My first LED light bulb

I bought my very first LED bulb, which was for a nightlight, quite a while ago not realizing there had been  change in light bulb technology.  We keep a nightlight on at night near the bedrooms so that if someone gets up, they don't bump into walls.  The light bulbs I used were about 6 or 7 watts.  When I went to buy replacement bulbs I found some that were LED  and only used 0.6 watts so I decided to give them a try.  LED's also have a long lifespan, which will mean less waste going to the landfill.  

low energy LED light bulb

It wasn't until recently, when I was talking with a coworker, that I discovered that a low energy light bulb had come on the market that was better the CFL curly fluorescent bulbs.  I bought some CFL's when they first come out but I found them to be expensive, they didn't always last as long as advertised and some brands gave off a dim light.  For these reasons, I went back to buying incandescent bulbs.

Now there is a whole array of low energy, long lasting LED bulbs and I am in the process of converting my light fixtures to LED.  The LED equivalent of a regular 60w light bulb uses around 9 watts.  I even saw LED replacements for fluorescent tubes.  I am not going to throw away perfectly good light bulbs, even if they are incandescent,  so as my incandescent bulbs burn out, I am replacing them with LED's.  I can also give some of my incandescents to my children who are living in apartments.  They don't pay for electricity and since these LED bulbs aren't cheap, why spend the money to leave them behind when you move out?  For money saving coupons, go to Save On Energy.

Green Highlights:

• reducing energy consumption
• sending less to the landfill

Have you started switching your light bulbs to LED?

-TJ   

Timed just right!

Houses look so pretty this time of year decorated with Christmas lights.

(source)

 But what I am also noticing is that some homes leave their Christmas lights on all night and some even all day too.  Why not use an outdoor timer and have them come on when it is starting to get dark and them have them turn back off later?  That way, you don't have to think about it turning them on and off and it is one less thing to think about at this busy time of year.  I like to set the timer so my Christmas lights come on around 5:00 in the evening and then turn off at 11:00.  That's plenty of time to enjoy them without excessive use of electricity and it will cost less.

Green Highlights:

• use less electricity
• save on your electricity bill

Do you have your outdoor Christmas lights on a timer?

-TJ

My new energy efficient window

One of the unfortunate events mentioned in a previous post, TJ's series of unfortunate events, was that the window beside my front door got smashed.  It was a while before I had a chance to shop around for a new window so we spent almost the whole summer with the window boarded up.  I learned a bit about energy efficient windows in the process.

The window we had was a single pane 5 mm sheet of obscure glass that was not energy efficient.  It was replaced with a thermal unit made up of 2 panes of 4 mm glass which I had tempered.  Since it is right beside  the front door and goes almost to the ground, I wanted something strong that wouldn't break easily.  We went with obscure glass again for privacy and I wanted it to be low E. 

Low E is a film that reflects light and heat back to its source.  That means it reflects heat into the house in the winter and outside in the summer.  This is great for energy efficiency, but I found out that low E has to be applied to the inside pane and cannot be applied to obscure glass.  Since my inside pane was obscure, we had to forgo the low E.  The new window is still more energy efficient than what we had.  I like the look of the new window better than what we had before and I am happy that it is more energy efficient.

Green Highlights:

• replaced a single pane window with a thermal pane

Do you have any low E windows in your home?

-TJ

Turn down your wattage

It isn't always necessary to have a room fully lit.  Here are some ways you can lower electricity usage.

Dining Room
I enjoy being in my dining room, so sometimes I bring my laptop in and work on it there, like I am right now.  My dining room has a lovely brass and glass light fixture with 6 light bulbs hanging over the dining table.  Every now and then, I take off the glass shades and wash them.  This allows better light and it looks nice when they are sparkling clean.

The first option I have to use less electricity is a dimmer switch.  We dim the lights when we do not need the full brightness, which is most of the time.

The second option is a little lamp I put in the corner that has a 13w curly fluorescent bulb in it.  I have had this lamp for years and it was sitting on a shelf in the storage room with no lamp shade because it had gotten old and fell apart.  I was at a garage sale where they were selling a brand new, still in the wrapper lamp shade that fit this little lamp perfectly.  I only paid 50 cents for it!  It ads a nice ambiance and works well when not a lot of light is needed.

Family Room
The television is in our basement family room.  We can light this room by turning on 4 wall sconces or using a lamp.  When I am watching a movie, sometimes I will use the lamp which has a curly 13w bulb.  Other times I will use no electricity at all to light the room.  Instead, I light a scented candle.  There is really no need for more light than that.  I can enjoy my candle and save electricity.

Not only am I saving money using dimmer switches, less light bulbs, lower wattage bulbs and candles, I was also able to make use of something that another person did not need.

Green Highlights:

• use less electricity by using dimmer switches
• use less electricity by using lower wattage bulbs
• use less electricity by using less light bulbs
• use candles for light
• shop at garage sales

Have you lowered your energy usage by using less lighting when you don't need a fully lit room?

-TJ

The Project - Part 4 - Electrical

Receptacles and Light Switch
Since the panelled walls were shades of brown, the receptacles and light switch were brown.  We replaced them with white Decora and donated the brown ones to Habitat for Humanity.

Light Fixtures

The existing light fixtures were 4 wall sconces with amber coloured glass hurricane shades that I did not like.  I could have replaced them with new wall sconces, but I didn't want to spend that much money on wall sconces when I would prefer not to have sconces in the first place.  Since rewiring would have been expensive and not something we could do on our own, we opted to keep what we had.  We found small lamp shades that fit the existing fixtures perfectly and we donated the glass  hurricane shades.  I really like the way they look now and the new shades cost less than what we would have had to pay for 1 new sconce.

Power Bar
We got a Smart Strip to hook up our electronics.  I had heard about these but didn't really understand how they worked.  You plug the main device like the television or computer into the main plug and that controls the power to the other components like the dvd player or printer.  When the main device is turned off the others get turned off as well.  This reduces power usage and will save money on your energy bill.  There is also a plug that isn't controlled so you can plug a lamp or other item in it and it will not be affected by whether the main device is on or off.

Timer
We got a timer for the dehumidifier.  It is programmed to run during off peak time for hydro so we are paying the lowest electric rates when it is running.

         Green Highlights:

• donated items
•  reused light fixtures
• smart strip for reducing energy usage
• using a timer to save money on hydro usage

Do you use a smart strip for your television or computer?

-TJ

Out with the old, in with the new

My new washer and dryer

It's been almost 2 months now since my washing machine finished its useful life.  I had to educate myself on the new technology for washers and dryers because it has changed so much since I bought mine almost 30 years ago.

My old washer was a sud-saver, which meant the water could be reused.  You wash the least dirty/whites first then the water gets sucked back in the machine to use for the next load.  I saved a lot of water over the years, but that is a thing of the past.  My new washer uses 70% less water per load.  It will be interesting to see the affect it has on my water bill.  I have more freedom now that I don't have to plan my loads in order to use the sud-saver.  If I just want to do one load I can.  I also think the wash comes out cleaner.

out with the old

I chose a Samsung laundry pair and I love them.  I was surprised at how quiet and how musical they are.  They play tunes when the cycle is starting and finishing.  In London, Ontario, our hydro rates change depending on the time of day which is referred to as "time of use."  The washer has a delay end cycle that allows you to program when the cycle finishes. I have taken advantage of the low rate during the week by programming a load to finish before the end of the lowest rate.  When I get up in the morning, I throw it in the dryer for a few minutes then hang it up to dry.  I also use the delay end when I have a load that takes a lot longer to wash, like towels and blankets.  Instead of taking half the morning to get the load washed, I can program it to be done when I get up.  The downside to using delay end is that the machine panel is lit all night long, using power, but I think the benefits of using hydro when it costs less and time management out way the extra bit of power used.

in with the new

I am very pleased with my new washer and dryer and I actually look forward to doing the wash.  Technology has come a long way in improving energy efficiency since I bought my first washer and dryer.  Now that I have an updated laundry pair I am dreaming about updating the laundry room.  The wall behind the machines was not insulated before it was drywalled and my hookups are for dryer on the left and washer on the right.  The way the doors open on the new set, the dryer needs to be on the right.  This mini reno dream would include insulating the wall and reversing the hookups as well as a counter that can be used for folding.

Green Highlights:

• use less water
• use less hydro
• can take advantage of time of use

-TJ       

Get with the program

Using Less Natural Gas

A while back, I purchased a programmable thermostat and had it installed.  Union Gas had a promotion where they would reimburse you $25 for the purchase.  We bought ours on sale so it ended up costing me under $10. 

Last year was the first full winter using it.  We bought a 7 day programmable thermostat, which works best for our family because every day we have a different schedule.  As many parts of Canada and the United States experienced this past winter season, we had a long, cold winter, breaking several records for cold temperatures. 

Here’s what we paid for heat with a programmable thermostat:

mid-Dec 2013 to mid-Mar 2014     $465

versus the winter before without a programmable thermostat:

mid-Dec 2012 to mid-Mar 2013     $455                                                           

So, with all that cold weather, the furnace running constantly some days trying hard to warm up the house and some days the house never reaching the temperature it was supposed to, we only paid $10 more this year over what we paid last year. 

Union Gas is still offering the rebate for programmable thermostats purchased between Jan 1, 2015 and Mar 31, 2014.  If you miss this rebate period, check it out anyway.  They may have posted a coupon with a new expiry date.  Here is their link to download the coupon: Union Gas Rebate Coupon

While you’re at it, you can check out their web page to read tips on how to conserve energy.

Do you have a programmable thermostat installed and programmed?

-TJ