The dollars and cents of saving energy

Posted by Tad Johnson - Mar 6th, 2008 at 21:03

The green movement is [finally] gaining traction in the U.S. Driven in part by $100 oil and climate change science, companies are actively marketing to a green conscious consumer. In turn, the consumer is starting to prefer products that require less energy. In a moment of sublime corporate cliche, this is a true “win win”.

Most of us pay between $0.12 and $0.15 per KWh (killowatt hour) of electricity. This is a somewhat abstract figure; let’s see how it relates to real life.

Above is a graph comparing standard incandescent and compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. You can see that the dollars and cents really start to add up; over a month a CFL bulb will save you over $4 in electricity costs. (In the interest of full disclosure, this is assuming the bulb is on 24 hours a day; hopefully this is not the case. Even so, you get the idea.)

green-basics-cfl-white.jpgThe savings above reflects the energy savings of one bulb. Chances are, you have at least 15 light bulbs in your apartment/condo/house that could be swapped for CFLs. Not only are you reducing the environmental impact by cutting energy usage, you’re saving money as well. Excellent!

Of course, the savings don’t stop there. Turning down the thermostat by a degree or two in the winter (and up in the summer) will yield more savings. Reducing your hot water usage will likewise save money in the cost of heating that water. It’s surprising how easily you can save money on energy costs with a minimal effort.

Not only will you be saving money, but you’ll feel good about yourself for doing your part to cut energy usage. Fantastic!

2 Comments »

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  1. Nice. I’m glad you chronicle these advantages. I’m a huge fan of paying less for power, and the best way of course is to use less!

    One can never underestimate the power of turning down your fridge way way low, watch tv less, and only microwave when necessary.

    Truth: we’ve found that we owe an average of 15$ a month on our power use in our apt. I bet that’s the lowest in our building!

    Comment by t h rive — March 10, 2008 #

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