Originally Posted by rowan

I haven't really changed much, but I'm looking to be more efficient. If you annualise costs and consider the bulk equivalents the differences can be remarkable. For example, instead of buying a small bottle of drink every day, buy a larger one and spread it over 2 days. That small change saves several hundred dollars a year. If you're a bottled water junkie for no real reason other than "it's good for me" then filtering your own water can save a shitload.

The other area I need to be more efficient in is home office cooling, I have 5 servers on 24/7 plus assorted networking equipment. The added thermal load is enough that I have the overhead heating vent permanently closed, and the A/C compressor runs constantly for several hours during a hot summer day. I'm currently fooling around with using a water cooled fan that will sink heat to an outside evaporative cooling reservoir. It won't make much difference on a stinking hot day, but overnight when the inside temperature is higher than outside it should help to cool the room a lot more efficiently. (At the moment, the A/C compressor starts and the unit blows out cool air into the office, I walk out the door and the rest of the house has HEATING blowing out of the overhead vents... it's faintly ridiculous...)