Serious efforts to save electricity
started around June 2004 as I implemented the Simple
Tips. I expect electricity use to be higher in the
winter mainly because of increased use of lights and the
central heating. The wide short term variations are partly
caused by the irregular intervals at which I check the
meter readings and partly by usage changes
caused by the number of people in the house.
This graph shows how electricity use has varied
over the last few years. It is interesting to note the change of balance between normal
rate and cheap rate electricity to almost equal. The cheap
rate use has remained relatively constant and reflects
the fact that we have electric water heating that runs
overnight. As expected usage peaked over Christmas last
year. As the scope for saving electricity reduces it is
becoming harder to maintain the downward trend in use.
This graph shows the percentage
electricity saved by comparing electricity use with October
2003. The dip in December 2004 was caused by a mad moment
when I covered the house with fairy lights for Christmas.
2007 gives an average saving of around 40% and although better
than 2006 shows only a small improvement. The aim for 2008
is to save a further 5% on average compared to last year.
