User>Driven

Okay, this doesn't have anything to do directly with product management, design or development, but it's important so listen up.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I've always tried to be green, but Al Gore's well-reasoned arguments in An Inconvenient Truth have put me on something of an eco-kick. Fortunately, since so many people are going green these days, it is easier than ever. Frankly, I am finding it's not so hard to be green and still enjoy the good life - and the results are very real. I just got my July electrical bill and it is 30% below July of last year. If that average were to hold, I would be looking at a monthly savings of over $75 just in electricity. That's $900 a year!

Here are some of the things I've been doing to try to be greener along with a little analysis on their ROI.

• I mentioned I've started using more compact fluorescent bulbs. I still am sensitive to the color of the light so I don't use them everywhere, but I believe they are contributing to our savings. I've probably spent $100 on discounted bulbs from EFI and regularly priced ones from the local hardware store in the last few months. If they are contributing to the $75 per month savings, payback would seem to be both quick and long-lasting.
• We're being more vigilant about turning off lights and appliances when not needed. I've found, for instance, that the fluorescent fan light in the bathroom is sufficient while I'm showering and I can switch on the incandescent vanity lights when I am actually looking in the mirror afterward. The kids are even getting into it and turning lights off when they leave a room, something they never did until we started talking about trying to be environmentally responsible.
• We're now actually able to measure the payback of individual energy use decisions precisely with a new PowerCost Monitor from Blue Line Innovations. The device hooks up to your electric meter and provides a wireless display you can take anywhere of the actual dollars you are spending at any given moment on electricity. (It works like the wireless weather stations you see a lot of.) It's amazing how much the air conditioner or the oven spikes our usage, more or less doubling the usual load. Thanks to a subsidy from Nstar, we were able to get the monitor for $30 and we are learning a lot about usage trade-offs.
• Adjusting the air conditioner thermostat a few degrees was tough for me. I loathe the summer heat and humidity and I felt trapped in our comparatively cool basement in the summer until we got central air. I used to keep it cranked all the time. I had the top floor (where the thermostat that controls the AC is) set at about 70 because the AC was less effective on the main floor, resulting in about 72-74 there. One day while I was at work, though, Chris set the top floor at 76. I noticed it immediately when I got home and we negotiated it down to 74. To my surprise, I got used to this setting pretty quickly. Given what the monitor says about the energy cost of AC, I think a large chunk of our July savings may have come from just that one adjustment of 4 degrees on the AC. To maintain our savings, I suspect we'll have to compromise on the heat setting come winter as well.
• In my entry on Triple Plays I mentioned several things I've been doing that pay me back in multiple ways. I think the one that has the most energy impact is taking the train to work instead of driving. I figure I'm saving about $1,300 a year in gas plus about $1,000 in parking and, of course, wear and tear on my car. With the $13.50 daily train fare I am coming out about even on costs, I think, but I feel good about the ecological effect and as I mentioned in that post, there are several other benefits.
• I also mentioned that I was driving the speed limit now, though I bent that rule today when I was late getting the girls to a birthday party. I was good on the way back, though, and I've been taking advantage of the manual transmission on my Audi A4 (23 MPG) to coast down hills and avoid unnecessary braking in partial imitation of a hybrid.
  
• We looked at how much we could save by updating appliances using Nstar's online Energy Savings calculators. We could save some by replacing our drier or washer, but both are relatively new. Our fridge, though, is 17 years old and the calculator suggested we could save enough on our electric bill with a new, more efficient model to pay for it in just a few years. So last weekend we splurged on a new Energy Star rated fridge. (We did well with a sale they were having at Sears and they took an advance order to process this weekend so we could take advantage of the tax holiday.) Katja posted a link to an even more efficient fridge, but it is unfortunately too small for our needs. Before we chose a model, we looked at GreenerChoices.org, a sister site to Consumer Reports where they provide efficiency and quality ratings on appliances and such.
  
• Nstar's calculator also suggested we turn off the drying cycle in our dishwasher. Some of the silverware is still a little wet in the morning, but it uses a lot less energy now. There were a number of other tweaks the calculator suggested that we'll try to implement like insulating our hot water pipes in the utility room and installing some efficiency gadgets on the boiler, but we had already done some of the things they recommended like rolling back the fridge and hot water thermostats.
• We've also become carbon neutral. Climatecrisis.net (the companion website to An Inconvenient Truth) has a carbon calculator that allows you to figure out how much carbon your family is adding to the environment. At 10 tons per month, we are higher than average due to living in the northeast US where heating uses a lot of energy and to the fact that we drive a non-hybrid SUV. (Our Toyota Highlander gets about 19 MPG.) The calculator provides a link to an organization called Native Energy that funds wind and other sustainable, non-polluting energy projects. Donating $10 per month to Native Energy offsets our carbon footprint by helping to generate clean energy that can displace coal or oil burning electric plants.
• I'm interested in solar water heating, as I read somewhere that it could offset some energy usage. I haven't seen any mainstream information that suggests there is a positive ROI there, though. I'd be interested if anyone has any information on that.
• I don't know that it saves on net electrical usage, but we have started using rechargeable batteries for game controllers and such. Consumer Reports indicates one rechargeable battery can prevent up to 50 disposable batteries from the landfill. Given the caustic chemicals involved, this seems like a really good idea.
  
• This is really minor but it was so obvious and easy once I thought about it that I wanted to mention it. I switched from using a ziplock snack bag for the nuts I pack in my lunch every day to using a reusable plastic container. It's probably saving me less than a penny a day, but it's using less petroleum and less manufacturing energy so I feel it's worthwhile.