Since June, I have been actively limiting my electricity usage while it is premium priced, during the peak billing periods.
I truthfully have not been trying to USE LESS, but rather shifting my usage to lower rated periods.
Surprisingly, I seem to be using less energy also.
We have three rates here in Ontario: On-Peak, Mid-Peak and Off-Peak.
I have added timers to my fridge, freezer and water heater to keep these appliances OFF during the On-Peak. I also added about 2 inches of foam insulation to the exterior of a rather old refrigerator.
The cost of doing these things was less than $100. I had thought that if I saw a meaningful improvement, I would try to be off the grid, as much as possible, during Mid-Peak as well.
No food has spoiled, even during a very hot summer. I checked the temperatures inside the fridge and freezer regularly. And I always had plenty of very hot water even after six hours being OFF.
Perhaps the good news is that I was not using a lot of electricity. But even with the small numbers, you can see that over the last three months, I am shown as using only One On-Peak kWh average per day which is less than the two or three I was using in the months before. My On-Peak usage in 2014 and 2015 during May, June and July was also 2 kWh each month.
Encouraging!
Thanks for your interest,
George Plhak
Lion's Head, Ontario, Canada
A good explanation of a kilowatt hour (kWh) and other energy units at Wikipedia.
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