January 2, 2009 by Brad Hart
Filed under Green Energy
I have a lot of things I would really like to do this year to reduce our energy consumption, most of them I am not going to be able to do. I still need to get a better car. We are a lot closer to fixing the truck than I was and am grateful to everyone who is availing themselves of the Win Your Cruise Opportunity and other programs we have made available. Your participation is getting us closer to getting out of the poor house and on to making ourselves greener. Here are a list of Energy Saving products I would like to get this year that are actually doable for us.
- The Wonder Wash: A small countertop sized washing machine that is hand cranked. When I mentioned this to Katy she thought I was cracked, but when I explained what the specs are and talked to a few of our friends she was more convinced. I will probably have to spend the $45.00 for it to convince her and myself, but I am willing to give this one a try since my water bill is even more outrageous than my electric bill. This promises both electricity and water savings if it works as promised.
- The Spin Dryer: I am less committed to this particular product than I am the type of product. The company is the same that makes the Wonder Wash, but I have heard quite a few things about their sucky customer service when it comes to this product. There are a lot of complaints about it. That said I am not above buying it and getting a square trade warranty and letting them deal with the company for me. When this product works it apparently works great, and when it doesn’t well look up the reviews yourself and you will see. That said there are a few companies that make this type of centrifugal dryer even if they are more expensive than this model. They all make one common claim and one not disputed by pissed off customers. They claim this is not only easier on your laundry but cuts drying time in half if you put them in the clothes dryer afterwards. We hang laundry dry most of the year, but even then drying in half the time and forcing mineral laden water deposits out of the clothes rather than letting it dry in them seems like a benefit even then.
- I want to finish converting all the lights to CFL bulbs and install two regular tube fluorescent lights in the garage. I also won’t make the mistake of leaving them in the socket if we move like the last time.
- Replace my old CRT monitors with LCD. I will probably get at least one of these done, but I can’t guarantee both of them. What I would really like to do is replace my two 19″ monitor set up with a large LCD TV and use those two monitors to replace the CRT Monitors.
- Replace my TV with a large flat screen. I use the TV primarily for movies since I watch most of the broadcast TV either online or through a computer with a tuner card. At 36 inches I am not going to get rid of it, but it will get used a whole lot less. Even if the price vs energy uses takes a while to equal out, a large LCD or Plasma screen will reduce how much I need to use the air conditioning during my summer movie watching.
Things I would like to do but likley won’t since I live in a rental.
- Change out the refrigerator. Our refrigerator dates to the 1970’s and is as you might expect a horrid waste of energy. It did however come with the house and despite the garage i really don’t have a place I put it if I get a new one. I am also not going to give the landlord a new energy efficient model for free. I might be able to get a $100 off one months rent for giving him a $1000 fridge. Yes my fridge needs to be that big so I can also stop using my aging chest freezer another not yet inefficient appliance.
- As goes the fridge so goes the stove. This is a much newer model only about a dozen years old, but it isn’t really efficient even when it was brand new.
