Reducing My Utilities Bills

Some more Camry hybrid MPG numbers

32 mile commute to work (minimal traffic - HWY and local roads)                       - 46.2 MPG
32 mile commute from work (heavy traffic - HWY and local roads)                      - 35.8 MPG

4 mile round trip to supermarket (stop and go - local roads)                                - 28.2 MPG

                                                                                                                         ---------

Typical Average Tank                                                                                        - 37.2 MPG

All the number seem fairly consistent and are improving slightly over time.

Follow up to my carbon offsets...

Last year I gave away ~176 CFLs and helped several people with home energy projects.

By my calculations I offset ~75% of my emissions but, that does not taking into account my emission are shrink along with my energy usage at a fast enough rate to offset any price increases. In addition I have helped friends, family  and neighbors as well as the country.

I want these type of cuts and help for more. For the whole country to save us from foriegn enery dependency while helping the country's collective wallet.

Hopefully this year (Earthday 2008 to Earthday 2009) I can cut the energy usage by another 50% while not reducing our standard of living. My car was 1st my wife's is next. On the home front I may look at replacing the AC unit and solar. But, all of these are big ticket so, I am looking for additional ideas and technologies.

Please help me with ideas.

Aaron

Now that we are down to two presidential canidates...

Lets let them help the enviroment and help the country... It is one in the same...

Cut energy usage reduces CO2 while making us more energy independent.

But, to the enviromental movement chose you battles wisely home grown energy should not should not specify the type just the result. Yes we need to put solar panel it many more places in the desert southwest and wind on and offshore. These without a doubt will help on all fronts but, should not be help to insane and crazy enviromntal standards that are making us more energy dependent and not helping with CO2.

Sorry this may mean coal to fuel conversion (old technology) and shale oil but, we need promote these while limiting thier enviromental impact. 

To the polical folks trade and cap as it was designed is too flawed. In needs to be cap and maindate these companies help they customers cut the consumption therby bring thier numbers down while helping the customers be less impacted by future price changes.

Tax incentives and legal changes should encorage more energy developed at every home in the US. It should make it easy for all people to put solar and/or wind at their own homes without local interference regardless of property size and HOAs.

Also, CAFE standard needs to go up a lot and to encourage fast impacts  the car companies should be encourage to make improvements available on older cars at a reasonable price. For example computer updates and hybrid battery improvements. Also, aftermarket improvements should be encouraged as long as the reduce fuel consumption, For example if Toyota or Ford made fuel consumption improvements by improving they hybrid batteries those should be made available to existing customers same is true for plug-in enhancements. But event on non-hybrids there are always improvements but, not large incentive for the car companies to make theme available to existing customers.

Flex fuels mandate for all vehicles.

The other thing is... sorry this may not be politically correct, But, we need to set the system up such that we will product more biofuels as oil prices increases. This, was it will help cap the impact of oil internally while saying to the rest of the world we are sory food is getting more expensive but, yell at those who charge for oil. Note, many of those countries rely on food imports.

Make sure this is clear we are the largest consumer of oil in the world and most of the oil goes into our gas tank. If we cut that oil consumption in half that would help in every way. 2/3 would be even better.

Aaron

Climate change bill expected to fail for a silly reason

The climate change bill is expected to fail over adding costs to energy...

No duh...

It should fail. Instead of caps and funding lawyers the system should help families and businesses cut energy consumption. For example if a utility fails to meet its cap instead of paying extra to some foriegn country they should be required to pay to install solar panels in the US to offset they usage plus a penalty of customers of their product. This way we lower consumtion thereby lowering utilization and costs. Other offsets could be paying to replace AC unit with new high effiency ones. Oil companies would have to subsidize the replace of vehicles with high effiecency ones.

Also, increase the MPG by 3 or 4 times what it is and unclude SUVs and small trucks. And create MPG standards for big rigs and busses. If we cut utilization by 75% energy prices would actually drop.

I hate the trading system since the only one that makes money is the traders and real people and companies lose. Cap yes exceed you cap and the penalties should increase and be paid to your customers to help them not need your product. This will lower cost. 

What do you think,

Aaron

Prius more expensive then a Camry Hybrid

While I was waiting at the dealer for my XM Radio I was talking to a couple of the sales folks before the sales folks were really starting for the day.

I learned that the Prius are in such high demand that are getting $3000 abover MSRP plus since the Prius is doe not have as many standard features as the Camry Hybrid and the Camry hybrid can be bought at $2500 or more less then MSRP.

Just something to consider when doing the math.

Aaron

Recycled some CFLs yesterday

Yes, the do burn out after a while. But, they have saved thier cost many times over.

So, I dropped them of to the the local recycling place. No, fuss and no cost.

Aaron

2 Gas Tank - Free and 37.2 MPG

The free was becuase I had to go to the dealer for my satelite radio chip and antenna to be installed. When I bought the car I negociated for this to be included in the price but, it was a Sunday and they was no one who could install it...

So, to compensate me for my time I asked them to fill me tank up and they did (about 16 gallons worth).

Good MPG and $65 in free gas.

Now I am getting better at keeping the car it 60+ MPG when commuting. The hills and the holiday weekend kids stuff tends to push the MPG down some. I am still learning to keep the car in EV mode (or 60 MPG) but, have a hard time or hills or at traffic lights.

I was talking to another camry hybris owner who said his MPG improved up to 45 MPG after 6 months and 10000 miles. So, he said was the car breaking in and the rest he said was learning from the car.

Aaron

2 Gas Tank - Free and 37.2 MPG

The free was becuase I had to go to the dealer for my satelite radio chip and antenna to be installed. When I bought the car I negociated for this to be included in the price but, it was a Sunday and they was no one who could install it...

So, to compensate me for my time I asked them to fill me tank up and they did (about 16 gallons worth).

Good MPG and $65 in free gas.

Now I am getting better at keeping the car it 60+ MPG when commuting. The hills and the holiday weekend kids stuff tends to push the MPG down some. I am still learning to keep the car in EV mode (or 60 MPG) but, have a hard time or hills or at traffic lights.

I was talking to another camry hybris owner who said his MPG improved up to 45 MPG after 6 months and 10000 miles. So, he said was the car breaking in and the rest he said was learning from the car.

Aaron

The election is approaching... think energy independence

It is time for the politicians to commit to binding plans to give not only the country energy independence but, lower the long term finacial impacts of energy cost to families.

• Instead of carbon trading to overseas make US and foriegn companies pay for solar on families homes in the US by helping to subside US families instead of farms in China or elsewhere. Keep the offsets at home. Upgrade public transportation, pay for families to upgrade cars, upgrade ventation equipment and weatherprof homes.
• Mandate ALL cars support flex fuel by 2015 - flexability opens posiblities.
• Close the looppoles in the CAFE standards and when determining the average wieght vehicles that are less than half the CAFE standard as half the actual MPG (extra penaties). No bonuses for flex fuels. 40 MPG by 2015 and 60 MPG by 2020.
• Give tax incentives to allow people to convert cars to E85 and to improved battery technologies for hybrids, upgrades to plug ins.
• Invest in other ethanol and biofuels not just corn.
• To the enviromental movement allow more wind power in more places, allow for more domestic oil development (such as shale) in exchange for a CAFE standard of 75 MPG by 2025. At least domestic developement can be required to follow enviromental constraints. Also, I want CAFE standards to increase 5% per year after that.

Personally I hope to be driving my exist new hybrid and my wife's eventual new one and upgrading them to plug-in and hopefully E85 depending on cost and availability.

To be honest I would not have a problem with coal to auto fuel coversion if done in an enviromentally sound manner. I figure home grown fuel can be regulated. OPEC can not.

I want the plan to target bring the cost of energy down while push more energy efficency. This will lower costs of everything including food and technology. If we can produce energy in a clean and safe way cheaper to we  can beat the low cost countries economically while having a high standard of living.

I believe I can upgrade my Camry Hybrid to a plug-in within 2 years that could get 100+ MPG for normal use. If is was to operate on E85 from cellose based ethanol I could my foreign dependency on oil.

I wan my cost for energy to be lest then 2% of my income by 2015. That my goal.

Start by doubling your MPG on your next car.

Aaron

Eyeing the next hybrid for wife

My wifes SUV only gets 12.1 MPG

So, we are eyeing swapping gas savings for a new car payments. So far the leader is the Mazda Tribute hybrid or the Ford Escape hybrid.

Her 4 year old GMC envoy was not my choice but, now she is driving the SUV becoming more efficient.

Aaron