What is your average kWh/day usage? - Page 10

Mikesolar · 05-21-14, 07:25 PM

Two adults and two dogs, laptops only, 40" LCD TV, gas boiler and stove, all lights are CFL/LED which i try to have turned off most of the time. Daily KWH is about 7.5

Guess we are well below average but not low enough for my liking.

I'll have to figure out the gas.

Robaroni · 05-22-14, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AC_Hacker

My daily electric usage per day for September is 12 kWh/day.

I have gas water heat (demand water heater), gas stove, gas dryer.

I have no incandescent lighting anymore, and I am in the process of replacing the CF lights with LED lights.

I'm still using my 3/4 Ton Sanyo heat pump for heat, and I used it for AC about seven days this summer. This time of year, my house is very close to being in comfortable equilibrium (70F) with the outside temperature.

I also drive a car that has a lifetime average of 54 mpg.

It might be interesting to convert all energy use to the same units, say kWh and make that comparison.

BTW, I heard a very interesting talk last night where I learned that the poverty level in India is defined as less than 75 cents per day. I also learned that less than half of India has access to electricity.

-AC_Hacker

Interesting you bring this up:

Modi to Use Solar to Bring Power to Every Home by 2019 - Bloomberg

I use ~200KWH a month, a little more in the winter. We don't need AC up here.
Rob

David_L_G · 05-22-14, 03:54 PM

Hi all,

Interesting thread!

I read power consumption (and generation) at the meter on the first day of each month (see attachment) and record that in a spread sheet. Household is older 2 adults, and 2 young adults.

Power generation peaks in summer at about 10kWh per day, whereas our power consumption peaks in winter at around 20 kwh per day. During winter our solar power generation drops as low as 2-3 kWh per month. The offset is a problem for solar generation!

That winter peak has increased due to our shifting to a reverse cycle A/C for heating (we still use evaporative A/C for most summer cooling). Because we purchase 100% green power (from wind generation), the electric A/C heating is more sustainable than the natural gas heating (which has high CO2 emissions).

The priority I have is to reduce that winter demand - heating & lighting are the main culprits. Switching to more LEDs planned. We've renovated some rooms, boosting ceiling insulation and improving window coverings (air cell blinds)... but with an older house there are challenges, suspended wooden floors, gaps around doors etc.

DG

Quest · 05-22-14, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikesolar

Two adults and two dogs, laptops only, 40" LCD TV, gas boiler and stove, all lights are CFL/LED which i try to have turned off most of the time. Daily KWH is about 7.5

Guess we are well below average but not low enough for my liking.

I'll have to figure out the gas.

Wow! 7.5kW per day? That's good!

I'll have to set my goal to further reduce my overall daily electricity consumption further (at this time of the year, 13kW/h per day typical is my family's consumption).

Also: on an irrelevant note: I shall pursue the installation of a ERV in my house to further cut down winter heating gas bill (natural gas - radiant in-floor hydronic heating)... wish me luck.

Q.

mikek · 05-22-14, 09:19 PM

Interesting thread!

My family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids, ages 10, 7, and 4) appear to be averaging about 22KWh/day for the last year. Not the greatest, but I use propane (and a corn stove, but that also draws 200W 24/7 for at least 4-5 months of the year) for heat, and everything else is electric.

I'm most proud to report that we are back down to where we were ~10 years ago before we had kids! Replaced electric water heater with a heat pump water heater, upgraded the furnace to one with a variable speed blower (I run that all winter to spread the corn stove heat around the house) and also line dry all the clothes when we can.

Future plans are to supplement heat and hot water with some solar panels, though that probably won't do too much to the electric usage.

mike

stevehull · 05-23-14, 08:01 AM

Mike,

What are the units on the graph? Is this kWhrs per week? The average line appears to be at a level of "900" (~880 if I squint carefully).

How do you get 22 kWhrs per day from this? No doubting you, but wondering.

22 kWHrs per day = 154/week, 660/month, 8030/year so I am having troubles understanding the graph units.

Regardless, great job reducing your electric consumption!

Steve

mikek · 05-23-14, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevehull

What are the units on the graph? Is this kWhrs per week? The average line appears to be at a level of "900" (~880 if I squint carefully).

How do you get 22 kWhrs per day from this? No doubting you, but wondering.

Sorry, didn't realize the graph was resized during the upload!

The units are kWh/month (graph goes back to 2000). I divided these numbers by 30 to get my 22 kWhs/day figure.

mike

stevehull · 05-23-14, 10:50 AM

Got it! The recent decrease in electric consumption is now especially evident.

Steve

Fornax · 05-23-14, 03:34 PM

Hi All,

Quote:

Originally Posted by AC_Hacker

Total Annual Household Energy use (2011-ish)

Average American household energy use 40300 kwh
Electricity
Average American household electrical use 11,000 kwh
Water
Average American household use 127,400 gallons

-AC_Hacker

For my household in 2013:
Total energy use: 15000kwh
Our electrical use: 4044kwh
Our natural gas use: 1186m^3 ( ~11000kwh)
Water: ~26m^3 (~10,000 gallons)

That is for a family of 4 in a 50m^2 (550sqf) house with 2 stories plus attic (That makes it some 1400sqf in total).
NG use is for heating, cooking and tankless hot water.

Over the past years our NG usage for heating has gone down due to better insulation. Last winter is not included in the above numbers but NG usage has dropped further due to the installation of the HRV plus the extremely warm winter we had over here.

Our electricity usage is higher than average for our area but lower than average in the USA. But then again we don't consider AC as 'baseline usage' over here, only few houses even have one : )

Energy is a bit expensive over here, the energy bill for electricity + NG was €1806.19 (~$2.3k) (over the entire year, payed in equal monthly terms.)
Electricity is 3 times the cost of NG per kwh.

Quest · 05-24-14, 11:59 AM

in my area: electricity is currently @ 0.075CAD per kW/hr, up from the original 0.067CAD per kW/hr.

Due to some hydrodam new projects, the price for electricity will be up by 30% over the next 4 years...(already approved). While it may, by no means, expensive in NA standards, it is something that I want to make it more "manageable" in the long run.

Natural Gas is market rate (currently @ 4.64CAD per GigaJoule, + delivery charge, midstream charge, etc.)...not bad given this rather harsh past winter (most parts of NA used up their NG reserves, drove the market pricing for NG up...) I recalled the lowest for NG pricing was 2 yrs ago where market value was @ 2.67CAD per GigaJoule.

anyways, as I'm planing on the implementation of my HRV this summer, I'm looking forward to some more savings this coming winter, and many more to come.

Q.

05-22-14, 03:54 PM	#93
David_L_G Lurking Renovator Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Clarence Gardens, South Australia Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hi all, Interesting thread! I read power consumption (and generation) at the meter on the first day of each month (see attachment) and record that in a spread sheet. Household is older 2 adults, and 2 young adults. Power generation peaks in summer at about 10kWh per day, whereas our power consumption peaks in winter at around 20 kwh per day. During winter our solar power generation drops as low as 2-3 kWh per month. The offset is a problem for solar generation! That winter peak has increased due to our shifting to a reverse cycle A/C for heating (we still use evaporative A/C for most summer cooling). Because we purchase 100% green power (from wind generation), the electric A/C heating is more sustainable than the natural gas heating (which has high CO2 emissions). The priority I have is to reduce that winter demand - heating & lighting are the main culprits. Switching to more LEDs planned. We've renovated some rooms, boosting ceiling insulation and improving window coverings (air cell blinds)... but with an older house there are challenges, suspended wooden floors, gaps around doors etc. DG Attached Thumbnails

05-22-14, 09:19 PM	#95
mikek Lurking Renovator Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Rochester, MN Posts: 10 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Interesting thread! My family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids, ages 10, 7, and 4) appear to be averaging about 22KWh/day for the last year. Not the greatest, but I use propane (and a corn stove, but that also draws 200W 24/7 for at least 4-5 months of the year) for heat, and everything else is electric. I'm most proud to report that we are back down to where we were ~10 years ago before we had kids! Replaced electric water heater with a heat pump water heater, upgraded the furnace to one with a variable speed blower (I run that all winter to spread the corn stove heat around the house) and also line dry all the clothes when we can. Future plans are to supplement heat and hot water with some solar panels, though that probably won't do too much to the electric usage. mike Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Daox; 05-23-14 at 07:40 AM..

05-23-14, 08:01 AM	#96
stevehull Steve Hull Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: hilly, tree covered Arcadia, OK USA Posts: 826 Thanks: 241 Thanked 165 Times in 123 Posts	Mike, What are the units on the graph? Is this kWhrs per week? The average line appears to be at a level of "900" (~880 if I squint carefully). How do you get 22 kWhrs per day from this? No doubting you, but wondering. 22 kWHrs per day = 154/week, 660/month, 8030/year so I am having troubles understanding the graph units. Regardless, great job reducing your electric consumption! Steve __________________ consulting on geothermal heating/cooling & rational energy use since 1990

05-23-14, 10:50 AM	#98
stevehull Steve Hull Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: hilly, tree covered Arcadia, OK USA Posts: 826 Thanks: 241 Thanked 165 Times in 123 Posts	Got it! The recent decrease in electric consumption is now especially evident. Steve __________________ consulting on geothermal heating/cooling & rational energy use since 1990

05-21-14, 07:25 PM	#91
Mikesolar Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Toronto Posts: 958 Thanks: 40 Thanked 158 Times in 150 Posts	Two adults and two dogs, laptops only, 40" LCD TV, gas boiler and stove, all lights are CFL/LED which i try to have turned off most of the time. Daily KWH is about 7.5 Guess we are well below average but not low enough for my liking. I'll have to figure out the gas.

05-24-14, 11:59 AM	#100
Quest Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 109 Thanks: 13 Thanked 13 Times in 11 Posts	in my area: electricity is currently @ 0.075CAD per kW/hr, up from the original 0.067CAD per kW/hr. Due to some hydrodam new projects, the price for electricity will be up by 30% over the next 4 years...(already approved). While it may, by no means, expensive in NA standards, it is something that I want to make it more "manageable" in the long run. Natural Gas is market rate (currently @ 4.64CAD per GigaJoule, + delivery charge, midstream charge, etc.)...not bad given this rather harsh past winter (most parts of NA used up their NG reserves, drove the market pricing for NG up...) I recalled the lowest for NG pricing was 2 yrs ago where market value was @ 2.67CAD per GigaJoule. anyways, as I'm planing on the implementation of my HRV this summer, I'm looking forward to some more savings this coming winter, and many more to come. Q.