I had an energy conservation epiphany this morning while I was brushing my teeth in the master bathroom. I had the vanity light bar turned on just like I do every morning as its rather dark in there. This has been going on since we moved in a little over a year ago.
There's a small attached water closet right next to my sink (we have his & hers) and I realized that some sunlight was making it past the closed wooden blinds in that little room to hit the open door. With my toothbrush hanging out of my mouth I reached into the room and started opening the blinds just a bit; enough to let in some indirect light in but not enough to let harmful or hot direct sunlight in.
TADA! Free general lighting in the master bathroom, reflected off of the white door in the water closet, that's bright enough for all my needs. This will save around 15 minutes of 72W (8 * 9W globe CFL) of electricity each morning.
This will not work on overcast mornings or on the shortest days of the year as it will still be dark when I am getting ready but it's good for around 300 mornings per year.
300 mornings per year * 15 minutes = 4,500 minutes
4,500 minutes / 60 minutes per hour= 75 hours
75 hours * 72W = 5,400Wh
5,400Wh / 1000 = 5.4kWh
That's 5.4kWh of energy saved each year (not to mention less wear and tear on the CFLs) that didn't cost me a penny and took no more effort than twisting a window blind's handle one time.
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