Monday, June 6, 2011

Powersmart helps

Today I received a nice little cheque from BC Hydro's PowerSmart. Why? Because I managed to reduce the amount of power my house used in the last year by over 10% (15% in actuality).

It's a nice reward, a recognition, of the efforts I've made to reduce my power consumption. But that's nothing in comparison to the savings I'm realising every year in reduced electricity charges (about $140 in the last year alone!).

Multiply that $140 per year over the next 10 years, adding the expected 10% increase in the price of electricity each year (do remember to compound these increases!) and I will be saving at least $330 per year in 10 year's time. Total savings in those next 10 years? $2231.50. Nice.

Makes the $75 look rather paltry, sure. But if it's enough to motivate people to go on to make their homes more comfortable, energy-secure (stays comfortable longer when the power goes out), be more "green", improve the value of their home, and more, then why not?

Of course I will continue to work at lowering my energy costs. I'm going to next insulate the floor in my office (that currently sits on a very cold slab), and add a hot water heat recovery system. These will save me an estimated 15% more, paying for the upgrades in just a few years, while also making my office far more comfortable.

What has this program cost BC Hydro? In my case it cost them about five cents a KWhour, less than half the cost of bringing new power sources on-line. Truly a win-win for everyone, including the planet.

Other BC Hydro residents can sign up for this program and receive lots of great tips in PowerSmart's monthly newsletters. Just go to PowerSmart and click on the Team Power Smart button.

3 comments:

Power said...

Hi Ian – it’s Team Power Smart at BC Hydro - great post! We came across it and just wanted to chime in and congratulate you on reducing your consumption. It’s always great to hear that Team Power Smart is helping people find ways to be smart with their power.

Noticed that the URL to join Team Power Smart on the post doesn’t seem to be working. Just wanted to pass along a link in case any of your readers wanted to check it out: https://www.bchydro.com/youraccount/teampowersmart/Join.do

Thanks again for the post – keep up the great work!

GreenHearted said...

Sadly, we've been using so little energy in our home since we bought it that there never seems to be reward or incentive for us. Alas, what's a shivering gal sitting in the dark to do?

Ian Gartshore said...

GreenHearted,
Thank you for your comment. Good on you for using so little energy! You have hit on the best incentive there is: low energy bills. Those who chase after government and utility incentives often don't realise that there are peanuts compared to the financial reward of lowered energy bills... for ever.
However, if you are shivering then you are likely missing out on the fact that energy-efficient buildings/homes are also comfortable ones. Do contact me (link is on this blog) and we'll see what steps can be taken to keep your energy bills low AND be comfortable this coming winter!