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-   -   Squeezing the most from a tiny, old, uninsulated apartment (https://ecorenovator.org/forum/showthread.php?t=284)

groar 12-26-08 06:22 PM

I knew I have to improve my situation again (currently at 37kWh/day for 100mē with freezing/near freezing temperatures, and 20kWh/day in summer without AC). This is a confirmation.

I can't have so low internal temperature with the baby (and my baby skin ;)), but inside/outside temperature difference is lower in my case.

I have always to identify the source of around 100W consumed continuously... ie 80kWh/month.

We don't have monthly bills, only a yearly one with 10 estimated monthly payments. Since one month, every day I'm noting daily/nightly consumptions and it permitted us to see a heating system misconfiguration (the clock of one of the 2 programmers was 10 hours in advance).

To comfort myself, our 1130 kWh/month in winter are used by 3 people ;)

Congrats,

Denis.

MetroMPG 01-15-09 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strider3700 (Post 1528)
In Japan they have a device which is basically a coffee table with blankets that hang down to the floor on the sides.

Reminds me of when I was a kid and I'd get out of bed with my blanket and camp out over one of the hot air vents in the floor. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by GenKreton (Post 1549)
I think you need to wear more clothing. 15C is what we keep our apartment at right now and it goes to 12 C while we aren't there or sleep. A few dollars for a good hoody can go a long way!

I'm already at 3 layers, including fleece and a hoodie! :D I think this may simply be a case of people having different thermostats. I know I tend to get cold before most other people.

Maybe I need to put some insulation on ME. Should have eaten more over Christmas!

By the way: I have since confirmed there is NO insulation in the walls of this old house.

Also, and this is a good one: there's nobody in the apartment downstairs, so the heat is off. My same-floor neighbour tells me that when the downstairs heat is on, you can feel it in the floor. Should help cut down my energy use "sharing" theirs. Hopefully we'll have a new (quiet :)) neighbour next month.

truckncycle 01-15-09 02:08 PM

You may also want to add gaskets behind your switch and outlet plates. They are cheap and they will help with air infiltration. Especially since you don't have any insulation.

It looks like Black and Decker is going to be selling a thermal detector in May. It would be nice to have something like that to see where the cold is coming in. Of course in your situation it would probably just show you the exterior wall.

MetroMPG 01-15-09 02:34 PM

I'll check those plates. It's actually not a drafty place (since putting the plastic film up on the windows). But I think you're right about what a detector would show: the walls are cold to the touch.

Higgy 01-15-09 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetroMPG (Post 1724)
Reminds me of when I was a kid and I'd get out of bed with my blanket and camp out over one of the hot air vents in the floor. :)



I'm already at 3 layers, including fleece and a hoodie! :D I think this may simply be a case of people having different thermostats. I know I tend to get cold before most other people.

I use to do that too. :)

Also, regarding the temperature in the house or apartment. There's a definite difference in temperature when you keep your house at lower temperatures when you're in a cold climate as compared to a warm one. Mind you, where you're living now is probably not as cold as when you lived in Saskatchewan, but the humidity is higher which shoots right through clothing sometimes. In my house it's at 20-21C right now, and that's with us wearing sweaters and slippers and what not. But our temperatures outside are ranging from -25 to -35 with a -30 to -49 windchill just about everyday (it's been a bad December and January so far). So putting our thermostat to 15C...ya, that just won't fly when you're trying to come in from the cold and get your body temperature warmed back up from being outside shoveling for an half an hour to an hour. Especially when you throw humidity on top of that. If we lived in a warmer climate, we could probably get away with lower inside temperature when we're at home.

I think the biggest issues are like what you said, Metro. No insulation in the walls, and no one living below you to heat up the floor, so you're basically doing all the work.

I use to live in an apartment where the heat barely worked, and I lived on the outter most apartment so one of my walls had no apartment on the other side. I basically use to throw a blanket around myself and have the space heater on me during the winter. I also threw big blankets over the window to keep out the cold.

MetroMPG 01-28-09 10:08 AM

Success!

I just found my hot water tank, and it was set at 140F. I turned it down to 115.

It's in the basement of the downstairs apartment, which is still vacant. I have keys (don't ask), so was able to go down and ...

(1) identify which of the four (non numbered) tanks was mine
(2) learn that it's hard wired in to 240v, so I can't easily use a timer, and
(3) find the thermostat adjustment behind an access panel on the side of the tank.

The other good news is the tank looks recently replaced and is at least insulated. The old (numbered for each apartment) tanks are still down there.

The bad news is the pipes aren't insulated though. Unless you count the mass of cobwebs and spiders trapping/generating a little heat.

MetroMPG 01-29-09 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetroMPG (Post 1522)
Coldest night of the year (so far) last night (-10C / 14F), and not surprisingly the highest energy consumption in 24h: 24 kWh

Bummer!

24kWh would be enough to drive the electric car about 130 km / 80 mi! :)

Guess I have to update that stat:

Coldest night of the winter so far: -18 C / 0 F (17 Jan 09)
Power use in that 24 hr period: 39 kWh (not coincidentally, also the highest)

TestDrive 01-30-09 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetroMPG (Post 1724)
By the way: I have since confirmed there is NO insulation in the walls of this old house.

Also, and this is a good one: there's nobody in the apartment downstairs, so the heat is off. My same-floor neighbour tells me that when the downstairs heat is on, you can feel it in the floor. Should help cut down my energy use "sharing" theirs. Hopefully we'll have a new (quiet :)) neighbour next month.

Until someone starts heating the floor for you: 1) Anywhere you routinely sit, put down a couple of sheets of corrugated cardboard and cover with a small throw rug. 2) Anywhere you routinely stand, put down a throw rug. 3) Nice warm socks well insulated foot wear.

West and North walls must be exterior walls, what about the others? If it's only the two, you might try insulating exterior walls from the inside. eg. Corrugated cardboard boxes, stuffed with crushed newspaper and stacked floor to ceiling against those walls. You can probably get the cardboard boxes for free from a local grocery store just by asking. If you can track down the guy that fills newspaper racks in your town or a local news stand, typically on ly the dated portion of the front page/cover of unsold periodicals is returned for credit and the vendor is responsible for disposing of the remaining bulk. Most times these guys will be happy to give you old newspapers for free and that would let you fill those boxes in a hurry.

MetroMPG 02-02-09 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TestDrive (Post 1935)
Until someone starts heating the floor for you...

Still no sign of a new downstairs neighbour.

Lining the two outside walls with insulated boxes would work, but then I'd have no room! (280 something square feet, remember) :D

If I knew I was going to be here for long (I'm not - I'll be leaving next month), I'd consider something like insulating wall hangings... like blankets.

MetroMPG 02-11-09 01:34 PM

got old power bills
 
Good news: I just paid my bill and the lady at the town hall gave me raw kWh readings for this apartment back to Feb 2007.

So I just need to do a bit of math and I'll be able to compare my power use for 2 years back after this month, and 1 year back before this month.


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