Pushing everyone over to CFLs from incandecent bulbs is supposed to
save a lot of electricity, right?
Well, how much power does it take to cook a roast for a family of five
in your average electric oven? Bet we'd save a lot more money if we
forced everyone over to microwave/convection systems.

I think ANY step you can take to save electricity is a good one, whether
it be to save the earth, or simply to reduce your electric bill. But
convenience and practicality play a big part. Most people won't change
their lifestyles just to save electricity.

Switching from an incandescent to a CFL costs less than $5, the bulb will
last years, and the light output is usually the same or greater than the
incandescent. There's very little negative effect to the consumer. Of
course, a CFL isn't the right alternative for all applications, but in
most cases it's a win-win situation.

On the other hand, a microwave doesn't work well for cooking many foods
(baking a cake, making cookies, etc.). And upgrading to a convection oven
means hundreds of dollars (and I don't think a convection uses any less
electricity, it just cooks faster and more evenly). Either option would
mean a major change in behavior for the average consumer.

Our local electric utility has charts of most household appliances and
their average monthly costs (All one line, watch the line-wrap):


http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/.../appliances/co
stOfUse

It's interesting reading, but you have to factor your own usage patterns
into the equation. If you do a lot of baking, the electric usage of your
oven is going to be much more significant than it is for a person who
rarely uses their oven. We probably use our oven less than 5 hours a
month, so it's not a big part of our total electrical consumption.

Finally, in many areas, people use gas for their cooking and heating
needs. So, based on the overall population, the electric use of an oven
probably isn't as significant as lighting, which is electrically operated
for all homes (I don't think many people use gas lights or candles as
their primary lighting source these days?).

Anthony