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After a month of using little to no electric lights, our kilowatt-hours went down:
March 2013: 505 kWh
April 2013: 398 kWh
(April 2012: 538 kWh)
PGE helpfully tells me that the average temperature this April was 52°, compared to 51° last year.
Disappointingly, lowering our kWh usage did not affect our bill hugely:
March 2013: $58.52
April 2013: $48.25
...but there is a slightly bigger difference year-to-year:
April 2013: $48.25
April 2012: $62.96
Due to random legislated energy credits and miniscule rate changes, I don't view year-to-year as truly apples to apples, but it's still interesting. We could probably go further to reduce our kWh usage...for example we could install a motion sensor on the inside entry light (the only one that stays on continuously for convenience...already an improvement from the 3-4 lights we used to leave on at night for convenience) and we could unplug the power strip that has the tv/xbox power bricks on it.
We have nearly used up two 12" taper candles, and about half of a 6" pillar. The tapers were on hand, the pillar was new. We have a lot of natural light, so we didn't use candles except for tasks at the very end of the day.
Even if we didn't reap a jackpot here, it was a successful experiment, and one I'll continue to follow. It creates a natural bedtime barrier for Penny -- she now knows that when it's twilight, we get into our pajamas, and then just a short window of time for bedtime snack and last playtime before it's too dark. This is way, way easier than parental-imposed deadlines that are inevitably delayed by child-whines. I notice a HUGE difference in the family crankiness-o-meter when we stay up watching movies on the weekend now, bedtime is just a crabbiness pit of despair.
I'm more reluctant to stare into my phone or stay up late reading a book, so I infringe less upon my sleep time. This also fixes a bad habit of mine on nights when Kirk is working late -- I'm less likely to stick my nose in a book and ignore Penny's bedtime until it's too late, now. Kirk often stays up later than Penny and me, with Netflix or a lamp to read by, so our guidelines have been flexible. A few mornings in the kitchen I've thought, it's just so damn gray and dim in here but I haven't actually wanted to turn on the lights, they feel very unfriendly now. There was one morning when I got up and wrote by candlelight before dawn, and it was neat to blow out the candles when the light began coming in the windows. I bitch about our stupid nontraditional condo a lot, but it's situated nicely -- morning light in the kitchen and dining area, evening light in the living room/play area.
There are a few silly things that could probably improve with lamps -- brushing teeth and reading bedtime stories by candlelight is not really necessary, but we're used to the routine now and will probably keep going. I do think Penny is less resistant to lights-out time when it's a candle versus a lamp.
So we're not in it for the money. But the original goals of moving Penny's bedtime earlier and reducing weekday screentime were easily achieved, and I am definitely still in it for the general improved rhythm of our evenings.
March 2013: 505 kWh
April 2013: 398 kWh
(April 2012: 538 kWh)
PGE helpfully tells me that the average temperature this April was 52°, compared to 51° last year.
Disappointingly, lowering our kWh usage did not affect our bill hugely:
March 2013: $58.52
April 2013: $48.25
...but there is a slightly bigger difference year-to-year:
April 2013: $48.25
April 2012: $62.96
Due to random legislated energy credits and miniscule rate changes, I don't view year-to-year as truly apples to apples, but it's still interesting. We could probably go further to reduce our kWh usage...for example we could install a motion sensor on the inside entry light (the only one that stays on continuously for convenience...already an improvement from the 3-4 lights we used to leave on at night for convenience) and we could unplug the power strip that has the tv/xbox power bricks on it.
We have nearly used up two 12" taper candles, and about half of a 6" pillar. The tapers were on hand, the pillar was new. We have a lot of natural light, so we didn't use candles except for tasks at the very end of the day.
Even if we didn't reap a jackpot here, it was a successful experiment, and one I'll continue to follow. It creates a natural bedtime barrier for Penny -- she now knows that when it's twilight, we get into our pajamas, and then just a short window of time for bedtime snack and last playtime before it's too dark. This is way, way easier than parental-imposed deadlines that are inevitably delayed by child-whines. I notice a HUGE difference in the family crankiness-o-meter when we stay up watching movies on the weekend now, bedtime is just a crabbiness pit of despair.
I'm more reluctant to stare into my phone or stay up late reading a book, so I infringe less upon my sleep time. This also fixes a bad habit of mine on nights when Kirk is working late -- I'm less likely to stick my nose in a book and ignore Penny's bedtime until it's too late, now. Kirk often stays up later than Penny and me, with Netflix or a lamp to read by, so our guidelines have been flexible. A few mornings in the kitchen I've thought, it's just so damn gray and dim in here but I haven't actually wanted to turn on the lights, they feel very unfriendly now. There was one morning when I got up and wrote by candlelight before dawn, and it was neat to blow out the candles when the light began coming in the windows. I bitch about our stupid nontraditional condo a lot, but it's situated nicely -- morning light in the kitchen and dining area, evening light in the living room/play area.
There are a few silly things that could probably improve with lamps -- brushing teeth and reading bedtime stories by candlelight is not really necessary, but we're used to the routine now and will probably keep going. I do think Penny is less resistant to lights-out time when it's a candle versus a lamp.
So we're not in it for the money. But the original goals of moving Penny's bedtime earlier and reducing weekday screentime were easily achieved, and I am definitely still in it for the general improved rhythm of our evenings.
