I’ve been using energy-saving bulbs for a while now, and I see no reason why somebody wouldn’t use them at this point.  They come in the same sizes as regular bulbs, and save $ and energy.  So that’s a no brainer.

I purchased a rechargeable battery charger last week, as well as a four-pack of AA and AAA batteries.  So as of now, my wireless mouse and keyboard, my alarm clock, and whatever else around my house uses batteries is going rechargeable.  The whole deal cost me about $40, which seems like a lot, but I can see how over time it ends up paying for itself.   I also never knew that places such as Whole Foods and Radio Shack recycle regular and rechargeable batteries.  Pretty cool.

While taking stock of my life electric, I realized that even though I watch no cable TV, and even if I did, I only have the super-basic service that doesn’t require a cable box, I still have my cable box plugged in, and probably pay Comcast every month for the box rental.   Not to mention that it takes up space on my shelf.  So this afternoon, out came the box, and I’m going to email Comcast about returning it.

The biggest electric challenge for me is the refrigerator.  That thing is a beast, and is probably the heaviest energy user in my apartment.  I read that cleaning the coils can help save energy, but to be honest, I am really not looking forward to finding out what’s behind it.  Maybe next weekend.

One of the tips in the greening book talks about ceiling fans, and how they can be used to save energy in the summer and winter. I happen to have a ceiling fan in my living room. I also happen to love ceiling fans - they make me think of lazy summer days in the South. Not that I’ve ever spent lazy summer days in the South - I guess I’ve just seen them in movies. To make a long story short, if ceiling fans can help save energy, then I’m there. One thing I didn’t understand was that the direction of the fan should be reversed in the winter. I mean, which way is reverse?

Of course google always has the answer. And the answer is that clockwise is reverse for ceiling fans. So in the winter, you’re supposed to flip that little switch on the fan to go in reverse to save 10% on heating costs. My own lessons learned from flipping this switch are as follows:

1. dustbunnies rain upon you when you flip the switch
2. I have been running the ceiling fan in the wrong direction this whole summer.