In January I wrote that home solar might be lipstick on a pig, and it makes more sense to make a home energy efficient before even considering solar. I also promised to post monthly updates on our utility bills.
Category Archives: General Talk
Energy Upgrade Stats: Month 10
In January I wrote that home solar might be lipstick on a pig, and it makes more sense to make a home energy efficient before even considering solar. I also promised to post monthly updates on our utility bills.
I’m going to something a little different this month. June was hot. Hotter than a normal June, so before I post the YTD analysis, I am going to share a graph with our daily electricity use versus the high temperature each day. Keep in mind that weekends are going to be higher than weekdays, because we are home, usually inside, spending time together versus the weekdays when I am outside working and Joyce is at work. Quite a while ago, before our upgrade, Southern California Edison installed a wireless electric meter that sends information to Edison. The great thing about this set-up is Edison can now compile data for the homeowner to help analyst usage, which is where I got the data for the chart.
Bottom line for June is electrical use was down 56.2% against the 5 year average, and natural gas use was down 48.4% and I am thrilled with both!
The Retirement Time Bank
What if you spent your recreation time the same way your grandmother saved money?
There was a time when many people saved and budgeted money with glass jars. Maybe your grandmother or your great grandmother did this when she was a young parent trying to make ends meet. Jars were set aside, and in each jar she would save some money for future needs. Perhaps a jar for school clothes, another for Christmas presents, one for vacation and so on. Each week or month after the necessities of life were paid for, a bit of money was placed into the appropriate jar to save for the future.
Let’s say you did something similar with your free time. For every day off from work, you put time-dollars into a jar the represented how you spent your free time. You might have a Recreation Jar (camping and backpacking for me), a TV Jar, a Household Jar, a Party Jar, or even a Salon Jar. For each day off from work, you have 24 time-dollars to put in a jar. If you want to go backpacking or camping for two days, you would but 48 time-dollars into your recreation jar because you even spent your time sleeping in the outdoors.
What would your jars look like at the end of the year, or at the end of your working days just before you retire? Would your TV Jar be overflowing and your Recreation Jar just ¼ full or less?
BS Gear Reviews
BUYER BEWARE
If you read my blog much, you know I mostly have disdain for gear reviews, and I discussed in this post a few years ago, The Business of Backpacking. Gear reviews, for the most part, are simply opinions. And “opinions are like assholes — everyone has one.”
If you are researching gear, you need to determine the author’s credibility, other than what he or she tells you. My classic example is the stove review, where the author has placed the stove on a bed of flammable dry leaves, which is not something an expert would do.
So today I was looking into a pair of strap sandals. Similar to flip flops, strap sandals are simply a sole held in place with straps; only more secure and eliminated the go-ahead syndrome inherent in flip flops. One reviewer, who supposedly uses sandals a lot posted pictures of his pasty white feet wearing several brands of sandals. I call BS. If you wear sandals or flip flops a lot, as I do, in the outdoors you will develop a tan with contrasting tan marks where the straps cross the feet. Something like this:
So I call the sandal review total BS, and must disregard the author’s purported credibility, expertise, and opinions.
Energy Upgrade Stats: Month 9
In January I wrote that home solar might be lipstick on a pig, and it makes more sense to make a home energy efficient before even considering solar. I also promised to post monthly updates on our utility bills.
A little late in posting May’s energy usage, but we were away camping for a couple weeks. Two factors upped this month’s electricity bill. First was above average temperatures at the end of the month.
The other negative factor was we accidentally left two ceiling fans running 24/7 the last week of the billing period while we were camping.
Good news is found in this Home Energy Report from Southern California Edison.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
This weekend I got back from two weeks of camping at Lake Mead. Over the past 15 years I have spent over 500 days backpacking, camping, and bike touring the area. So instead of boring you with a trip report, it would be better to discuss all of this National Recreation Area.
You might be surprised to learn that I have never been in or on Lake Mead. The lake isn’t the attraction for me, other than a source of drinking water when backpacking in the backcountry, when it is accessible from where I am walking… which isn’t frequently.
Please Help Save Off-Trail Hiking in Anza Borrego
Today I read post over at backpackinglight.com that linked to this article at Modern Hiker, PROPOSED RESTRICTIONS TO HIKING IN ANZA-BORREGO.
Please read the article and act quickly if you think the California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR) is overstepping its bounds, as comments will not be accepted after June 6, 2016. I have included my email to CDPR plus additional information to help you make an informed decision.
Continue reading Please Help Save Off-Trail Hiking in Anza Borrego
Relativity and Our Energy Upgrade
Each month, since the beginning of the year, I have been posting our energy usage versus the 5 year average prior to all the upgrades, which are covered in this post. The numbers don’t mean a lot if you don’t live here. So how are we doing relative to similar homes in the area? Southern California Edison sent this analysis for last month. We’re doing great.
Energy Upgrade Stats: Month 8
In January I wrote that home solar might be lipstick on a pig, and it makes more sense to make a home energy efficient before even considering solar. I also promised to post monthly updates on our utility bills.
One thing I did towards the end of the month was install a new water heater. If you are interested in what I found from my research, you can read the nightmarish details after the charts.
As planned, electricity use is declining versus the 5 year baseline as the as the average temperature increases. Improved insulation and a more efficient air conditioner are using much less energy. For April our electricity use is down 56.6% versus the 5 year April baseline WITHOUT a solar system.
Energy Upgrade: Stats Thru Month 7
In January I wrote that home solar might be lipstick on a pig, and it makes more sense to make a home energy efficient before even considering solar. I also promised to post monthly updates on our utility bills.
A couple things about last month… first we normally go camping for at least a week during Easter break, but this year we stayed home and hosted visiting relatives, which increased electricity use. Secondly, we received a $38 “Climate Credit” on our bill, as did every homeowner who is a Southern California Edison customer. This credit is the result of California’s “Cap and Trade” program, which allows companies to continue to pollute by purchasing ’emission credits’ in a fake market created by the State, so they can claim we are a ‘green state.’ Everyone gets the same dollar amount, irrespective how much electricity they use — theoretically encouraging homeowners to invest in energy efficient upgrades; but there is no method to track if this works or even happens. Another Government Boondoggle, as I wrote about in Green Greed.
Here is month 7:
