Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox
It almost always seems like things go at a snail's pace unless you're at it continuously. I've had my house for over four years now and it seems like I haven't gotten a ton done. However, when I look at all my energy usage data, its actually fairly impressive. I've been able to decrease my energy usage by half. I'm sure many others including yourself can or are achieving this.
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My January electric bill confirms this, Daox, I think. We paid about $52 less this January than last. What changed in the interim? I did more air sealing, which was REALLY bad in this old, ill-maintained house. I insulated significantly (though nothing in the worst area, the roof, which will need a new roof before real insulation will be possible). And since we don't have a central heat system while we save to install an ASHP, we used a single electric space-heater last winter, moved from room to room. This winter I had two more Vornado heaters, one with a setting as low at 375watts. I put the two stationary heaters on flea-market purchased timers and move around only the 375watt Vornado. And, I switched-out more lightbulbs for CFL and LED, reducing lighting demand by about 600watts. The three fixtures I had to install LEDs into were among the most heavily used and power-consuming lamps in the house. Refridge is on a timer (off most of the night). Wireless router on a timer (off all night). Coffeepot gets shut off after brewing and coffee put in a thermos. Moved microwave into the attached garage, where it gets less use.
The costs of the timers and especially the LED bulbs outpace the one-month savings but I want to go to an ASHP and solar electricity in the next two years, so air-sealing, insulation, and electricity-use reduction seemed the best first steps--as I learned here (thanks).