Grease Competition heats up in Spokane

New signs, and various stories of people bidding on grease are going around in Spokane. One of my restaurants now has this threatening sticker on the barrel, looks like I'm not going here again.



There are now three big companies who more or less own the Spokane market:

Baker Commodities - Supposedly ships all the grease to California
Greasespot - Supposedly ships all their oil to Seattle for biodiesel
Bartlett Greasecar - intends to sell biodiesel locally here in Spokane and intends to take a big chunk out of Baker and Greasespot

Then there are the greasecars and homebrew biodiesel folks here in Spokane, since most don't advertise they are doing it, it could be a few hundred home brewers and greasecars here.

Ongoing power consumption monitoring using Kill-A-Watt meter

In our house I'm found the following phantom loads, or energy leaks, meaning these things are not "on", just plugged in:

Microwave - 1 watts average - 8736 watts per year or 8.7 Kilowatts
TV-VCR-DVD combination - 13 watts average - 113880 per year or 114 kW
Garage opener - 5 watts average - 44 kW year
Stereo system - 5 watts - 44 kW
Computer/LCD/peripherals combination (downstairs) - 28 watts - 245 kW
Computer/printer/lcd combination (upstairs) - 9 watts -79 kW
Sprinkler system (in standby) - 3 watts - 26 kW

Still looking for more, but by turning the above energy drains off, we are saving 560 kW per year just in phantom loads, times our current rate 6 cents (includes the fees) in Spokane which is cheap compared to other parts of this country. This is a total of 33 dollars per year.

To avoid these leaks, combo things were put on power strips, and turned off when not in use, microwave/sprinkler just get unplugged when not in use, and the cable router/wireless boxes are put on timers. Fridge got coils cleaned as well, see tutorial link below.

Ideas for saving energy (more added soon):

- Loose 10 percent off your power bill by cleaning the refrigerator coils:
- caulk air leaks around windows, blow extra insulation in attic, basement etc.
- replace leaking weather/jam strips on doors
- wrap water heater and pipes in 6" fiberglass insulation
- install water heater timer if you have electric water heat (if possible), you can also simply turn down the heat in the water heater, by using a screwdriver and checking the manual.
- put all electronics on switched outlets or switched power strips
- change all lights to CFL's
- Turn lights off as you leave a room, only use regular bulbs in things like pantries where you need it on and off for a few seconds as apparently most CFL's don't like on/off cycling much.
- Use a small toaster oven to cook or warm up small foods rather than the big oven.
- Use an electric steamer rather than the stove.
- Eat produce food cold, you're eating closer to the source/sun that way as well.
- Dry clothes on a clothes line.
- Keep the big PC off until you need to use it, turn on the hybernation feature in your computers, if you are leaving them on for a while. Most keyboards also have a sleep button. Our system goes from consuming 70 watts to consuming 10 watts with the hybernation feature.
- Put on a sweater and have a hot beverage instead of turning on or up the heat.
- Compare costs on various heating methods, clearly geothermal is the winner in this list.
http://www.inlandpower.com/pdf/CostComparison.pdf You can also install a wood burning/pellet stove to heat your house with renewable energy wood or pellets. Heat rises so have it on the lowest level.
- Use an electric kettle to heat up water, rather than the stove burner.
- T V, PC, Dryer, Fridge, and Stove use the most, so limit these and you will save money.

More tips:
http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/makingithappen/tips.html