Personal Energy Use: What's Your Number?

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Jan 12, 2012 | Energy Efficiency, Autos, Air Travel, Diet

Energy policy, climate change and global markets are large mega-concepts. Literally, bookshelves are full with volumes on these topics. So what is the typical consumer to do? How can consumers vote with their feet?

WattzOn can help. As you use our tools, we prepare an estimate of your personal energy use. Our website helps bring the big picture down to personal actions.

The Power of Numbers

One of WattzOn's founders, Saul Griffith, often gives a talk with some gloriously vivid slides that re-frame the world's energy challenge into a personal challenge. Take a look at how Saul's personal energy use compares to the global average. He's working to get his personal energy use down to this number.

When Saul looked closely at his life, he found a myriad of energy uses, each shown by a slice on this pie chart. Although we don't show all the detail, one of Saul's biggest energy uses each year is visiting his family in Australia. (He lives in San Francisco.) Saul's family saves a lot of energy every day, but this one annual trip sets them back.

What's in a number?

With WattzOn's tools you can put yourself into the picture too. Take a look at this example: it shows how one home on our site compared to the U.S. average. Results are personalized for all types of energy use, including flying, driving, food and energy use at home.

If you are like most of us, you'll find that your energy use exceeds the average in some areas and is less than the average in others.

Your number is actually a story. It starts with a picture of you, helps you compare yourself to others and where to take action. WattzOn makes it easy to go from ideas to savings. Here are the steps:

PERSONALIZED RESULTS. We are all different and the information we need for change must reflect our personal energy use today. Personalized results are the first step to making a difference.

EACH PERSON IS DIFFERENT. Perhaps you are a committed vegetarian, and we're giving you a lot of credit for saving the planet. But you take 45 flights a year. Whoops! By putting all the pieces together, you can see your areas of strength and weakness and figure out where your top priority is for energy savings.

COMPARE YOURSELF. These comparisons provide an important point of calibration. As Saul's results show, the average American uses far more energy each year than the average global citizen. So meeting the U.S. average is the first step, but you may want to do more. The comparison data can be a wake-up call.

A CALL TO ACTION. Follow the links on each tab to additional resources: articles with tips and energy-saving advice; and the WattzOn planning tool to help you select the energy-saving actions that are right for you. For your convenience, these links are also available below.

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