Energy Use:
How do you compare to your neighbors?

After the '09 annual neighborhood meeting, we collected some information about some of our neighbors’ February utility bills. We all have different combinations of electric and gas appliances, so first we needed to convert our usage numbers into the same units. We converted both KWH of electricity and CCF of natural gas into the equivalent number of BTUs (British Thermal Units). To do this, one multiplies the KWH number by 3,412 and the CCF number by 102,800. Then we totaled the number of BTUs for a given house and divided by the square-footage of the house to adjust for the house size.

Click here to see results of a sampling of homes in the neigbhorhood.

Get a recent utility bill and calculate this for your house!

Each of us has different priorities in our lives, and that’s great, but frankly when a house’s number exceeds 5,000 BTUs/Sq.Ft., one cannot help but think some folks are throwing good money away.

The biggie is insulation. The city has a program that can cover 80% of the cost of blowing more insulation into your attic. Your part of the bill for added insulation is likely to be less than $200, and if your number exceeds 5,000 BTUs/ Sq. Ft., that investment would get paid back to you within months this summer. After that, it’s pure profit and all yours.

If paying yourself a raise in this lousy economy is not incentive enough, help Woodland Drives win the BIGGEST LOSER CONTEST.

This contest will start April 15. Each neighborhood will be represented by a team. Join the team by signing up at www.tallyenergychallenge.com. (Call or email Woodland Drives Energy Challenge chair Gayle at 894-9212 if you want help signing up).

Each member’s electric and gas usage will be followed for 6 months, and the biggest losers (compared to their own usage the previous year) WIN. Everybody should join the team (we each win when we reduce our utility bills), but our champion players would be the Over-5000 Club who stand to see a substantial drop if they will only let the city buy them some insulation, or give them a rebate on more efficient air conditioners, appliances, etc. A free energy audit from the city would pinpoint your greatest potential savings. See a sample of energy use in homes in the neighborhood by clicking here and note the Over-5000 Club in RED.

Besides insulation, here are other ways to reduce your utility bill and help us win:

1. When buying appliances, consider energy use (the city has good rebates!)
2. Refrigerators gorge on energy – unplug that second one when you don’t need it.
3. Many have already switched to compact fluorescents. If you haven’t, do it now and win the team some points.
4. Jack up the thermostat another degree and practice the slow pleasure of sitting by a fan with an icy drink.
5. Every nickel helps – turn off lights behind you; put outdoor lights on motion-sensors so they’re only on when needed; open windows to cool the house at night; hang clothes to dry.

Woodland Drives can win this one with your help. Join us!