03-17-2015, 01:11 PM
I guess I'll run through some of our conservation measures:
* Solar hot water (mostly paid for through rebates and federal and state tax credits)
* LED light bulbs (discounted price through rebates)
* Energy Star clothes washer and refrigerator (you guessed it, we got rebates. saves not only power but also water)
* Appliance timer (free through rebate)
* Cooling through whole house solar fan (there was a rebate available but I did the DIY process instead)
* Energy star ceiling fan (100% free through self installation and rebate)
* We do most of our baking with this (not only cheap to operate but also doesn't heat inside of house) http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Camping-..._1_1?rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1426648305&sr=8-1&keywords=camp+chef+oven (haven't refilled 5 gallon propane tank in months)
* 90% of our clothes drying is done on lines
* Eliminating vampire/phantom loads
Here's the rebate page again: http://hawaiienergy.com/for-homes/rebates
Almost anything that plugs into the wall has a "phantom draw" even when it's turn off. Sometimes its doing something somewhat useful (like a TV drawing power to detect if a remote control is supposed to turn it on). Each appliance is different. For example our TV only draws about 1.5 watts for this purpose (about the same as an appliance timer... no gain in hooking that up). My "energy star" laser printer draws 40 watts when it's off! Because it's listening for a wifi signal to wake it up. I have to unplug it after each use. You need to get to know everything that is plugged in and find out exactly what it is doing. Unplugging my laser printer was about $3/month! $36 a year waiting to wake up when I didn't want it to. Now multiply that by every possible phantom draw in the home. Some cell phone chargers use almost as much power when they are plugged in but not charging the phone than they do when they are charging the phone. When in doubt... unplug. An "energy star" microwave burns about 3 watts powering the touch pad waiting for you to turn it on. That is an expensive clock. Even items that ARE completely off can burn a watt of electricity just from the resistance of being plugged in. Power strips are your friend.
Here is a phantom/vampire page: http://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/doc...gloads.pdf
ETA: fix URL, add info
* Solar hot water (mostly paid for through rebates and federal and state tax credits)
* LED light bulbs (discounted price through rebates)
* Energy Star clothes washer and refrigerator (you guessed it, we got rebates. saves not only power but also water)
* Appliance timer (free through rebate)
* Cooling through whole house solar fan (there was a rebate available but I did the DIY process instead)
* Energy star ceiling fan (100% free through self installation and rebate)
* We do most of our baking with this (not only cheap to operate but also doesn't heat inside of house) http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Camping-..._1_1?rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1426648305&sr=8-1&keywords=camp+chef+oven (haven't refilled 5 gallon propane tank in months)
* 90% of our clothes drying is done on lines
* Eliminating vampire/phantom loads
Here's the rebate page again: http://hawaiienergy.com/for-homes/rebates
Almost anything that plugs into the wall has a "phantom draw" even when it's turn off. Sometimes its doing something somewhat useful (like a TV drawing power to detect if a remote control is supposed to turn it on). Each appliance is different. For example our TV only draws about 1.5 watts for this purpose (about the same as an appliance timer... no gain in hooking that up). My "energy star" laser printer draws 40 watts when it's off! Because it's listening for a wifi signal to wake it up. I have to unplug it after each use. You need to get to know everything that is plugged in and find out exactly what it is doing. Unplugging my laser printer was about $3/month! $36 a year waiting to wake up when I didn't want it to. Now multiply that by every possible phantom draw in the home. Some cell phone chargers use almost as much power when they are plugged in but not charging the phone than they do when they are charging the phone. When in doubt... unplug. An "energy star" microwave burns about 3 watts powering the touch pad waiting for you to turn it on. That is an expensive clock. Even items that ARE completely off can burn a watt of electricity just from the resistance of being plugged in. Power strips are your friend.
Here is a phantom/vampire page: http://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/doc...gloads.pdf
ETA: fix URL, add info