What do you do when you get a $505 electric bill? This presentation chronicles what my family did to cut its electric bill by more than 40%.

1. CFLs in the
Sherwin
Home
www.EltonSherwin.com

2. What Galvanized the
Sherwin Family
into Action…
The melting ice caps?
Actually, it was…

3. $506 Electric Bill

4. Sherwin Family in Menlo Park
 One New Home
 With basement
 Tough building code
 Three
 TVs & DVD players
 Furnaces
 Two :
 Stories  Four
 Refrigerators  PCs
 Pool pumps  Cellphones
 Girls  Clock radios
 Dogs  Innumerable
 TiVos  Cordless phones
 iPods  Light bulbs
 Rechargeable flashlights  Motion detectors
 AC compressors

5. And 12 Skylights

6. 12 Outdoor Motion Detectors

7. Indoors
 45 Motion  12 Timers
Detectors
Guest Bathroom
Motion detector on left is from WattStopper
Available at Home Depot or at WattStopper.com

8. Even With Timers and Motion Detectors
Still Had a $506 Electric Bill
Even with all the motion detectors and skylights

9. Looking for the Culprit
Make sure it says EZ.
If it is not an EZ model,
it is not EZ to use.
Available at Amazon.com.
Links to many of the
products in this
presentation are posted at
www.EltonSherwin.com

10. Couldn’t Find One Culprit
Device Month
Mom's desk light $8.65
Garage rechargeable flashlight $2.79
Entry walkway lights $4.57
Honeywell HEPA - MBR - HI $8.57
Honeywell - HEPA - medium $6.94
Garage refrigerator $19.09
Instant hot water heater $4.08
Dad’s PC & 3 transformers $12.70
Mom's PC & printer $16.40

11. Need to Take Action

12. Solar
Option?
 Cost of $29,822 (16 panels, $10.76/watt)
 Subsidy of $9,206
 Net cost is $20,616
 Produce 400 kWh/month
 22% of our usage
 $124 savings per month
 166 months (13 years) break even
 Save 4,800+ lbs. CO2 per year

13. Reduce Consumption?
 We were consistent
consumers
Sherwin Annual Consumption
Average Monthly Kwh
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
2005 average 2006 average

14. Part of the Problem ?

15. Reducing Consumption
Off to
 Orchard Hardware & Supply
(OSH)
 ACE hardware
 Stanford Electric
 Seven Trips to Home Depot

16. Removed 55 Bulbs

17. Bulbs Have Gotten Smaller

18. Home Depot’s Better Bulb

19. Home Depot’s Better
Bulb
 Formerly called n:vision
 Now called EcoSmart
 Some of the pictures in this
presentation have old packaging
 We tested 11
brands
 Home Depot
had better bulb

20. CFLs Have Gotten Better
 Instant on
 No flicker
 Starts at 60%
brightness
 105% brightness of
incandescent
 Color similar to
incandescent soft
white
 Elton’s score: A-

21. Many Situations
Indistinguishable

22. Nice Color

23. Large Packs Are a Deal

24. Fit Inside Most Harps

25. Cloth Lampshades
Cooler and Probably Safer

26. We use in Clip-on Shades

27. Smaller Than an Incandescent

28. Small Lamps
My daughter
didn’t notice

29. Wall Sconces

30. Even in Some “Ceiling Cans”

31. Small Amount of Accent Lighting
14 watts vs. 65 watts The animals seem happy

32. Unnecessary Fixture
That Gets Left On

33. Even Fit Some Clip-ons

34. “Red” Package
 Instant on
 No flicker
 Starts at 60% brightness
 After 1 min 105%
 WHITER than
incandescent soft white
 Some people prefer
 Useful yellow lampshades
and big rooms
 Elton’s score: A-

35. Red vs. Green
 Green = soft white  Red = bright white
Matches
incandescent bulbs

36. Big Yellow Lampshade in Big room
 Brighter
 120W red +
 100W red
 Replaced 200W
incandescent
 70% savings

37. Also Have Baby Reds
 Instant on
 No flicker
 Starts at 60%
brightness
 After 1 min 105%
 Color WHITER than
incandescent soft
white
 Elton’s score: A-

38. Reds work well:
 behind glass
 with yellow
lampshades
 with glaucoma

39. Who put in
all these
ceiling
cans?

40. No
wonder
we had a
$506
electric bill

41. But What Happened to the
PG&E Bill?

42. PG&E Billing
$600
$507
$500 $439
$400
$306
$300
$200
$100 Averaging $100 to $150
a month in savings
$0
December January February

43. Recommended Bulbs (A-)
70%+ Savings
Home Depot Red &
Green Spirals
 Instant on No flicker
 Start at 60%
brightness
 After 1 min 105%
Less success with other
brands

44. Tough Problems
 Ceiling Cans
 Clear fixtures
 Dimmers

45. Green 40w
 Instant on
 No flicker
 Starts at 40%
brightness
 After 1 min 105%
 Color similar to
incandescent soft
white
 Elton’s score: B-

46. Dimmer for first 30 seconds
Incandescent
Compact Fluorescent
I left two incandescent bulbs in place
so the bathroom would brighten quickly

47. After 1 minute
CFL is slightly brighter

48. Only One is Incandescent
I left one incandescent bulb in place so the kitchen island
would brighten quickly

49. Back to Our Nemesis
The Halogen
Spot

50. Best Available for Indoor
Halogen Replacements
 Instant on - No flicker
 Starts at 35%
brightness
 After 1 min 100%
 Slightly more yellow
than Halogen
 Larger bulb, less
focused
 Elton’s score: B-
 Home Depot

51. Halogen Spot Replacement
Need a CFL Spot w/ CLEAR Glass Front
50 W or 75 W 23 W

52. Adjust Ceiling Cans Up

53. Halogen Spot Replacement
23 W
50 W or 75 W

54. Two are 23 W CFLs
One is 50 W Halogen

55. I left one halogen bulb in place so the kitchen counter
would brighten quickly

56. Inexpensive Flood
“Frosted Front” - Good in Hallways
 Takes minute to get to
full brightness
 Starts at 35%
brightness
 Almost identical to
incandescent 65W
flood
 Slightly wider beam
 Adjust ceiling can
 B+ for always on
 Remove the dimmers

57. Best Available Dimmable Flood
Available at Ace Hardware  Nice soft white color
 Not instant on
 Starts at 50%
brightness
 Dimmer must be on
high to start
 Larger bulb, less
focused
 Often better to
remove dimmers
 Elton’s score: C

58. On the Bleeding Edge
Ready for most homes:
 Par 20s - small floods w/ standard base
 Ace hardware has 3 different CFL versions
Still frustrating:
 Most dimmable CFLs
 MR-16 style – “flashlight” bulb w/ 2 pins
 Spotlights – narrow beams
 Most LEDs sold in retail
 Wait a bit longer for residential applications

59. Motion Detectors & Timers
 Work well with CFLs
 Extend CFL life in
ceiling cans
 Burn out fluorescent
tubes in magnetic
ballasts (which should
be replaced anyway)

60. Removed 20 Spots

61. Removed an Additional 25 Bulbs

62. Real-time Monitoring
 Black & Decker
Power Monitor
(Also sold as the Blue Line
Power Cost Monitor)
You can install
 Costs under $40
Read all the reviews on
Amazon to make sure it is
compatible with your meter
(works with my PG&E smart
meter)

63. Day After
Installation
At 10:10 AM.
“It says I am using
$1000 a month.”
“And nothing is on.
I turned off all the lights.
Nothing is on”

64. Except the Pool Pump
 We were spending $1,000 a year moving
water around

65. We bought an
IntelliFlo pump
 Spent $2,500
 Uses 1/8 the
electricity
 Some are now
under $1,200
www.pentairpool.com

66. Impact of Sherwin Pool Pump on
Global Climate

67. Useful Tools
Smart
Power
Strips
For more information see
www.EltonSherwin.com

68. Smart Power Strips
For more information see www.EltonSherwin.com

69. If You Want to Be Green
Lower the Utility Bill
 Lighting
 Windows
 HVAC
 Hot Water
 PCs & Appliances
For more information see
www.EltonSherwin.com

70. A word about Mercury
Berkeley Electric Cooperative

71. Incandescent Bulbs are
Responsible for More Mercury
Worldwide ,
there are 270
coal-fired
power plants
running to
power
incandescent
bulbs
(Earth Policy
Institute) Chart: Berkeley Electric Cooperative

72. CFLs by the Numbers
Cost $463
Subsidy (PG&E)) $145
Consumer $318
Monthly Savings:
KWH 359
Bill - $.32 KWH $111
Break even months 3
Annual CO2 lbs reduction 4,304
Cost per 1,000 lbs/year $108

73. PG&E CFL Subsidy
Paid Directly to Home Depot
 I didn’t even know my bulbs were
subsidized

74. CFLs 60x Cost Efficient vs. Solar
Reducing CO2
CFL Solar
Cost $463 $29,822
Subsidy $145 $9,206
Consumer $318 $20,616
Monthly Savings:
KWH 359 400
Bill - $.31KWH $111 $124
Break even months 3 166
Annual CO2 lbs reduction 4,304 4,800
Cost per 1,000 lbs/year $108 $6,213

75. Hybrid Car is up to10x Cost
Efficient vs. Solar Reducing CO2
Hybrid
CFL Solar Car
Cost $463 $29,822 $2,500
Subsidy $145 $9,206 0
Consumer $318 $20,616 $2,500
Monthly Savings: Gas
KWH or Gallons of Gas 359 400 17
Bill - $.31KWH, $2.50 gal $111 $124 $42
Break even months 3 166 60
Annual CO2 lbs reduction 4,304 4,800 4000
Cost per 1,000 lbs/year $108 $6,213 $625