Less Power To You

I'm a comparatively modest user of electric power.  I don't watch TV, I don't run the radio much, I don't tend to leave lights on when I'm not in the room, and I don't like conditioned air.  My central system is off from some time in October until some time in May.  My stove/oven, hot water, and clothes dryer are propane.  I do have one unusual need for electric power, and that's my car.  It's battery/electric only, and it's plugged in most days.  But it doesn't use much power.

And I'm cheap.  I watch my bills, and my electric bill is one I monitor closely, just to keep track of it and as a kind of perpetual challenge, to compare it to the amount and usage from the same month in previous years.

I just last week got my most current electric bill.  It was very satisfying.  It's in the mid 50s, as were the bills from the month before and the month before that.  These are within my low usage months, because the central air is off, but I've never had bills this low before, and certainly not three in a row.  I must say I was impressed to have gotten it that low.

I've had one of those power usage surveys offered free from FPL, where some guy came out to the house, looked around, asked a lot of questions, told me about his marital problems, and left me a report about how I used power and how I could use less.  Some time last year, it seems to me in the late spring or during the summer (it was hot), Chuck Ross, Barbara Kuhl, Maria Camara, and I (I hope I didn't forget anyone) attended a talk given by FPL at the library on NW 7th and 90-something, about energy usage, and how to be more efficient about it.  They also gave out free stuff, like about a dozen compact fluorescent bulbs, a water saver shower head, weather stripping, and several other treats.  Most of the information was what we all hear all the time, but it wasn't bad to get the reminder.  One piece of information was new to me.  The advice was to unplug anything that isn't in use, even though it's off.  This would include lamps, coffee makers/grinders, radios, my washing machine and dryer, and any other electric appliance that can easily be unplugged when it's not in use.  We were told the issue is called something like phantom electricity or a vampire draw on power or some such term, and we were told it actually amounts to a vanishingly small amount of waste.  But if you really want to save your money, and you're a purist about such things...  So what the hell, I was willing to save even a few cents a month.  Better I keep them than give them to FPL, especially if I'm really not using the power, right?

Well, it's the only change I've made in the last year, and it's not a few cents.  It appears to be $7-$21 a month in savings.  I have to say, I'm impressed, and I'm pleased.

By the way, I now have more compact fluorescent bulbs than I need.  So if you could use one, lemme know.