There has been some good news this week; the power bill came! Those two thoughts usually do not go well together, but for me, they did. The total cost for my grid power last month was $ 18.48. That is the lowest bill I have ever had for power in that house, and I have lived there for 25 years! This bill also indicates a total KWh use of 73 for the month which equals my usage for April, and both reflect the lowest monthly totals ever. I am really happy with this result. Can I beat it this next month?
I also have good news about my latest mad scientist project. The outdoor temperature this morning was just below 50 degrees with a strong breeze. By 8:30 AM, the temperature inside the solar space heater box was over 120 degrees. I switched on the fan, and got a nice flow of hot air into my living room. Success! The total cost of the system was about $95.00. This cost includes the 50 feet of drain hose left over from the first incarnation of this device. To be able to heat the living room of my house for the cost of running a 60 watt fan is awesome. The success of this device relies on a good sunny day, so I will have to keep track of how many days it can really be used.
In my other efforts to reduce my impact, I have mixed results. It seems that meat always comes onto my plate. It sneaks on there somehow. Today, I went to a CFHLA luncheon (the local lodging association), and there was a big chunk of pot roast on the plate. It did not stay there too long, and is now working its way through my body. Last night, I went to Chipotle with a friend, and again had beef. Ikea also put some bacon on my breakfast plate, and it went away as well. The up side of all this is that I have some job leads to work on, and that I will do.
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| The Honda at rest. It averages 110 MPG! |
Transportation has been all Honda this week. I have not yet fixed the tire on the electric scooter, and I may not ride it too much when I do. As I mentioned before, the side of the road is a nasty, dirty, sharp-object-filled place. The e-scooter's lack of speed requires me to ride there, and that makes for flat tires. The Honda can reach speeds of 50 MPH, and that means that I can ride it in the much clearer traffic lanes. I have logged about 7000 miles on the two Honda scooters without a tire problem (knock wood); I have repaired tires on my various e-scooters and bikes many times with much less mileage to show for it. A "real" electric scooter would be the answer, but they are really expensive now. Maybe that will be my next mad scientist endeavor!
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| The E-scooter: too slow for the center of the lane. |
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