At my peak, I was consuming (blue line) 71% more electricity than similar homes (black line) in my area and even more than similar efficient homes (green line).

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If you’re a DIYer beginner and you don’t need a high-end drill bit sharpener, consider the affordable Drill Doctor 350X. Despite the low price, it features a diamond wheel and is simple to use. This drill bit sharpener can only create 118-degree angles, though, so keep that in mind if you need to work with 135-degree bits.

In the summer, I bought an outdoor smart thermostat. Using an app, I was able to create a script that notified me when the temperature outside went below 76 degrees. Instead of continuing to run the air conditioner at night, I switched to using fans to bring in the cool evening air. In the morning before the temperature went back up, I would close the house up again. At the same time, I turned my thermostat up to 79 degrees so that the air conditioner typically only turned on in the late afternoon for a few hours when it was hot.

Earth Day is this Friday, April 22. As such, I wanted to take a break from my normal IT service management/knowledge management coverage to discuss my journey to reduce my carbon footprint using smart technologies.

This affordable Wen BG4276 bench grinder provides two grinding wheels for a fraction of the cost of similar options. A large, adjustable work light ensures you have a clear view of your workpiece. With 60-grit and 36-grit wheels, you can sharpen lots of tools well as drill bits.

It’s time for us to rethink how we build homes and how we introduce consumer devices into those homes. If we want to see a real difference in affecting climate change and reducing our carbon footprint, it will take a lot more than just reducing the consumption of natural and renewable energy. It will take redesigning our home and office experience to one that learns how we consume energy and optimizes and reduces that consumption. We need to turn our home and office spaces into learning systems that measure, analyze, and adjust how we use our natural resources.

This six-inch DeWalt DW756 has the power to tackle various sharpening tasks, including drill bits. Safety guards reduce the chances of dangerous flying debris and sparks, and the adjustable tool rests make it easy to securely position whatever you’re sharpening. With its extremely durable cast iron body, this small but mighty tool can handle heavy use.

Now I’m using 48% less gas than efficient similar homes in my area. This was a substantial change, and compared with other households, I was using a lot less natural gas.

As smart devices become even more innovative, consumers will have increasing control over their surroundings and become more knowledgeable about their impact on the world. Today, new systems allow homeowners to monitor their electric devices at the fuse box. With a small upfront investment and the data and analysis to know what to change, individuals can make a real difference in how they consume our natural and renewable energy sources. Additionally, we will need to focus on how to secure the data that is collected to reduce the risk associated with IoT.

It’s not the cheapest option on our list, but if you’re looking for a sharpener that can accept a wide range of bits, the Drill Doctor 750X is a great choice.

Luckily, a good drill bit sharpener can not only get them back in shape, but reinvigorate bits that snapped in half during aggressive use.

High-quality drill bits aren’t cheap. And once they become dull, they’re ineffective and more likely to “walk” around and damage your workpiece.

For versatility, it’s hard to beat the Drill Doctor X2 with its dual-speed motor. In addition to the dedicated bit sharpening port, this sharpener includes separate guides for sharpening knives, scissors and other edged tools. To sharpen drill bits, insert the bit into the chuck, press it directly into the sharpening port and start sharpening!

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There are more types of drill bit sharpeners than you might think. Some are more useful than others, depending on your specific bits and experience level. Make sure you’re choosing the best one for you. Here’s what to look for:

If someone wants to use an appliance, they must turn it on at the power strip or ask Alexa to turn it on (try remembering what you named 100 devices in your home — now that is a good memory trick!). What I found the most interesting about this part of my experiment was that I have devices that are all branded as energy-saving devices, yet my energy consumption was most affected by turning off these trickle devices (commonly called wall warts). Most of the devices are not being used throughout the day, but the lying-in-wait electricity consumption certainly contributed to a sizable portion of energy waste in my household.

I have lived in California for over 20 years, and every month I get a report from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on my energy consumption. For years, I told myself the bill was not comparing apples to apples. Many of my neighbors have solar panels on their roofs. I figured that my usage was so much higher because I lived in one of the few houses on my street that did not have an alternative source of energy. In my best months, my energy use was easily 25% to 30% higher than in similar homes. In my worst months, well, it was embarrassing.

With my heating and cooling under control, I turned to all those devices around the house that sat there sipping away at the current even though they were not being used. I purchased a smart power strip for every room and plugged in as many devices as I could. Each socket had its power switch, thus allowing me to control what was on or off throughout each room from a single device. The next step was to link them to a central control device and create a routine. Every evening, I ask my Alexa device to “end my day,” and with one command all the trickle feed devices throughout the house are turned off. This includes computers, TVs, cable boxes, Apple TVs, DVDs, printers, shredders, gaming devices, coffee pots, toasters, lamps, lights, and even the treadmill. And then in the morning, I tell Alexa to “start my day,” powering up only my office and leaving the rest of the house completely shut off.

With these smart devices, IoT power strips, and apps that allow you to create routines that focus on reducing consumption, consumers can make a real difference in their carbon footprint. I spent around $600 on various technology solutions around my home and have significantly reduced my energy consumption — both natural gas and electricity.

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During the pandemic, I began to obsess over my numbers. Each month when the bill arrived, I got increasingly focused on how to bring my consumption below my neighbors. I progressively tried new ideas and new devices to reduce my carbon footprint. From all of my changes and attempts to make a difference, two options gave me the best results.

This sharpener handles pretty much any material, including carbide, black oxide and high-speed steel, and it can create split-point tips. It doesn’t offer the impressive angle ranges of the Drill Doctor 750X, but you can create the all-important 118- and 135-degree angles.

Unlike other sharpeners that offer one or two angles, you can customize this sharpener to create to any angle from 115 to 140 degrees. The 750X is large enough to accept bits up to 3/4-in., and it can create or sharpen split-point bits.

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This experiment was triggered by the visibility provided by PG&E in my monthly bill. Had I not known that I was using more energy than similar homes in my neighborhood and been a highly competitive individual, I would not have pursued making changes in my environment. The cost savings that I have achieved — at a time when energy prices are going up — are an added benefit.

If you do a lot of drilling, a drill bit sharpener a smart buy. It saves you time, because you won’t waste minutes struggling to drive a dull bit through your workpiece. And it saves you money, because you aren’t throwing out dull bits all the time.

I made sure to upgrade my large appliances — including the washing machine and dryer, dishwasher, and refrigerator — to energy-efficient devices. In addition, I run the devices on their shortest cycle or lowest setting, start my laundry as early in the morning as possible, and run the dishwasher at night, thus saving the energy crunch that we always experience here in California from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. when people arrive home from work. I even turned off the power to my garage door opener. It may have been a bit of an inconvenience to come inside every time I want to open it, but that occasional inconvenience is well balanced with not using electricity 24/7 on the off chance that I may want to open the garage door.

Instead of holding the bits in your hand, this attachment holds them for you. Its straightforward adjustment settings make it easy to select the angle, although it’s not ideal for use with bits smaller than 1/8-inch.

In April, I will be adding solar panels with a Powerwall and exploring replacing all the natural gas devices. Reducing my carbon footprint is more of a journey than a destination. For now, it’s an inconvenience to wait until my cable box powers up and reconnects to my provider, but the energy I save each day is well worth the wait. What steps have you taken to reduce your carbon footprint? Share your ideas, and maybe we can collaborate and find new solutions for improving our relationship with the Earth.

This blog post is part of Forrester’s Earth Day 2022 series. For more Forrester insights on sustainability, see the full set of Forrester’s climate action blogs.

If you can’t afford or don’t need any of the sharpeners above, this Drill Bit Sharpener might be for you. It’s powered by your drill and doesn’t require an electrical outlet, so it’s convenient for off-site projects with limited electricity. It’s not as accurate as a dedicated or bench grinder drill bit sharpener, but in a pinch it’s certainly better than nothing.

The Drill Doctor 500X is our best overall choice, regardless of your skill level, for its mid-range price and the variety of bits it accepts.

If you plan on sharpening bits with a bench grinder, this General Tools 825 Attachment, when securely mounted to your benchtop, can give you clean points and accurate angles.

I’m closing the gap. I’m now even with similar homes in my area but still have a long way to go, as I’m 59% higher than similar efficient homes.

It’s important to note that I don’t live where it freezes in the winter, so I don’t have to worry about frozen pipes. That gives me tremendous flexibility in how I heat my home. In the winter months, I turned my thermostat down to 64 degrees and bundled up. Since my thermostat was usually set to 68 degrees, the slight adjustment in the temperature did little to reduce my energy bills. So instead, I turned the heat off and used a space heater in my office during the day and then turned on the heat in the afternoon for the family. The results were fantastic: I was using 49% less gas than similar homes in my area.