Results!

My hydro and water bill finally came yesterday.

Since I've been manually turning on/off our hot water heater and washing dishes by hand again for the last month, I've been anxiously awaiting the results of our labors.

Well, it was positive. We saved $18.17 compared to last month.

Here's what the numbers look like.

Jan usage -- 34 days -- 468 kWh -- 14 kWh/day -- 9m3 water usage

Dec usage-- 29 days -- 600 kWh -- 21 kWh/day -- 12m3 water usage

Considering we were away for Christmas and New years it is a great result!

My goal was to see whether I could get our bill when we are home, similar to what it would be when we were away simply by making a couple of small changes. It looks like we definitely can.

D had read that timers on hot water heaters weren't worth the money and that dishwashers (ours is energy star rated) are more efficient and less costly than hand washing.

So our little experiment has paid off. Incidentally we found a hot water heater timer at our local hardware store for $60. We didn't buy it. I am fine with turning it on and off every other day.