My 8 year old's experiment...going lights free

[musicmommy]

Last night at dinner, my 8 year old came up with an idea or rather, experiment, that he would like to try. He wants us to try and use as little electricity as possible and see how much money that saves on our monthly bill. So, for the month of October, we will not turn on the lights, tv, video games, etc.

 

We do have a few exceptions. I will get to turn on the computer for 15 minutes every morning to check email. I can also turn on the front room lights if needed to teach a lesson. And we will still cook and do the laundry. They can watch movies at the grandparents houses or friends houses because we need some way to watch The Great Pumpkin. We will be keeping track of how much we spend on candles and batteries to see if it really does save any money.

 

I'm thinking we're going to have a great time playing lots of games, reading and using the hand cranked phonograph sitting in the music room. :D A few of our friends think we are crazy, but really, how do you say no to the big brown eyes of an 8 year old?

 

Anyone care to join in? Anyone know of a good place to get candles?

[WiseOwlKnits]

What a great experiment! I'd love to hear how it goes at the end!!

 

I'd invest in a couple of oil lamps and lamp oil. They put out more light than candles and last longer. Our electricity was out for a few hours tonight and it was nice to pull it out and have light.

[Caitilin]

What a cool idea! I have to say, though, that that wouldn't work here in the frozen North at this time of year, as the days get short very quickly. I would have to do it in the springtime. :D (Although we'd get a lot more sleep without the extra lights...)

[LibraryLover]

Awesome! Have you seen or read No Impact Man? There is a book, a blog , and a documentary (available on Netflix). Colin & his family are genuine and thoughtful. They are a NYC family who lived lightly--- & by evening candle light-- and more-- for a year. They are not at the same 'derprivation' level at this point, but they have changed much about their lives. They are very thoughtful folks and anyone of any political bent can take something thoughtful away from their experiement.

[Cinder]

Instead of oil lamps we keep emergency candles on hand. They come in a tall glass--like the ones you can sometimes find in the Mexican food aisle at your grocery store except these have no pictures on them, just clear glass. Safer than open candles in candlesticks.

 

Since you're doing this for a month I think a couple of oil lamps would be cheaper than candles in the long run.

 

Also, you'll want to consider how you're going to light your bathrooms. Will you leave a lamp/candle on or will you have to take your light with you?

 

Have fun! I'm curious to hear how it went after your month is up. But I don't think we'll join your adventure. ;)

 

Cinder

[NanceXToo]

How cool! I can't wait to hear the results!

[LibraryLover]

:)

Edited September 8, 2010 by LibraryLover

[scrapbookbuzz]

Maybe we'll 'half' join you. If I proposed that to my husband, he would just look at me askance! But while he's at work, I can certainly avoid turning lights on since we get enough daylight in our house for normal daytime activities.

[Tap]

I

Also, you'll want to consider how you're going to light your bathrooms. Will you leave a lamp/candle on or will you have to take your light with you?

 

 

 

Cinder

 

A low watt nightlight is enough for a bathroom. Just plug/unplug instead of turning a switch on/off.

 

It would only use a watt or two instead of the entire light bar burning away much, much more.

 

It will also be enough to shower by.

[IsabelC]

We are planning a day of no tech / low tech living, as a history project, so I'll be interested to see how your experiment goes.

[TammyinTN]

I think that is a neat experiment. We live in a big German house with loads of windows and use a lot of candles in the evening. We light our bathroom with them at night while we bath or shower. We love candle light in the evenings. In the den we have loads of candles that we burn each night and the porch is full of candles and we use them in the evening if were on the porch. It's such a calming experience. We also eat dinner by candle light each night. The only thing ususally on is soft music playing in the background. I buy huge boxes of tea lights, taper candles and those big fat pillar candles...love those candles!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Last night at dinner, my 8 year old came up with an idea or rather, experiment, that he would like to try. He wants us to try and use as little electricity as possible and see how much money that saves on our monthly bill. So, for the month of October, we will not turn on the lights, tv, video games, etc.

 

We do have a few exceptions. I will get to turn on the computer for 15 minutes every morning to check email. I can also turn on the front room lights if needed to teach a lesson. And we will still cook and do the laundry. They can watch movies at the grandparents houses or friends houses because we need some way to watch The Great Pumpkin. We will be keeping track of how much we spend on candles and batteries to see if it really does save any money.

 

I'm thinking we're going to have a great time playing lots of games, reading and using the hand cranked phonograph sitting in the music room. :D A few of our friends think we are crazy, but really, how do you say no to the big brown eyes of an 8 year old?

 

Anyone care to join in? Anyone know of a good place to get candles?

 

Well I have a ton of candles to go through before we move. Maybe that's an idea.

[nd293]

Sounds like a fascinating experiment. I'd probably go with one low-watt light to light the corridor, and one low watt light in the living space, though. We'd have bigger expenses than electricity if my ds3 got hold of a candle ;-)

 

In terms of cooking - if you have access to anyone technically minded, there are directions online for making solar cookers. I tried, but sadly, was unsuccessful. Also, there are those boxes you can use to cook things by getting them boiling then leaving the food to sit in the insulated box all day - I think you can easily make those at home too. (I imagine it would only work for things like rice or veggies though - meat might be a health hazard).

 

Nikki (who is expecting to put solar water heaters, solar electricity panels, grey water system and water tanks into the new house just as soon as she can get organised).

[regentrude]

Are you still going to use your hot water heater and refrigerator?

Those are the biggest energy users apart form air condition, accounting for probably 70% of your consumption. Lights use very little compared to anything that creates heat.

Oh, clothes dryer is another evil one.

[Sherry in OH]

Get a few hand-cranked flashlights. Candles and oil lamps are fine for setting on tables, but I would not want to carry them around the house. I also would not want want my children to have them, or matches, in their bedrooms. Kid power is much cheaper than batteries.

[bookfiend]

You will see a bigger bump if you actually UNPLUG everything that is not in use. Think of all the things you have plugged in ready to just hit the switch, the coffee pot, the lamps, the computer, the dryer, the toothbrush,.... they are all using electricty, even when "off."

[Leanna Tomlinson]

Two years ago in September we were forced to go without power for 8 days courtesy of hurricane Ike. It amazed me how early I wanted to go to bed. I was getting tired by 8:00pm and in bed by 9:00. I usually have a 10:30-11:00 bedtime. I was well rested during that week, but also very restless. Of course, you'll still have cold food and hot water, so it might be more fun. :)

[Keniki]

If you haven't already thought of this, check your electric bill to see when your meter is read (or whatever method your utility company uses). You may need to adjust the dates you do this to really see the difference on your bill (and you may be able to watch The Great Pumpkin at home).

[musicmommy]

Thank you so much for all your wonderful suggestions. Several of my irl friends have looked at us like we are totally and completely nuts for even trying this. So we're working on fine tuning it.

 

We will do a low wattage nightlight in the kid's bathroom for their nighttime stuff.

 

For the main part of the house, we will just use candles or oil lamps. Our boys are 10, 8, and almost 7, but they won't be handling the candles in any way. We do have a couple of the hand crank flashlights that they will get for their rooms.

 

We will have our one fridge plugged in and running. That was one of my requirements. And we'll use the dryer for jeans and towels. The boys want the rest of their laundry to hang to dry. Since they are the ones that do the laundry, more power to them. Well, less power, I guess.

 

We are going to go through each room and see what is plugged in and unplug all of it. I wasn't going to unplug the alarm clock, but hubby reminded me that we can use our cell phones for that. We always have them charged anyway.

 

So, where's the best place to get a couple of oil lamps and candles? I don't want a smokey house though. Ok, now I'm glad we have a couple of weeks to fine tune his plan.

[kewb]

Sounds like a great experiment. I have always wanted to do that one. My dh would think I went totally off my rocker. As it is I mostly line dry, turn off lights, and have most things unplugged when not in use. I always joke that I live in the dark. Dh on the other hand would like the place lit up like a palace.

 

Good luck with your experiment. I will say I knocked about $35 off our electric bill by line drying.

[Cinder]

So, where's the best place to get a couple of oil lamps and candles? I don't want a smokey house though. Ok, now I'm glad we have a couple of weeks to fine tune his plan.

 

I don't know if they still do, but Walmart used to carry these. Maybe you can find a couple of lamps at your local thrift store. Oil comes in a low-smoke type. And you have to keep the lamp wick at a certain height--if the flame is flickering you'll get more smoke.

 

Cinder