I started in June of 2007 with the goal of a 90% reduction. THAT didn’t happen, but I am still happy to report that I DID have a significant decrease – both from the Average American Household (or Average Individual Usage), as well as from my own usage a year ago (when I had those numbers.)
My ONE YEAR:
Electric Usage (for July-June) was 3,876 kwh. This is…
…down 64.78% (7,128 kwh) from the national average.
…down 44.36% (1,765 kwh) from my own usage during the same months 12 months prior.
I just have to realize that, since I run a business out of my home with all the required equipment for this purpose, I won’t be able to decrease my electric usage the full 90%, and will just have to be happy with the progress I made for the year.
Natural Gas Usage (for July-June) was 419 therms. This is…
…down 58.08% (580.80 therms) from the national average.
I have some caulking and insulating to do this summer. That should, hopefully, help the numbers for next year.
Water Usage (for June-May) was 21,750 gallons. This is…
…down 43.65% (16,850 gallons) from the national average.
I get water bills quarterly. Since the numbers listed include months when I wasn’t participating in the Riot for Austerity, my next quarterly statement and the previous three will give me a better look at what I was able to do. Every quarter my numbers look better. However, this is not a bad start.
Consumer Goods (for July-June) was $302.90. This is…
…down 96.90% ($9,697.10) from the national average.
First off, I hate to shop – so this was not too tough for me. This dollar figure includes things like paper towels, garbage bags, $78 for clothes and shoes, $35 for storage units, and $42 for items like toothpaste, tooth brushes, deodorant, shampoo, soap, laundry and dish washing soap, etc., the rest was for things from places like Home Depot for household repair and lawn care. I rescued many items (clothes included) destined for the trash.
Auto Gas (for July-June) was 186.689* gallons. This is…
…down 62.67% (313.35 gallons) from the national average.
* I had the July and August of 2007 numbers, and the oil tag that gave the mileage of the last oil change in mid-August of ‘07. When I subtracted the mileage from August of ‘07 from my current mileage, I had 3,943 miles (yeah, it’s past time to get my oil changed.) Back when I kept better track of mileage, etc. I got roughly 28 miles to the gallon. If I assume that is correct still, and add in the full July and August numbers from last year, I end up with 186.689 gallons of gas used.
I realize this isn’t exact – but it should be pretty close.
Well, there you have it. Not a 90% reduction, but still a decent reduction in these areas. Now, can I beat these numbers for the next 12 months?
BELOW ARE THE MONTH-BY-MONTH NUMBERS:
The months are the months when I received the bills:
I have taken the Average Annual American Household (AAAH) figures (when those were the figures given) and divided by 12 for the numbers to beat.
ELECTRIC
The AAAH uses 917 units per month for electricity.
July: My July reading of 308 kwh was…
…down 66.4% from the national average.
…down 36.23% from my own usage 12 months ago.
August: My August reading of 282 kwh was…
…down 26 kWh from previous month.
…down 69.25% from the national average.
…down 56.62% from my own usage 12 months ago.
September: My September reading of 446 kwh was…
…up 164 kWh from previous month.
…down 51.36% from the national average.
…down 22.30% from my own usage 12 months ago.
October: My October reading of 313 kwh was…
…down 133 kwh from previous month.
…down 65.87% from the national average.
…down 18.28% from my own usage 12 months ago.
November: My November reading of 340 kwh was…
…up 27 kwh from previous month.
…down 62.92% from the national average.
…down 13.71% from my own usage 12 months ago.
December: My December reading of 340 kwh was…
…up 4 kwh from previous month.
…down 62.49% from the national average.
…down 33.85% from my own usage 12 months ago.
January: My January reading of 490 kwh was…
…down 46.56% from the national average.
…down 19.74% from my own usage 12 months ago.
February: My February reading of 349 kwh was…
…down 61.94% (568 kwh) from the national average.
…down 58.74% (205 kwh) from my own usage 12 months ago.
March: My March reading of 354 kwh was…
…down 61.40% (563 kwh) from the national average.
…down 44.29% (159 kwh) from my own usage 12 months ago.
…up 5 kwh from my own usage last month.
April: My April reading of 244 kwh was…
…down 73.39% (673 kwh) from the national average.
May: My May reading of 179 kwh was…
…down 80.48% (738 kwh) from the national average.
…down 101.68% (182 kwh) from my own usage 12 months ago.
…my lowest electrical usage month since I began R4A.
June: My June reading of 227 kwh was…
…down 75.25% (690 kwh) from the national average.
…down 45.37% (103 kwh) from my own usage 12 months ago.
My ONE YEAR electrical usage (for July-June) was 3,876 kwh. This is…
…down 64.78% (7,128 kwh) from the national average.
…down 44.36% (1,765 kwh) from my own usage during the same months 12 months prior.
HOUSEHOLD GAS
The AAAH uses 83.33 per month for household gas.
July: 8.2 therms. This is down 90.16% from the national average.
August: 5.1 therms. This is down 93.88% from the national average.
September: 6.1 therms. This is down 92.68% from the national average.
October: 6.1 therms – AGAIN. This is down 92.68% from the national average.
November: 13.2 therms. This is down 84.16% from the national average.
December: 51.5 therms. This is down 38.2% from the national average.
January: 89.3 therms. This is UP 7.16% from the national average.
February: 125.2 therms. This is UP 50.24% from the national average, and UP 35.9 therms from the previous month.
March: 81.9 therms. This is down 1.72% from the national average, and (thankfully!) down 43.3 therms from the previous month.
April: 17.4 therms. This is down 79.12% from the national average, down 64.5 therms from the previous month and 38.2 therms less than my own usage last year.
May: 7.1 therms. This is down 91.48% from the national average, and down 10.3 therms from the previous month.
Eleven-Month Usage: My usage for July-May was 411.10 therms. This is down 505.57 therms, or 55.15% from the national average. This puts me at an average monthly therm usage of 37.37
AUTO GAS
The average person uses 41.67 gallons of gas per month for their car.
July: My usage of 24.428 gallons (which includes shared vacation travel), is a decrease of 41.38% from the average.
August: My usage of 21.44 gallons is a decrease of 48.55% from the average.
September: My usage of 31.44 gallons is a decrease of 24.54% from the average, and an increase of 10 gallons from the previous month.
October: My usage of 16.26 gallons is a decrease of 60.98% from the average, and a decrease of 15.18 gallons from the previous month.
November: My usage of 31.50 gallons is a decrease of 24.41% from the average, and an increase of 15.24 gallons from the previous month – and the largest monthly gasoline usage since I started this project.
Five-Month Usage: My usage for July through November was 125.07 gallons. This is down 83.28 gallons, or 39.97% from the national average.
WATER
The Average American uses 100 gallons of water per day. A 90% reduction would be 10 gallons of water usage per day. I get my water bill every quarter.
August: This was a bill for 91 days, and listed that I used 6,750 gallons of water. This is 2,350 gallons, or 25.82% less than the average.
November: This bill was for 90 days, and listed my usage for the period as 5,250 gallons. This is 3,750 gallons, or 41.67% less than the average.
February: This bill was for 96 days, and listed my usage for the period as 6,750 gallons. As I mentioned at the time, there was about a month during which time I had a friend living with me. Assuming she was only here for 21 days I get 117 individual usage days (96+21). So, I used 4,950 gallons less than the average American, or a reduction of 42.30%.
May: This bill was for 88 days, and listed my usage for the period as 3,000 gallons. This is 5,800 gallons or 65.91% less than the average individual. Finally my reduction efforts are starting to show!
TRASH
The average American produces 1,642.5 pounds of trash per year, or 31.58 pounds per week. A 90% reduction of this would be 3.15 pounds per week.
July: I have not been weighing my trash, because I am pretty sure that the kitty litter alone weighs more than 3.15 pounds. I am down to one bag of trash per week after all my recycling and composting, so I feel pretty good about that.
September: My 14-year-old Aussie is having some difficulty, and my trash has escalated because of it. Wet newspapers and little bags of “droppings” from around the house have really added to my trash output.
FOOD
July: Well, this is another story. I’m working on it, but have not been eating near as much local produce while it is in such great supply. I have been eating cucumbers off the plant in my kitchen garden, and it looks like I will have enough butternut squash to feed the neighborhood (I’m thinking about making soup to freeze for the winter).
September: I’ve missed out on some good fresh food eating times. I have started making squash soup, but haven’t made enough to freeze yet. Still sharing with friends and eating myself.
