Turning things on and off again

I've invested part of my £100 bloggers circle prize in a few things that can help me to reduce my energy use at home (and at work - given that I work from home).

I bought an OWL Wireless Electricity Monitor, for about £30.  It arrived today (on a Sunday - it seems there's no time to lose when the planet needs saving) and I've been playing about with it this afternoon.

On one level, it doesn't tell you much that you wouldn't have guessed already.  You won't need telling that the old fashioned bulb that seems to have gone on for years in your attic costs a load more than a nice new low- energy light.  Or that the tumble drier costs a small fortune to dry your smalls in time for work tomorrow.

But there is something quite powerful about seeing the impact of turning something on or off.  An impact measured in pounds and pence, or CO2 emissions if you prefer.

Things I've discovered on my walk round the house (and I accept none of this is big news):

• Old fashioned bulbs use a surprising amount of electricity - changing them is a no-brainer
• The oven's electricity consumption varies - loads of electricity to get it to the required temperature - and surges to keep it hot - which makes me think about not using it for that 8 minute warm-up of a part-baked baguette (and sorting out that faulty seal).
• The flat screen TV is as bad as expected (my excuse is that it's a hand-me-down telly)
• The heater I use for heating the office when I don't want to heat the whole house uses more energy than the oven or tumble drier.

Other first reflections: 

• Why are electricity bills so unbelievably complicated to decipher?
• Why aren't electricity companies compelled to do more to encourage us to look at this kind of thing?
• I still don't know about gas consumption - eg is it better to put the central heating on, instead of the electric heater?

And finally, it just makes it so abundantly clear that whilst we may feel paralysed in the face of climate change, there are things that we could all do to make a bit of a difference.  Could you monitor your electricity usage at home?  At work?  Might it be worth buying one of these things - and sharing it with friends?

Comments

[john]

Interesting post Rob.

I've been looking at these gadgets for a couple of months but frankly can't really decipher how they work, which one would be good etc(prices seem to vary a lot). Therefore its good to see someone using one and i'd be interested to know how useful you find it. Obviously the power companies should have installed these F.O.C. years back but thats a different matter!

Was it easy to set up?

John