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1) Wash Your Clothes in Cold Water
2) Install Compact Fluorescents
3) Use the Microwave
4) Weatherstrip and Caulk
5) Pull the Plug on appliances when not using them
6) Switch the Showerhead
7) Adjust the Thermostat
Get Rid of that Halogen Torchiere
9) Turn Off the Computer (and unplug it)
10) Choose Efficient Appliances

If someone were to do all 10 of these items, it would reduce energy consumption by approximately 60% in the average household.

If your energy consumption were reduced by 60%, it makes the concept of solar panels meeting your household energy use a more achievable target.

Good list, but I think the 60% number is exaggerated. Since the energy prices started rising here 10 years ago we started to look at our usage and how we could improve it.

I find our energy usage very low at the moment, but we've never been able to get to a 60% reduction. It's more like 10-15%, which is still worth the effort.

It's probably because we were never that excessive in our energy usage anyway. I mean I've never owned an electric toothbrush, knife or canopener (never knew these existed). I still hang my clothes to dry in the garden and do my dishes by hand.

I think that this kind of energy spillage (60%) can only be found in housholds which have too much money to spare and don't have to think about conservation.

I doubt that these kind of measures could result in reduction of more than a few percent nationwide.

My last electric bill was $104. My goal is to have my electric bill be $50 next year this month. I will institute each of those recommendations on the list.

I just went out and bought enough light bulbs for the entire house.

I got the energy saver / long life bulbs.

Light output: 950 lumens (compared to 1700 lumens for standard bulbs)
Energy used: 15 watts (compared to 60 watts for standard bulbs)
Life: 8000 hours (compared to 750 hours for standard bulbs)

The bulbs were more expensive than standard bulbs, but are projected to pay for the extra costs within 1 year.

smiley wrote:Good list, but I think the 60% number is exaggerated. Since the energy prices started rising here 10 years ago we started to look at our usage and how we could improve it.

I find our energy usage very low at the moment, but we've never been able to get to a 60% reduction. It's more like 10-15%, which is still worth the effort.

Look at the list Aaron posted

http://www.utilitieskingston.com/electr ... iance.html

Go thru some of those items. Here are the the big items that I doubt people do, yet they could dramatically cut energy usage with relatively little impact to your life.

1) Don't use the dryer. Try hanging your laundry to dry.
2) Use cold water in the washing machine. Saves energy in the water heater.
3) Get a low flow shower nozel. Also saves on hot water heater costs.
4) Unplug appliances that are not being used. (TV, computer, kitchen appliances.
5) Set refrigerator on a lower setting that is not so cold.
6) Set AC a few degrees higher. (ie, 78 instead of 75)
7) Get the low power / long lasting light bulbs.

I am doing all of those items this weekend just to see how much my bill drops compared to last month.

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/saving_energy/

In the Bathroom
Wasting water wastes electricity. Why? Because the biggest use of electricity in most cities is supplying water and cleaning it up after it's been used!

About 75 percent of the water we use in our homes is used in the bathroom. Unless you have a low flush toilet, for example, you use about five gallons to seven gallons of water with every flush! A leaky toilet can waste more than 10,000 gallons of water a year. Wow!

Drippy faucets are bad, too. A faucet that leaks enough water to fill a soda bottle every 30 minutes will waste 2,192 gallons of water a year.

Another simple way to save water AND energy is to take shorter showers. You'll use less hot water - and water heaters account for nearly 1/4 of your home's energy use.

My wife and I recently got a new house. It's one of the things that depresses me when thinking about peak oil - our huge mortgage and this big house that we don't need. However, there are some good things about it: It's in a TND (Traditional Neighborhood Development - look up New Urbanism), and it's fairly efficient. We've got programmable thermostats and they are set up to cool the house only when we're there and awake and only so far. I put all compact fluorescent bulbs in, they are fantastic ($10 for a set of 8 at Costco). Many of our appliances say "Energy Star" including our front load washing machine. I always use cold water for washing, and sometimes hang dry. I'm trying to be as efficient as possible and the new well insulated tight house really helps. ALl our new appliances are efficient - solar is something we're considering. Even in the heat of summer our monthly bill is under 1Kwthrs. - that's doable.

If you turn off your water heater completely and live off cold showers, you could save a lot of money.

Where does all the oil go? How much goes to transportation, powerplants, etc.?

Thanks

You might find this page useful:

http://www.phoenixgasprices.com/crude_products.asp

Is there a site that breaks up each oil use by percentage of the total 20 million barrels per day that we consume?

That's basicaly why we are having a problem looming for the next decades
Further than that,burning oil into cars has always been stupid because oil is essential for all the products we depend on in our daily life.
With natural gas you will never make the bitumen you need for the roads.

The recent Arab/South American meeting and Hugo Chavez's subsequent announcement that "The US is Primarily responsible for the impending oil crisis" may be the first real sign that the world may soon collectively demand the US bring its oil consumption into balance with its population.
The upcoming meeting between EU and OPEC may be round two.
This possible scenario may actually be a healthy outcome(for the world in general, not the US) if the US, faced with a resolved and unified world, voluntarily capitulates.

MD wrote:The recent Arab/South American meeting and Hugo Chavez's subsequent announcement that "The US is Primarily responsible for the impending oil crisis" may be the first real sign that the world may soon collectively demand the US bring its oil consumption into balance with its population.
The upcoming meeting between EU and OPEC may be round two.
This possible scenario may actually be a healthy outcome(for the world in general, not the US) if the US, faced with a resolved and unified world, voluntarily capitulates.

I wouldn't be that optimistic, knowing that the USA bluntly refuses to accept even the basic science of global warming, let alone act on this knowledge - to give just one example.

The USA is a state isolated by the rest of the world, out of touch, and it refuses all cooperation. It has clearly stated to the entire world that it doesn't want to cooperate with the world when it comes to global matters that are important to us all. It has also clearly stated that it will not hesitate to lie in order to fool its people into false wars; etc...

No, you can't count on Americans to be rational people. They have chosen to go the route of conflict. They have chosen to be the world's biggest rogue nation.

So be it.

MD wrote:The recent Arab/South American meeting and Hugo Chavez's subsequent announcement that "The US is Primarily responsible for the impending oil crisis" may be the first real sign that the world may soon collectively demand the US bring its oil consumption into balance with its population.

That's quite a leap from a few Arab dictators and a hand full of South America leader to the "World Governments". Also, if Chavez actually believes his rhetoric then he should halt Venezuela's oil sales to the US, but I doubt that he would cut off his biggest customer.

It's all a bunch of political posturing by weak and ineffectual countries and amounts to a fart in the wind.

DomusAlbion wrote:

MD wrote:The recent Arab/South American meeting and Hugo Chavez's subsequent announcement that "The US is Primarily responsible for the impending oil crisis" may be the first real sign that the world may soon collectively demand the US bring its oil consumption into balance with its population.

That's quite a leap from a few Arab dictators and a hand full of South America leader to the "World Governments". Also, if Chavez actually believes his rhetoric then he should halt Venezuela's oil sales to the US, but I doubt that he would cut off his biggest customer.

It's all a bunch of political posturing by weak and ineffectual countries and amounts to a fart in the wind.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. There's OPEC (formerly known as a cartel..), then there's the BRIC + Venezuela. Hugo Chavez seems to know what's up. Iran may just spark WW3. USA (and canada) vs. The World (Minus, EU, it will remain neutral). I dear god hope the other branches will stop Bush's next mistake...

DomusAlbion wrote:It's all a bunch of political posturing by weak and ineffectual countries and amounts to a fart in the wind.

As you can see, not only do we have to ask the US to change its life-style, we have to ask it to change its entire "style" in general.

That won't be possible. That would be like asking all Muslims on the planet to give up reading the Quran.

You can never ask Americans to live more healthily, or more responsibly and sensibly. That would be like asking them to give up their essence.


By the way, I wouldn't call Brazil, China and Russia "ineffectual" countries. You'll be surprized to see how powerfull they'll be in the coming few years.

This makes sense.

The U.S. could create the most slack since they are the largest consumers and generally "waste" the most with SUV's etc.

I thought … ‘our standard of living was not negotiable’

How about the Arabs provide some transparency?

Wait … didn’t one Arab country just state they have enough oil for 140 years … now we have ‘an impending oil crisis’