I'm still not going green...

Or am I? Not really, but I am trying to save energy due to it's benefits to me!

Lost among last week's shuffle was the fact that I got what was my lowest electric bill in at least the last 2 years (the electronic records only go back that far) According to the bill, my usage was down by more than 10% over my previous low month in the last 2 years, and more than 25% over every other month.

There are a few reasons for this, one of which has little to do with any efforts on my part. My current roommate is easily the one who spends the least time here amongst the roommates I've had, and thus uses the least energy. I'm not sure how big of a difference that is making, because he still does the major energy consuming activities here, he just doesn't watch TV, have the lights on in his room, etc. as often.

But the fact is that I have been making efforts to conserve energy along with that. Back this summer, when I actually had two roommates, my electric bills were way down from the prior summer because I kept the thermostat a degree or two higher. This winter, I'm shooting for reduced gas bills by keeping the thermostat 2 degrees lower than last winter - we'll see how that one goes, I started out at 3 degrees lower and quickly surrendered :)

October is a pretty neutral month, however, not much heating or cooling, so the big difference had to be my latest adjustment, and the reason I'm bothering to mention this at all. About 6 weeks or so ago, I broke down and replaced all the bulbs in my house that I could stand to with compact flourescents. I had always been hesitant to do this because I didn't like the light that those things put off back when I first encountered them, but they are much better now. I was kind of uncertain how much of a difference they would make because I didn't have a really good grasp on how much electricity I actually used for lighting, but now it's pretty clear.

I also like the compact flourescents, because in a couple places, they allowed me to get some extra light out of a fixture where I had wanted more light, but the fixture wasn't rated for the heat that higher watt incandescents would put out. They also appeal to my lazy side - it should be years before I have to replace any of these bulbs again, which is awesome!

So, yes, I ride the bus to work, and yes, I have a house that uses noticibly less electricity than the average similar house (that's according to the electric companies online tools), but am I really going green? I'll leave that up to someone else to decide. And if I am, I guess I'm going to have to be okay with it.