[lorenzo]

I had an interesting experience a few days ago, when a government 'efficiency team' stopped by to install all kinds of energy efficient things in our house (lamps, switch, shower heads, isolation patches for our chauffage, etc...) and checked for water leaks, and isolation problems, etc.... Supposedly this could cut our total energy consumption by up to 10% per year. (Before they said it was going to be 20%).

Of course, we still waste lots of energy by using the car to get a bottle of coca cola in the nightshop that's only 300 metres away, etc...

All in all, I think I could slash my total energy consumption by 20%, easily. Just by being mildly "rational". And this without any serious effort. If I really were to do my best and consciously think about it each time I use electricity for a tool or tv, water, heating, cooling or a car, etc... I could definitely slash 30% off what I'm using now.

How much could you cut, you think? Being "mildly rational", installing some energy efficient appliances and not driving your car to a shop that's only 1 minute's walk away. So by not doing too much of an effort.

[leal]

Interesting question! For me personly I have already started to save some energy by moving closer to work. Before I drove to work by car but now I can take a bicycle or even walk. It is only 3 km. I also walk to the store for shopping, I have a decent store about 200 meters away and if I walk about one km I have a shopping mall.

That said I can save more I guess. One major saving would be to move to my girlfriend. She also lives quite close to my work and warming one apartment instead of two should save energy. She also lives close to a good liquer store there I can buy good beer such as the good Mocha Porter I am drinking now from Rogue Ales. Yes, they do really good beers in US, unfortunatly US is more famous for beers that are like having sex in a canoe.

[The_Toecutter]

Easily 50%+ without reduction in living standard. All it takes is having the money for the 'cost of entry.' Electric cars, florescent lights, and energy efficient appliances don't grow on trees you know. The savings would pay themselves off in a few years for most people.

Currently, the household I live in has flourescent lightbulbs, upgraded insulation, an energy efficient hot water heater, and a few other things.

I already know what to do to save energy and even make energy(eg. wind generators cheaper than and solar panels comparable to commercial electricity rates). I merely won't be able to implement these things until I have the cash. But the savings in both money and energy would be enormous.

The smaller, not-so-costly things have already been implemented. But those are little savings in contrast to driving, say, an all-electric car instead of a gas one for those trips where a car happens to be needed. It takes money to build it, but operating cost parity with gasoline cars ~$1.50/gallon factoring periodic battery replacement can't be beat. Can't beat $.03-.05/kWh wind electricity either, but you need to be able to afford the wind generator first(or have a lesser amount of cash and sufficient knowledge to build one, the route I'm going).

[rwwff]

It really depends on how much money and time (or purchased labor) I'm willing to put into the deal.

For instance, I have a 400 sq ft wall that seperates the living area from the garage. It is completely uninsulated, and is noticeably warm in the summer, conducting heat into the house. The question is, how much energy is saved by insulating that wall, vs how much money and effort is involved with removing the garage shelfing, pulling sheetrock out, stuffing the wall with high quality insulation (and a few usefully placed power outlets for good measure), putting up new sheetrock and sealing the seems.

[Ludi]

Hmm, not sure what you mean by "rational." I run my home and business combined on about 600 kwh per month. I think I could cut 20% if I installed a solar hot water heater and bought a new fridge.

What is a "rational" amount of energy to be using, do you think?

[smallpoxgirl]

Any rational creature would turn its back on Western Civilization entirely. This would result in energy savings of upwards of 95%.

[rwwff]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'A')ny rational creature would turn its back on Western Civilization entirely. This would result in energy savings of upwards of 95%.

[lorenzo]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'A')ny rational creature would turn its back on Western Civilization entirely. This would result in energy savings of upwards of 95%.

[peaker_2005]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'A')ny rational creature would turn its back on Western Civilization entirely. This would result in energy savings of upwards of 95%.