Electric tea kettles that turn off on their own are amazing, from tests that I've seen they use 1/4 of the energy that stove top water heating uses, half of what it takes to boil water in a microwave and about half of what a tank style water heater uses, they also get the water up to temp then turn off so that you never waste energy, just like a toaster pops when the toast is done.
LED lights are coming along quickly, what is avalible in stores are impressive and cheap.
I also like automation, the light in the garage turns on via a motion sensor, the light next to the front door is a solar charged LED motion sensor light, my water heater is on a timer, all of the cell phone chargers in the house are switching power supply chargers that pretty much turn off once the device is charged, everyone in the house uses their cell phone as an alarm clock, all of the flash lights are LED so the number of rechargeable batteries need along with the number of chartings needed are cut back and for most of the lesser used LED flashlights I use disposable batteries because they last 5 years or so in the flash light where rechargeable batteries only hold a charge for 6 months or so.
I did notice the jump in electrical use when we got a desk top computer, my lap top/net book uses 15-25 watts depending on how it's being used where a desk top seems to use 100 watts or more.
|