My Sept '08 Energy Dist

[insaneintenti0n]

Well I was going to add this to Daox's "My first bill' thread, but this kept getting longer and longer as I describe all the stuff I have in my house to give a general idea of how we have things.

This is our 3rd September in the house.

Trying to categorize this stuff to make it easy to read, but it's not that... easy. But maybe someone has some suggestions of things I can do. This should have been a VERY low month, but i'm not thrilled with the number. Which, the numbers are at the bottom if you get bored of everything else, lol.

Normally constant running 'things' and their status:
- Living room: Everything in the entertainment center stays plugged in - 2 DVRs, MiniDisc, 42" Vizio TV (one of the most efficient rated just by chance), Surround Sound Amplifier, Surround Sound Receiver, Wii, PS2, Xbox 1. VOIP Phone. So yes, I realize that is a massive list of stuff drawing constant power, it sucks, but there's not a LOT I can do about it. Maybe a few things, but I can't unplug the DVRs or VOIP phone cause they'd lose their status.
- Kitchen: The Microwave, Toaster, and Toaster Over are on a switch and we turn them all off after use. Two Full Size Refrigerators (but one is in the garage), Electric Stove with Clock.
- Bedroom: TV, VCR, DVD player (none get used, so I 'should' put those on a switch), 2 alarm clocks, cable modem and wireless router. My desktop computer is up there collecting dust, but plugged in. And a 6W night light in the master bathroom.
- Outside: Pool Filter was on a few days (Usually it runs 10hrs/day, but i turned it off last month and used it a few days to get it ready to close.)
-- I have an outside light that's ALWAYS on, kinda... it has no switch (sound familiar Daox?), but it's on a sensor, so it's only on at night, and it dims when there's no activity. So, it's not great that it's always on at night, but at least it's not on 24/7 and at full brightness. I can't put a CFL on it because the dimming burns em out too quick.

Other random factoids:
- Most Bulbs are already CFLs (except dimables, and a few odd size bulbs)
- We used the air conditioner (electric window/wall units) for 3 days (we had a 95 degree day about 2 weeks ago... today it's 65)
- No heat used (which is gas)
- Hot Water Heater (gas) - no temp gauge, but it's lower than factory set temp... but i also like long hot showers, lol
- We don't leave cell phone chargers plugged in the walls.
- We have a dishwasher that we use maybe once a week.
- Electric clothes drier - 2 loads/week.

General stuff done to try to keep in heat/coolness and conserve:
- All new windows on the main and top floors.
- Foam Insulation around pipes for heating system and hot water heater.
(Doing major caulking now, so I won't count that for Sept)

NUMBERS!
Sept '08
Days: 32
Avg Temp: 70
kWh: 731
Avg kWh: 22.8
Therms: 13
Avg Thems: 0.4

Electric Price: $117.24 @ 11.80 cents/kWh + other BS price
Gas: $30.03 (prices are percentage based, so it's hard to spell out)
Total: $147.27

To compare:
Sept '07
Days: 28 - 4 less days than '08
Avg Temp: 72
kWh: 666
Avg kWh: 23.8 - Avg was higher than this year's, so we did cut somewhere
Therms: 10
Avg Thems: 0.4 - Same avg use

I don't have '06 in front of me... but what's insane is we do have some numbers for '06 we were looking at last night, and our kWhs were up in the 1100 range, and in WINTER when we're not using the AC (this was before the 2nd fridge and before the bigger TV). Last year we started supplementing the heat with portable electric heaters, but our numbers were staying much lower than 1100kWh.