Just a little reminder about the multi-month challenge from Mrs. Green.
My challenge is to reduce the usage by 10% each week. My plan was to track the electric and gas usage by taking a reading every Monday morning at 7am.
How did I do?
My spreadsheet is below. The numbers in green are positives because I am reducing usage. The reds are negatives because I am using more than the previous week.
Electricity: Used to power lights, appliances, A/C, etc.
Results: I did pretty good for the first two weeks, but the last week had an increase. The only change I would think of is that we hosted Bible Study and my husband worked on the computer some nights instead of going to bed, so that bumped up the electricity usage.
Gas: Used for heating and hot water.
Results: I am surprised by the huge variations and jumps. I have been lowering one more degree when we are at work during the day. My husband took a few baths because of the colder weather and we bumped up the temperature during Bible Study.
I will continue to track weekly usage and take more detailed notes so that I can pinpoint what we are doing or not doing. Here is my strategy for the coming weeks:
- Turn 2 TV sets with cable boxes when at work during the day.
- Turn down one more degree (in addition to the one above) when at work during the day.
- Follow my husband around the house and turn off lights behind him. :)
- What advice can you offer?