My day without power!

               Okay, for this week my assignment had me turn off pretty much every unnecessary technological/electrical device in my house for a 24-hour period. I did this on Saturday, November 23^rd as I had all day to do whatever I wanted…and didn't have to worry about scrambling to get any assignment in particular done.  I did keep my cell phone around as it also serves as a house phone just in case of emergencies but I made sure it was fully charged before I started. I ended up not using the phone at all that day. I also used one light on my desk for reading at night.

                The first thing I should explain is that I had to unplug about 5 power strips in just one room alone. I had a good fifteen things connected to them. Most of which have not been used in quite a while. I began to feel a little bad at that point because I had, over time, wasted quite a bit of power usage no doubt from just them drawing energy even while turned off. A good example of this was the Xbox360 and Nintendo Wii I had hooked up that haven’t been played in months. 

                The first thing that bothered me right away was the fact I couldn't just go online whenever I wanted as my beautiful computer of awesomeness was unplugged and I was not allowed to use it of course. For years now I have enjoyed having boundless amounts of information at my fingertips…and today I didn't. You would think I could live without it for a day without complaining…but this was by far the hardest thing about the day. Which really…the day was not that bad. I ended up re-reading a book I liked written by Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. For those of you who don’t know who he is, he was a famous General turned Emperor in the Roman Empire. He was a stoic philosopher as well and wrote the book as he traveled around conquering peoples. If you watched the movie Gladiator, he was the dying emperor in the beginning. Though the story in the movie of course was not very accurate. The book kept me entertained for some time. After I finished reading it I ran for an hour out in the hills. When I ran up to the top of the first hill the wind was super cold and actually made me run a little slower for quite a while.  When I returned home, I took a quick shower. I made it my mission to get things done in less than two minutes. The cold water was pretty brutal but I was a bit sweaty from the run so it didn't bother me too much. I ended up not going anywhere at all, so no driving.  I did end up turning on the light at my desk so I could read a bit more from various school books. I also was lazy with eating throughout the day…I had cereal and a sandwich. OH and of course M&M’s…with peanuts! I also had no reason to use the AC/Heater…as it was colder than normal but really was rather nice. So even if it was overly cold…I would most likely throw on some sweat pants and be fine. And really I don’t use very much on the norm, so I didn't give up as much as some do who are amazing cooks or have kids. I am pretty simple aside from the gaming and computers.

                As far as my experience, it really wasn't bad. I didn't like not having access to my computer or the internet, but it really wasn't a horrid experience. I felt I wasted quite a bit of electricity on the norm just from having so much plugged in that I never use. I really only ever use my computer, monitor, and printer on a daily basis. Most everything else is not used all the time, and they should remain unplugged, that is something I am definitely willing to change. Even though I personally do not own a tread mill, I realized while running what a waste it would be if I did have one. Not only is it better to run out in nature because you get a better work out, but I don’t have to waste energy nor waste space by owning one. I definitely cannot give up using my computer all of the time, just too much a part of my life! Most everything else though, I could comfortably do without aside from driving to school or the store. Quick showers aren't too bad, but depending on how cold it is…the random hot shower would be needed. But the tip Professor Huff gave in class to fill a bucket up with the cold water as it gets hot may reduce some of the guilt from doing that.

                As far as trying to come up with a way to increase energy efficiency in my home with the stuff I refuse to give up. Well I am a complete nerd so this was an easy one. If you read my introduction when we first started class…I am a pro-gamer of sorts…I mess with my computer on the norm. In fact I built mine from scratch. The best way to save power when using a computer is to alter graphic card settings to a standard of performance rather than quality (Nvidia GeForce cards are the easiest to alter), then set the power settings (via control panel options) for the same (should have some sort of power saver option). That way it draws much less power from the most power draining item in the computer…the graphics card (as well as some other processing components). Some graphics cards do not have this option but the power options always should be there…so long as you run windows. Linux or Mac users probably have similar power setting options. This I can realistically do…although as I am lazy…it might take a lot of effort to make all of those clicks! (I kid I kid). And of course keeping things unplugged until I actually plan on using them, that one is a no-brainer. I already take pretty fast showers, but I could stand to not wait on the hot water as mentioned previously.