Monday, June 20, 2011

Reducing consumption 4

Now, how much difference can small things like this make? Probably more than you think. I haven't done a math crunching exercise in a while, so here goes, using some very generic numbers...

(I'm working with $.20 a kwh, probably on the low end for many of you.)

Turning off a computer monitor for just one hour a day when you leave the room saves $.25 a month for a newer LCD monitor, at least $.50 a month for an older CRT monitor.

Putting a computer to sleep for one hour a day when you aren't using it will save you about $.92 a month.

Turning off a TV for at least one hour a day when you're out of the room will save at least $.74 a month (this will be over $2 a month for a big screen tv)

Turning off the playstation or XBox for one hour a day will save about $1.20 a month

Saving 15 minutes of use of an electric stove burner a day will save about $1.24 a month

Cutting the time a coffee maker is on by 30 minutes a day (an item I forgot to list) will save about $2.80 a month

Replacing four-60 watt bulbs in fixtures used 4 hours a day with equivalent CF bulbs will save $4.16 a month (plus reducing cooling costs during the summer)

Reducing the use of an electric oven by 30 minutes a day will save $6.20 a month (plus cooling costs)

Omitting the drying cycle on a dishwasher that's run once a day will save at least $3.10 a month

Reducing the AC use by the equivalent of an hour a day will save about $22 a month. Heat is closer to $50 a month.

All those small items, not including the AC or heat use reduction? Add up to $20.61 a month, or $247.32 a year. Just the three smallest items save almost $2 a month alone. Add in the AC and heat savings, assuming three months of AC and five months of heat would bring the total up to $46.94 or $563.32 a year.

Just removing the trickle drain of appliances and electronics on standby could save you $2 to $3 for each item per month. If you have half a dozen small appliances and electronics, that's $15 a month just to keep things on standby.

1 comment:

Confessions of a Closet Hoarder but you can call me Judy said...

"If you have half a dozen small appliances and electronics, that's $15 a month just to keep things on standby."

I have a feeling that most people wouldn't subscribe to a service that charged them $15 a month to keep their items on standby, yet they likely think nothing of keeping things plugged in and turned on all the time.