Ford: Drive Our Cars, Buy Green Appliances--And Kiss Texas, California, and New York Goodbye

The average household in America consumes more than 11,000 kWh of electricity per year, much of it during certain peak daytime hours.

Many utility companies benefit from this by applying the law of supply and demand; as demand goes up, so do prices. Off-peak (late at night, for example), electricity is cheaper, but few take advantage of this.

Now, automaker Ford wants to save consumers money by highlighting something it calls the “MyEnergi Lifestyle,” which blends a plug-in hybrid vehicle with household appliance upgrades and smart energy use.

Drive a Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid; switch to modern energy-efficient connected appliances; install solar panels and employ a Nest Learning Thermostat, and you can save significant money annually.

How much? According to research from Georgia Tech, the average home could save 60-percent on their electric bill, while reducing its CO₂ footprint by as much as 50-percent.

If every home in America implemented these changes, it would be the same thing as taking all households in Texas, California and New York off the power grid. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s the equivalent of “eliminating” 32 million homes.

What Ford glosses over in its enviro-zeal is the cost of implementing these changes. Most of us would love to upgrade to more energy-efficient appliances, install solar panels and park a new, more fuel-efficient car in our garage, if only we had that kind of disposable income.

Consider this infographic food for thought, then, or perhaps a gentle prod to see if your utility offers off-peak rates that could reduce your costs. You could even view it as a blueprint for when those Powerball numbers do come up in your favor.

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