It can't just be me. So I'm throwing this out there at the risk of being a bad example because I am curious if EVERYONE gets that same letter from Puget Sound Energy declaring that they are terrible awful energy wasters. Every quarter I dread opening the "home energy report" that tells me that I use 49% more energy than my neighbors, which is then illustrated in colored bar graphs and breakdowns by electricity and natural gas. I also apparently used 74% more energy than my neighbors in the past 12 months- ack- shoot me now. Is this true?
Do they have to start name-calling?? PSE tells me here's what the "energy efficient" neighbors use, "all neighbors" use and then "YOU." It really is bold and capitalized like that so you feel like someone is pointing a finger at your nose. REALLY?! Although we are a family of 5 which means lots of laundry and dishes, we are also energy conscious (turning lights out, only running full loads, etc) and our recently remodeled and relatively small home has newer/energy efficient components. We're good people- we recycle and do our best to lessen our environmental footprint. But I think PSE keeps us on their whipping board. Does anyone out there get a letter saying, "you are doing a fantastic job conserving energy! Way to go!" ?? I need to know. Maybe my kids are secretly sucking up energy when I'm not looking (we know they steal mine).
I will join you in this perspective. It was my gas usage which was way higher than my Neighbors, while my electricity was way lower than my most effiecient neighbors nothing was said about that. So after a year of this abuse I insullated my attic. Now as I wait with great anticipation for this letter it has not arrived, and I thought I heard that the program has been canceled My victory Usurped!
Where else can you make your customers feel quilty for using your product.
Posted by: Robert Mottley | January 22, 2012 at 11:25 AM
I get those too, but figured it was because we live in an old house that has very thin walls. Wouldn't they want people to think they're doing great so they turn the heat up, vs us who cringe and turn the heat and water heater down when we get those reports?
Posted by: Shari | January 22, 2012 at 05:49 PM
It's NOT just you!!! My whole thing is the way that it shows how much HIGHER I've gone up every year but I KNOW that's not true. I had twin infants through the winter two years ago and it keeps telling me I used more than that now. Um, not true. My house was 70 degrees the entire winter. It is NOT now and we have totally made better changes if any. I am glad I'm not alone. It'd be nice to hear from PSE as an interview!
Posted by: Jamie | January 22, 2012 at 09:40 PM
We get the letter each month and always use the same or less than my most efficient neighbors. We too are a family of 5 and live in a 3200sf home, parts of it with high ceilings. We are extremely conscious about leaving lights on, doing full loads, etc. We have 2 refrigerators and a freezer. I found one big thing that has helped was swapping out almost all old style light bulbs with CFL ones. They lower power consumption, but they don't last nearly as long as advertised. We turn heat down to 65 at night and during work/school hours, and turn it up to 69 when we're home. We don't have a lot of electronics plugged in.
Posted by: No | January 23, 2012 at 07:08 AM
Thanks as I was starting to feel evil since there are only 2 that live in our home. We turn off lights constantly and keep the heat down. I would love to know which neighbors I am being compared to in their letter - maybe the ones that live here part time!
Posted by: Michelle | January 23, 2012 at 07:59 AM
We keep our house at 62 degrees in the winter, doors close in bedrooms and bathrooms when not in use, some vents close n we still use 56% percent more than our neighbors!!
Posted by: Vianny | January 23, 2012 at 08:18 AM
I'm with ya! Who are these neighbors? We have 3 people in our home. Our house is about 5 years old so I'm pretty sure we have pretty energy efficient appliances, good insulation, thermostat is set to turn off when we leave the house, yada, yada, yada -- yet we use 32% more than our neighbors. Something's not right!
Posted by: Dawn Morse | January 23, 2012 at 09:51 PM
These calculations include the square footage of your residence. Ask PSE to confirm the square footage that they are using for your calculations. My mother's calculation was incorrect because PSE had the incorrect square foot amount. Once corrected, this brought her numbers in line with her neighbors.
Posted by: Fraser Suyetsugu (@frasuy) | January 23, 2012 at 10:49 PM
Up above I actually did post a positive comment...we are consistently as efficient or more efficient than our neighbors. It just takes some effort and discipline on our part to get into this category.
Posted by: No | January 25, 2012 at 07:45 PM
What a great post.
I was at a neighbors just the other day and she was commenting about this. I've since forwarded her your blog post and my uncle who works at PSE to finally shed some light on things. :)
Posted by: My opinion | January 26, 2012 at 12:34 PM
I actually like it - it's become a sort of nerdy game for me to try and beat my neighbors at using less energy...plus it has the added bonus of saving me some green while feeling more...uh...green? *Shrugs* I think there are worse things in the world than a power company giving you information about your power consumption.
Posted by: Connor | January 26, 2012 at 02:49 PM