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July 28, 2009
Now what? How to further reduce your BC Hydro bill
Nina Winham
For bchydro.com
You've heard the call, caught the spirit, and changed your light bulbs. Or perhaps you've intensified your efforts, invested in change, and improved your insulation.
You're seeing some improvement in your energy consumption! Except... maybe it's not as much as you'd hoped. Or maybe – even worse – you hardly see any change in your BC Hydro bill at all. What's going on?
If you're feeling stuck in your energy conservation efforts, this story is for you. With the help of Tony Mauro, Senior Engineer with BC Hydro Power Smart, we've got some often-overlooked efficiencies and techie tips that can help get your program moving again. (And if you're just starting, you can dive in anywhere.)
1. Get to know your electrical flow
Quick – which uses more electricity: a clothes dryer or the average fridge? What's a decent annual consumption rate for a family – 6,000 kWh or 10,000 kWh (kilowatt hours)? And out of your annual electricity "budget," how much goes on entertainment gadgets versus, say, hot water?
If you don't know, don't feel bad. Most of us just aren't hip to the language of electricity, which can make it hard to be good savers.
"If someone's trying to lose weight, they count calories," says Tony Mauro. "If they're trying to change their financial plan, they look at the expenditures on their bank account. But most people don't sit down and say I have five TVs; how much do they consume? We almost need people to take the same philosophy they take to weight loss or building a budget to look at their energy use."
To clue yourself in, try BC Hydro's appliance and lighting calculator. You can play with its settings and find out that drying five loads of laundry a week uses 650 kWh per year – about the same as a medium sized fridge.
Note that using the heated dry cycle on a dishwasher more than doubles the energy use. (Watts measure the amount of energy an appliance requires to function. Kilowatt hours measure consumption – how much it uses over time.)
Another way to learn is to purchase an energy meter – for about $30 you can measure the consumption of anything electrical in your home. Tony suggests comparing how much your entertainment systems draws while you watch a DVD – and then how much it uses when it's "turned off" for an equivalent amount of time.
If you're a Team Power Smart (TPS) member (it's free to sign up!) – you can use the "Compare Your Home" tool on the TPS home page, and find out how your consumption compares to others with similar homes in your region. For an analysis of your specific consumption patterns, try the "Analyze My Home" tool.
2. Behave!
"What we notice is that people like to 'do things,'" says Tony. "So they replace the old bulbs with CFLs. But they don't stop leaving that light on 24 hours a day. Or they'll replace insulation but then leave the screen door open, which negates the benefits. So after you've done the CFLs or draft-proofing, then you have to look at what your behavioural changes need to be."
Tony's picks for the best (most conservation impact) behaviour changes focus on hot water – which represents 20-33% of the energy usage in a home. If you find your energy savings are stymied, pull back on long hot showers and baths and switch to cold water laundry.
Reset your hot water heater to 55˚C (it's often set higher) – this is hot enough to control bacteria and provide comfort, but will save energy over time.
And of course, get in the habit of switching off your lights, computer, TV, and stereo when you're not using them!
3. Get everyone on board
"You can't just have one person in a household decide, 'We're going to be energy conscious,'" says Tony. "If you have two teenagers and they're not part of the solution, you won't see any conservation numbers. So it has to become a family project."
Check out what one Lions Bay family did to get the kids Power Smart
4. Diversify your efforts
Improvements to your energy efficiency come in three general categories – major upgrades, small/medium upgrades, and behavioural. Try to keep doing a bit in each area.
For example, plan ahead for an insulation upgrade (major), and tackle additional draft-proofing (medium) tasks as you're able.
Tony says that improving your home's envelope through windows, weatherstripping, and insulation is critical before taking larger steps, such as investing in a new heating system. "The more efficient your home, the more your actual heating system can be reduced in size," says Tony. No sense buying a large furnace when a smaller one will do!
5. Be a smart shopper
Whenever you buy anything that's going to plug into your wall, see if you can choose a more efficient, ENERGY STAR® option. And think twice about what you really need in terms of electronic gadgets (that's where consumption rates are on a steady rise).
"Lots of people will walk into a store and say I want a 52-inch TV, when really their room is better for a 42-inch set, which would also save them 100 watts of power," says Tony. "Often, when people are shopping for a computer, a printer, even a cell phone – they forget to look at the ENERGY STAR labelling. So take stock of the way you're equipping your house."
6. Try our low-cost, no-cost tips
Tell the online tool your type of home and type of heating, and it will pop up a dozen simple ideas for saving energy. Since you're already an energy saving star, you may already be doing them all. If so, enjoy the feeling of success – and talk a friend into joining up too.
Nina Winham is a Vancouver-based writer and sustainability consultant.
