Last week, Mr. A heard a commercial on the radio that electric water heaters can use 1/3 of a home's total electricity usage. The commercial was for one of those water heaters that provide hot water on demand, and are supposed to cost much less for electricity. Well… when we first moved here back in 2001… I bought this Little Gray Box Water Heater Timer. For reasons unknown to me, I couldn't persuade Mr. A to install this timer.… Read the rest

I am so excited to share with my readers that our electricity company sent me an email today notifying me that our monthly payment has been adjusted to $317 per month. We have been paying $334.52 for nearly two years. And, it has been going up steadily every year since we moved here in 2001. I am so thrilled to see it go down, instead of up! A great deal of credit goes directly to the programmable thermostat, and I… Read the rest

We used slightly more electricity this bill than last year at this time. However, notice that our bill was for 30 days this year, but only 29 last year which actually made our daily average usage less this year than last. Again, I'd rather see it go down a little bit, than up a bunch. 07/21 to 08/20/2008 30 days On Peak Usage 1536 Kwh Off Peak Usage 2141 Total Usage 3677 Monthly Bill $416.17 Daily Average $13.87 Last year:… Read the rest

This month's usage was high, as expected, but still less than last year. I would rather see lower than last year by even a few dollars, than higher as has been the trend for the past six years. As you can see in the graphic, we have consistently used less electricity every month of this year so far. As I look over the bill, I am always amazed at all the taxes, usage fees and other miscellaneous items added to… Read the rest