We're living in times that are undeniably permeated with hotly-fueled, often polarized debates about many topics. One such topic that certainly has a large share of the opinionated conversation market is "climate change". We aren't here to offer support to either side of that debate. To the denying side, we say that care of the … Continue reading Get a clothesline or please shut your mouth about climate change
Lowering Expenses
Simple solar power for outbuilding lights and pumping water
In this post, we'll show you the simple steps we took to setup our goat barn with solar-powered lighting and running water. Note: Though titled as 'simple', some will no doubt find this complex. Understandable, however, nothing beyond grade-school math or a calculator is necessary for figuring this out. Take your time and try to … Continue reading Simple solar power for outbuilding lights and pumping water
Tips for reducing your electric bill by up to 30%
Here in PA, we're ever so fortunate (sarcasm) to be headed into a new era deregulated electricity. Our utility provider (PPL Electric) has announced that they expect most residential electric bills such as ours to rise about 30%-32%! Somehow, this is supposed to be a help to our electricity cost. We've not figured that out … Continue reading Tips for reducing your electric bill by up to 30%
Why water-saving shower heads are a good investment
Many people might not think to look at their showers as being a source of potential energy and cost savings. That's unfortunate, because there's money to be saved in the shower along with natural resources too. Consider the following scenario: Here's the simple math for a family of four each taking a 7 minute with … Continue reading Why water-saving shower heads are a good investment
Finishing the Root Cellar
When we moved into our house years ago, we had no idea that we had a root cellar. From our point of view, we had a wet, nasty closet area off our foundation that needed to be cleaned up and made to stop leaking. Needless to say, as we came to understand the value of … Continue reading Finishing the Root Cellar
The specifics of moving from Verizon (with DSL) to Ooma
When we signed up for Ooma and decided to port our phone number, we could not get a consistent answer from either Ooma or Verizon regarding what would happen to our DSL service once the number was ported. Ooma was pretty sure that our DSL service would be dropped and we'd be without internet until … Continue reading The specifics of moving from Verizon (with DSL) to Ooma
Converting Verizon Contract Phone to Pre-Paid
For months we've been trying to discover a way to reduce our mobile/cell phone service without compromising on the quality of service, etc. The issue is that one of us uses 200+ minutes per month minimum, the other maybe 50 at most. We've been using a Verizon Family Plan for a while that had a … Continue reading Converting Verizon Contract Phone to Pre-Paid
First Impressions: Ooma
Yesterday, our Ooma Hub and Scout package arrived just three business days after purchasing (not bad for Amazon's free super-saver shipping). Opening the box was reminiscent of opening an Apple product. Those who own Mac's and other Apple products will know what I mean. Most manufacturers simply see packaging as as way to get products … Continue reading First Impressions: Ooma
Reducing the Cell Phone Bill
Amount Saved: $445.01/yr As posted previously, I had been considering entirely dumping our Verison Wireless service in exchange for prepaid service through Boost Mobile. I spent several hours analyzing the true cost of doing so by evaluating the cost of the new phones (required for using Boost, optional to stay with Verizon), the monthly cost, … Continue reading Reducing the Cell Phone Bill
Reduce Refrigeration Power Consumption up to 95%!
We're Saving About $135/yr As I've been researching ways to reduce power consumption, I've been measuring the annual power use of each appliance in my house (see my post on the Kill-A-Watt for details). When I measured my refrigerator, I found that it used 2.17 Kwh in just 13:22. That means that at our average … Continue reading Reduce Refrigeration Power Consumption up to 95%!
The Intrepid Homestead 