Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:24:15 -0400 Recent posts from Efficient Living Forum - Home http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/Efficient Living Forum - Home Sun, 04 Jul 2010 12:01:00 -0400 As promised, I wanted to follow up with actual results from signing up for the Georgia Power Time of Use (Nights and Weekends) program. As stated before, the deal is that you pay $0.04 per kwh during the off-peak months, but on-peak months (June-September), you pat $0.18 per kwh on Monday-Friday from 2PM-7PM. Other than that, it is $0.04. This is compared to spending $0.045 per kwh for the first 650 kwh per month and then about $0.075 per kwh for anything above that. The incentive of Nights & Weekends is to "shift" usage in addition to reducing usage. Peak hours for power companies are the hottest hours of the year when all business are running. These are the hours where power companies start running out of capacity and have to expand. So their thought is if they charge http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/content/209-georgia-power-nights-weekends-finally-bill.html http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/content/209-georgia-power-nights-weekends-finally-bill.html Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:21:00 -0400 I made a point to observe energy usage and efficient living items of interest during my South Africa trip. Eskom, the South Africa power company, is offering rebates for the install of solar water heaters also known as solar geysers in South Africa. The rebates are pretty substantial, at one point even at 120% of the purchase price of the solar water heater. This is to encourage mass adaptation as well as provide the option to make the switch to individuals who may not been able to afford this option otherwise. (I am not sure if the purchase price includes all taxes and installation costs) Here is some brief history as to why Eskom is making the aggressive http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/content/208-power-company-wants-you-use-less-power.html http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/content/208-power-company-wants-you-use-less-power.html Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:43:00 -0400 http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/content/207-pre-paid-electricity-look-eskom-south-africa.html http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/content/207-pre-paid-electricity-look-eskom-south-africa.html Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:52:00 -0400 Last night, I took a tour of a house outfitted with many thousands of dollars worth of home automation. It had everything integrated including the security system, home audio system, whole house lighting, HVAC and sprinkler. I'll share a few of the highlights: *When you set the alarm as away, the lights automatically all turn off and the HVAC turns down *When you open the garage to come home, the garage lights and hallway lights automatically turn on to light the stairwell. The lights turn off after 15 minutes, or as soon as the door at the top of the stairs opens. * The bathroom lights http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/content/206-home-automation-prepare-wowed-if-you-can-swallow-cost.html http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/content/206-home-automation-prepare-wowed-if-you-can-swallow-cost.html Wed, 26 May 2010 23:09:00 -0400 Peak electricity season starts on Tuesday 6/1. From June to September, those who have chosen the Nights and Weekends plan with Georgia Power will be spending $0.18 per kwh instead of the normal ~ $0.04 per kwh for electricity from 2PM-7PM, Monday through Friday. Here are some easy things to do to reduce your electricity usage during these times: 1. Turn down the A/C. Your A/C is the biggest electricity hog in your house. Set your temperature up on your thermostat from 2-7PM during the week. Chances are you'll be at work anyway and won't notice the difference. 2. Don't http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/content/205-set-your-timers-georgia-power-time-use-nights-weekends-starts-tuesday-6-1.html http://www.efficientlivingforum.com/content/205-set-your-timers-georgia-power-time-use-nights-weekends-starts-tuesday-6-1.html