The Kill-A-Watt contest.is open to all SFU students, faculty, and staff, as a means to engage the SFU community in brainstorming energy saving ideas, for a chance to win some pretty awesome prizes (first prize is an iPad 3).
The best part of the contest is that you can participate in each of the two categories: enter the contest with a written piece, or with a photo. See here for details.
This is what we have done to cut our energy bill: turned down the water heater (check guidelines first b/o Legionaires disease) put all electronics on power bars, which we turn off when not in use to stop phantom power usage. This has saved us a lot of power. put on a sweater instead of turning up the heat! replaced lightbulbs with energy saving bulbs, and only putting one bulb in a light fixture instead of 2 (when you still get enough light from it) programmed the heat to only be on when people are at home installed a drying rack upstairs to dry clothing. The rack is attached to the wall in a hallway, and it folds away when not in use. We also have one installed in the entrance way, opposite the wood stove. When not in use, it folds away and you don't even notice it. We hang things up overnight, and then take them away in the morning, so that it doesn't block traffic
turned down the water heater (check guidelines first b/o Legionaires disease)
put all electronics on power bars, which we turn off when not in use to stop phantom power usage. This has saved us a lot of power.
put on a sweater instead of turning up the heat!
replaced lightbulbs with energy saving bulbs, and only putting one bulb in a light fixture instead of 2 (when you still get enough light from it)
programmed the heat to only be on when people are at home
installed a drying rack upstairs to dry clothing. The rack is attached to the wall in a hallway, and it folds away when not in use. We also have one installed in the entrance way, opposite the wood stove. When not in use, it folds away and you don't even notice it. We hang things up overnight, and then take them away in the morning, so that it doesn't block traffic