This document summarizes the efforts of Will Emigh and Maggie Sullivan to reduce their home's electricity usage to 90 kWh per month. In 2009, their usage was 258 kWh. To meet their goal, they tracked electricity usage daily, identified high usage appliances, and tested conservation strategies like using laptops instead of desktops, line drying clothes, cold showers, and a solar cooker. Their efforts were successful, reducing usage to 71 kWh in June 2010. They recommend focusing on lighting, computers, and replacing old appliances as effective strategies. Overall, precise tracking and trying new approaches helped them significantly cut electricity consumption.

1. POWERING DOWN
Toward a 90 kWh month

2. WHO ARE WE?
 Will Emigh – number cruncher, analyst
 Maggie Sullivan – mastermind, implementer
 Greencouple.com

3. SIREN CONTEST
 Southern Indiana Renewable Energy Network
 Reduce 2010 usage compared to 2009
 We already did a lot in 2009; could we do more?
 Terminology: kW vs. Watt, kW vs. kWh

4. 2009 VS. 2010
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
2009 2010

5. OUR GOAL: 90 KWH A MONTH
 For the environment, what matters is how much
electricity you use
 For comparison, it’s useful to look at usage per
square foot
675 sq. feet
45 kWh
1350 sq. feet
90 kWh
2700 sq. feet
180 kWh

6. HOW MUCH IS 3 KWH?
 2 60-Watt bulbs on for a day
 A 20 year-old refrigerator in a day
 One load of clothes in the dryer
 A desktop computer and monitor on for a day

7. HOW DOES THAT COMPARE?
 Based on average annual usage
 Adjusted to our home size
USA
520 kWh
100%
Chicago
380 kWh
70%
Us, 2009
258 kWh
50%
Goal
90 kWh
20%

8. POP QUIZ!
 How much electricity do these items use?
 CFL
 Laptop
 Space heater
 Dishwasher
 Clothes dryer

9. CORRECT ANSWER: HOW WOULD I KNOW?
 People overestimate low-usage items and
underestimate high-usage items
 Unless it’s Energy Star, you probably can’t tell in
the store
 A Kill-A-Watt can tell you for plug-in items

10. ACTUAL ANSWERS
 “Public perceptions of energy consumption and
savings” by Attari, DeKay, Davidson, de Bruin

11. ACTUAL ANSWERS
 How much electricity do these items use?
 CFL 12 Wh
 Laptop 30 Wh
 Space heater 900 Wh
 Dishwasher 1200 Wh
 Clothes dryer 6000 Wh

12. TOO MANY COOKS
 There’s lots of advice out there
 Not all of it applies to our climate, home, or lifestyle
 Our rules:
 Track usage
 Try new things
 Measure specifically when possible

13. HOW MIGHT WE DIFFER FROM YOU?
 1350 sq ft house
 Gas heat & stove (although furnace still uses a lot
of power for the fan)
 Work from home
 No kids (but a dog)
 No dishwasher
 Good house orientation (windows across from each
other, south-facing windows, etc.)

14. TRACKING (OVER 200 MEASUREMENTS)
0
5
10
15
20
25
1/2/10 2/2/10 3/2/10 4/2/10 5/2/10 6/2/10 7/2/10 8/2/10 9/2/10

15. TRACKING
 I mark down current measurement, time, and
comments every day after work
 Can buy real-time monitors, but they tend to be
expensive
 Working with Ted Mendoza of Gengee to create an
iPhone app to make it easier

16. MEASURING
 Can’t tell what to focus on when you don’t know
what’s working
 Kill-A-Watt works for normal outlets
 Larger items (water heater, furnace) can be
estimated through tracking
 We turned off our water heater while on vacation to see
how the base load changed

17. HEATING/COOLING ARE THE BIGGEST
CULPRITS
 Freezer
 Refrigerator
 Hot tub/pool heater
 A/C
 Furnace
 Water heater
 Dryer
 Stove/Oven

18. PRE-CHALLENGE, WHAT DID WE DO?
 No impact on our quality of life
 No major expenses
 No major effort

19. LOW-POWER SETTING ON LAPTOPS
 Desktop with monitor can draw 150 Watts
 Laptop draws 30 Watts
 Netbook draws 15 Watts
 Hibernation is less than 1 Watt
 Suspend uses effectively no energy
 Over 2 kWh per day for desktop on continuously
 Our average laptop usage: < 0.5 kWh

20. POWER STRIPS FOR ALMOST EVERYTHING
 TV
 Wii
 DVD player
 Toaster oven
 Stereo
 Cable box
 Anything with a clock or a remote

21. LIGHTING: CFLS
 Cheap (often free through deals – check with your
utility company)
 20% electrical usage compared to incandescents
 Produce less waste heat
 Reduced bulbs in fixtures (don’t need 4 bulbs in the
bathroom at night)

22. HIGH IN THE SUMMER,
LOW IN THE WINTER
 Set thermostat to 78 in summer (75 during the hour
we’re trying to get to sleep)
 Set thermostat to 65 in winter (60 while asleep)
 Check utility company for deals on programmable
thermostats

23. POST-CHALLENGE, WHAT DID WE DO?
 Made sacrifices
 Didn’t worry about whether we could maintain long-
term
 Spent more money
 Tried more things
 Cut out tiny things just because we could
 Charged laptop during business meetings
 Stayed in the same room to reduce light use

24. NEW REFRIGERATOR
 Old one (17 years) drew 2.6 kWh a day!
 New Energy Star unit of same size uses 0.6 kWh a
day
 Cost $700 minus some rebates (check with your
utility company)
 Will pay for itself in about 10 years (less if rates go
up)

25. NO A/C
 Closed windows and blinds during the day, opened
at night
 Fans set up to encourage air replacement at night
and ceiling fan
 Cool water in fridge; ice pops in freezer
 Occasional escapes to A/C (movie theater, etc.)
 Got up to 82 in the house (prior to heat wave in
July/August)

26. NO DRYER (LINE DRYING)
 Our dryer uses 4-6 kWh per load!
 No such thing as Energy Star dryer
 Set up drying rack for underwear/socks
 Used two lines that got good afternoon sun to dry
everything else

27. CAMP SHOWER (WHOA!)
 Our water heater uses about 1-2 kWh to reheat
 We tried cold showers, but it was too cold!
 Purchased a kit at Dick’s Sporting Goods
 Black 5-gallon bag with spigot
 Plastic privacy barriers that hang from a tree
 Put a welcome mat underneath to keep feet cleaner
 Put bag in the sun in the morning
 Sometimes took bag inside to use, but it was unwieldy

28. SOLAR COOKING
 Didn’t actually help much, since our stove is gas
(but an electric stove draws 2.4 kW!)
 Sometimes replaced slow cooker use, which is
about 600 Wh for ours
 Fun to put rice out in the morning and eat it at night

29. SMALL SOLAR CHARGER FOR PHONES
 Take forever to charge
 Phones (even smart phones) don’t draw much
power
 Not worth it unless camping or traveling

30. TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!
 On-demand water heater
 More efficient washer/dryer
 Solar water heater
 PV panels
 Light-colored metal roof
 Attic fan

31. SOLAR FURNACE!
 Our winter electrical use is 1.5-2x summer
 Furnace fan
 Harder to heat water
 Solar furnace fan uses 90 Watts
 Produces hot air continuously on sunny days
 Come visit on Sunday!

32. WE DID IT!
June 2009
258 kWh
100%
June 2010
71 kWh
28%

33. NOT SUSTAINABLE
 We like taking showers in the morning
 Line drying isn’t always convenient
 Raining
 Too many clothes
 Can’t be around to put them out/bring them in
 Sometimes it gets really hot!
 Winter!

34. STILL, WE’RE DOING WELL
June
71
28%
July
111
42%
August
157
60%
September
~118
~40%

35. REMEMBER THIS?
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
2009 2010

36. WHAT DO WE RECOMMEND?
 Focus on things that are on a lot
 Focus on things that draw a lot of power
 Check out new technology
 Energy Star refrigerators
 Solar furnace/water heater/panel
 Don’t worry too much about curtailment

37. REPLACE INCANDESCENT WITH CFLS
 No reason not to at this point
 Probably won’t save a lot, but the return on
investment is high

38. HIBERNATE/SUSPEND COMPUTERS
 Leaving a desktop on is worse than leaving a light
on
 Leaving a laptop on is worse than leaving a CFL on
 Easy to change power settings
 Easy to hibernate/suspend when not in use

39. REPLACE OLD APPLIANCES
 Refrigerator
 Greatest change in efficiency in the last 10 years
 Water heater
 Clothes dryer
 Washing machine
 Efficient ones cut down on dryer time as well

40. REMOVE EXTRANEOUS HEATERS/COOLERS
 A fridge in the garage
 A chest freezer
 Even a tiny dorm fridge uses almost as much as a
normal one!

41. SOLAR WATER HEATING
 Makeshift (camp shower)
 Cheap
 Easy to setup
 Professional
 Can shower in the morning
 Easier to shower inside

42. LINE DRY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
 Clothes dryers are TERRIBLE
 Line dry in the summer
 Line dry in the winter
 If you have to use a clothes dryer
 Make sure your washer is spinning most of the water
out
 Vent heated air into the home in winter

43. HOW MUCH ARE WE TALKING?
Jan
$56
$56
Feb
$115
$46
Mar
$56
$50
Apr
$43
$45
May
$42
$39
Jun
$42
$25
Jul
$43
$18
Aug
$43
$23
Sept
$49
$29
All
$489
$331

44. QUESTIONS?
www.greencouple.com