CFLs in the Sherwin Houshold

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What do you do when you get a $505 electric bill? This presentation chronicles what my family did to cut its electric bill by more than 40%.

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CFLs in the

Sherwin

Home

www.EltonSherwin.com

What Galvanized the

Sherwin Family

into Action…

The melting ice caps?

Actually, it was…

$506 Electric Bill

Sherwin Family in Menlo Park

One New Home With basement

Tough building code

Two : Stories

Refrigerators

Pool pumps

Girls

Dogs

TiVos

iPods

Rechargeable flashlights

AC compressors

Three TVs & DVD players

Furnaces

Four PCs

Cellphones

Clock radios

Innumerable Cordless phones

Light bulbs

Motion detectors

And 12 Skylights

12 Outdoor Motion Detectors

Indoors

45 Motion

Detectors

12 Timers

Guest Bathroom

Motion detector on left is from WattStopper

Available at Home Depot or at WattStopper.com

Even With Timers and Motion Detectors

Still Had a $506 Electric Bill

Even with all the motion detectors and skylights

Looking for the Culprit

Make sure it says EZ.

If it is not an EZ model,

it is not EZ to use.

Available at Amazon.com.

Links to many of the

products in this

presentation are posted at

www.EltonSherwin.com

Couldn’t Find One Culprit Device Month

Mom's desk light $8.65

Garage rechargeable flashlight $2.79

Entry walkway lights $4.57

Honeywell HEPA - MBR - HI $8.57

Honeywell - HEPA - medium $6.94

Garage refrigerator $19.09

Instant hot water heater $4.08

Dad’s PC & 3 transformers $12.70

Mom's PC & printer $16.40

Need to Take Action

Solar

Option?

Cost of $29,822 (16 panels, $10.76/watt)

Subsidy of $9,206

Net cost is $20,616

Produce 400 kWh/month

22% of our usage

$124 savings per month

166 months (13 years) break even

Save 4,800+ lbs. CO2 per year

Reduce Consumption?

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2005 average 2006 average

Av

era

ge

Mo

nth

ly K

wh Sherwin Annual Consumption

We were consistent

consumers

Part of the Problem ?

Reducing Consumption

Off to

Orchard Hardware & Supply

(OSH)

ACE hardware

Stanford Electric

Seven Trips to Home Depot

Removed 55 Bulbs

Bulbs Have Gotten Smaller

Home Depot’s Better Bulb

Home Depot’s Better

Bulb

Formerly called n:vision

Now called EcoSmart Some of the pictures in this

presentation have old packaging

We tested 11

brands

Home Depot

had better bulb

CFLs Have Gotten Better

Instant on

No flicker

Starts at 60% brightness

105% brightness of incandescent

Color similar to incandescent soft white

Elton’s score: A-

Many Situations

Indistinguishable

Nice Color

Large Packs Are a Deal

Fit Inside Most Harps

Cooler and Probably Safer

Cloth Lampshades

We use in Clip-on Shades

Smaller Than an Incandescent

Small Lamps

My daughter

didn’t notice

Wall Sconces

Even in Some “Ceiling Cans”

Small Amount of Accent Lighting

14 watts vs. 65 watts The animals seem happy

Unnecessary Fixture

That Gets Left On

Even Fit Some Clip-ons

“Red” Package

Instant on

No flicker

Starts at 60% brightness

After 1 min 105%

WHITER than incandescent soft white

Some people prefer

Useful yellow lampshades and big rooms

Elton’s score: A-

Red vs. Green

Green = soft white

Matches

incandescent bulbs

Red = bright white

Big Yellow Lampshade in Big room

Brighter

120W red +

100W red

Replaced 200W incandescent

70% savings

Also Have Baby Reds

Instant on

No flicker

Starts at 60%

brightness

After 1 min 105%

Color WHITER than

incandescent soft

white

Elton’s score: A-

Reds work well:

behind glass

with yellow

lampshades

with glaucoma

Who put in

all these

ceiling

cans?

No

wonder

we had a

$506

electric bill

But What Happened to the

PG&E Bill?

PG&E Billing

$507

$439

$306

$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

December January February

Averaging $100 to $150

a month in savings

Recommended Bulbs (A-)

Home Depot Red &

Green Spirals

Instant on No flicker

Start at 60%

brightness

After 1 min 105%

Less success with other

brands

70%+ Savings

Tough Problems

Ceiling Cans

Clear fixtures

Dimmers

Green 40w

Instant on

No flicker

Starts at 40%

brightness

After 1 min 105%

Color similar to

incandescent soft

white

Elton’s score: B-

Dimmer for first 30 seconds

Incandescent

Compact Fluorescent

I left two incandescent bulbs in place

so the bathroom would brighten quickly

After 1 minute

CFL is slightly brighter

Only One is Incandescent

I left one incandescent bulb in place so the kitchen island

would brighten quickly

Back to Our Nemesis

The Halogen

Spot

Best Available for Indoor

Halogen Replacements

Instant on - No flicker

Starts at 35%

brightness

After 1 min 100%

Slightly more yellow

than Halogen

Larger bulb, less

focused

Elton’s score: B-

Home Depot

Halogen Spot Replacement Need a CFL Spot w/ CLEAR Glass Front

50 W or 75 W 23 W

Adjust Ceiling Cans Up

Halogen Spot Replacement

50 W or 75 W 23 W

Two are 23 W CFLs

One is 50 W Halogen

I left one halogen bulb in place so the kitchen counter

would brighten quickly

Inexpensive Flood

“Frosted Front” - Good in Hallways

Takes minute to get to

full brightness

Starts at 35%

brightness

Almost identical to

incandescent 65W

flood

Slightly wider beam

Adjust ceiling can

B+ for always on

Remove the dimmers

Best Available

Nice soft white color

Not instant on

Starts at 50%

brightness

Dimmer must be on

high to start

Larger bulb, less

focused

Often better to

remove dimmers

Elton’s score: C

Available at Ace Hardware

Dimmable Flood

On the Bleeding Edge

Ready for most homes:

Par 20s - small floods w/ standard base

Ace hardware has 3 different CFL versions

Still frustrating:

Most dimmable CFLs

MR-16 style – “flashlight” bulb w/ 2 pins

Spotlights – narrow beams

Most LEDs sold in retail

Wait a bit longer for residential applications

Motion Detectors & Timers

Work well with CFLs

Extend CFL life in

ceiling cans

Burn out fluorescent

tubes in magnetic

ballasts (which should

be replaced anyway)

Rem

oved

20

Sp

ots

Removed an Additional 25 Bulbs

Real-time Monitoring

Black & Decker

Power Monitor

You can install

Costs under $40 Read all the reviews on

Amazon to make sure it is compatible with your meter (works with my PG&E smart meter)

(Also sold as the Blue Line

Power Cost Monitor)

Day After

Installation

At 10:10 AM.

“It says I am using

$1000 a month.”

“And nothing is on.

I turned off all the lights.

Nothing is on”

Except the Pool Pump

We were spending $1,000 a year moving

water around

We bought an

IntelliFlo pump

Spent $2,500

Uses 1/8 the

electricity

Some are now

under $1,200

www.pentairpool.com

Impact of Sherwin Pool Pump on

Global Climate

Useful Tools

Smart

Power

Strips

For more information see

www.EltonSherwin.com

Smart Power Strips

For more information see www.EltonSherwin.com

If You Want to Be Green

Lower the Utility Bill

Lighting

Windows

HVAC

Hot Water

PCs & Appliances

For more information see

www.EltonSherwin.com

A word about Mercury

Berkeley Electric Cooperative

Incandescent Bulbs are

Responsible for More Mercury

Chart: Berkeley Electric Cooperative

Worldwide ,

there are 270

coal-fired

power plants

running to

power

incandescent

bulbs (Earth Policy

Institute)

CFLs by the Numbers

Cost $463

Subsidy (PG&E)) $145

Consumer $318

Monthly Savings:

KWH 359

Bill - $.32 KWH $111

Break even months 3

Annual CO2 lbs reduction 4,304

Cost per 1,000 lbs/year $108

PG&E CFL Subsidy

Paid Directly to Home Depot

I didn’t even know my bulbs were

subsidized

CFLs 60x Cost Efficient vs. Solar

Reducing CO2

CFL Solar

Cost $463 $29,822

Subsidy $145 $9,206

Consumer $318 $20,616

Monthly Savings:

KWH 359 400

Bill - $.31KWH $111 $124

Break even months 3 166

Annual CO2 lbs reduction 4,304 4,800

Cost per 1,000 lbs/year $108 $6,213

Hybrid Car is up to10x Cost

Efficient vs. Solar Reducing CO2

CFL Solar

Hybrid

Car

Cost $463 $29,822 $2,500

Subsidy $145 $9,206 0

Consumer $318 $20,616 $2,500

Monthly Savings: Gas

KWH or Gallons of Gas 359 400 17

Bill - $.31KWH, $2.50 gal $111 $124 $42

Break even months 3 166 60

Annual CO2 lbs reduction 4,304 4,800 4000

Cost per 1,000 lbs/year $108 $6,213 $625

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