Next Winter be prepared for higher electric bills...
ron thomas
The newspaper has been full of stories of late about the sale of the Columbia River generating facilities which provide power to the Northwest. They are currently in receivership from the Enron debacle. Several attempts are being made to buy them by different organizations but thus far none have succeeded.
From following this story we think it is not unreasonable to assume that our electric rates will continue to rise steeply. There probably isn't much we can do about it as individuals but cut our consumption of electricity and hope that less use translates enough savings to offset the higher costs. We have our strength in that we are retired and have time as an ally. A younger family has work, school and family concerns which means they will end up paying the higher price.
So we are hoping to provoke a discussion of ideas that we can all undertake in the next few months to cut our consumption and reduce our power bills. Having been an Electircian for 40 years I've put my thinking cap on and will put some ideas out there for you to think about. For your part we would like to hear ideas that you have... Maybe you don't understand how stuff works but you could have an idea that someone else can flesh out the how to do it. So all ideas are welcome.
First let me point out what power consumption means... Used power is measured in watts. So the more watts you use the more you will pay. What we need to do then is cut our usage of watts. There are two kinds of watts usage. One kind is very inefficient and the other is pretty efficient. The inefficient kind wastes about 40% of the watts it uses in radiated heat. For the homeowner that translates to any device that you use that is run by an electric motor. Such as, a clothes dryer, refrigerator,hand tools, washing machine, dishwasher, freezer, forced air heating, table saws, fans and the like. The less you can restrict their use the more you will cut down on your bill. After all they are wasting 40% of what they use.
The more efficient users of power are those things that generate light and heat. But be wary here because efficent does not translate into savings. For instance which is more cost effective a 40watt light bulb or a 60 watt light bulb? If you said a 40 watt bulb you are correct. But here is a trick that you probably don't know... The brightness, the amount of light a bulb emits is not measured in watts!!! That means in some circumstances a 40 watt bulb will actually provide more light than a 60 watt bulb!!! Here is your first cost cutting opportunity! Go to Wal-Mart and look at the different ratings of the light bulbs and see the difference for yourself.... Here's what to look for.... The brighteness of a light is measured in LUMENS. The more lumens the brighter the light. For instance an incandescent light bulb of 40 watts will have fewer lumens than a fluorescent one of the same size. This will allow you to pick a smaller power(wattage) consuming bulb to get the same amount of light you now have. Cha-Ching.
Next ... We discuss water heaters and freezers..
The newspaper has been full of stories of late about the sale of the Columbia River generating facilities which provide power to the Northwest. They are currently in receivership from the Enron debacle. Several attempts are being made to buy them by different organizations but thus far none have succeeded.
From following this story we think it is not unreasonable to assume that our electric rates will continue to rise steeply. There probably isn't much we can do about it as individuals but cut our consumption of electricity and hope that less use translates enough savings to offset the higher costs. We have our strength in that we are retired and have time as an ally. A younger family has work, school and family concerns which means they will end up paying the higher price.
So we are hoping to provoke a discussion of ideas that we can all undertake in the next few months to cut our consumption and reduce our power bills. Having been an Electircian for 40 years I've put my thinking cap on and will put some ideas out there for you to think about. For your part we would like to hear ideas that you have... Maybe you don't understand how stuff works but you could have an idea that someone else can flesh out the how to do it. So all ideas are welcome.
First let me point out what power consumption means... Used power is measured in watts. So the more watts you use the more you will pay. What we need to do then is cut our usage of watts. There are two kinds of watts usage. One kind is very inefficient and the other is pretty efficient. The inefficient kind wastes about 40% of the watts it uses in radiated heat. For the homeowner that translates to any device that you use that is run by an electric motor. Such as, a clothes dryer, refrigerator,hand tools, washing machine, dishwasher, freezer, forced air heating, table saws, fans and the like. The less you can restrict their use the more you will cut down on your bill. After all they are wasting 40% of what they use.
The more efficient users of power are those things that generate light and heat. But be wary here because efficent does not translate into savings. For instance which is more cost effective a 40watt light bulb or a 60 watt light bulb? If you said a 40 watt bulb you are correct. But here is a trick that you probably don't know... The brightness, the amount of light a bulb emits is not measured in watts!!! That means in some circumstances a 40 watt bulb will actually provide more light than a 60 watt bulb!!! Here is your first cost cutting opportunity! Go to Wal-Mart and look at the different ratings of the light bulbs and see the difference for yourself.... Here's what to look for.... The brighteness of a light is measured in LUMENS. The more lumens the brighter the light. For instance an incandescent light bulb of 40 watts will have fewer lumens than a fluorescent one of the same size. This will allow you to pick a smaller power(wattage) consuming bulb to get the same amount of light you now have. Cha-Ching.
Next ... We discuss water heaters and freezers..
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