RSS Sitting in the dark
Filed in BlogFrom eight until nine o’ clock tonight Don and I sat in the dark. It was Earth Hour and all over the globe people were asked to turn out the lights and all non-necessary electrical devices. (This year it also acts as the start of National Dark Sky Week in the USA.)
I quickly pared and chopped the required veggies for tonight’s dinner, bunged it in the oven, and let it bubble away. I turned off my laptop and we watched a DVD on Don’s ancient machine.
I’m not entirely sure that’s quite in the spirit of things, but we have no candles in this RV and the dim light from our tiny solar-powered lamps is not strong enough for reading. I think sitting in the dark twiddling our thumbs would quickly get old. ;)
On the other hand, it was an hour and a half later when the buzzer for dinner went off, so I guess that offsets the indulgence. ;)
You know, it was nice and peaceful. The overhead fan, which dispenses heat, fan or air conditioning as required, was silent. I’ve noticed that when we have power cuts it becomes wonderfully quiet, not just in here but outside. Turning off the lights and the widgets was a wonderful exercise in peace and quiet. I would recommend it once in a while. :)
In time, we’re going to add solar to this RV. The cheapest campgrounds don’t often have electrical hookups, and the more self-contained we are, the better. We also intend to get at least one more house battery–the one we have is dying and it wouldn’t hurt to have two so we don’t need to run the generator.
(For those scratching their heads at the RV-speak, there is a standard automotive battery in the engine for running the engine, and then another one which runs the household power, and that’s called the house battery.)
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2 Comments, Comment or Ping
Evan (1 comments.)
I work for an HVAC company and I too agree that energy conservation is very important
May 15th, 2008
Linda R. Moore
Definitely :)
May 18th, 2008
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