Team Power Smart

everyday inspiration CHANGING HABITS ONE STEP AT A TIME Back on track w hen Team Power Smart member Elizabeth Morse activated her first challenge last December, she figured that by installing a programmable thermostat, switching to cold-water clothes washing and reminding her two kids to turn out the lights, the $75 reward cheque for reducing her electrical consumption by 10 per cent in a year would be in the bag. But when she logged into her MyHydro account in March, she had a rude awakening – her family's consumption had increased by 11 per cent. "It was kind of shocking, a bit embarrassing, and very disappointing," says Morse. "I thought I'd been trying my best, but obviously I hadn't gone far enough and I had to do a more ruthless inventory of our energy usage." we're listening When a BC Hydro Community Outreach representative came to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Kamloops to speak about the importance of conserving energy, Patricia McNamara was listening. Inspired, McNamara patricia mcnamara is passionate about reducing her environmental footprint. joined Team Power Smart and activated her first challenge – with staggering success. Small changes – raising the temperature of her fridge (from 2˚ C to 4˚ C) and freezer (from -18˚ C to -15˚ C), replacing the weather stripping around the patio doors in her Kamloops condo, unplugging appliances when not in use and turning off the air conditioning when she went out – resulted in a 26 per cent energy savings, a $75 reward cheque and $100 savings on her bill! For her second challenge, McNamara put her savings toward an energy-efficient washer and dryer, which, along with the habits she'd already adopted, helped her save an additional 24 per cent and another $100. McNamara started her third challenge in March. "I'm hoping to achieve another 10 per cent by using the hints on the BC Hydro website and by tracking my energy use online. The most important thing for me is to stay open to new ways to reduce my environmental footprint." motivating factor elizabeth morse and her daughter sarah pinpoint ways to save electricity. Using the MyHydro energy tracking tools to review her daily consumption hour by hour, Morse pinpointed several more opportunities to save energy around their East Vancouver home. Among these were installing three more programmable thermostats, plugging electronic gadgets and chargers into power bars, and switching from hot water to cold for pre-rinsing dishes. Her vigilance paid off in spades. Morse's goal was to reduce their electricity usage by 10 per cent over the month of May. She discovered they were actually down 41 per cent compared to the year before – and that they're now back on track to succeed in their 10 per cent challenge! "When I'm home, I like to have the lights on when I'm moving between rooms. For years, my husband, John, has been telling me this is wasteful," says Terry Dixon, who activated a challenge in March of last year. But seeing just how wasteful it was in concrete numbers really drove the point home. "When I started turning off the lights, I could look terry Dixon says seeing actual online and see that it was actually making numbers drove the point home. a difference. That was a big motivator." Dixon started looking for other ways to save energy. Having read about phantom power draw in an issue of Team Power Smart, she pulled the plug on a TV, stereo and cordless phone sitting dormant in their basement. With just these few small changes, the couple managed to reduce their consumption by a whopping 21 per cent in one year. "I was surprised how easy it was!" says Dixon. ■ HAvE yOu rECENTly COMPlETEd A CHAllENGE? Share your experience with other Team Power Smart members and help in the drive to reduce electricity consumption. Email us your story at teampowersmart@bchydro.com and it may be featured in the next issue of Team Power Smart magazine. We look forward to hearing from you! Photos: Rick Etkin, Don Johnson 39 B r itish C o lumbia M agazine • fal l 2 0 1 3 smart FALL 2013 7 team power

• Cover