Uxbridge Information & Events

Uxbridge - Earth Hour

actions lead to results .....

results provide a measure of our actions .....

greening the planet one light at a time.  

Do you monitor your resources consumption rates.

Hydro, Water, Fuel are all consumables that we use on a daily basis sometimes never giving a thought about the cost to our planet. Over the years we have often looked at our consumption and looked for ways to reduce that consumption. Looking at a five year period of our hydro consumption we realize that conservation plays a role but is not the only influence.

For example looking at the chart below you can tell when our household membership became smaller. Our daily average consumption dropped dramatically from 2004 to 2005 along with the short term rolling average while the longer term rolling averages dropped much slower.

From 2006 to 2008 Our hydro consumption continued to drop as we changed out lights for higher efficiency ones. The spike in the 3 month rolling average in 2007 was an indication of things to come as Barrie was home a lot more during this time period and things like lights, TV's and computers were turned on for longer periods of time.

HYDRO CONSUMPTION

With his retirement in 2009 there is a slight spike in the annual daily average. At this point we have to look for reductions in other ways as it would appear that our daily consumption will hover around 40 kWh.

Daily Average
2004 - 2009
(monthly basis)

The averages appear to be all over the map and this is due to the fact that our meter only gets read four times a year but we receive monthly bills (the balance are estimated). The changing dynamics of our household has made it very difficult for our hydro supplier to estimate our bills. The trend line is perhaps more indicative of what our efforts and the changing dynamics have done for our consumption rate.

All in all done we are using 1/3 less hydro now than we were five years ago 
approximately 1/2 of that due to the changing number of people in the house

Can we do better?

Yes we can! We have appliances that are coming due for replacement and they will be replaced with more energy efficient ones. We still have some lights that due to the nature of their use are not suited to the energy efficient fluorescent type bulbs so the search for viable alternatives continues.

In addition our hydro supplier is in the process of switching to time of use billing so by watching when we do certain high energy consumption things like laundry we will be able to help reduce the load on the the use of fossil fuels for hydro generation which in turn will reduce the harmful emissions from the generating stations

What Are You Doing
to reduce your electricity consumption?

Visit 10 Smart Meter Lane to see how shifting your hydro use can help

To learn more about what housing options
Uxbridge
and the surrounding area has to offer;
be it condominium or detached homes, in town or rural communities,
country homes, estates or farms just give me a call or