Electrical Excitement

I get excited about so many things others find peculiar.  Don't care!!  I actually made a goal last month, my electricity bill is finally under $150.  That is EC$150.  Now with a kilowatt of electricity costing over a $1, I am super happy about this.  This year so far, for a 30-day period, I have had a high of $172.80 and a low of $145.13.  I am doing much better than last year with the cost of a kilowatt being under a $1. 

What am I doing differently?

1. The water heater is completely off.  You would think in the tropics that it would be a non-necessity, but it can be a wee bit cold in the mornings and evenings.

It almost seems ridiculous waiting so long to turn it off, considering I only used it when I took a shower.  It seemed wasteful for laundry and dishes! Go figure.

I started out slowly, only turning it on when I needed to take a shower.  Then turned it off altogether.  Surprisingly, it is not affecting me too much.

2. I unplugged everything except the refrigerator.  Some are on power strips with switches and some I just plug in when I need to use it.

3. I asked anybody who would answer about their average bill per month.  This gave me an idea of what a normal household would pay for more than one person.

4. I set a goal.  Just a figure to focus on.

Previous to doing these things, I would budget approximately $200 for electricity.  This went to the dumps in 2008 when the price of oil went sky high.  The prices came down in 2009 and I beat my budget of $200 within the first months, so I lowered it to $180.  For 2010, I am a little more aggressive about the $150, and would like to lower it even more come July.

There is still a lot more work to be done as I do have "habits" that need evaluating.  A big issue is comfort.  I think in time, it will get easier.