Frequently Asked Questions

We have developed methods to automatically retrieve energy use data from some utility companies, reducing the hassle for you. If we haven't yet worked this out for your utility, there's another option for you. Go to your utility's website and see if you can download your data in spreadsheet format. You may have to create a username and password to access this area of your utility's website. Once you download your data, save it in what's called a "csv" (comma separated value) format. Spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel give you the option to save files in ".csv" format. Then upload your file to Visible Energy following the instructions at our website. We will keep you updated on our efforts to make displaying your energy data as easy as possible!

Like you, we do a lot of transactions online and are concerned about privacy issues. We protect your privacy in two ways. First, your data is stored on a secure computer server. Second, your data are anonymous; we only know you by your User Name and Login ID, and we don't even ask for your address (though we do need your Zip Code for geographic location – this helps us compare your energy use with others like you). This makes everyone's energy data useful for all, while protecting your personal information. For more information, see our Terms of Service.

A watt (or kilowatt) rating for a light bulb, microwave oven, or any other device refers to how much energy it uses each second. So, a 1500 watt microwave oven uses 15 times the energy per second of a 100 watt light bulb. These values of watts refer to the power of each device. Of course, you don't have your microwave on for nearly as long as a typical light bulb, so comparing their wattage values would not be a good way to understand how much energy each device uses. To understand total energy use over a period of time (like the month on which your utility bill is based), the power of all of your home's electricity-consuming devices is summed up over the time that they are on. This gives the kilowatt-hour value on your utility bill. So, a 100 watt light bulb on for 30 hours is worth 3000 watt-hours, or 3 kilowatt-hours ("kilo" here means thousand). Likewise, your microwave may have been used for a total of 2 hours, so it also would contribute 1500 watts x 2 hours = 3000 watt-hours, or 3 kWh. Of course, your utility company doesn't know which device in your house is on, or for how long - it only knows the total electricity flow through your meter during the month.

The other thing to keep in mind is efficiency, which measures how well a device turns an energy source (as electricity, gas, etc.) into what we want---for example, light from a bulb or cooling in a refrigerator. More efficient light bulbs and appliances are sometimes called green, since they can produce more of what you want with less energy input —this is why you can use an 13 Watt compact fluorescent light bulb to provide the same amount of light as an old-fashioned 60 watt incandescent bulb.

We think Visible Energy is great because it helps you save money, no matter how you feel about greenhouse gas emissions. And the savings are not small – most people can easily reduce their energy consumption by $200 a year. As Ben Franklin said, a penny saved is a penny earned, and $200 is serious (and tax-free) pennies!

There are now fast-lighting CFLs, so the wait may not be as long as you think. And even if you don't like CFLs, Visible Energy can help you to save energy and money in other ways.

It's true that CFLs contain mercury, on average about 4 milligrams. But this is much less than in a watch battery. Although incandescent bulbs don't contain mercury, their use is responsible for mercury in the environment because coal-fired power plants, which produce electricity in many regions, release mercury from their smoke stacks. In fact, coal-fired plants are responsible for most of the over 100 tons of mercury released in the U.S. each year. The mercury in a CFL is not released during normal use, and this mercury can be disposed of safely or recycled when the bulb wears out. In contrast, the mercury released from power plants is not recaptured. Because incandescent bulbs use more electricity to produce the same amount of light, they also are responsible for more mercury emissions than CFLs.

You should be sure to take your old CFLs to a special collection facility so the mercury is properly handled. Often you can find out where to take your CFLs from your local utility, recycling facility, or trash collection company. For more information about light bulbs and mercury, visit the U.S. governments EnergyStar site http://www.energystar.gov and search for CFL and mercury.

It's not quite so simple. It is true that fossil-fuel plants---those that use coal, natural gas, or diesel fuel---emit greenhouse gases, while nuclear, hydroelectric, and solar generation do not. But that nuclear plant may not provide all your energy needs; in fact, many utilities need fossil fuel plants to handle peak energy use, like on a hot summer day. The reason is that nuclear and hydro plants cannot change their power output very quickly. So, although your utility may have a nuclear plant, some of your energy use may still result in greenhouse gas emissions.

Another reason that reducing electricity consumption matters is that your utility's nuclear plant is probably connected to a large power grid that provides for moving electricity wherever it is needed. So reducing your energy consumption can free up existing nuclear or hydro power to reduce the need to use fossil fuel energy in another city or state.

Finally, as energy consumption increases, utilities must plan for the future, and non-fossil power plants (such as nuclear, wind and solar) take years to plan, build, and bring on line. This means that the steps you and your neighbors and friends take to reduce energy consumption could, when combined, make such a large impact that utilities will have more time to develop better and cheaper plants that do not release greenhouse gases.

Your transportation habits can have a major effect on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. For many industrialized nations, greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation are similar to emissions due to home energy use. If your job requires a lot of travel, or you take a lot of long-distance vacations, then transportation emissions can greatly exceed those from home energy use. Many online "carbon calculators" try to calculate your total emissions based on very rough estimates of your home energy use. Visible Energy provides extremely accurate estimates of your greenhouse gas emissions due to home energy use. And someday we may have similar tools for tracking your transportation energy!