You'll notice the big dip after summer. Skev moved out at the end of December, and Jana moved in. We had a really hot summer so I did run the air-con pretty hard. However after that, lifestyles show a big result.
Back when Skev was working, we were averaging ~6+ kwH, however during this bill snapshot Skev was taking an extended break from work. Between 14-18hrs / day he used his PC. He's an online machine. The problem is, he's got an older monitor, and slightly older power supply. His system draws ~450 watts when fairly idle, and 550+ when gaming. For those not in the know, that's fairly normal for 3-5yr old computer devices, and on a par with running a small washing machine. By comparison, my 1+yr old monitor (LCD vs LED) draws 1/10th that of his monitor at only ~22watts, and I've paid extra for 80plus certified power supplies for some time now.
Given what I'd learned in 2008, his use is not really abnormal for any household. If anything, all he really did was offset on-demand-but-off-devices two fold which I'd worked out as ~200 watts back then.
So Jana's daily routine closely mimics mine. Work most days. Heavy online user at home. Mostly efficient, or portable devices.
The story here is that not Trav was bad. It's that lifestyle itself plays a DRAMATIC role in your participation in Global Climate control and the cost of your power bill. The options against Trav's use were abundant. Use the PC less (poor solution), or swap out older electronics. Of course, there are issues with simply dumping working electronics, and driving various levels of consumerism simply by upgrading, however the components could have been relegated to a lesser-used service in our house such as a secondary monitor or to one of my ...uhh...several old test machines which aren't used that often etc.
Moral of the story: Make some effort. Review your habits occasionally. Lower your bills. Learn Kung Fu.
