Stephanie set out to lower our family’s energy bills, we were paying so much in electricity monthly ($424 last summer). She replaced all the light bulbs with ENERGY STAR CFLs, upped the thermostats in the summer and when our water heater had issues, she decided to replace it with a gas powered tankless system. The results are staggering. Our electricity bills are 1/2 the cost, we’ve lowered our usage by about 200 kwh per month and our gas bills have not significantly increased! She’s teaching our children to conserve energy. I’m very proud of all the work she has accomplished!
Q: What is the smartest energy decision you have made? Replacing the huge 80-gallon electric tank water heater with an ENERGY STAR tankless gas water heater.
Q: How has this decision affected your lifestyle and your wallet for the better? Between replacing all the lights bulbs to ENERGY STAR CFLs and the water heater replacement, we are saving a minimum of $200 per month in utilities!
Q: Are you surprised at the big changes that came from making a small change? Yes, before starting this journey, I never thought I’d see a lower bill, now our electricity consumption is consistently much lower than it was 5 years ago when we bought this home and only had 2 adults living in the house (we now have a family of 5)
Q: What led you to make the decision in the first place? It seemed like the electricity bill kept creeping up, when we got a $500 bill in July 2008 it was a wake-up call, I had to do something! So I started educating myself online to find ways to reduce our energy usage.
Q: How have you shared your experience with others? Yes, I’ve shared with all my friends and family, and on online forums, I think it’s important for people to understand how little changes in habits can really help. We can all use more dollars in our wallet especially when it helps the environment at the same time.
