online simply to cut their out of house employment costs. 
• the average Ontarian household uses 286 litres of gas per month (about $300.25) or $123.75 more on gas than electricity - Well duh!  The average Ontarian uses a vehicle to get back and forth to work.  If they don't go to work they really won't have much need for electricity. It is important to point out that gasoline is more expensive than hydro to begin with so this is comparing apples to oranges.  Besides a good portion of Ontarians live where there is no public transportation.  What would you have them do, go back to horse and buggy?  Then there would be all the costs associated with keeping a horse and buggy.
• the average cost of a family of four going to the movies is about $50 while the cost for movie night at home is 40¢ - Again they did not factor in the true costs of a movie night at home that would include movie rental and snacks.

I'm sorry Hydro One but you are getting a failing grade.  The people of Ontario are not stupid and they won't be duped into falling into your dumbing it down tactics!  It wouldn't take a fifth grader two minutes to see you are glossing costs over to make it look like electricity is cheap.  It is far from cheap.  Take one good look at what you suggested.  The average family in Ontario can't afford to eat out.  Food security is a very real problem in Ontario where many cannot afford food much less the electricity to cook it.  Some type of television service is likely the only source of indoor entertainment for many.   Those who cannot afford to pay for a television service may if they are very lucky pick up one or two stations from antennas that are quickly going the way of the dinasaur.  They can't afford to rent a movie let alone pay to go to a movie.

We bought into energy conservation.  We have high energy efficient, EcoStar rated new appliances.  We use CFL light bulbs almost exclusively.  We run the dishwasher and washer before going to bed or on the weekend and then only when full.  We have unplugged every electrical appliance we can think of.  We cook on the outdoor natural gas grill when possible to avoid using electricity.  We use the most efficient, lowest energy user when cooking indoors.  We seldom watch television during the day.  Guess what?  OUR HYDRO BILLS HAVE INCREASED!  So for Hydro One to put out these environmentally unfriendly inserts in our bill telling us how to reduce our hydro consumption is totally assine!  For every household that finds a way to reduce their hydro consumption, the Government of Ontario and Hydro One will find one more excuse to raise the cost of electricity in this province.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

We Are Now on Hydro One's TOU Pricing

We received a letter from Hydro One mid-August that said our Smart Meter would switch over to Time of Use (TOU) pricing on September 8.  We've had the meter since February 4, 2008 then activated on May 5, 2010.  The period between May and September was likely a testing period for Hydro One to make sure all meters installed at that time were working properly before switching over to TOU pricing.  Now that we are on TOU pricing we can go to Hydro One's website, sign into our account then check out electricity usage which is rather interesting.

The home page for the TOU pricing shows a pie graph of your electricity usage for the last 30 days.  I'm pleased to say that 55% of our electricity usage over the last 30 days has been in the off-peak hours at the cheapest cost per kWh of 5.3¢.  Twenty-seven percent of our electricity usage was in the mid-peak hours (8¢ per kWh) and the remaining 18% was at the on-peak hours (9.9¢ per kWh).  Really this is rather good considering we had to have our air conditioning on a few times over the last month.  Clicking a tab took me to the hourly electricity usage which is again quite interesting.  I noticed a spike between 8 and 9 pm when I decided to deep fry chicken wings for an evening spike.  It wasn't a big or costly spike just noticeable.  The next tab shows a bar graph of daily electricity use and the following tab show the monthly bar graph both divided into the three peak hour designation.  These visuals will help bring awareness to energy usage. 

In all honesty not much will change here in the way we use electricity because we have been energy conscious for quite some time.  We are part of the every kWh counts challenge and we are constantly looking at ways to reduce our electricity consumption.  We are gradually moving towards solar with a goal of being off the grid within 5 years.  Over the last 30 days we used a total of 653 kWh and that's with the AC on a few times.  The average house hold use is a little over 1,000 kWh each month so we are well below that level making us very good candidates for going solar. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Replacing a Stove Burner

Well I can finally say I wore out a burner with canning.  I have a  Jenn-Air slide in range with various cartridges giving me the ability to grill indoors, save energy for day to day cooking and coil cartridges for canning.  I bought the heavy, reinforced burner element specifically for canning with my stove.  Late last year I noticed it arching a bit but with a bit of a twist the arching stopped.  I never thought much of of but when I mentioned it to my husband about a month ago he said that was dangerous and I should not have used the burner.  I went online to order a new burner since I will be very busy canning especially tomatoes this time of year. 

Pictured is the old burner to the right.  The contacts on the old burner were seared and the insulation around them was definitely a deteriorated (arrow).  More importantly the element itself was loose allowing movement over the reinforced base.  The new burner does not move over the reinforced base.  The problem really becomes the heavy canners themselves.  It is hard to move a canner from the element without using a sliding motion.  That sliding motion will eventually cause the entire burner to fail.  The fact that the burner performed well for over 5 years is almost amazing considering how heavy the canners are.  The new burner is in place and performing nicely.  We are going to try being a bit more conscious of not sliding the caanners over the burner. 

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

It's That Time of Year

Summer is half over here!  The gardening is producing nicely and I've been busy restocking the pantry with lots of home canned goodies.  Today I'm canning maple blueberry conserves, peach lavender jam and peach chutney.  As I've been getting all my supplies ready my mind has been wandering towards how the new TOU hydro prices that will come into effect in our area on September 8 will affect us.  At the same time the price of natural gas will likely see some type of increase just in time for the heating season.  The added new HST of 8% extra on home heating fuel is also a concern. 

While the canner runs churning out good food for the year or so to come I use my down time to identify a few projects that need being done before winter  giving a higher priority to those that will help save a bit of hydro or natural gas.  Topping the list are 2 on demand water heaters, one of which will eliminate about and 70' run to get hot water to the kitchen.  I am also hoping to get one solar tube installed and the first part of our solar system.  We are also planning on installing storm doors on the house.  So the winterizing ideas are coming in full tilt right now while the caulking gun is seeing a bit more action.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

We Enrolled in peaksaver®

Hydro One introduced the voluntary electricity Demand Response program peaksaver® originally called Smartstat sometime last year. The program is funded by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). The program is designed to to ease critical strain on the electricity system in Ontario during hot summer weekdays.  Once enrolled in the peaksaver® program, a new programmable thermostat with a special chip will be installed at your residence.  Hydro One can remotely turned up the central air by two degrees Celsius. 

In actuality what they do is set the thermostat to saving which turns the central air unit off for 15 minutes, once per 1 hour period up to a maximum of 4 hours.  At most this may rais the room temperature a couple of degrees but because the fan continues to run in most cases there won't be a noticable difference in room temperature.  The peaksaver® program can only be activated on weekdays from May 1 to September 30 typically between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. for a maximum of four hours.  It cannot be activated more than ten times and yet 2008 had 5 activations and 2009 only had 1 activation.  There is a number you can call to opt out in advance of a specified date if you know you will need full air conditioning for that day (1‑866‑380-6051).  So this is not a program that is going to cause a huge inconvenience to anyone enrolled in it.  You can also opt out of the program at any time if you are unhappy with it.

In order to qualify for the peaksaver® program:

• must have a central air conditioning unit that works
• live in a single family dwelling (home or townhouse)
• be the homeowner or have the homeowner’s written permission to participate in the peaksaver® program

Immediate benefits of the program are:

• a free, professionally installed programmable thermostat ($250 value)
• a one-time $25 credit on your electricity bill
• managing your home's temperature from anywhere
• saving up to 10% on your year-round heating and cooling costs
• a maximum total of 1 hour reduced air conditioning costs during peak times as designated by Hydro One

In the big picture we stand to gain a $275 value between the thermostat and credit.  We do have a programmable thermostat that was installed with our new central air conditioner (2007) we will not realize the 10% savings on heating and cooling costs.  There are very few times that we would use the remote feature to increase either heat or cooling so at first that benefit didn't really impress us.  However, there are times especially in the winter that we are away for a few hours but because of weather conditions we end up being overnight so being able to remotely lower the temperature will be a nice benefit.  We also are not average users when it comes to air conditioning due to our location.  Our air conditioner unit runs at most about 10 days in a year if that so it's doubtful if we will ever be affected during peak times.  Still I felt this was a worth while program to enroll in.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Our SmartMeter is Now Active!

Hydro One came out to install our new smart meter on February 4, 2008.  Silly me, I though somehow it would be activated well before April of 2010!  I'm not sure when the meter was actually activated only that it showed up on our April's hydro bill.  Notice the yellow highlighted that says actual?  Up to this point we have been living with estimate billing in rural Ontario with actual readings only once every three months.  This made it extremely difficult to determine actual daily kWh usage without making the effort to read the meter daily at the same time each day for at least the entire month.  Taking a daily reading at the same time every day for a month is a bit more difficult than you would think because quite frankly life gets in the way.  Eliminating the estimate meter readings is a very much welcomed improvement to our electricity services.  It will help us prepare better for the new TOU rates that will be implemented in the very near future.  At the same time eliminating meter reader is going to reduce the amount of gas used to read the meters especially in rural areas.  I would like to see some type of rebate or cost per kW reduction to compensate for this savings but that is highly unlikely.

In fact in Ontario the only real incentive for saving on electricity is to reduce the kWh used.  Our recent (April 2010) bill was $83.37 with only $32.61 actual kWh used and the rest is service charges and taxes.  This is one reason why we have a renewed interest in getting off the grid entirely.  We are almost at half the average household usage so are already good candidates for going completely solar.  That is our 5 year goal but in the meantime we still have to deal with Hydro One.   

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Moving Towards Solar Powered Electricity (3)

Passive solar is a must when considering active solar powered electricity because the first consideration for solar electricity is reducing the amount you have to generate.  Essentially for active solar powered electricity, solar panels are used to generate the electricity that is stored in deep cycle batteries.  That electricity then goes through an inverter to make the electricity usable for your household appliances and lighting.  By default a household system is limited by the number of panels that can generate the electricity.  Reducing your electricity usage prior to installing any active solar powered electricity system ultimately reduces the number of solar panels and batteries you need so in short the initial solar system set-up is less expensive.  This makes a whole house solar system more affordable with a lower payback period.

I needed to know the average kWh of electricity used per day.  This amount is on the hydro bill or to get an average it is available online by logging into your account.  The amount of energy used determines the size and number of photovoltaic solar panels needed to go fully solar.  However, going solar can be done in stages if using an expandable solar panel where another panel can be attached.  As I gather the research and get a better direction of where we are going with the active solar system I will share here.  As it stands right now this will be a done in stages project starting with one or more solar panels, inverter, controller and batteries to get a few electrical devices off the grid then adding to the system as we can until everything is off the grid.   Now it may be that we never reach the goal of being completely off the grid but I firmly believe if others have done it we can too.

Here's my current plan in stages:

• phase 1 - The first goal will be to get all lights off the grid.  While they draw the least amount of electricity they will be a good indicator as to how the initial part of the solar system is working.  At the same time the pump and furnace fan will be connected to solar.  Heat generating small appliances like the toaster, countertop oven roaster and slow cooker will be diverted to generator power that is at current rates cheaper than electricity.
• phase 2 - The second phase will focus on getting televisions and supporting equipment like satellite boxes off the grid. Small household appliances like battery chargers, clocks, and those types of things of which we have very few.
• phase 3 - The third phase will focus on computer equipment and supporting equipment.
• phase 4 - The forth phase will focus on providing solar generated electricity to major appliances like the stove, refrigerator, washer and electrical components of the natural gas dryer.
• phase 5 - This will be the tweaking stage prior to eliminating Hydro One entirely.  It may be we do not reach this stage although from preliminary research there is no reason we could not.

My current projections are this entire project from start to finish including the passive solar measures will take 5 years or less. That is with us doing all of the work for installing panels and connecting the system.  The components will be bought on sale and in some cases online as we need them.  So stay tuned as to how our goal for getting off the grid progresses.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Moving Towards Solar Powered Electricity (1)

Hydro One, the hydro provider in Ontario, Canada, has announced a delivery rate increase that will amount to about $4 per month for the average household.  This will add an additional $48 per month to the overall electricity costs.  This charge is over and above the new TOU pricing that will be going into effect shortly.  In addition to that the HST will add an additional 8% on the hydro bill effective July 1, 2010 that will add a good $10 per month to the average household electric bill.  On May 1 the hydro rate will increase to 6.5¢ per kWh up to 600 kWh then 7.5¢ per kWh for kWh over the threshold.  This rate will be in effect until October 31, 2010.  The average household uses 1,000 kWh per month.  Our average use over the last 12 months was 623.25 kWh per month.  So we are just slightly over the 600 kWh threshold but the time period between May 1 and October 31 is the time running the AC is most likely to occur meaning for 2 months we will be paying the 7.5¢ rate at some point.  We are at the point that short of not using electricity getting our usage below our average rate is as simple as cutting all power to our house for a day.  Since that is doable but not the best solution, the push to move to more solar power is on.  Before I discuss that, here is what we have done so far to lower our electricity use.

• turn off anything that is not being used - Off is better than on as off uses no kWh.
• CFL - we have 4 fixtures that do not have CFL bulbs in them.  One of these is an outdoor mercury vapour light that sees on average a half hour of use per month if that.  Again lights are off whenever possible.
• EnergyStar® qualified appliance - All of our major appliances are EnergyStar® qualified meaning they are energy efficient and we chose our appliances so they were on the higher end of the EnergyStar® rating.  Each time we replace a small appliance we look for the EnergyStar® qualification.  While some small kitchen appliances do not have this rating others like televisions, computers, telephones as well as other electronics do have this rating. 
• appliance usage - We tend to be quite conservative when using appliances so that we get the maximum output while running the appliance the least amount of time.  That means the dishwasher and washer are run only when full.
• cooking - We tend to consolidate cooking to take advantage of the energy being used to cook one meal to cook more than one meal.  We also use smaller dedicated appliances like the countertop oven roaster rather than using the big oven when possible.  In addition to using eco-friendly cooking methods we use the natural gas grill for cooking during the summer months as it is about a third of the price of electricity  and we often eat raw during the summer requiring no energy usage.
• dryer - We have a high efficiency gas dryer since line drying is not an option for us.  It is used to maximum efficiency. 
• energy conservation - Anywhere we can save a watt we do.  We had electronic pest controllers that worked quite nicely to help until we got pest management in place.  Unplugging those and the nightlights saves 52.56 kWh per year ($6.31) which isn't a lot but it is kWh not being used and every kW counts.

Tomorrow I will discuss some of our solar plans.  Watch for part 2.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

More Electrical Updating

We have been updating and doing minor repairs ever since we made the decision to sell our house. These are all the little things that just make a world of difference when showing the house. No potential buyer wants to see signs of anything that looks like work when they go through a house so the less of that type of thing the better.

Light Fixture

Pictured on top is the light over my desk. It is a higher wattage CFL daylight spectrum light. While this doesn't matter to most people to me because that spectrum is necessary to prevent negative mood effects. I was quite happy with the light exactly as it was. However we both agreed for the aesthetics of selling the house it had to be changed out.

We chose a ceiling hugging, beveled glass light fixture that holds 3 - 25 W incandescent bulbs. The light was very easy to install with no modifications needed. The brass finish goes nice with the wood ceiling while the warm yellow tones from the lights enhance the tones in the wood. The effect is quite lovely! This was an easy DIY project that took about 10 minutes from start to finish. The fixture was on sale for $7.99 so it was a frugal choice as well.

New Outlet

Any older house can benefit from having the plug and switch outlets replaced. Not only is the upgrade good from a safety point of view but also aesthetically it updates the look of the room for very little cost or effort. We really like the steamline looks of the European style plugs and outlets. The flat, clean lines just look so much nicer. This will be the fourth house that we have changed out older switches and plugs for the European design.

Pictured is the before older style toggle switch and the after newer style European switch. I think it makes a huge difference with very little effort. Home renovation centres, hardware stores and lumber stores all have builders specials of the switches, outlets and covers. These are usually 10 to 12 per package at a reduced price. When replacing any outlet on an outside wall it is a good time to seal and insulate the outlet as well. If you are comfortable working with electricity this is an easy DIY project. As always when working with electricity turn off the power then test for live wires before proceeding.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Solatube Daylighting Systems With Ed Begley Jr.

During our last Florida vacation we stayed in a house that had 2 solar tubes. I blogged about the solar tubes as being great alternative lighting. Once installed the solar tubes bring free lighting to dark areas like hallways, bathrooms and other rooms. I calculated the cost of installation for each solar tube to be about $370 (DIY) to $500 (installed) so based on energy consumption alone the pay back period would be 37 years if installed. If you factor in the cost of the light bulbs the pay back period would go down to about $450. Clearly at today's electricity costs in our region the pay back period is not enough of an incentive to install solar tubes.

However, Hydro-One in Ontario has indicated most of the SmartMeters across the province will be activated by late June at which time the new Time of Use (TOU) hydro rates will go into effect. Essentially this means from 7 AM to 9 PM on weekdays year round except statutory holidays, we will be paying higher electricity rates. This time period is divided into 2 usages - high and medium depending on the season. As a result of these changes it becomes even more important to not use electricity you don't have to. Strategically placed the solar tube(s) will eliminate the use of electric lighting in certain areas of your home. The key concept to remember here that not using the electricity is better than reducing the electricity usage via energy efficient lighting. The solar tube(s) can be fitted with lighting for night use where they will function as a normal light so can replace an existing light fixture. This will allow us to take advantange of the lower electrical rates in the evening hours if necessary.

The solar tube(s) also improve the indoor comfort of your home. In northern areas such as ours where we see winter and several months of grey days, the solar tube(s) amplify and allow extra light into your home. This makes your home brighter and cheerier even though it is grey outdoors. It helps to ward off the winter blues so common in northern climate winter months and may even help to alliviate SAD (seasonal affective disorder). Here is a video of the solar tubes installed in Ed Begley Jr.'s house. Ed is an environmental activist who uses several eco-friendly methods in his home.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

New Electricity Prices in Ontario

By now if you live in Ontario you will have received a flyer from the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) stating the increased electricity prices. Of course the prices per kWh have increased once again. Why is this not surprising? Our Smart Meter was installed in February 2009 but to date has not been activated. The writing was on the wall for increased prices. In some ways the Time of Use (TOU) is another way to charge extra for electricity and because it will cause confusion for those not understanding the three different rates it will actually be easy to get more rate increases through without people noticing it. Yes the OEB determines the electricity rates but they are influenced by Hydro One. After all if the electric infrastructure needs upgrading the the OEB will approve rate increases to help cover the costs of the upgrading. These new meters have gone in at what cost and yet almost a year later ours is still not activated. Why not? In this day and age of computer technology activating those meters should be as easy as pressing a button. We are looking forward to having our Smart Meter activated which will eliminate estimated billing and allow us to track our actual hydro usage.

Now here is something I'm not understanding about the new TOU prices. They apply from 7 am to 9 pm weekdays being either mid-peak or on-peak hours. Off-peak pricing of 4.4¢ per kWh will 9 pm to 7 am weekdays, weekends and holiday. Hydro One is encouraging people to switch to off-peak hours for things like running the dishwasher and washing machine. If everyone makes this switch won't those hours become mid or on peak?

And while we are on the subject of utility price increases Dalton McGuinty and his fine government (note the sarcasm) has decided that we need to pay an additional 8% on utilities that were previously exempt from PST but will not be exempt with the new HST. So not only are are electricity prices going up we are going to pay an extra tax. I'm wondering how these increases are going to affect a province already so affected by the current recession?

Watch for the next post with some of the things we will be doing to minimize the impact of the new electricity rates combined with the new tax.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Hydro-One Time-of-Use (TOU) Prices

Towards the end of 2008 there were rumours of Hydro One, our electricity provider, going to a terms-of-use (TOU) electricity rates. I think it was in February that they came out to install our Smart meter. What the Smart meter allows Hydro One to do is read the meter via satellite eliminating physical meter readings. Now if you are in town or a city in Ontario meter reading is done monthly. If you are in a rural setting it is very different in that you get two months of estimate billing and one month of actual billing so essentially in rural areas your meter is actually read quarterly. This results in some very strange readings like our last December bill that showed us using 1 kWh per day when we average about 20 kWh which is hard to average due to the estimated billing. Then the estimates take into consideration the average electricity usage which means in the summer higher bills due to air conditioning despite the fact we had our air conditioning on for all of 5 days this past year. There has been a lot of complaints regarding the TOU metering but I for one am looking forward to it because I will be able to monitor our electricity usage online and it will eliminate the estimate billing.

According to the TOU pricing off-peak cost per kWh will be 4.2¢, mid-peak cost 7.6¢ per kWh and on-peak hours 9.1¢ per kWh in comparison to our current flat rate fee of 5.8¢ per kWh upto the threshold of 1,000 kWh then 6.7¢ per kWh above that threshold. So on first glance it looks like our hydro rates are going increase considerably. About 56% of our electric bill is service charges based on kWh used. So the cost per kWh is increasing but this will not affect the service charges based on kWh used. They are saying that if you shift your energy use to off-peak hours you can save money but looking at their pie charts it's easy to see this is not quite so easy. But what does this really mean? Essentially a large majority of Ontario households will change the way they use electricity from 7 am to 9 pm on weekdays year round.

We have high efficiency (HE), EnergyStar® qualified appliances. I'm home most days so can easily shift cooking and because we have HE appliances any shifting is going to have a minimum effect. They are suggesting running the dishwasher at after 9 pm or on weekends as well as doing laundry on the weekends. Well that is fine and dandy if you are a household of 2 but really I don't see much of a shift in energy usage for us. I usually run the dishwasher after 9 pm and the washer on weekends anyway so there won't be a change for us. I will likely shift more baking and canning to the weekends when the rates are cheaper but other than that there won't be a lot of change for us.

The reality is during the winter months the weekday hours between 5 pm and 9 pm are basically the dinner and after dinner hours at the highes cost per kWh. How exactly can you defer cooking times for dinner? The solution to minimizing the costs associated with cooking will be to use energy efficient cooking methods. Use a countertop roaster rather than an oven or use the oven to cook most of the components of the meal in the oven with an extra piece of meat to be used for sandwiches during the week will help maximize the energy you are using. A crockpot (slow cooker) while not my favourite cooking appliance can be set to take advantage of the lower mid-peak prices during winter days. A pressure cooker will help put tasty meals cooked during high-peak hours on your table without using a lot energy. Get into the habit of using lids on your pots and pans and any time you can eliminate boiling anything do so. It uses less energy to steam vegetables than it does to boil them and the results are nicer. Of course if you have the option to switch to cooking with natural gas entirely or partially you will definitely save all the way around since natural gas is currently considerably less than electricity in Ontario.

The TOU will affect people without HE appliances, those with children or on fixed income the most. Hydro One has a cute applet that helps you determine how much various electrical appliances will cost you to run based on the new TOU rates. This will give you an idea of what appliances could be switched to the low rate times. Now this tool is just a guide. For example the lowest time setting for the coffee maker is 1 hr but we use a purcolator or the espresso machine neither of which run more than 15 minutes. It also allows for 13 lights with no way to alter the number and a maximum of 12 hours on. Due to the design of our house we have 7 CFL on most days from about 8 am to midnight. It only gives 2 options for television, 50 - inch plasma or conventional and there is no allowance for hot boxes like cable or satellite. There are a lot of little energy users like phone adapters, alarm clocks and always on night lights that eat up electricity 24/7 that the applet doesn't account for either but it is a good start towards saving electricity.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Plumbing Update

I know many readers have been waiting for the current plumbing problems. If you recall my last post talked about our plumbing problems (more here). The plumber snaked from the house and back the other way hoping to solve the problem. Ideally had this worked we would have noted a great improvement in our drainage problem.

Indication

Snaking should have opened the drainage lines but what we quickly realized is it caused the lines to collapse. The water wasn't draining properly then about a week later we noticed greening of the grass (red arrows) right in the same orientation of where the line ran and not really noticeable in the pictures the ground caving in. So we thought we found the exact location for the problem not realizing that we had a type of fiber piping that has been banned since the 1970's. In it's inception this piping was supposed to prevent root damage. However, as we quickly found out this piping does collapse causing major drainage issues. It is proving to be a costly repair for anyone who used the fiber piping!

Dangerous Wire

In Ontario it is supposed to be mandatory that you call for utility line locates prior to digging. Line locates are free but can take up to 2 weeks if it is not an emergency. In emergency situations line locates can be done within 24 hours. The fine if you hit a line without calling for line locates is $5,000. Now we knew from previous line locates there were no official utility lines as in from the utility to us where we were digging. What we also knew is the previous owner installed an outdoor plug off of which fed an outdoor utility light and the line to the dock lift. We disconnected the line to the dock lift so here is what we saw with the first backhoe shovel not even 2 feet under the ground and only a foot from the sidewalk where digging for flower beds easily could have happened was this totally illegal wire hook-up running from the main backyard plug to the utility light. I was shocked and yet happy we found this potentially very dangerous wire. How could anyone be this stupid? I'm not kidding! This unprotected electrical wire had the very real potential to kill someone. It's eerie too because my husband said to keep the backyard breaker off unless we were using it so he must have suspected a problem. So that is our next household project.

Pipes

It was decided after a bit of discussion to install a weeping bed that would be between the house and the lower clean-outs. This involved digging a trench from the back of the house to the clean-outs or about 100 ft. Three quarters of the trench was filled with 1' of gravel then the solid piping from the house was connected to two lines of holed piping that reconnects into solid piping that connects to the final drain. What this means is any storm, grey or rain water coming from the house ends up being filtered into the ground so it doesn't reach the water. In our area this is a more expensive solution that is eco-friendly as well. We are very, very conscious about what goes down our drains even though all but the kitchen are hooked to the municipal sewage system. This means nothing from the kitchen even though it is all phosphate free will not reach the water. Rain water is collected and used for the gardens. Now eventually any excess will reach the water but not much and by then it has been filtered so again another eco-friendly solution.

End of Day

It really was a depressing day in a lot of respects. My husband and I watched as the entire backyard was essentially destroyed. All the sod, seed and work we had done was gone. At the same time I couldn't help but think perhaps we finally have the problem fixed meaning no more water in the house.

Over the past 2 years we have had water levels in the house as high as 3" on several occasions. It is never pleasant to deal with flooding problems. So while our backyard now looks like this as of last Friday I'm looking forward to flood free days indoors. I think too that with the improved drainage our millipede, centipede and earwing problem will disappear even though I definitely have those issues under control. Our main concern right now is to solve all of our drainage issues. Once those are solved any of the side effects of drainage problems should go away including moisture loving insects.


Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

Energy and Water Conservation Pays Off!

Energy conservation is something that is on everyone's minds today. The driving force for many is simply a desire to save money on their utility bills. However, many more including ourselves have a desire to reduce our carbon footprint and put less of a strain on the environment. The primary method I use to determine if we are lowering our water, natural gas and electric consumption is to analyze the utility bills.

Water Bill

Water plays a large part in our lives because we are surrounded by the Great Lakes. So not only do we use water for our daily living, we live on waterfront property and we use water for entertainment. We have always been concerned about water conservation and water pollution. Despite raising a somewhat larger family our water bills have always hovered between $40 and $50 per month. Our water bills consist of a charge for water consumption as well as a sanitation charge for sewage. As consumption increases so to does the sanitation charge.

According to Environment Canada, the average household uses 10 to 25 cubic meters of water per month¹. One cubic meter of water equals 1,000 L or 220 gallons. So the average household uses 2,200 to 5,500 gallons of water per month. Our current water bill came in at 6 cubic meters or 1,320 gallons of water for a 3 month period or 440 gallons per month. The total cost went from an average of $33 per month to less than $18 per month. This 3 month bill was $54.13 and the previous 3 month bill was $43.88 or $16.34 per month over the last 6 months. How did we do it?

What's working for us to conserve water:

• high efficiency front loading washer used only with full load
• high efficiency dishwasher used only when full
• 5 minute showers with energy efficient shower head
• replaced boiling vegetables to steaming, less water and nicer results
• vegetable/cooking water is saved for watering potted plants
• left-over tea or coffee is also used to water plants
  
• one toilet is a low flush model
• rain barrels for watering gardens
• being conscious of how we use water

One of our toilets is not low flush so will be replaced with a 4L/6L dual flush when we renovate. We further save on water costs by not buying or using bottled water if at all possible. We use refillable water bottles instead. In terms of water usage, we are likely about a low as we can get but will still look for other ways to reduce our water consumption.

Natural Gas Usage Graph

We have the following natural gas appliances: outdoor grill, hot water tank, fireplace, dryer and furnace. The outdoor grill is used year round as is the dryer. The hot water tank is old so we are planning on replacing it before summer with 2 on demand water heaters. One will eliminate a long run of about 70 ft to the kitchen. The other will service the two bathrooms.

On first glance our natural gas usage graph is not all that impressive and it really doesn't look like we have changed our usage at all. In comparing A (2007-08) heating season to B (2009-09) heating season there are a couple of notables though. First you will notice in A a steady climb in natural gas used followed by a sharp decrease. In B there is no steady increase but rather a large jump in natural gas used. In the summer of 2008 we suspected a small gas leak at the meter. We called the gas company who checked it and painted the meter. They told us the meter was fine and wasn't scheduled for replacement for a couple more years. Still we suspected a problem. The first week of February 2009 the gas company called wanting to change the meter (story here) and while they never did say there was a leak I can't help wonder at the apparent jump in gas usage. The graph gives a lovely visual of our gas usage and is great for troubleshooting. If there is a spike where there shouldn't be then immediately we know there is a problem. However, the graph does not tell the whole picture.

Natural Gas Usage History

Highlighted in red is the 2007-08 heating season while the 2008-09 heating season is in blue. Essentially our heating season is 7 months long. Total natural gas used for the 2007-08 heating season was 1,914.657 cubic metres while we used 1,903.634 cubic metres for the 2008-09 heating season. Essentially we used 11.023 cubic metres less during the 2008-09 heating season. Well that doesn't seem like much, does it? Let's look a bit closer though.

During the 2007-08 heating season the average monthly temperature was 2.428ºC. In comparison the 2008-09 heating season averaged 1.143ºC per month. In short, the 2008-09 heating season was colder than the 2007-08 heating season yet we used less natural gas despite a suspected small meter leak! Immediately this tells me we are doing something right. All of the caulking and sealing we have done since moving here in 2007 is paying off. The tighter we get the house sealed the lower the temperature we can keep it at. The house itself is well sheltered with the main level mainly below ground making it quite energy efficient. The programmable thermostat was set to 19ºC during the day and 15ºC at night. On extra damp days we supplemented using the natural gas fireplace for a few hours. We also used the fireplace in place of the furnace on milder days, shutting off rooms not being used.

Despite these encouraging results, I feel there is still a lot more we can do. We discovered more drafts during this past heating season, some that could not be fixed until nicer weather. We are planning on adding storm doors and replacing one large window. The entire 1 foot deep wells around the lower patio doors and one large lower window will be opened, sealed with expandable foam then closed. All window weatherstripping will be replaced this spring. As always we will be sealing any cracks allowing drafts as we discover them. We will also be tackling the problem of the gas fireplace installed in the opening of the original wood fireplace but not correctly sealed or insulated. We currently put plastic up on the 3 season upper sunroom for the winter. This acts as an excellent windbreak as well as creating a solar heat sink on sunny winter days where we can open the upper patio doors letting the free heat into the house. I'm working on a few more solar ideas for heating as well so will write more on solar heating in a separate post.

Electricity: Our electric bills average $100 per month with about 56% of that in service charge and the rest actual usage. The average household uses 1,000 kWh per month. We consistently come in just under the 600 kWh per month range. Much of what we change now as far as reducing electricity usage is not going to have much of an impact in terms of kW used. The design of our house means there are lights on in the lower, main living level basically from the time we get up until the time we go to bed. They are all CFL lights in the daytime spectrum. The majority of our outdoor lighting is solar supplemented with CFL only when absolutely needed. Our range is electric and the new smoothtop cartridges are more energy efficient than the coil cartridges (story here). This will save a little for daily cooking but the key thing is every time we can save a little it is an environmental plus! At the same time we are changing a few bad habits like leaving the energy efficient main computer on 24/7 unless away. Off means 0 kW used! So we really are going in a couple of directions with respect to electricity. We are incorporating more solar inside while practicing conservation. In terms of costs with the ever increasing cost of electricity we likely won't seen much of a cost savings but what we should see is a continuing decline the the amount of kWh used.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2009

conserving our resources

Garden Path
Cypress House
January 16, 2008

I apologize for not making an entry sooner. Somehow with respect to homemaking aspects I had a serious case of writer's block. It's not like I didn't have ideas, I just couldn't get them to come out right in writing. So winter preparations gave way to Christmas then we were off on our winter vacation. Energy conservation is weighing heavily on my mind as so it was while on vacation so I thought I would share some of my observations and our recent changes.

We vacationed at Cypress House in Key West, Florida for part of our vacation then rented a condo at Hallandale, Florida for the remainder. There seemed to be a huge difference in terms of energy conservation. There were no CFL bulbs at Cypress House in the rooms however there was a friendly tag asking us to conserve electricity by turning it off when not in the room and there were recycling bins. They also asked that we be conservative in our use of water and re-use towels if at all possible. Walking around the area of Cypress House and Duval Street seemed dark compared to what we are used to in even smaller towns. There were street lights but the streets themselves appeared to be quite dark. Even Duval Street is not bright and glittering but more of a quiet ambiance. One reason for this is electricity is expensive and water resources are being stretched. In a region surrounded by a lot of water, water is becoming precious. This should serve as a warning to all. On our way to the Fort Lauderdale area we stopped at my husband's aunt and uncle's home on No Name Key.

Their house is beautifully located, looking very much like a home one might find in a subdivision except this house is very different. It is 100% solar and let me tell you I am in awe! Not only that under the large covered porch entrance was their water storage. This space had to be a good 10' x 10' x10' for water storage alone. Both just absolutely amazed me. Here they supplied their own electricity and water subsidizing only a bit of heat by propane as needed. So of course I looked for energy efficient appliances, CFLs and other signs of saving. Aside of using a laptop as the primary computer there were none! The washer and dryer were old (>15 yrs old) models and the fridge was a normal likely older than 10 years old. I saw no CFL bulbs but only one television instead of more. I didn't see a dishwasher or chest freezer either. What they would save in freezer costs would more than be made up in traveling to a grocery store and in fact it would likely be more expensive factoring in the traveling.

Onward to the condo in Hallandale. The condo was on the 14th floor overlooking the ocean with a view of the intercostal waters. All cars were valet parked. Each floor had a laundry room with energy efficient washer and dryers. That is where it ended. There were no recycle bins anywhere. This was a one bedroom condo with two baths. The main bath drove me completely nuts because when you turned on the lights three 150 W flood lights blared down but if you turn on both switches five of these flood lights would light up. That's 600 W total for one rather small room just for lighting! None of the appliances (all GE) were EnergyStar rated. Now this doesn't see like a real problem for one unit but given that in this building alone we caluculated there were 300 units not factoring in the common areas. This one building is a huge source of energy wastage! Now times that by the number of buildings just like this one we could easily see and that amount would increase almost by 10x. See where I'm going here? As a single family homeowner (single family) we are encouraged to save as much as possible yet a unit that could easily sit on our property with perhaps a bit of our neighbour's yet instead of an impact of two families could have an impact of 300 families and there is no incentive for those 300 families to conserve at all? It's this kind of thing that does really bother me. Conserving seems to be left up to the little guy with multi-family units and industry doing little to conserve.

Yesterday our Smart meter was installed. When fully functional we will be paying for electricity according to time of use (TOS). For the time being until the new rates become effective (yet to be announced) we are still paying the winter rate of 5 cents per kWh but when you factor in the service charges the real rate is about 11 cents per kWh. The new rates will be 3.4 cents per kWh off-peak, 7.1 cents per kWh mid-peak and 9.7 cents per kWh on-peak hours. One thing is for certain, the little guy who takes the measures to conserve will be taken advantage of by the mult-family units and industry. Mark my work on this one. While I am a bit bitter that those who use more electricity continue to do so without any seeming measures of conservation, I for one will continue to conserve and move towards the time we can move off the electrical grid.

Garden Gnome
© 2007