#6 - Half Plan

Just found a neat site. Mother Earth News published an article describing a project to cut the energy use of a household (heat, electricity, transportation) by half. They don't just talk about doing it, but they actually do it and report the results. If you like graphs and data see this link. If you want to see the top 8 projects then see this link. The bottom line seems to be that hey reduced their energy use by 63% without any lifestyle changes. Below are 8 projects, costs and payback. Wow!!

The Top Eight Projects	Initial Cost	Savings per Year	Energy Reduction per Year	CO2 Reduction per Year
Personal Computer Power Management	$20	$178	1,780 kWh	3,560 lbs
Install Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs	$50	$117	1,170 kWh	2,340 lbs
Seal and Insulate Heating Ducts	$20	$75	940 kWh	480 lbs
Reduce Infiltration Losses From House (Seal Leaks)	$50	$156	1,980 kWh	1,010 lbs
Vent Dryer to Inside During Winter	$5	$63	630 kWh	286 lbs
Insulate Windows With Bubble Wrap	$38	$75	960 kWh	490 lbs
Eliminate Phantom Electrical Loads	$70	$57	570 kWh	1,140 lbs
Use an Electric Mattress Pad	$125	$186	2,320 kWh	1,150 lbs
Totals	$378	$907	10,350 kWh	10,456 lbs

As I have found with wood pellets, insulation, CFLs and the like, there is low hanging fruit everywhere.

#5 - Dad Didn't Have All This Stuff

This is one of my favorite graphs. It shows what percentage of Americans had which appliance or convenience over time. When I saw this the first time, it brought back memories of my mother telling stories about the "good old days". My dad was born in 1910 and my mother was born in 1917. They both grew up on rural dairy farms in Vermont. The were born into a world with no electricity and I have a picture of my mom as a teenager doing her homework under an oil lamp. I used to fill my grandmothers woodbox with small sticks of wood for her kitchen stove. What is striking now is the amazing changes they saw over their lives. And yet their memories of growing up without this stuff, based on the stories I grew up hearing them tell, seemed pretty normal if not downright bucolic. I guess my take away is that we don't need all this stuff to have pretty much OK lives, and very possible better lives.

So when someone says we "need" more and more and more electricity and we will be miserable if we had to use less (or worst), I don't buy it. I gotta go turn off the radio, turn down the thermostat, brush my teeth with an electric toothbrush, set my digital alarm clock, text everybody about carpooling tomorrow, check my kids Facebook pages, get bread out of the freezer for the morning, check the digital thermometer and listen to the weather radio, and go to bed.