Measure and Reduce

You want to get better, but where do you start?      Measurement.       What is your baseline?  How much energy did you use last month?  How much the month before?   How much does your monthly use vary?   Your utility bills should tell you your use for the last 13 months.  Electricity use is measured in kilowatt hours, (kWh), and gas use is measured in Therms.  Look to see how much it has been in the last year, and the year before, and the year before.  Usually there is a histogram showing the last year.  Is it higher in the winter?  or in the summer?  Is your climate a hot one or a cold one?   Notice what you use.  Think about ways to change it, then, make those changes.  Watch your Therm and KWh use.  Does it go down when you change your light bulbs?  The Boston Museum of Science waited and replaced its old incandescent bulbs with LED’s all at once.  Their drop in energy use and in cost for electricity decreased enormously, saving the museum hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.