We're Number 1! We're Number 1!

I recently wrote about how geeked-out I was to get an energy usage report from our gas and electric company.  That one indicated that, comparing us to 99 of our neighbors in the same area with similar sized homes, that we ranked #5 in terms of our home energy efficiency.  And I have to admit, in the dorkiest or dorky ways, I was pretty excited and proud (while shivering because my house was so cold).

So imagine my surprise when this came.  The December Home Energy Report.

 

Yes, you are reading that correctly.  You are, indeed, in the presence of home energy royalty. 

We're number one.

And this is during the month when we had temps fall well below zero and our Christmas lights up, no less.

Of course, I am being a bit tongue in cheek about it all.  But given that I am a bit obsessive about both being thrifty and being responsible about energy use, this was a pretty lame, but rather exciting night for me.

So what's this mean?  And how did we get there?

Edited to add: Inspired by a friend's question, yes, I am the first to say that we are fortunate in that we do have one of the newer homes in our neighborhood.  And I went and looked at our detailed report, and we are using 54% less gas than our similar neighbors and 12% less electricity.   For those of you who emailed to ask, our last bill had $112 in electric costs and $84 in gas.  Our home is heated by gas.  So yes, I am sure that overall home efficiency does explain some of the gas savings. 

I decided to go to the link they listed (I think you have to be a customer to log in).  And there I learned that we actually use 54% less gas than our neighbors and 12% less electricity.

They also had a great list of 50+  energy tips.

I thought I'd feature the ones that we have tried and share our tips: 

Be smart about clothes washing

Be smart about drying clothes

Hang laundry to dry

We have a front loading washing machine and wash everything except towels and rags on cold.  I also have two drying racks and air dry most things.  Not towels and not the underwear for the men in the family (as a certain someone complained that "there was just something wrong with crunchy underwear.")   But everything else.  Then, for those things that do need to be dried in the dryer, I save those loads all for one day so I am only having to heat up the dryer once. 

Be smart about dish washing

I tend to run the dishwasher each night, but only if it's full.  I realized that the stuff was sitting in there overnight already, so I switched it to the air dry function.  And the dishes were dry by the morning.  I just started doing that a month ago and think that might have made the difference in our energy use.

Install a programmable thermostat
Clean or replace filters regularly

Yes, at our house we do often use the phrase "Put on a sweater."  During our at-home, waking hours, we have a programmable thermostat that keeps the heat at 64.  It drops to 58 when we are gone for the day, and it's 60 when we sleep at night.  And yes, when we have people over we turn up the heat to socially acceptable levels.  But it's funny, now when we go to other people's houses, my kids tend to get hot if it's over 66 and take off their sweaters.  

The filters we were always good about changing as I am asthmatic.  However, we accidentally missed changing it for a few months and learned the lesson the hard way.  The filter got so dirty, it overheated the furnace and shut off the pilot light.  60 degrees in the house is bearable.  50 is not.

Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs)

Choose efficient light fixtures

Use solar outdoor lights

I went and counted and 85% of the lights in our house are compact  fluorescents (the ones that aren't are on dimmers).  In addition, if we're not in a room, the light is not on.  Period.  We have solar lights outside as well.

Unplug electronics and other devices

If we're not using most things, we unplug them.  Cell phone chargers, coffee maker, appliances.

Improve shading for windows

The rooms in the north and west sides of our house (remember we are in the northern tundra, we don't get a lot of hot southern light) have room darkening shades on them.  And those shades tend to stay closed during the daylight.  Keeps the warmth in during the winter and the hot sun out in the summer.

And some tips the web site suggests but we haven't tried, so I am going to look into are:

Turn off computer at night (I know this one and just need to get better about doing it)

Install efficient showerheads 

Shave a minute off shower time 

Adjust the display on your television 

This one was fascinating to me.   So I read more...

Here is what they said on the site:

Why? New televisions are originally set to look best on the showroom floor. However, these bright display modes are often unnecessary for your home and use a considerable amount of energy. Adjusting your TV's display settings can reduce its power use by up to 50% without compromising picture quality.
Good to know:

• Dimming the display does more than save energy. It can also extend the life of your television. Bright showroom settings wear down the TV's components over time and can increase the risk of "burn in" damage to plasma screens and traditional CRT models.

• Access the display menu with the remote: Consult your owner's manual if you need help.
• For factory settings choose a new setting: Options like "dynamic" or "vivid" are usually high-power settings. Others, such as "movie" or "pro," provide appropriate brightness while using considerably less energy.
• For manual controls reduce brightness and contrast: These two components are the display features with the most effect on a TV's energy consumption.
• Take time to adjust: Use a day or two to get used to your new settings. Initially, the picture may look different, because you are accustomed to the current display. Over time you are likely to find that a somewhat dimmer display is just as captivating and enjoyable.

So I am going to give that one a try tonight and see how it looks.

How about you?  Do you have any great energy saving tips to share?