I left 3 lights on 24-HOURS A DAY and my electric bill went DOWN!

I left 3 lights on 24-HOURS A DAY for the last MONTH, and my electric bill went DOWN! I was amazed, too, as I thought it would go UP! A number of years ago, I discovered a little grocery store in the small town I lived in at the time, where they sold some real good ham, and I used to go by there and buy a few $$$ worth and take home. One day, as I went in, I noticed that the fellow had an outside light bulb burning in broad daylight, way up in the gable in front of his building, as if he had forgotten to turn off a night light. I reminded him of this, of course, and he said that, yes he knew the light was burning; he said that he used to turn it off during the daytime and back on at night, and he would have to get a REAL TALL LADDER about every 2-3 months and climb up there and replace the light bulb, until one day he decided to NEVER turn that light off! He said the bulb had been burning for about 3 years at that time, and he didn’t notice any difference in his electric bill! I got to thinking about this scene, when I had to hunt up a kitchen chair, empty it out (as I often use ALL my chairs for “temporary storage” of odd things, like mail and such), haul the heavy chair into the laundry room, be sure all my little doggies were inside their kennel so I wouldn’t drop a chair or myself on top of them, and climb up in it to replace the 100-watt bulb that I’ve been using at that location, so I can see the insides of my little friends’ kennels to see if they need to be cleaned out or not! So, I put a piece of tape over the light switch, with a sign stating that this light was NEVER to be turned off, regardless of the situation! Of course, since then, we’ve had the electricity go off quite a few times, but so far, that light has been burning for quite a few months. At least, now I don’t have to go thru the “changing of the light-bulb with the heavy kitchen chair routine!” Later, the light at the front living room window, that I had on a timer, set to go on around dark-thirty, and then off around midnight, as a possible deterrent to would-be prowlers (making them think someone was home, even when we were on a trip), this light had the timer malfunction for quite a few nights, so that I finally just disconnected the timer entirely (at least until I can “find time” to see what’s wrong with it), and let the light burn 24-hours a day. This light, in a little lamp, is in a VERY UNHANDY place, as I have to move the swivel chair (that used to be in front of my computer until I switched it with another of the heavy kitchen chairs, so my back would get better, hopefully), plus I have to move SEVERAL boxes, some of which are HEAVY, so that my little friends won’t go into that corner and poop, then I have to unscrew the bulb, figure out the wattage (which is no easy task on some bulbs, as the numbers seem to “burn off”), then I have to go see if I have any of that particular wattage left, and such... Well, you get the picture: it’s just easier to leave that light burning 24/7, + my little friends in the living room, usually mostly males, don’t seem to care, like the females don’t seem to care in the laundry room. Since the price of night-lights has ALMOST DOUBLED in the last few months (I don’t know why - why is ALMOST EVERYTHING doubling, except the amount of $$$ we have coming in?), I don’t plan to replace them as they eventually burn out, as I’ve got plenty of lights on at night anyway. Then, the third light became a problem: the one at the end of a dark hallway! When I would go somewhere, even for an hour or two, I would unscrew the bulb, then when I came back, I had to walk thru a dark hallway and possibly step on some poop, or turn on the overhead light unnecessarily! So, one day I just decided to NEVER unscrew this bulb again, and put a little sign next to the lamp, so anyone else would know the situation! So, now I’ve got THREE lights on ALL THE TIME! When I got my last electric bill a day or two ago, it was almost $3 LESS than it had been the month before! I have no idea why! Or where they got that figure! But, I’m sure that, if they knew that I’m burning THREE lights ALL THE TIME, they’d be sure to RAISE my electric bill at least $3, rather than lower it! Another of life’s amazing wonders!


Copyright 2011 by Preston Smith, Walker Enterprises/Silver Dollar Press. All Rights Reserved.

Here’s a good website to check out: “Studio Quality Portraits For Less” - http://studio-quality-portraits-for-less.weblodge.net

Here’s another good website to check out: “Green Cleaning Products” - http://green-cleaning-products.weblodge.net

Here’s another good website to check out: “How To Adjust & Repair Your Sewing Machine” - http://www.silver-dollar.zoomshare.com

Here’s a good Forum to check out: http://dachshund-forum.forumotion.com