Electricity Costs Way Over Budget

[bigrock]

As was reported at the AGM our Electricity costs are way over budget due to usage and cost increases. We all need to try and cut our electricity usage by 10% or we could be looking at some big condo fee increases.

Here are some ideas to help cut our Electricity consumption:

1. Replace energy pig incandescent light bulbs with new Compact Floruscent Bulbs. They last 10 times longer, use 1/5 the electricity and have also gotten dirt cheap - if every one did that we would save at least 10%.

2. Turn the TV off when not watching it. It amazes me how many will people will leave the TV on as background noise and pay no attention to it. For most units that's like leaving 6-10 extra light bulbs on.

3. Don't leave the patio/balcony light or christmas lights on all day or all night. The rabbits running around the parking lot at 3AM don't care if they aren't on.

4. If you must put up Christmas Lights, get the LED types. They might cost a few cents more but they last forever and use 1/20 the electricity.

5. Don't turn on the extra heat on the Dry Cycle on your dishwasher, it accomplishes not a lot, and doubles the electricity used in a cycle.

It's not just about the green for the environment, it's also about the green in our pocket. We are using over $12,000 in electricity in this complex every month, that's a lot of green.

These are just few ideas, does anybody have anymore?

And always remember that money flying out the door to pay the humungous ENMAX BILL is yours. We sometimes lose sight of that because we have a shared bill.

[Sassy]

I think we should all try to conserve water... have a short shower rather then a bath... turn the heat down on that bath or shower, it will be better for your skin and our heating bills

don't leave taps running all the time when not needed, keep cold water in the fridge instade of running the tap, recyce your cans, news print and other mixed paper and cans.

Only wash full loads of landry and only run the dishwasher when it is full!

What about sending a letter out to each unit about what you can do to conserve and encourage it.

[bigrock]

What about sending a letter out to each unit about what you can do to conserve and encourage it.

I am sure that will be an ongoing topic in coming newsletters.

[bigrock]

Anyone with the outdoor Christmas Lights still on outside, please check your calendar, you may find Christmas is over. It's time to turn off the outdoor lights (and hopefully take them down till next year).

[bigrock]

Some news with regards to needlessly leaving TV's on:

LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs consume 43% more energy on average than the older CRTs, while plasma TVs suck three times as much. A 60-inch plasma sucks more power in a few hours than the largest residential refrigerator running 24 hours.

So if you are not actively watching that TV be kind to our budget and shut it off. A TV is a very very expensive way to generate background noise, and guess who is paying the bill: that's right you are. In the end as our bills escalate the waste of electricity is the number one reason.

I am always amazed when I go to someone's house and they've got the stupid TV blaring away, no one ever paying any attention to it. Even worse with plasmas, they produce a ton of excess heat.