Electrical Overload

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I recently moved to New York for a job relocation and while I'm still getting situated, I'm staying in corporate housing. I am grateful for the benefit of corporate housing. It ties me over until I find a home. It's close to work and pretty much at the center of everything. The apartment comes fully stocked since most of my belonging are in storage and so I am able to survive until I find my future home in Brooklyn.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived was all the things plugged into the walls.

 

This is a partial view of the kitchen. It's pretty nice. Lots of room and counter space. But let's count what's plugged in.

1. The fridge

2. The stove.

3. The microwave

4. The dishwasher

5. The toaster

6. The can opener

7. The coffeemaker

SEVEN THINGS! Just in the kitchen. Remember my old lovely apartment?

 

 At any given moment throughout my ENTIRE apartment only THREE things remained plugged in. The fridge, the stove and my internet router. Even the lamp featured in the photo was only plugged in when in used. Which was rare because you see how much light i get in my apartment!

So seven things for just the kitchen. Well, I immediately put the can opener, toaster and coffee machine in the cabinet. I haven't used any of those things since I moved in.

Now what you can see in this picture...

8. Floor lamp

9. Table lamp

10. Ipod/Radio player

What you can't see...

11. Flat screen television

12. DVD player

13. Cable box

14. Router

15. Desk lamp

16. Telephone

17. Heater/Air conditioner

Oh, I forgot to mention

18. Telephone in kitchen

19. Telephone in kitchen (yes there are two. One that connects me to the doorman)

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Now on to the bedroom.

20. One nightstand lamp

21. Another night stand lam

22. Heater/Air Conditioner

What you can't see.....

23. Another television. (A television in the bedroom. AAAAAHHHH!)

24. Cable box.

25. Yet ANOTHER telephone

And while its not plugged in there is a hair dryer in the bathroom.

25 things plugged in at all times! Are you serious! I can't even imagine what the electricity bill is! This isn't even counting the other things that you plug in every now and then. My phone chargers. My laptop charger and such! WTF!

I was excited to have received a $15 electricity bill in my old apt and now...holy crap. Luckily I don't have to see the electricity bill.

I've unplugged as many things as I can and have even considered moving the television in the bedroom into the closet but since its not my place I'm a little hesitant to make changes like that.

I find that its challenging to live a sustainable life when you don't have control. Like when I go home to visit my family, I eat what's presented to me. I'm not going to impose my lifestyle on them and change how they shop. And since this isn't my own apt, its just challenging. But I do what I can.

For the first few weeks I had a great deal of trouble sleeping. Part of me believes is due to this electrical overload. I can't wait to have my own apt again where the only things that are plugged in will be my fridge, stove and router.

How many things do you have plugged in?

Practical Steps towards lowering your utility bill.

A friend wanted to know the practical steps towards reducing my energy usage and decreasing the amount I pay on my energy bill.

I believe when I moved into my apartment back in May, my first two bills were about $20 to $22 dollars. That was with living my normal lifestyle without taking extra measures towards being more eco conscious.

Here is what I do and I know its not conducive for everyone. (Remember I live alone which means I live in a controlled environment in a small city apartment)

• Live alone. While some say its cheaper to live with roommates, I have found its cheaper to live alone. Or at least, if you live with roommates, live with someone who is conscientious about their energy consumption and amount they spend on utilities. My former roommates were more than ok with spending $100+ on the electricity bill. I was NOT ok with that. By living alone or living with people who are like minded you know that the lights are being turned off. You know that energy isn't being wasted. If you have children, you can teach them to be conscious of the energy they consume. I actually came across a toy called the Power Hog that children are to plug into the wall. And when its fully charge, there is something to indicate to the kid that they can unplug the piggy. And when the piggy runs out of charge, the child has to feed it a coin to turn it back on thus teaching the child that energy isn't free. Anyone know what I'm talking about. Even without these crafty little strategically marketed "green" toys, you can teach your children to turn the lights off when they leave a room, to not leave the water running, and such.

 

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• Get outside. During the summer I spent little time at home. I work a full time job and I stayed active in either theater shows, beach volleyball teams, traveling, bike rides and such. By spending time outdoors, I was spending less time at home with lights on, watching tv and wasting energy. So add a thing or two to your schedule. Instead of watching tv with your children, take them to the park. Its free! Cable and Electricity are not.

• Unplug appliances from the wall or use surge protectors. The ONLY thing plugged into my walls on a consistent every day basis is my Fridge and Stove...which I don't really count. And my router for my wireless internet because if I unplugged that, it would take forever for it to reboot. I unplug my lamps from the wall. I unplug my phone chargers from the wall. My microwave stays off and unplugged unless I need to use it. So does my blender, printer, external hard drive and other chargers.

• Use less artificial light. This may be harder for some people rather than others. This lady that I work with always makes fun of me and says I like living in a cave. For every light that she turns on at work, I want to turn another off. I am quoted as saying that "fluorescent lights suck my soul away." I only like using enough light that's necessary. As little light as possible. Whenever I skype with Mr. Officer he complains about not being about to see me. While he has 20 lamps on, I think I have one on. "I know what I'm going to buy you," he says, "A desk lamp!" Its funny but its also true of me. I don't really like turning lights on. Turn on the lights only when you need too. Use candles. Use natural lighting. I have lots of windows in my apartment. Therefore I can use the sunshine for many things. In the mornings I just wash my face and brush my teeth. Since I'm not styling my hair or applying makeup, I don't really need the light on. When I shower, I shower with the light off. It feels better that way. Right this very moment, how many lights are on in your place?

• Own less stuff or own multi-functional devices. I don't have a flat iron. hot curler. blow dryer. dvd player. tv. wii. radio. alarm clock. toaster. food processer. Because I have less stuff. That's less stuff to use. My laptop serves as a laptop and a radio and a tv and a dvd player. Since I wear my hair natural and use simple styles like twist to make other styles, I don't need a blow dryer, flat iron, curler or anything else. (I don't even own a brush or comb!) My blender doubles as a food processor. My boiler toast my food just fine.
  

• Open the windows and Drink Water.  Because my air runs on electricity, I specifically did things differently as oppose to turning the air on. I kept my windows open for most of the summer. Since our summer this year was more like spring, there weren't too many HOT HOT days. If I were hot even with the window open, I'd SOMETIMES turn my ceiling fan on. But MOST times I'd drink water or lemonade. I'd eat popsicles and gelato.

So that's what I did. And by doing so I took an already cheap bill of $22 down to $15. But keep in mind, I live alone in a small apartment and I don't own as much stuff as the average person and I have an natural aversion to artificial light in the first place.

What to do when you live with roommates who don't care about energy consumption and the money they spend on utilities?

• Move Out or Find a Subleasee. (You can't change people. You can impact and influence them. But only to a certain point. And some people give no priority to the environment or the weight of their energy usage. Let those people be and move on and move out.)

What to do when you live with a spouse and family?

• Since its your family, you have greater influence on what people do in the house. And while a spouse may not be too keen on your new granola ways, I'm pretty sure they are keen on saving money. Why spend a saturday in the house with everybody watching their tv's in their own room or listening to their ipods or talking on their cell phones when you can go to the beach as a family? Or go on a picnic? Or play a game? 

What were ways you lowered your utility bill? I'm looking to bring my bill from $15 to $13. Any advice on what else I can do? (I could watch even less tv on Hulu.com than I currently watch. Then my computer wouldn't drain as much and I wouldn't need to charge it. Instead I could spend more time journaling and reading books. I could also spend intentional weekends going "off the grid" with an elective blackout. )

Utilities.

I just received both my ComEd and People's Gas bill in the mail today. I was so eager to open the bill that I ran up the stairs to my apartment. Who ever heard of that? Someone being excited to open a bill.

But I was! I have been even more intentional over the past month in my usage and habits at home in regards to electricity and gas that I've been itching to see if I'm making any difference.

Last month I paid $20.60 for my gas bill and $19 for my electricity bill.

This month, my gas bill isn't as accurate as it should be. People's Gas took it upon themselves to enroll me in their budget plan since the winter is coming. Their presumption that I would need this budget plan annoyed me. I know winter is coming. I know my bill will probably be more as I turn the heat up...but even still I am finding other ways to keep my bill from going through the roof. I had to call in to take myself off their budget plan. Also, while it will be December 1st, I have yet to turn my heat on. Why? Because I don't need to. My apartment is small and cozy. If I cook dinner, that heats my apartment up. I have lots of blankets. I wear long sleeves and I drink tea.

Even with the budget plan, my bill this month for gas is $21.00. Minus their bs and the taxes and tariffs for efficiency program and environmental charge..my bill really comes to $17.05! How amazing is that!

Some people are going to roll their eyes when I tell them my electricity bill.

Are you ready for this?

With all the taxes and tariffs included my total electricity bill comes to.....$15.43!!!!


I am just feeling really good about myself right now. Who knew putting the microwave on a surge protector and turning it off indefinitely would decrease my bill? Nowadays...everything is unplugged from the walls except for the stove, fridge, and router for my wireless internet.

This brings me back to living with roommates where our electricity bill ws $130 once and I was made to pay a 1/3 of that even though I knew I didn't use that much energy. Now I'm able to get an accurate read of what I really use.

The goal is to bring the gas bill down to $18 including taxes and the electricity down to $13. We will see what happens. Any suggestions on how I can further decrease my monthly utilities bill?

Utilities

Not sure if you can see this too clearly but this is my natural gas bill for this month due on November 17th from People's Gas, Chicago's choice of vendor for this utility.

The total bill comes to $20.60

I think that is amazing!

And..and..the bill is really $16. The rest is taxes and politics and some environment pact thing.

I think that's impressive and look forward to making it even lower. I once knew a women with a two bedroom apartment who's gas bill was about $12. Crazy!

It will be interesting to see my gas bill during December and January when hell freezes over and the devil decides to blow a cold wind in chicago to make up for lost time.

Somethings that aide in this that may be different for the average household is that

• I don't cook ever day
• I don't have a programmable thermostat
• My apartment management is amazing with checking our filters and ducts and all that whatnot. (don't remember my old apartment management doing so. they were so amazing that when the roof in the bathroom above the shower started cracking and falling, their solution was to tell me to shower with the window open because the steam did it.)
• I have yet to turn my heat on
  

I also just received my ComEd Electricity bill and the total for that was $19. The bill went down $1 from last month. I wonder if its because I've been unplugging EVERYTHING from my walls except the fridge and stove.

Is your gas and electric bill high or low? When do you start turning your heat on?