"I was under the impression the base load plants (nuclear, coal) were designed in such a way that there was very little variability in their actual power output. Essentially, that they are designed to run 24/7 at essentially the same "speed" to maximize efficiency."

Nukes are like that. Coal is somewhat better, but still slow to make changes.

But those aren't the only two sources. Gas turbines, hydro, wind, and pumped-water storage (which isn't really a source) adapt much more rapidly to load changes. A typical hydro turbine can go from dead stop to 100% output in a few minutes.

"I was also under the impression that in most urban areas, nighttime "lulls" in electricity demand reduced overall electricity consumption to levels below what is produced by these baseload plants, which are still running because they are designed to always be running. It's quite possible that I'm wrong about both of these points, but I seem to remember that for the typical urban area, approx 70% of peak demand was met by base load plants, but that nighttime demand was less than half that of peak demand periods. Just doing the math in my head, that would indicate that there is "unused" electricity on the grid."

Electricity is a unique commodity in that it cannot be stored except by changing it into something else. There is no "unused" electricity on the grid, only unused *capacity*. There is always the possibility of reducing total output from various plants if demand drops.

Of course the best contribution can be made by reducing peak demand, because it is during peak times that the system has to run flat-out to meet demand.

The grid is actively managed by control centers that monitor demand and decide which plants need to generate how much to serve the various loads on a real-time basis.

If we all figured out how to reduce our electrical use by 10% (or whatever), the control centers will deal with it by generating less. It's what they do, and they are very very good at it.

How much difference shutting off various "vampire" loads will really make depends on what those loads really are. For example, if you have a computer/monitor/printer/cell charger/etc. household that draws 100 watts while in sleep/standby/hibernate/not being used mode, and it is idle 20 hours a day, it uses 7300 hours x .1 kilowatts = 730 kilowatt hours per year *in standby mode*. At 10 cents per kilowatt hour, that's $73 per year.

Your savings may vary...and that's the challenge.

check out how electrical rates vary across the USA:

http://www.econsci.com/rates/rates.html

All sorts of info broken down by region, type of customer, etc.

For residential use across the country, look at:

http://www.econsci.com/rates/residential.html

The lowest is 4.46 cents per kilowatt-hour (City of Tacoma WA)

The highest is 16.38 cents per kilowatt-hour (Con Ed, NY)

Imagine if the price of gasoline was that different across the nation...

"I borrowed an AC ammeter to measure the power used by my monitor. (you remember those old things, with the big glass tube in them. ah, memories).

it was like 70 watts when on. What was surprising was that when it went into standby; it still drew 50 watts. ???"

But what was the power factor in each case?

With DC circuits you can calculate power by simply multiplying volts times amps. But AC loads can be reactive (like inductors or capacitors) and the volts X amps calculation doesn't hold. In electrical power distribution, the term "power factor" is used.

A pure resistance has a power factor of 1. A pure reactance has a power factor of zero. In between there are all sorts of loads.

Accurate AC wattmeters take power factor into account and tell you the actual power used.

I can understand not wanting one's primary ID to be "Mom", but "grossed out" I just don't get. Disgusting things gross one out.

Fact is, if someone is a good parent, having a kid is *the* most life-changing thing that will ever happen to you. It's perfectly natural for a new mom to (or dad) to be overwhelmed by it.

The thing a lot of non-parents just don't get is that little kids don't have OFF switches, or even a STANDBY mode. Nor does parental responsibility have an OFF switch or a STANDBY mode. Even when you have the best childcare help imaginable, it's still help, because you're still ultimately responsible.

The term "full-time parent" is redundant.

And you won't get a second chance for a kid to be a particular age again.

On top of all that, every kid is different. They don't come with manuals, either. What works with one kid may not work with another, even a sibling, and the parental units have to figure it all out as they go along.

Some nonparents do get it, though. They understand that if they want PWKs (People With Kids) to do something without the kids, they need several days notice at least, in order to line up kidcare. They understand that a kid-emergency can cause a last-minute cancellation or lateness. They realize

that the cost of even a simple outing like cheap-dinner-and-movie will be much greater for PWKs because of kidcare costs.

They even understand that a lot of PWKs, particularly ones with jobs outside the home, simply want to spend time with their kids. And much more.

I'd like to be there when LW's first kid calls her "Mommy" for the first time...