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MN Renovator · 12-17-16, 10:14 PM

I've pulled the power on mine, the oven will not operate because the controls are electronic but the gas valves for the stove burners are mechanical valves and can be lit manually. My kitchen counter GFCI outlets are in line with the oven, so I tripped that one summer since I wasn't using the oven anyway and it uses about 5 watts, oddly enough the toaster, which has no display also uses about the same wattage, a few watts for the microwave. I enjoyed removing a number of watts in the 'teen' range. The transformers for the doorbell and the furnace also use about 10 watts total. The fridge uses about 2 watts at idle too, even with the defrost timer removed from circuit, there's no display there and the thermostat is a mechanical switch, so I'm not sure what consumes power inside the fridge, but I'm not going to cut power to that appliance.

Turning off the circuit breaker to the HVAC, doorbell, and kitchen appliances during the months where heating and cooling aren't needed saves about 20 watts. My consumption dropped down to about 17 watts from 40. The remaining quantity being the solar(inverter and eGauge) at idle and the DSL modem/wifi router. The Internet is about 12 watts and there was a time that I unplugged it when I wasn't home. ..all of this doesn't really have a positive factor anymore though because I have two other people living at the house and the standby load wattage is now in the 70s with the extra stuff they have plugged in such as gaming systems, TVs, alarm clocks, etc. Amounts to nearly 2kwh daily for standby usage. My lowest usage month was 41kwh, which is a 55 watt average over the course of that entire 31 day month. This was pulling out every trick in the book which meant arranging my schedule to read and do other things during daylight hours, using my phone and a tablet instead of a laptop, not watching TV. I was dedicated to it, so it didn't feel like a chore or like I was giving up anything. I'm not sure I'll put that much effort into it again though because typing on a laptop and watching Youtube videos and surfing the web are quicker. In comparison, the worst day was 67.5kwh, more power than my best month. One of the roommates cranked the AC when it was cold out overnight and froze the coil so the AC ran for 24 hours and the roommates were watching TV, playing video games, and doing laundry(electric dryer). I wasn't even home that day. Makes my efforts feel somewhat worthless with a comparison like that. Hopefully I'm not taking things too far off topic but I feel it is connected to standby and background load conversation.

The ignition bar remains lit whenever the oven is calling for heat. It turns on and after about 10 seconds when the thermal sensor is satisfied, the electronic gas valve is opened. For something like cooking a pizza without heating the oven before putting the pizza in, the heat bar is on for at least the first 15 out of the 18 minute cook cycle. Due to the humidity and heat added to the house and the dual use of energy heating the large box, I use a Pizzazz pizza oven, it takes 13 minutes to cook a basic pepperoni pizza of the non-rising crust(thin crust) variety. I did the math on gas and electric costs combined and the pizzazz costs less to run. Adds less heat and humidity(gas combustion adds a bunch of moisture) to the house in the summer too.

12-17-16, 10:14 PM	#6
MN Renovator Less usage=Cheaper bills Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 939 Thanks: 41 Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts	I've pulled the power on mine, the oven will not operate because the controls are electronic but the gas valves for the stove burners are mechanical valves and can be lit manually. My kitchen counter GFCI outlets are in line with the oven, so I tripped that one summer since I wasn't using the oven anyway and it uses about 5 watts, oddly enough the toaster, which has no display also uses about the same wattage, a few watts for the microwave. I enjoyed removing a number of watts in the 'teen' range. The transformers for the doorbell and the furnace also use about 10 watts total. The fridge uses about 2 watts at idle too, even with the defrost timer removed from circuit, there's no display there and the thermostat is a mechanical switch, so I'm not sure what consumes power inside the fridge, but I'm not going to cut power to that appliance. Turning off the circuit breaker to the HVAC, doorbell, and kitchen appliances during the months where heating and cooling aren't needed saves about 20 watts. My consumption dropped down to about 17 watts from 40. The remaining quantity being the solar(inverter and eGauge) at idle and the DSL modem/wifi router. The Internet is about 12 watts and there was a time that I unplugged it when I wasn't home. ..all of this doesn't really have a positive factor anymore though because I have two other people living at the house and the standby load wattage is now in the 70s with the extra stuff they have plugged in such as gaming systems, TVs, alarm clocks, etc. Amounts to nearly 2kwh daily for standby usage. My lowest usage month was 41kwh, which is a 55 watt average over the course of that entire 31 day month. This was pulling out every trick in the book which meant arranging my schedule to read and do other things during daylight hours, using my phone and a tablet instead of a laptop, not watching TV. I was dedicated to it, so it didn't feel like a chore or like I was giving up anything. I'm not sure I'll put that much effort into it again though because typing on a laptop and watching Youtube videos and surfing the web are quicker. In comparison, the worst day was 67.5kwh, more power than my best month. One of the roommates cranked the AC when it was cold out overnight and froze the coil so the AC ran for 24 hours and the roommates were watching TV, playing video games, and doing laundry(electric dryer). I wasn't even home that day. Makes my efforts feel somewhat worthless with a comparison like that. Hopefully I'm not taking things too far off topic but I feel it is connected to standby and background load conversation. The ignition bar remains lit whenever the oven is calling for heat. It turns on and after about 10 seconds when the thermal sensor is satisfied, the electronic gas valve is opened. For something like cooking a pizza without heating the oven before putting the pizza in, the heat bar is on for at least the first 15 out of the 18 minute cook cycle. Due to the humidity and heat added to the house and the dual use of energy heating the large box, I use a Pizzazz pizza oven, it takes 13 minutes to cook a basic pepperoni pizza of the non-rising crust(thin crust) variety. I did the math on gas and electric costs combined and the pizzazz costs less to run. Adds less heat and humidity(gas combustion adds a bunch of moisture) to the house in the summer too.