I complained about the cold last month — it's what you do in December, after all — but January set a new record since we began recordkeeping, with 813 Heating Degree Days (HDD). I am looking back on our $295 utility bill in December with nostalgia because January's bill was $547!
My daughter went back to school, so electricity and water usage came back down to normal. Our sticker shock this month is solely due to natural gas, and the price of natural gas actually came down a little bit. There is some good news buried in the data, however. Although HDD were up 25% over January last year, our natural gas usage went up only by 15% — I think adding the extra insulation in the basement really made a difference!
January 2010 Data
| | Electricity, in kWh | Cost / Unit | Gas, in Therms | Cost / Unit | Water, in CCF | Cost / Unit | BTUs / Ft2 |
| This Month | 827 | $.093 | 408 | $1.12 | 5 | $2.35 | 12,471 |
| Last Month | 1,003 | $.092 | 165 | $1.14 | 7 | $2.12 | 5,695 |
| Last Year | 808 | $.093 | 349 | $1.23 | 5 | $2.29 | 10,766 |
December was colder than usual, by about 25% — 701 Heating Degree Days (HDD) versus 505 HDD last year. This doesn't quite account for the 50% increase in natural gas usage year-over-year, however — that would be my daughter home for college for most of December. I seem to recall that the TV was on most of the time as well, which might well account for the 15% increase in electricity use. Of course, running the Christmas lights didn't help, either. All in all, our utility bills for December came to $295. Ouch!
December 2009 Data
| | Electricity, in kWh | Cost / Unit | Gas, in Therms | Cost / Unit | Water, in CCF | Cost / Unit | BTUs / Ft2 |
| This Month | 1,003 | $.092 | 165 | $1.14 | 7 | $2.12 | 5,695 |
| Last Month | 564 | $.101 | 69 | $1.15 | 6 | $2.15 | 2,523 |
| Last Year | 864 | $.092 | 106 | $1.26 | 8 | $1.84 | 3,873 |
With New Year's right around the corner, it's time to think about your energy-saving resolution for the new year. May we suggest that you start keeping track of your energy costs?
It is vital to know how much energy you are using — otherwise, how will you know if your efforts to save energy are effective? Energy Watcher is happy to offer our free Utility Bill Tracking Spreadsheet as a tool to help you get started.
And if you are one of the hundreds of people who have downloaded our spreadsheet in the past year — please let us know what you think! We are eager to hear how you have used it, and would be extremely happy to share your results with the rest of the Energy Watcher readership.
Use LED Christmas lights for holiday decoration. They can last up to 10,000 hours, are just as bright and twinkly as the old-fashioned lights, and use 90% of the power, which can add up to big savings over the holiday season.
And put your Christmas lights on a timer!
Here's a tidbit to think over — it is just as comfortable and far cheaper for us to run electric blankets overnight than it is to heat our house while we sleep.
It'll work for you, too.
If you're cold at night, an electric blanket will keep you toasty and warm without heating the entire house. You can program your thermostat to turn itself down overnight and use an electric blanket to warm up the 18 or so square feet that you are actually occupying while you sleep.
And if you want to
really save money, just put a couple of extra blankets on your bed — and program down your thermostat to turn itself down overnight.
Quick, guys, what's the
least romantic thing you could possibly buy for your wife this Christmas? That's right, Energy Star appliances.
Let me give you a tip — you
know your wife wants a new kitchen. Why do you think she watches HGTV? If you offer to replace
one of those old, inefficient appliances with a new Energy Star appliance,
without being prompted, I
guarantee she will love it.
The average American home spends about $2,200 on energy costs every year, and there's only so much you can do with furnace filters and weatherstripping to keep costs down. When the time comes, smile and reach into your wallet for new, sexy, modern, efficient appliances. (If it helps, think about the $100 or more that you will be saving on your utility bills each year.)
November was warmer than usual, which led to a $150 savings this month over November 2008, even though electricity and water costs are both up over the same time period. Of course, setting the thermostat to 60°F overnight and 65°F during the day helps a lot, too.
Due to the warmer weather, fewer people living in the house, and let's not forget the energy-saving tips found here on Energy Watcher, we have reduced our BTUs consumed per square foot of living space by half over November 2008!
November 2009 Data
| | Electricity, in kWh | Cost / Unit | Gas, in Therms | Cost / Unit | Water, in CCF | Cost / Unit | BTUs / Ft2 |
| This Month | 564 | $.101 | 69 | $1.15 | 6 | $2.15 | 2,523 |
| Last Month | 823 | $.096 | 40 | $1.16 | 5 | $2.35 | 1,946 |
| Last Year | 713 | $.096 | 157 | $1.32 | 7 | $1.95 | 5,184 |
