1200 kilowatt hours

With summer just around the corner here in Australia, our energy consumption is about to go through the roof with all manner of cooling devices switched on to help cope with the heat. It doesn’t help that the warmest months of the year also coincide with Christmas and the lighting of houses to share the spirit of Christmas and goodwill towards others.

The lights are gorgeous and many people go to considerable expense setting up elaborate displays, some on timers, others co-ordinated with music as well. Lighting displays can go from the sublime to the absolute ridiculous and lighting competitions, such as the one conducted every year in Brisbane, really do not help matters. Some people can be insanely competitive with neighbourhoods wanting to outdo others or individual neighbours wanting the biggest and best display so they can rub it in other people’s faces. I can’t say I’m surprised – it’s called the silly season for a reason.

So what has that got to do with 1200 kilowatt hours? Kilowatt hours are a measure of energy consumption and you can usually find your household energy consumption on the reverse of your quarterly electricity build. Our quarterly use over last summer was 1200 kilowatt hours with an average of 13 kilowatt hours per day – the highest during the year as we do not use heating (other than warmer clothes) during winter where I live. Is 1200 kilowatt hours a lot of juice though?? Let’s look at it in a little perspective.

I always see Rockefeller Square (New York City) in Christmas movies playing on TV at this time of year. No doubt gorgeous and lovely for the residents and tourists but I really wouldn’t want to pay their electricity bill. Last year their average daily consumption was more than double what I used over the entire quarter for the same period. Comparing them both on a daily figure – they used a staggering 260 times more electricity in a single day than I did in my home!

That’s a HUGE amount of electricity and as most people should know by now, more electricity used = more electricity produced to meet demand = more natural resources used = more pollution. The extent of pollution caused of course depends on how the energy is produced in the first place – one of the main reasons I am a vocal advocate of renewable resources for energy production.

But there’s some good news coming out of Rockefeller Square this year – they are going green! Instead of using wasteful incandescent bulbs for lighting, they are using LEDs instead. They have also installed solar photovoltaic cells on their roof to help supply their daily energy requirement. The estimated daily savings in energy consumption is quite significant – a reduction of around 2000 kilowatt hours per day. It’s refreshing to see corporations setting an example for the public and I hope that the trend will carry over to residential displays in coming years.

So please, this year if you are shopping for lighting decorations for your house, give a thought to purchasing LED varieties. They are more expensive, no doubt about that but in the long run they will save you money on your electricity bill. Even if you only purchased one LED set to replace an energy inefficient one, you’ll be setting a good example for others to follow.

Filed Under: Environment