by Julie Lovins
It’s 2 a.m., and did you know that your teenage fridge in the kitchen, along with the 20-something one in the garage with the cold beer in it, may be gorging itself on a late-night snack of yummy electrons? Did you know that they are being joined at the party by the widescreen TV, the cable box, and other hungry denizens of the living room, which, unlike the fridge, claim to be OFF? Do you know what this does to your electric bill, and what you can do to stop these guys from eating you out of house and home?
If you attended the free HomeZ workshop on October 30, you heard all about the appetite of older refrigerators (twice that of newer ones) and newer TVs (five times that of older ones – no, that is not a typo) and many other examples of how to take advantage of the fact that the cheapest energy around is the energy you don’t use. You also heard about “smart” powerstrips, how to select various appliances when you replace them, the in-teresting rebates available from PG&E, and exactly why it is not productive to close heat registers in unused rooms in the winter.
We also learned that you can bring HomeZ’s expertise and their skills at articulating it to bear on your own personal environment for a very modest sum, rapidly recouped by the results and paying you back ever after. They may be reached at www.homez.net, (650)625-0868, or 821 W. El Camino Real.
I’d like to see a neighborhood contest to see who can cut his utility bill the most the fastest, and with the least upfront cash outlay. Anyone interested?
