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.

[Daox]

Nice break down! We'll eventually be comming up with a feature on the website that will allow you to track home energy usage similar to how you would your gas mileage.

I'd try to do something with that outside light. I just ran to the store last night and picked up dimmable CFLs. They were more expensive ($15 for a pack of 4 - 60W equivalents) than normal ones, but its going to be well worth it for me. I think it probably would for you too.

I would also look into getting a Kill A Watt. Its a small device that measures instant electricity usage and usage over time. I just plugged mine into the chest freezer I bought with the house. Its been plugged in about 1 day and has used 1.31 kWh as of last night. So, I can go look up other chest freezers of a similar size and know how efficient it is. I also plan on cleaning the refrigeration part of it up (I'm sure its never been cleaned) and I would like to see if that leads to an increase in efficiency. The other really handy thing about it is you can plug it into a appliance (or whatever) and see how much electricity it pulls when the power is off on something. This is very useful for electronics that pull power while on standby.

A neat way I've read about (haven't done it yet) to stop phantom loads is with a smart power strip. You plug in one 'control' device to the power strip. When this device is turned on, the rest of the plugs also get power. When you turn off the 'control' device, it turns off power to the rest of the things plugged into the strip. I belive there are also a few normal plugs on them for things that need constant power. Another simpler but more physically active idea is to split your electronics onto two power strips and manually turn the one off when you aren't using it (or put it on a switched outlet). I haven't done this yet because my entertainment system pulls very little wattage while idle (I think less than 15W last time I checked and had everything connected), and I don't even have it all hooked up at the new house yet.

Also, a good way to measure hot water temp is just to get out a thermometer you'd use to take your temperature. Run the hot water until the temp is constant and put it into the water flowing out. I dunno about the rest of you guys, but I only take a shower at like 95 degrees max, so even 120 degrees is pretty high IMO. If you can get away with lowering the temp down and still have enough hot water for the time you're in the shower you're just fine and saving gas/electricity and money. I too like long showers, but I'm going to start lowering my temp little by little until I just start to run out of hot water for a shower. Then I'll bump it back up just a little.

[insaneintenti0n]

Thanks for the infos The KillAWatt is cheaper than i expected! Ones i've seen before are $50, not $18.

I'll look into that smart power strip. But I hate messing with stuff behind my entertainment center (even though i just spent an hour back there a few weeks ago trying to add a turn table to the mix, lol)

[truckncycle]

When our outdoor light fixture stopped turning on and off automatically, I found an insert that supports CFLs without blowing them out. I don't think it does motion but you can program it to turn on at sunset and off after a set period of time. I haven't needed to replace any lights yet. I found it at the orange store.

[insaneintenti0n]

October's Bill

Notes:
No AC
Heat dishes/space heaters on for few hours a day for the last 2-3 weeks.
Whole house system on 2hrs in the mornings, a few times otherwise for at most 2 weeks.

Avg temp: 57 degrees
Days: 30
Electricity: 428 kWh
Therms: 26

Elect Cost: $71.84
Gas Cost: $43.79
Total: $115.63

Though, we have a $22 credit (Our energy company was required to give everyone a $175 credit) so after last month's we still had a few bucks left. So we really only owe $92.90

[insaneintenti0n]

Originally Posted by Daox

I'd try to do something with that outside light. I just ran to the store last night and picked up dimmable CFLs. They were more expensive ($15 for a pack of 4 - 60W equivalents) than normal ones, but its going to be well worth it for me. I think it probably would for you too.

I thought there was another thread somewhere that talked about my outside light, but i can't find it. Anyway, I found that not only was the switch for the outside light busted, it wasn't even connected. So, I did finally buy a switch and connect it. Now, well, there's a switch, but the light it still going to stay on most of the time i think.

Still need to look into the dimmable CFLs.

[insaneintenti0n]

Next set of Numbers. I'm 'happy' with the price (it's ~$65 under expected, and $165 under our 'budget') I used the heat a lot more than I normally would, but I was sick of being cold. And of course I'm still caulking stuff.

Notes:
Heat dishes/space heaters on for few hours a day
Whole house system on 2.5hrs in the mornings
Night temp 62 degrees
Some whole house heat during COLD days when i get home from work


Avg temp: 46 degrees
Days: 28
Electricity: 512 kWh
Therms: 72

Elect Cost: $84.45
Gas Cost: $99.63
Total: $184.08

[Daox]

I suggest adding the cooling and heating days in with your usage information. It is helpful to see how bad your winter or summers really are.

[insaneintenti0n]

Do YOU count those... or does your Gas/Electric company count it?
I've seen you mention them before, but wasn't sure where you were coming up w/ that number. Sadly, from now till Feb/March, EVERY day is a heating day. after March, there will probably be no heat or cooling until May/June

[insaneintenti0n]

Numbers to give you all heart attacks.

Christmas time, outside lights on 3hrs every night for 2-3 weeks, it was cold, lots of cooking using the oven (cookies, breakfast/dinner for family), etc, etc

Avg temp: 39 degrees
Days: 34
Electricity: 864 kWh
Therms: 139

Elect Cost: $139.01
Gas Cost: $189.79
Total: $328.80