Earned $25 credit yesterday!!!
We used just .8 kWh instead of our 'average ' 20.8
Weather Watching Summer 2013 #2
WOW!!! I cant wait to get my Smart meter!
Soo do you just turn things off? Unplug stuff? How do you save so much????
Also--How do they know how much you normally use to tell you how much
you have saved???
Sorry to be so dense...it's all that Smart brain in my head...G.
6 o'clock news says highest demand ever on nation's power grid is now thru tomorrow. Guess I'll turn off or down what I can because as the report said "You don't want to be the one who blows the whole thing."
This AM, when I got up, about 8;30AM--it was already 82* .
Later on, around noon--it went to 96* with a heat index of 108*.
Right now--it is in"code red" (?) with the heat and the haze with
warnings for the elderly and those with breathing difficulties.
I cannot even imagine how the people downtown, who have no A/C
and live in all those row houses are managing....???
We used to live like that in the first few years in the US--in a second floor
apt. in an old house--with no air....I guess we all are able to adapt...
And how about all the road crews--working on highway construction and
other such jobs??? Or the farmers? What on earth are they doing with this
heat and all their crops???
I can see my own plants in the garden wilting--NOT dry--just wilting...
The DL only bloom for a few days--and then are done.
The Brugs, which HATE weather like this, are yellowing and dropping leaves.
BTW--not to worry--those of you who have one. They will re-grow...
And I sit here--in my cool house and bitch about this unbearably hot weather..
Shame on me! G.
Gita, the utility company controls the smart meter you don't
I will never allow any agency to control my AC, we encourage programmable thermostats to save you $
A programable thermostat will work if the family has a set schedule--
work...school...etc.
My life has no set schedule--and I work different hours--whenever I get any....
I also "know" my old thermostat and adjust it myself as needed.
I may be wrong--but that is how I see it in my life. G.
Depending on your house, changing the AC setting may not heat it up as much as you think it will. . We can go to the lower level to cool off. Even so, our main level got to 82 ?? We quit watching. That's only 4 degrees over what we often keep it at. If you can't take 82, turn on a small fan.
Great excuse to get my teenager off the computer and tv. Unplug minor crap like coffee maker , Run no appliances. Keep the fridge and freezer reasonably full so when you open it it still has mass to hold the cold. THen avoid opening it from 1 to 7 pm. Don't cook 1-7 pm. Grill. Eat out. Go to the library!. Pretend you're camping! Sit on the porch with a spray bottle and fan. You can earn Smart Energy credits and then have your AC back on after 7 pm to sleep.
It's of course more fun if you have alternatives (health club pool...) and energy/ stamina.
In conjunction with DH doing solar to a fridge.
I guess they use our smart meter history and calculate it. Still, hard to imagine that we would have used so much more than we did . The AC is really such a killer? Or did they just average our previous whole daily usage
Personal choice. Its worth $100 a year to me to have a small risk of slight discomfort in my house temperature, a few days over the summer. We're able to handle some heat. We opted for 100% cycling- which they only will do if extreme emergency. Its happened once- and many of the people who signed up screamed and cried bloody murder. They got their Peak Rewards and then got mad when they had to actually earn them.
If more homes get Smart Meters, they can individually use their thermostats and earn Smart Energy $ instead of going to AC cycling. Maybe this is in part a test to see how the two programs compare in effectiveness.
donnerville Sally, thanks for your explanation. I tried to tell Mark at dinner but I butchered it. I'll get him to read yours tonight; it is very logical.
Sally---
I would be a semi good candidate...
--In the winter--I keep my heat at 64-65*
--In the summer--I set my AC to about 78*
--I do have 2 fridges and one big freezer running all the time
--I do have outside lights on at all the doors and the patio--but all are on CFL's
--I do run my humidifier part of the day--if it has rained a lot
since I have a 4-level house--and the 2 lower levels are 50& and 75% underground.
Sometimes I run the built-in exhaust fan in the shop to pull the basement stink out.
--I do have an all house exhaust fan which runs on Auto in the attic,
--I do not do laundry often--maybe 2-3 times a month. Tepid water...Cold rinse.
--I use my dishwasher maybe once a month--or maybe ea. 3 weeks
--I seldom vacuum..my fault...But--it is my dust in my house--who cares...
--I do have my computer on all day (put it on "sleep" at night) and my TV is also plugged in all day--but not in use until I am home
I almost never use the oven--as i do not bake. I cook seldom...but when i do--
it can take most of the day..
--I DO have 2 small fans that I run when I am at the computer--and in the kitchen.
Can't think of much else I can do--I do lead a fairly spartan life...
Suits me fine! Gita
Gita, we'll give you a Badge of Energy Conservative Living.
I don't mean to get soap box ey. But how many of us lived without AC for the first few decades of our lives? And yet some people act like its a national disaster if their house heats up for a few hours. Americans can act so spoiled.
We saw a big dark cloud and had five minutes of spitting rain yesterday afternoon. ENough to guarantee 99% humidity as we sat on the deck LOL.
Quote from sallyg :
But how many of us lived without AC for the first few decades of our lives?
**Raises her hand**. I'm just thankful when the AC gets turned on at work... makes 86 degrees feel like absolute Heaven! =) (compared to the 90-whatever outside).
Working the 'late' shift today, got 42 million bottles of water packed, got a jug of tea, got my SUN HAT (Wheeeee!!!!), got my shades, and got myself slathered in 50 spf sunblock. All set and ready to rumble. I keep a spare bottle of that sunblock in the fridge at work; Aaaaah it feels nice putting it on after roasting outside for a while! < =D
JB WHERE ARE YOU????
97 today!!! whoopie....
My plants are withering......watering does not help...
Hopefully, soon, we will have a reprieve....
G.
I am here, just lurking, trying to stay out of trouble, been getting stores in shape, trying to keep the greenhouse plants alive since it is over 100 deg in there by 11 a.m. Not even walking Charle the last two days. I take two meds that could give me a problem in too much sun and heat. This is killing me because I am a beach person and a sun worshiper. So, I think if I thought about it I could get depressed. LOL
I have plants to ship, too hot, I can not even ship to the North it is just too hot. This is to be one of the worst days with the heat index way over 100 and humidity and not much breeze. There is a land breeze and I wish it was a sea breeze...land breeze brings flies. Those nasty green ones. Some days you can not even sit on the beach when there is a land breeze because the flies bite you so bad. I am off to the chiropractor for some PT on my foot. Thanks for mssing me. Love you all. JB
YEAH JB
At the nursery where I worked we emptied all the greenhouses, scrubbed them down (my job) and then closed them down tight and let them bake.
The elevated temps over a day or two really knocked out a lot of pathogens that chemicals only 'controled' Of course the owners knew what temps and how long and some of the houses could take more heat than others.
We also used to 'white wash ' some of the exteriers that weren't shaded by deciduous trees and used shade cloth over one smaller house and over hoops for several outdoor growing areas.
I'm sure, if like me, you had some shade cloth you could think of many different uses for it!
The weather has been so crazy even over the winter, I never took the shade cloth off over the winter. Just left it on since this year instead of two heaters I only needed one heater. Today I have two fans going and all the vents open. I did my scrubbing earlier before I had my state inspection of the greenhouse and now everything is wide open and no doubt infected all over again, but I am not due for another inspection for a few months, so I am going to just try and keep everything in it alive and as hot as it is over watering is still a great possibility for the cuttings. I don't know why I continue to do this except I just love my plants. They are as much a part of my life as my birds, dog and cats.
Back from town and it is now 102 deg. in the greenhouse.and 102 deg on the East deck which is partly shade at this time of day. Wow, what must the heat index be?
Think I will do some research on Cape Primrose (streptocarpus) since I have started to collect them and I know very little about them. Too hot to clean up the house. Going to town wore me out. LOL Stay cool ladies.
The heat here has broken with a mild rainstorm- at the exact time my three 'boys' planned to play Ultimate Frisbee....boo.
Sympathies for the heat and humidity back east. Not missing it at all. Thankful for a friend who is keeping track of my gardens at home. I won't tell you how deeeelightful it is here in Oregon.
Bonks Jan gently on her cute little head. < =P
Heehee. Don't tell Jen. She has already threatened me. It did get to 85, though.
Mum's the word! < =x
Heehee
Looks like the cold front stalled and we'll have another hot day. We had rainshowers move through last night, so the 8 am coffee on the deck was nice.
Weather here is cloudy and so humid that there are drops of moisture coming out of the sky. Not rain, humidity. LOL.. whatever????????? It is in the 70s now but will be up there as soon as these clouds move out to sea.
I'll keep my fingers crossed that the cold front gets unstalled soon!
Been out most of the day, just slow and easy, dragging hoses , hoeing, a little feeding. The rain gods are having a good laugh at my expense, I come in for a break from the sauna and the sun comes out, I go out and pick up a hose and it clouds over. I figure it will not rain till I finish watering. LOL
I have a number of cool hats: a couple of vintage summer Stensons from a thrift shop, a Honduran farmers hat, an Aussie for fishing, but my favorite for gardening is a wideeee brim straw hat available from Ace or Tractor Supply for about $8. complete with colored band and chin strap. They're usually good for about 1 season as the front often splits at the top front from pinching it on or off.
Great hats, Ric!
Oh Dude, never thought to look at Tractor Supply, and there's one RIGHT down the street from where I work!! Wheeeeee!!!!!! Excellent hat collection, Sir!
A hat for all seasons for a man for all seasons!
I mostly wear a soft-crown ball cap in the garden, but with my redhead complexion (and all the pre-cancerous lesions thus far removed) I should wear my wide-brimmed straw hat that I got out on Cape Cod several years ago.
I never even remember to use sunscreen (and I'm allergic to some of the components). Old age has drawbacks.
The best sun screen I've ever heard of: Desitin. 'Cause it's full of Zinc Oxide. THAT'll make ya feel like a baby's bottom! < =D
Well--I did go to the Goodwill and buy a hat....I only had a couple to choose from...
This hat came from Xhiliration--a "hip" young folks store in the mall here.
Paid $3.50...
It is kind of cute--haven't worn it yet...Says it is 100% paper (??)
made in China--of course. Wonder if i can get it wet????
What do you think??? Doesn't have much "substance"....
Is it ME????? Gita
Speedie, I was required as a kid to put zinc oxide on my nose before we went to the beach!
I wouldn't get it wet
Well--there goes wearing it while I water plants at the HD.
And--when it rains...It may shade my eyes and keep my noggin cooler...
NOT going to wear it as a accessory!
I have NEVER worn a hat--not gonna start now.....
It really looks and feels like soft straw... G.
The only accessory I've been wearing lately is insect repellant ;-)
My hat is this only in blue
http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11808064&cp=3677318.11308560.3693443
I've been fairly dedicated to wearing it this year- for skin protection and my dyed hair color.
total rainfall since around 5pm 2.46" HOLEY MOLEY!!!
Gita, the hat is most definitely YOU, but I agree with Flowa, I wouldn't get it wet.
Sally, your hat is definitely YOU as well!!!!! I really like that one; found it on amazon so added it to my wishlist. ;) (why the heck not, right??)
Holy Moley is right Flowa, that's a LOT of rain in such a short time!! Wanna canoe and some paddles!? < =/
Sally, I had a hat like that (NOT blue!) and had about 50 or more collected pins on it. I took off all the pins to wash it... it shrank too much to wear, and I never remembered where I stashed the pins. In 15 years they have not showed up.
Sally, love your hat! Darius, I always like to comfort myself with the idea that 'it will show up someday', but 15 years is a long time! What kind of pins were they?