What You Can Do
Stewardship, One Appliance at a Time
Below is a nuts-and-bolts discussion on a question I am frequently asked: How did my family get its average monthly electrical bill down to $20? I’ll answer that question appliance by appliance, starting with some of the biggest energy users.
Refrigerators
It is a paradox: As the American family eats fewer meals together at home, the size of the average refrigerator has grown. Many homes have industrial-size units big enough to service a hospital’s kitchen. Fortunately, selecting a refrigerator that uses the least energy has become more convenient than ever. The yellow EnergyGuide tags make “apple to apple” comparisons easy. As with cars, the more “options” a refrigerator has, the more electricity it will consume. One way to make a refrigerator more efficient is to unplug the automatic ice-maker component. The auto ice-maker uses additional energy in two ways. The obvious one is the motor that can be heard moving (and in some cases grinding) ice from the storage bin through a door. The less obvious user of energy is the heating element that must stay on at all times under the ice-cube-forming tray. This allows the ice to “slide” out of the ice-making area into a storage bin. The effect of the heating element is similar to leaving a lightbulb on inside the freezer. To “upgrade” your current refrigerator to a more efficient one, disconnect the electrical supply plug to the ice-maker unit and use old-fashioned ice cube trays.
At some point, you may wonder whether it is prudent to get rid of an old refrigerator and purchase a new, more efficient one. There is no hard and fast rule for this. However, I do recommend that you focus on saving electricity before thinking about making electricity through photovoltaic panels or windmills. Using a rule of ten years’ or less energy payback as the threshold of replacement, I’ll illustrate how you can make a decision to keep or buy new:
The average refrigerator in the United States uses 1,155 kilowatt-hours a year. We bought a refrigerator for our home three years ago. It is 20.6 cubic feet and was rated at 458 kilowatt-hours of consumption a year, before I removed the standard ice-making unit. The electrical rate in our area is 10.7 cents a kilowatt-hour, which means that replacing an average refrigerator with an efficient refrigerator saves (1,155 kWh – 458 kWh) x (10.7 cents kWh) = $74.58 per year, or about $750 in ten years. Since this is more than the cost of our refrigerator, it was probably worth getting a more efficient one. The worst thing you can do, however, is to purchase a new refrigerator and keep the old one as well.
Lighting
The second biggest user of electricity in the typical home is lighting. The payoff time for replacing an incandescent bulb averages only about one year; if you buy compact fluorescent lightbulbs on sale or with a rebate, the payback is extremely short. Compact fluorescent bulbs have the added bonus of being safer because they are cooler, which presents far less fire hazard. The typical incandescent wastes 90 percent of the energy it uses by converting it to heat instead of light. In the summer, cooler-running bulbs can have a significant effect on the overall cooling costs of a home or business.
Our entire family has developed the habit of turning off lights when we are going to be out of a room for more than sixty seconds. If you have fixtures in which compact fluorescents are impractical, replace incandescents with lowerwattage halogen bulbs. In some situations, lower-watt halogen bulbs used on dimmers can be almost as efficient as compact fluorescents. For the holidays, consider giving five compact fluorescent bulbs to a friend with a note about Jesus being the light of the world. Include the U.S. government’s data (www.energystar.gov) on how changing just five lightbulbs in every household could result in the immediate shutdown of twenty-one coal plants and save thousands of lives.
Television
I don’t have subtle views on televisions: I don’t like them. I think they have no place in a young child’s life and a limited place in older folks’ lives. They also happen to be the third largest user of electricity in homes nationwide. Even when not in use, they draw a current. In order for a television to turn on when a remote is used, it must remain partially on at all times. The only way around this is to unplug the TV when it is not in use or to have it on a switched outlet or switched extension cord.
Of all types of televisions, smaller LCD models are the most energy efficient; black-and-white tubes are next. New plasma screens can take 400 watts or more to run. When combined with surround-sound systems, a large-screen TV can use more power than refrigeration. The practice of having multiple televisions on in a house is particularly wasteful.
Unplug TVs when they’re not in use. Turn them off when you’re not in the room. Watch for fewer hours, and never fall asleep with one on. Falling asleep with a television on is like leaving your car running for the night. The waste reminds me of the ritual millionaires once had of lighting cigars with $20 bills.
Audio Equipment
I place music—and the ability to reproduce it at any time—on the “top five” list of modern inventions I’d least want to give up. Adding beauty to life, however, must be balanced with the obsession for the new and novel. Do you really need the latest format? Do mp3s sound better than HDCD? Are CDs better than compact cassettes or eight tracks? What was wrong with the way music made you feel when it was played on the record player?
The U.S. government reports that Americans spend more money to power audio equipment when it is off than when it is on. When stereos are off—which is most of the time—they are still using energy because they are in standby mode. Make sure to get power strips for audio equipment so that it can be turned completely off. If you don’t know whether your audio equipment has a “phantom load” or draws current when it is off, here are two clues: If it has a remote control that can turn it on, or if it has an instant-on feature, then it constantly draws and uses electricity even when in the off mode. If it has a clock or LED lights, it is always on.
Dryers
Electric clothes dryers use energy at a rate of 5,000 watts. That’s 5 kilowatt-hours for the average one-hour load. Units that sense humidity in the clothes and cut off when items are dry rather than running timed cycles are more efficient. Cleaning lint and venting dryers with metal hosing will increase the efficiency and safety of dryers.
As I’ve said earlier, my family has chosen not to own a dryer. Our clothing lasts longer and smell of fresh air. I use this time for prayer.
In the winter, we dry our clothing indoors on a retractable line that runs along the south-facing windows. We also have a bar that hangs in front of our wood stove. Both of these methods not only dry the clothing safely without electricity but also add humidity to our winter indoor air, which helps maintain a healthy home.
Microwaves
Although microwaves draw a large current, they do so for a short period of time. Overall, microwaving is one of the most efficient ways to cook. Buy the smallest unit that you can and get one with analog controls (no key pad or clock) so that it is not constantly drawing current. Whenever possible, use your microwave to precook food so that you can cut back on the use of bigger appliances, such as your oven.
Computers
Computer ownership and usage continues to grow rapidly. Energy Star units that place computers in sleep mode when unattended are preferable to non-Energy Star models; however, try to get out of the habit of leaving a computer (or any appliance) on and unattended. In general, laptop models will draw about half the current of desktop models. All desktop models should be plugged into an outlet strip so that the phantom load can be completely turned off. Be sure to turn off printers when they are not in use.
Stoves
There are three major types of cookstoves: those that run on electricity, on natural gas, and on propane. One question that might come up is “Should I switch from my electric stove to a gas stove?” The answer is yes and no. If there is nothing wrong with your electric unit, the answer is probably no. If your stove is broken or you are building a new home, go with gas or propane. In general, switching to a gas stove that has no pilot light is preferable—provided you don’t buy a huge stainlesssteel industrial-size model. In order to make a watt of electrical energy that will be used at home, three watts must initially be produced at the power plant. This is because two-thirds of the energy goes up smokestacks and cooling towers, and because energy is lost in the long-distance transmission process. Any path greater than one hundred feet is a long distance in the physics of electrical transmission.
Buy the smallest possible appliance or unit that will work for your family. Use a toaster oven when possible. Our family bakes a loaf of bread every few days. We’ve found the breadmaking machine to be more energy efficient than baking in an oven. When we bought a stove, we found one that has no phantom electric loads and has a smaller-than-usual oven.
Some Luxury Items
Hot Tubs
To operate a hot tub in my area of the country and run it off solar power would take an investment of $50,000 in solar panels and inverters (give or take $10,000—most likely give). If the average hot tub is used half an hour a day, that means it remains unoccupied 98 percent of the time.
It would seem that communities, not individuals, should own and operate hot tubs. The typical spa uses 2,300 kilowatthours per year in energy. It is difficult to imagine that we will get to heaven and share all things if we don’t get a little practice here on earth. Hot tubs, pools, lawn tractors, and pickup trucks are just a few of the items that future saints should figure out how to share.
Pools
Pool pumps and filters are big users of electricity. I once heard a sales clerk in a hardware store complain that her electricity bill went up $200 per month during the time she opened her swimming pool. One way to lessen the energy load of a pool is to use ionization technology that works on solar power. However, take note that some products sold “to help the planet” may not help but actually harm. There is a trend to market products under the heading of “eco” or “solar.” Often these products are not necessary and simply detract from a family’s mission to use less, reduce, and reuse.
Below is an incomplete list of electrical devices you may want but probably don’t need:
• Aquariums
• Lava lamps
• Air purifiers
• Blenders
• Electric carving knives
• Electric toothbrushes and toothbrush sanitizers
• Leaf blowers
• Coffee warmers
• Electric doorbells
• Hot curlers, curling irons, and hair straighteners
• Fountains
• Multiple clocks
• Electric air fresheners
• Electric treadmills, stationary bikes, and other exercise equipment
• Palm Pilots
• Motorized tie racks
• GPS
• Electric staplers
• Electric games
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