The Christian Science Monitor had an article on saving energy at home, that reports on a high school science teacher, Ray Janke, who decided to see what he could do to save on his electric bill.
He exchanged incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescents, put switches and surge protectors on his electronic equipment to reduce the "phantom load" - the trickle consumption even when electronic equipment is off - and bought energy-efficient appliances.
Two things happened: He saw a two-thirds reduction in his electric bill, and he found himself under audit by Mass Electric. The company thought he'd tampered with his meter. "They couldn't believe I was using so little," he says.
Twenty-two percent of all energy in the United States is used for residential purposes. (Transportation accounts for 28 percent.)
Cutting back on electricity used for lighting (9 percent of residential usage nationwide) presents the quickest savings-to-effort ratio. The EPA estimates that changing only 25 percent of your home's bulbs can cut a lighting bill in half. Incandescent bulbs waste 90 percent of their energy as heat, and compact fluorescents, which can be up to five times more efficient, last years longer as well.
This is going to be my major campaign, to reduce use of electricity in the home and I will continue to refer to articles on this subject. If everyone were to be energy conscious at home we could slow down greatly the need for new power plants and in the extreme eliminate any new plants.
The US government has a home energy saver calculator at: hes.lbl.gov. The Energy Star program website is: www.energystar.gov . For tips on sealing your home, go to: www.energyconservatory.com .
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