I'm trying to do an energy audit today. I wrote down everything I could think of in the house that uses power. I'm frustrated that the one thing in the house that I KNOW uses the most power is the hot tub. I like the hot tub, but if we hadn't bought it when we were young, stupid, and both employed, we wouldn't have bought one at all. Well, Dean really wanted one, so maybe we would have, but I'd like to think we would have been smarter
I've seriously been thinking about turning off the breaker to the tub for the better part of the day and then just turning it on in the evening when we usually go in. We only go in once a week or so these days, but I'd have to turn it on every day to keep the temperture from going down so much that it would burn a bunch of power to get it back to the usual temp. If only I could find something like a hot tub timer. I'd even be willing to trade this one in for a tub that has a built in timer. I wonder if such a thing exists.
Okay, other than that, the deep freeze is really old and likely not energy efficient at all. I don't even know if I can adjust the temperture setting on it, but I'm gonna pull stuff out and look at it today. I'll also pick up a freezer thermometer so that I can be sure that it's neither too cold nor too warm. I'd like to save up for a new upright freezer that would probably pay for itself in energy costs over a few years or so, but there are so many other things to do around here first, it's low on my priority list.
I'm baffled at the fridge upstairs. When I adjust the thermostat it sems to either freeze the vegetabels or sour the milk. For a top of the line fridge, that makes me mad. Will have to work on that.
I haven't yet, but plan to pick up a cheap power bar to plug the microwave and other appliances into. Then we will shut it off when these items are not in use. I think we'll try to do the same with the TV, satellite receiver and stereo upstairs as well as the TV downstairs. This little TV has a standby light that flashes when the thing is turned off- you know that uses up extra power needlessly.
*SIGH* Now to get the DH into helping me with these changes. Lord knows I can't do it by myself.