TED

About 6 months ago, we welcomed TED(The Energy Detective) into our lives. Bob was so excited it was like getting that shiny red bike on Christmas morning. At first, I didn't think much about it. Bob has been known to get gadgets like this. I mean we have a Watts Up meter, so how bad can it be? And, the principal behind it all--saving energy, is something I was all over, so I thought--let him have his toy. At first, it started slow. He turned it on(and hooked it up and all that jazz) and went around turning off and unplugging everything he could in order to bring down the total. Okay...I can live with that. I mean unplug my coffee maker when I'm not using it. What do I care? I don't use the clock on it or anything, it just makes coffee for me. Then every time I used the vacuum cleaner or the microwave or--god forbid--the toaster he pointed out to me how much energy that item used. I sighed, I shrugged, and, I'll admit it, I cursed, but I thought to myself--don't worry, it will pass.

It didn't.

Now, when he comes home from work he looks at the running total for the day. If I've been home all day working, he'll gasp in shock "What did you do all day that required that much electricity?" and while he is saying that he will run around the house turning off lights, unplugging items, and constantly checking in on TED(mind you, the stereo...it doesn't go off...it is after all THE STEREO).

It is, of course, December now. We have two lovely children who waited patiently this year for their busy parents to find the time to put up their Christmas tree. The day after we put it up we had the lights on all day. Yes, you read right--all day. I would unplug them, but the kids would complain...and whining wears me down. When Bob came home he was livid! What on EARTH could I have been doing all day? I wasn't sure what he meant...and partially, I have come to kind of ignore his goings on about TED. Then he turned off the lights. He checked TED. Then he turned them on again. He checked TED. He gasped! 200 watts! We cannot turn on the Christmas tree he exclaims...what?! No Christmas tree lights? How to explain this to the kids...oh, I know....no lights when Dad is home ;) Now we only plug them in when we listen to Christmas music and feel like dancing!

Merry Christmas. Why not put a TED under your Christmas tree?