Week # 18: Watt's Up? ... er... Down!

As we were researching refrigerators, I looked for a little device I had heard about that can easily measure the electricity usage and estimate costs of power for individual appliances. There are a few of them out there. We found one at Lowe's called the "Kill A Watt" EZ, model number P4460. It was $19, so I'll factor that in at the end. Click here to see the unit we purchased. Keep in mind there are similar units out there by other manufacturers, but this one seems to do everything I was looking for, and it was cheaper at Lowe's than any online price I've seen so far.

First, a little bit of background on our electric bill. There are some fees that are not dependent on usage, so I'll ignore those. State tax amounted to .13 cents for the month, not enough to make a difference, so I'll ignore that too. I'll focus just on the amounts our bill could be reduced by cutting back on our killowatt-hours (kwh) used.

Our bill is split into "tiers" which increase in cost as each dividing line is reached. For our residence, the "baseline" allowance in tier 1 is 267 kwh, which is charged at an average rate of .13 cents per kwh. Tier 2 gives us another 80 kwh, which we used up at .15 cents / kwh. Our usage topped out 103 kwhs into tier 3 during April, for which the charge is .24 cents / kwh.

Our total usage in April was 450 kwh, which was divided and charged at those three different rates. Reducing kwh will eliminate our most expensive kilowatt-hours first, so until we show our total bill creeping down into tier 2, I'll use .24 cents per kwh as the savings amount.

By the way, our bill shows there are as many as five tiers, so I suppose that means we're pretty average and not among the worst electricity hogs in the neighborhood. Still, there is certainly room for improvement, which starts by educating myself about how much each appliance actually costs to run.

Using the Kill A Watt meter is very easy. First, it asked me to set the rate we're paying (.24 cents/kwh for the moment) on the rate screen. Then, simply plug whichever appliance you want to measure into the meter, and plug the meter into the wall socket. Hit the reset button and leave it there for at least a few days for an accurate reading (since appliances often turn on and off based on need, the longer the time period measured, the more accurate the long term estimate). When you're done, the unit automatically tells you how much you're spending in electricity to run that unit for an hour, day, week, month, and year.

Of course, the first targets were the new and old refrigerators. Already, the Kill A Watt meter results are worthy of a blog entry. The old refrigerator, now removed from our grid, pulled 18.07 kwh in 134 hours of being connected to the meter. The new reefer pulled just 9.13 kwh in 146 hours time, well under half the prior usage. The annual cost comparison: $281 for the old, and $130 for the new. At a power savings of about $150 per year, the new unit will probably pay for itself over the time that we plan to keep it.

Checking to make sure tier 3 rates apply to the entire calculation: The estimates from our new toy are 1,181 in annual kwh for the old reefer and 548 kwh for the new. Subtracting and dividing by 12 to get a monthly number, the reduction should be about 53 kwh per month. That will not take us down to tier 2 rates, so the calculated savings at .24 cents / kwh should be pretty close.

I should see an Edison bill reduction of about $12 - $13 per month starting in June due to the new fridge, just in time to switch the air conditioner on. And of course, there's a pending application to increase rates this fall that I just noticed. Oh well... I'll worry about adjusting for that later if it makes a big difference.

One year's electricity cost saved by switching reefers: $281 - $130 = $151, minus $19 for the meter = $132

Total saved to date: $2,841.22

Week # 17: R & R (Rebate and Recycling incentive)

Southern California Edison offers an incentive for getting rid of an older refrigerator, and a rebate for purchasing a new energy efficient one. I debated on whether to count this separately from last week's entry, or wrap it together. I decided they should be separate entries for three reasons.

One, it was possible to purchase a refrigerator that did not qualify for the rebate, so that monetary gain was not directly tied to our price negotiations from last week. Two, the recycling incentive is connected to the old fridge, not the new one we just researched and purchased.

And three.... I still need 35 more entries to get to the end of the year.

Once the decision to purchase a new refrigerator was made, it wasn't difficult to find the rebate information.  We had references to it among the inserts in our electric bill, so it was on our radar. It's basically a $50 rebate to influence the purchase of energy-efficient appliances. Filling out a little bit of paperwork was the only little annoyance.

The other part of the equation is the incentive to get an older fridge off the grid. We called the program number, got an appointment, and within a few days two guys came and hauled off the old unit. A check for $50 is on it's way.

If you live in Southern California, are a customer of Edison, and are thinking about buying a new fridge or getting rid of the old refrigerator or freezer in your garage, click here for the information on the rebate and recycling incentive.

Rebate and recycling savings: $50 + $50 = $100

Total savings to date: $2,709.22

Week # 16: Take the Floor Model

It's time to replace our refrigerator. It's a hand-me-down from Trish's brother's family and we've had it for 11 years, so we think it's at least 15 years old. It certainly shows. The ice dispenser is always frozen, shelves are creaky (one has cracked), and I'm guessing the unit is an electricity hog, compared to new models.

I left this mostly up to Trish to figure out how to get a good deal on a good refrigerator. The end strategy: establish a relationship with the sales dude, and don't be afraid to take the floor model.

Trish started by looking at all the current features and models, settling on a style (bottom freezer and middle drawer), and then narrowed it down to a few makers and models, including Maytag. Once the model was decided, the objective then was to see if we could make a deal $100 better than what was commonly available. Lowe's, the closest appliance store, posted the retail price as $2294, and had it marked down for clearance at $2196, so we used that as our benchmark.

That sounds like a lot for a refrigerator, but we tend to run things into the ground, as with our current fridge, so I don't have a problem paying a little more for above average quality and features for something we'll undoubtedly still have 15 years from now.

Online searches showed the model posted anywhere between $2196 and $2600 (Best Buy). A check of other local appliance stores showed tags similar to or higher than Lowe's. Nearly all were out of stock for this model. So Trish went back and chatted up the salesman, who couldn't have been nicer. That's when we learned the model appears to have been discontinued so no new ones were available, but they had the one Trish had originally seen left on the floor for show, and offered a 10% discount beyond the "clearance" price if we took it home. 

Normally, we don't go for pre-owned or used items. Always have bought new cars. Just feels more comfortable. But... cognizant of this blog, we went back to Lowe's and struck up another conversation with Jose. The 10% discount already qualified us for blog-worthy savings, but Jose was feeling generous and offered ANOTHER 10% off the already reduced floor model price. I guess he sensed we were interested, and needed the floor space. So for $1788 plus tax, we acquired a fridge that appeared to be the equivalent of a $3000 Samsung version right next to it. And the reefer we selected DOES hold magnets, while the front of the $3K fridge is NOT magnetic, despite both having a stainless steel finish. Well, THAT clinched it, of course.

We have to live with the fact that the stainless steel in front is kind of an unintentional two-tone because of some large promotional stickers... but that will be covered with pictures and magnets within a couple of days anyway.

I'll count the savings based on the $2196 amount, since that's the "before research and negotiations" price that we could have paid without establishing the relationship with Jose and checking around.

Savings for settling for something a little less than new: $2196 - $1788 = $408

Total blog savings to date: $2,609.22

Week # 15: Poker

Sorry... Way behind. April, being Earth Month, is traditionally busy for anyone in an environmental field. But no excuses... I do intend to get to 52 weeks, so I'll post a little more frequently for a while (I hope).

Apologies to anyone following this who received incomplete messages that I had preset to certain posting dates and then failed to write up the text. I have abandoned that strategy and will just post as I write from this point.

Today's subject was not one of my choosing. As you may have heard last month, the US Dept. of Justice shut down the three largest online poker operations in the US, among them PokerStars, where I had an account with $302.42 that I was using to play in tournaments ranging from $1 to $5 buy ins.

That account was started with money from my Ridesharing earnings. It hasn't changed too much since it began a few years ago, and would have sat there for several more years. However, the federal government in all it's wisdom has decreed that I must cash out that account and henceforth play online poker only for pride and Zynga gotchkas, rather than for anything with any actual value. Not to get too soap boxy, but for a nation that bills itself as the land of the free, it seems odd that we now have one of the most restrictive poker policies of any nation on Earth. Even more odd, considering the roots of the game are firmly planted in American history.

I am not going to give up poker entirely - I'll get my fix in a local casinos here and there - but from the amount being refunded to me, I will set aside $100 that I will put back in my general bank account to pay regular everyday bills. There's my $100 savings for this posting.

The remaining $202.42 will be my poker bankroll for playing local tourneys, and the occasional trip to Vegas. If that bankroll goes away by the end of the year, I'll quit playing until 2012 and at least I'll have the $100 in savings locked in. (I actually made a trip to the Commerce Casino a couple of weeks ago and came out ahead, so the bankroll has started out in a positive direction.)

Savings from US Government Mandates: $100

Total savings to date: $2,201.22