A Little Greener

Let me start by saying we are far from poster children for the whole "Green" movement at our house. 

I'll be the first to admit that I don't use natural cleaning products or buy organic food (although I'm a huge fan of buying local during Farmer's Market season).  We drive 2 vehicles, one of which is a 4x4 truck.  We have an irrigation system in our yard.  We buy bottled water.  We use disposable diapers on our son.  *Gasp*

But we do the little things.  We use compact fluorescent light bulbs.  We have energy efficient appliances.  I don't leave home without my reusable shopping bags.  We recycle...some stuff.

Earlier this week we took another step toward lessening our carbon footprint by signing up for the Westar Energy WattSaver Program.  Listen up Lawrence peeps - you can do this too!

At no cost to us, I repeat NO COST, a Westar professional inspected our heating/cooling system and replaced our previous thermostat (ours was already of the programmable variety) with a new programmable thermostat.  The new thermostat is accessible through the web; meaning, we can adjust the temperature in our house from anywhere in the world with internet access.  How cool is that?! 

In return, by participating in the program, we are authorizing Westar to cycle off our unit when city-wide energy demands are the highest.  It only applies on weekday afternoons (no weekends or holidays) from June-September.  A cycling event will normally last 4 hours and will run in 15-minute increments (on for 15, off for 15) and you can opt out of one per month simply by calling customer service.

We have yet to hear from any participant in the program who has experienced a noticeable difference in the temperature of their home as a result of the cycling.  To further sweeten the pot, since you now have greater control of your temperature settings (via internet access to your thermostat) and your air conditioner/heat pump will run less often (during cycling events) there is potential for lower energy bills.

Did I mention all this was at absolutely no cost to us?

How's that for a win-win?

Obviously, the more people that participate the greater effect we can have on reducing the demand for energy which results in a cleaner environment and affordable electricity costs for everyone.

What are you waiting for?  Sign up today!