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Measuring the Energy You Use?
centdollarman asks: "Everyone keeps talking about how energy is being wasted here and there. Energy bills keep soaring for me, and now I'm back to paper and pencil: just taking notice of the power meter values. Mine is nice, as it has a cute LED that blinks at 1/1000 of a KWh. However, there has to be a better way to do this, and I've started searching the web for someway to count my usage, automatically. Of course, this is easier said than done. It would also be nice to have some way to (cheaply!) measure the power consumption of a single device."
So, for the energy conscious among us: how are you measuring the power you use?
well we can only really talk anecdotally but I find that they last a lot longer than regular bulbs, the standard lightbulbs are supposed to last for around 3,000 hours, and the energy efficient ones are supposed to last for 10,000 hours...
I suppose this comes down to if you can trust the manufactures and what they say. I agree about you with the warming up period, but it is only for a minute or so, and worth it in the long run (if you do indeed get the full 10,000 hours)
*''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
I had about 1-2 bulbs breaking a year.
About 4-5 years ago, i started replacing the broken ones with fluorescent bulbs.
Not a single of those ever died.
HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
Take this a step further: plug your TV/HiFi/etc into a powerstrip with its own on/off switch. When you're not using the devices, turn the powerstrip off, and get used to always doing that. Then you'll be using exactly zero Watts! European electronic devices can normally be switched off (in addition to any stanby modes), but it seems that this is not the case in the US. BTW: you can get powerstrips with surge protection, which is quite useful - I know two different people who have had computers damaged by surges (lightning induced).
As for the bulbs: turning the lights off completely saves even more than the low-power ones! It may sound obvious, but I've often noticed that people leave all sorts of lights on where it's really not necessary. Also remember: the low power bulbs' life expectancy has more to do with the number of times they are turned on than the total on-time, so they may not make sense for some locations; they don't work with dimmer switches either. Other than that, they're a very good idea, and I can now get ones that are the same shape as the old-style bulbs, thanks to a plastic cover over the tubes.
I think the energy ratings for fridges and the like are at least a European standard. We have them in Germany too. The downside of a highly efficient fridge is that you may end up pulling the handle off, because the vacuum inside is so strong!
-- Steve
Buy a power strip with an in-built on-off switch. We have the kind with a lamp inside the switch that glows when it's on.
Connect all your computer equipment to the strip (routers, monitors, computers), and turn it off when you don't use it. Do the same for the TV & stereo.
Your equipment won't use any energy if the power isn't connected...
When you go to bed, you notice if the lights are shining or not. If they are, turn them off. Presto!
What we really need is a display on the wall, next to the thermostat, that looks like the fuel economy guage on the Prius. On the right is the current consumption, on the left is a bar chart showing past consumption averaged over 5 minute periods. It makes driving the prius like a video game where getting the highest economy is the goal. I'd think if we had such a display, you'd keep track of your consumption, and you'd know if you were drawing more power than you should be for any given time; like leaving a light on in the basement.
How can we expect people to conserve without any easy-to-see meausrement of consumption.
-Geoff
Check out TrailRegistry.com, my hiking site, Maps, altitude pr
Stand by mode is a killer. We all have lots of devices on standby and they each use power. I'm surprised your monitor is using a massive 40W, turn that bugger off when you don't need it, please! An example, the TV, STB and DVD were using 20W when all on stand by. Seeing as these things are not used most of the time, that's a lot of power wasted over a year just from one socket. Now we physically kill the power.
One problem we have in the US is the power sockets do not have switches, and no one likes to pull the plug many times as it invariable weakens the socket. Other counties have switches, so it's a lot easier. The beefy UK ones are great.
Go to amazon and look at the "kill a watt" devices. They'll tell you the juice your using from a given socket.
Or get a power-shower. Or, even better, shower at the gym. I do it because (a) it forces me to stay in the habit of going to the gym every morning, and (b) someone else pays for my hot water. Sure, I pay a gym membership, but I would pay it anyway (at the same price) just to keep fit.
Simple, inefficient solution: save your own energy, use someone else's.
Depending on where you live, you might be able to borrow an energy meter for free. For example, in Ottawa (Canada), the public library system has about 200 Kill-A-Watt meters available to borrow for three weeks, just like a book (search for "kill-a-watt").
Check out the standby power consumption. I was surprised by my powered subwoofer taking 8 watts when it's "off". Along with the TV (6 watts), receiver (6 watts), and DVD player (4 watts), that was enough waste to make me turn them off at the power strip.
I read Usenet for the articles.
Gasoline produces 32 megajoule/litre, 1 kWh is equivalent to 3.6 megajoule so 1 litre of gas ~= 10kWh. 1 kwH of electricity ranges from 5c to 25c depending where you are.
For Canada:
1 MJ of oil energy ~ $0.04
1 MJ of electric energy ~ $0.03
How much is a MJ of of electric or oil energy where you live?
I've had good luck with the compact fluorecents in ouside (enclosed) fixtures. No heating/cooling cycles on a fragile bit of filiment has meant no bulb replacements in 1.5 years, as opposed to every 3-4 months. The light quality (color) is kinda iffy, but I'm willing to use them in the garage, basement, and kitchen. Heat dissapation is a bigger issue, the sockets in most of the fixtures in the house are cheap, and can't hold more than a 60w incandecent. This means that I can put the equivalent of 200w in an enclosed fixture in my kitchen, and I can cheat with y-socket adaptors in the basement without worrying about things melting. Definitely cheaper than upgrading sockets, let me tell you. Granted, I have pretty clean power where I live.