How much could we cut energy use with no cost?

[rubato]

To our std of living?


HALF


With no new innovation at all.

Cutting oil use by that much would erase most of the trade imbalance.

yrs,
rubato

[Crackpot]

A good place to start would to be to kill energy vampires. we don't need clocks on everything.

[rubato]

But that would violate the rule that every new appliance must have a phone, a camera, a web-browser and a clock in it.

yrs,
rubato

[kristina]

Does that mean that soon I'll be able to log on to PlanB while I'm vacuuming the living room? Cool!

[oldr_n_wsr]

Does that mean that soon I'll be able to log on to PlanB while I'm vacuuming the living room? Cool!

You can't do that already?????

I am always amazed that whe I wke int eh middle of the night, I don't need to feel around for the walls in order to navigate around the house (you 50+ yo's know why I am up at 4am). There is an led clock on everything from the alarm clock to the microwave, to the cable box to the stove to whatever. Sure they don't take much power, but multiply that by 50 million and BAM, wasted power. These could all be shut off after say, 30 minutes and just have the clock be maintained by much less power than it takes to light LEDS.

[kristina]

There are so many ways our rented house wastes energy...

It was built around 1920, and has no insulation, so a lot of the heat from the furnace goes to warming up the yard. Fortunately, there are no heat registers on the second floor, (which houses the sewing room, guest room, painting storage room and guest bath), and I've hung curtains in the doorway to the front hall/stairway. This actually makes a difference; going from the LR to the bedroom I can feel it's much cooler in the hall. The thermostat goes down to 58 at night, and 64-66 when I'm home. The SO leaves it at 58 during the day when he's home alone, but I'm not tough enough for that!

We have a standard hot water heater, and the pipes run under the house in the crawl space. It takes a long time to get hot water to any sink, so I'm wasting both gas and water when I start to shower or wash dishes. We also pay to keep all that water hot all of the time, and with just two of us in the house, running the dishwasher two or three times a week, doing two to three loads of laundry a week, and showering every other day (except in summer), it seems terribly wasteful.

We have twisty bulbs in nearly every light in the house and my computer/DSL stuff are all plugged into one power strip which I turn off when I'm not using it. I hang some clothes to dry (clothes hangers near the heat registers), and all the rest is dried on "delicate" (least possible heat). When I cook dinner I try to cook for six, so we have leftovers that just need a little heating up.

[dales]

But that would violate the rule that every new appliance must have a phone, a camera, a web-browser and a clock in it.

yrs,
rubato

Not to mention all the AC adaptors that convert 120 VAC to DC to run the countless electronic gizmos. They use power which is mostly wasted as heat sometimes near 100 watts.

[BoSoxGal]

The thermostat goes down to 58 at night, and 64-66 when I'm home. The SO leaves it at 58 during the day when he's home alone, but I'm not tough enough for that!

This brings up a query from me: What temps do folks generally set their thermostat at throughout the day/night?

My SO leaves his at 68-70 24/7. I hate trying to sleep in a house that warm, and it leaves me parched in the morning.

My preference is also to have the heat set back to 58/60 for sleeping, and only up to 64-66 for daytime comfort. I could room with you and your SO anytime, kristina - just wondering if we are the 'norm', or very different from most?

[Rick]

But that would violate the rule that every new appliance must have a phone, a camera, a web-browser and a clock in it.

yrs,
rubato

Not to mention all the AC adaptors that convert 120 VAC to DC to run the countless electronic gizmos. They use power which is mostly wasted as heat sometimes near 100 watts.

To expound a little on what Dales has offered (probably elementary to most) unplug chargers that are not actually charging.

All adapters are step down transformers even if not in use the line side always has power traveling through it...

[kristina]

This brings up a query from me: What temps do folks generally set their thermostat at throughout the day/night?

My SO leaves his at 68-70 24/7. I hate trying to sleep in a house that warm, and it leaves me parched in the morning.

My preference is also to have the heat set back to 58/60 for sleeping, and only up to 64-66 for daytime comfort. I could room with you and your SO anytime, kristina - just wondering if we are the 'norm', or very different from most?

My (limited) experience is that most people keep their houses warmer than I do; probably closer to your SO, bsg. My SO's mother's place feels like a furnace to me, but she is 86 and slowing down a little. I grew up in a house where my parents (in an effort to save money) kept the thermostat at 58 all winter (I think my mother put on her long johns in November and took them off in April...one hopes she washed them at least a few times along the way) so 64-66 feels toasty to me.

[BoSoxGal]

Same here - my parents were stingy with heat, as have I been in my adult life. I find 64-66 perfectly adequate, and anything warmer begins to be uncomfortable - especially in terms of dryness of the air.

What bothers me about so many folks who keep their houses really warm - my SO is a prime example - is the tendency to walk around in mid-winter in really lightweight clothing. My SO argues his little kids need to be warm, but he doesn't say anything to them about running around in their underwear in winter. I was raised to add a layer and keep warm that way.

One significant way that we are burning up energy is as a largely spoiled citizenry who expect to dress for summer in the depths of winter, while in the toasty comfort of our homes.

[Jarlaxle]

The thermostat goes down to 58 at night, and 64-66 when I'm home. The SO leaves it at 58 during the day when he's home alone, but I'm not tough enough for that!

This brings up a query from me: What temps do folks generally set their thermostat at throughout the day/night?

Liz is home lately (hasn't been cleared for work yet), so it's been 68 all day and 64 at night. It's usually 64 when we're both at work. I'd be happy at 64/60, but Liz is uncomfortable even at 64.

I turn off power to my PC when not in use, the chargers for the phones we have (cell and Nextel for each of us, total of four) are also on a power strip that gets turned off when not in use. My C-Pap gets unplugged in the morning.

[loCAtek]

I'm fine at 65°, these days anything more feels on the warm side, since when I get home- I've just finished a long bike ride. My lounging clothes include a man's bathrobe too. ...well shoot, it was cheap and is made of that thick micro-fiber, making it very cozy. (Told ya, I didn't need a Snuggie™, my robe is thicker than those things ) I chose a man's size because the longer it is, the more it covers. Women's, for some reason, usually stop above the knee.

[rubato]

Well I'm taking a nap every day. Saving energy for my countries future .

yrs,
rubato