KIUC's Energy Wise Guys - Kauai Island Utility Cooperative

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Pack Up <strong>Energy</strong> Savings When taking a vacation, do you think about giving your meter a break, too? 34 KIUC CURRENTS By Pam Blair It is easy to forget about conserving electricity when you and your family pack your bags and head to the airport for a vacation or lengthy trip. But if you don’t think about it before you leave, you could face an unpleasant—even irritating— surprise when you return. While it seems to make no sense, your energy bill can be the same or even higher when your home is unoccupied. Some equipment, motors and electrical devices use power, whether or not anyone is home. Let your meter know you are gone by preparing your home before you leave. Then you can enjoy your vacation knowing you are not wasting energy—or your money. Preparing the Home for Your Absence Refrigerators and freezers draw electricity to keep your food cold and frozen in your absence. If you will be gone for a prolonged time, empty them out, shut them off at the breaker and prop open the doors to prevent mildew from growing inside. Anything that uses clocks, memory, remote control, microprocessors and instanton features—such as televisions and VCRs—consume small amounts of electricity even when turned “off.” Unplug those items before you leave. Rather than leave lights on all day, use a timer. Detecting Other Reasons for High Bills Staying home and trying to figure out what is behind an increase in your electric bill? Consider these possible causes: ◼ A defective water heater thermostat can prevent the heating element from cutting off, causing continuous operation. In twoelement heaters, failure of one element can cause the other to operate more. ◼ Consider your living habits. Do you love gadgets? Most are powered by electricity. Perhaps you have a growing family, and you recently purchased a computer and a dishwasher. Do you love to cook? Do you and your family spend hours surfing the Internet? Did you have guests who stayed for weeks on end, and who left on the lights and did laundry? All of these activities add to your electricity usage. What’s Up With My Electric Meter? Often consumers faced with higherthanusual bills wonder if their meter is wrong, if it was read improperly, or if it has a short and is running fast. While those things can happen, they are rare. Your electric meter is a finely calibrated device that is almost always within the plus or minus 2 percent tolerance range. Meters are regularly tested to ensure accuracy. High bills rarely are due to a faulty, fastrunning meter. In fact, a meter tends to gradually slow with age, benefiting the consumer. The most common cause of high bills is an increase in electrical usage. When you are home, you use electricity for lighting, cooking, cleaning, operating electronics and powering your computer. But the electricity is on even when you are gone, powering your water heater, refrigerator, pumps and all of those electronics that have a builtin clock and automatic “on” function. They are “phantom” power users, drawing a small amount of electricity whenever they are plugged in, regardless of whether they are turned on.
◼ Has anything changed in your household? Spring or fall cleaning, holiday activities, sickness or convalescence at home, and changes in the size of the family—for example, a new baby or a college student returning home—often result in increased electrical usage. ◼ If you have moved into a new home, consider whether your new dwelling is larger than your former home, is in a location with more extreme temperatures or wind, has a larger water heater, is less well insulated or has fewer draperies. ◼ Billing periods can vary from month to month. Note whether the month contained five weekends or a holiday—time when usage tends to be greater. ◼ Other causes of bill variations are defective appliances, frost on a refrigerator unit, home repairs, lack of good appliance maintenance, defective house wiring, exposure of pipes and the water heater to cold air, and leaking hot water faucets. Do the Math To better understand how you use electricity, read your meter at about the same time each day for one week. Note activities done one day, but not the next, and special circumstances, such as overnight guests. That will help you identify reasons for varying usage. Subtract the previous day’s reading from the current reading to see how many kilowatthours of electricity you use during a 24hour period. The popular comic strip heroine Little Orphan Annie takes center stage in one of the world’s best-loved musicals at Kalaheo School’s cafeteria-turned-theater April 23, 24 and 30 and May 1. Based on the Tribune Media Service comic strip Little Orphan Annie, “Annie Jr.” brings to life the spunky Depression-era orphan determined to find her parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a New York City orphanage run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. In adventure after fun-filled adventure, Annie foils Miss Hannigan’s evil machinations, befriends President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and finds a new family and home in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary Grace Farrell and a lovable mutt named Sandy. “Annie Jr.” features the classic songs “Tomorrow,” “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” and “I Don’t Need Anything But You.” In the Kalaheo production, Helena Huffman stars as Annie, with Jeffrey Peterson as Oliver Warbucks, Abigayl Cox as Grace Farrell and Tylyn Nakamura as the infamous Miss Hannigan. Jacob Herr and Carolyn Price play the villainous Rooster and Lilly. Thirty plus others play the various orphans and ensemble roles. Directed by Marly Madayag, performances of “Annie Jr.” begin at 7 p.m. each evening. Tickets are available at the school or at the door prior to the show. The cost is $5 for adults. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Come early and enjoy the food booth, where you can enter a drawing to win the grand prize of a sterling silver key heart locket chain ($375 value) donated by Tiffany & Co. For more information, or to order tickets, please email us at: kesdrama@gmail.com. APRIL 2010 35
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KIUC's Energy Wise Guys - Kauai Island Utility Cooperative

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