What is your biggest power usage day?

pinballlooking · 02-18-16, 08:47 AM

Some it could be in the summer others it will be in the winter.
What is your largest power usage day? Maybe the day you did laundry and it was cold out or hot outside.

I will start it off we hit a 100 kwh this winter. We charged the car 3 + times. Each complete charge is about 12 kwh car charging was about 40 kwh. a normal day it is 24 – 30 kwh in the winter.

Our dryer has two heating elements and use 6.6kwh when both are on. It was a very cold day….

I should add that day was sunny and we made 70 kwh with solar power.

I know we don’t talk much about max usage but the talk about going off grid had me thinking about it. You have to plan for the worst days not the best days.

where2 · 02-18-16, 09:05 PM

I think my worst day in my power tracking history was 56kWh. When my electric heat strips kick on, they're 10kW of glowing resistance heat. I've been lucky this winter, a majority of the winter I've been able to heat with a dehumidifier. Looking at my thermostat, I've only had the heat running for 3.75 hours in the past 10 days.

I've got a friend who lives near Roanoke, VA. He sends me photos of his TED 1001 reading over 100kWh per day several times each winter. He sent me a message yesterday and said his power bill was 3337kWh last month!! He's got a 90+ year old house that desperately needs a Thermal Imaging camera and air sealing help.

celblazer · 02-19-16, 11:09 AM

53.3Kwh It was 0 here and barely above for a couple days. I have an outdoor Hot Tub and that just sucked down the energy. My winter average is usually 35-40Kwh when it's cold.

oil pan 4 · 02-21-16, 12:29 PM

You can reduce peak power draw of an electric dryer like I did here:
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/applia...-selector.html

It works real good in hot dry climate like I have.
If you are starting with 100% humidity air like you get on the east coast, might not work as well.

Piwoslaw · 03-01-16, 03:41 PM

Our house has the highest electricity use on Christmas Eve - lots of cooking, baking, cleaning, plus the christmas lights are already on. This is usually the only day in the year when we use more than 10kWh (typically 12-13kWh).

As far a total power usage (including gas for heating) then that would be the coldest day of winter. Our condensing boiler can use as much as 15-20m3 in a day, which is about 175-225kWh.

mejunkhound · 03-01-16, 07:19 PM

Do laundry only once a week, Saturday.

2 large dryers, typical is 70 kWhrs.

Largest on our record is 170 kW-hr, one fall day last year when dryer was used and I spent 5 or 6 hours welding out at the barn, 230A dc welder, and house needed some heat.

5 T GSHP and 3T air-air HP, neither run at same time though. Electric WH (hybrid).

DW may have used the 10 HP pressure washer a couple hours that day also.

Servicetech · 04-16-16, 09:04 AM

50KWH during the heat of the summer. 100+ degree days will do that !!!

nupur · 06-24-16, 10:47 AM

Mine was during summer when the mercury was soaring high. the air conditioning was on all day, must've used up atleast 50 kwhrs.

wilsonsmith · 11-28-16, 12:01 AM

During summer the usage of power is much higher than the normal seasons. Due to high temperature of 100 degree or more, we should keep ac on for the whole day. Regular electronic appliances cost more power usage during summer. Our largest power usage is 100 kwh per hour.

MN Renovator · 12-01-16, 12:36 AM

Mine was caused by one of my tenants. Don't get housemates unless you have a lot of patience.

This was in September, which in Minnesota can have large swings on a clear sunny day from temperatures in the 80s down to night temperatures in the 50s.
On this particular night in September, the air conditioner was set to run in the evening after the sun went down, usually it satisfies the thermostat and shuts down before it gets cold outside, but one of the roommates decided to lower the thermostat, the temperature wasn't met and it continued to get into the high 50's outside with a dew point hugging that temperature(which means don't open the windows unless you like mold in your basement!). A temperature in the 50s is a recipe for a frozen coil. The coil froze and the air conditioner ran for over 24 hours before shutting off at midnight the next night. This used 67.5kwh in a day. The part that bothered me the most is my hi/low thermometer showed that it was 64 degrees at some point.

For a comparison, I've managed 7 months in 2015 using less power than that day! Imagine how upset I was about this.

Now that same housemate is trying to turn the temperature up on the thermostat on a daily basis. He doesn't seem to care how much the utilities cost or care at all about energy usage, which was something that we discussed in depth before he moved in, but he was just being a non-committed yes man. It's hard to not kick this person out. He's also relatively uneducated with willful ignorance and is noisy at night. I keep telling myself the income from sharing the house is worth the trouble. It's not money that I need but it's helpful to have in order to save extra money and fund hobbies.

The other housemate uses two TVs at the same time and watches Netflix on one with a gaming system and plays video games on the other at the same time. This amounts to about 8kwh per day, just doing that. It used to be more back when I let them use my big screen(105" screen) projector but that uses 200 watts on its own and it would be running for 8 hours a day plus the gaming system they connected to it. Once the bulb burned out, I haven't bothered replacing it and I work allow them to buy the bulb because then they will feel they have some level of 'ownership' should I decide to not let them use my projector. Since I didn't use it too much anyway, mostly due to the thoughts of its energy consumption, I'll probably never buy the bulb. I'm considering an LED 4k projector once they have a reasonable price if the power level is reasonable, say 100 watts or less. The 200 watt was far brighter than I needed.

The thing that bothers me the most about the whole thing is my solar system used to give me plenty of bill credits and I'd always produce at least as much power, but almost always more than I used, but with roommates they use gobs of power, leave lights, fans, and TVs on when they leave the room for extended periods of time. I figure towards the end of 2017 it'll be time for both to leave because I'll have my spent the money to get my IFR rating and mostly funded other things I want to fund. If one leaves on their own accord, the other will likely get kicked out shortly after.

02-18-16, 08:47 AM	#1
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	What is your biggest power usage day? Some it could be in the summer others it will be in the winter. What is your largest power usage day? Maybe the day you did laundry and it was cold out or hot outside. I will start it off we hit a 100 kwh this winter. We charged the car 3 + times. Each complete charge is about 12 kwh car charging was about 40 kwh. a normal day it is 24 – 30 kwh in the winter. Our dryer has two heating elements and use 6.6kwh when both are on. It was a very cold day…. I should add that day was sunny and we made 70 kwh with solar power. I know we don’t talk much about max usage but the talk about going off grid had me thinking about it. You have to plan for the worst days not the best days. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

02-18-16, 09:05 PM	#2
where2 DIY Geek Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Sunny Florida Posts: 401 Thanks: 74 Thanked 83 Times in 73 Posts	I think my worst day in my power tracking history was 56kWh. When my electric heat strips kick on, they're 10kW of glowing resistance heat. I've been lucky this winter, a majority of the winter I've been able to heat with a dehumidifier. Looking at my thermostat, I've only had the heat running for 3.75 hours in the past 10 days. I've got a friend who lives near Roanoke, VA. He sends me photos of his TED 1001 reading over 100kWh per day several times each winter. He sent me a message yesterday and said his power bill was 3337kWh last month!! He's got a 90+ year old house that desperately needs a Thermal Imaging camera and air sealing help. Last edited by where2; 02-18-16 at 09:06 PM.. Reason: fix punctuation

03-01-16, 03:41 PM	#5
Piwoslaw Super Moderator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 964 Thanks: 189 Thanked 111 Times in 87 Posts	Our house has the highest electricity use on Christmas Eve - lots of cooking, baking, cleaning, plus the christmas lights are already on. This is usually the only day in the year when we use more than 10kWh (typically 12-13kWh). As far a total power usage (including gas for heating) then that would be the coldest day of winter. Our condensing boiler can use as much as 15-20m3 in a day, which is about 175-225kWh. __________________ Ecorenovation - the bottomless piggy bank that tries to tame the energy hog.

02-19-16, 11:09 AM	#3
celblazer Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Jersey Posts: 57 Thanks: 42 Thanked 17 Times in 11 Posts	53.3Kwh It was 0 here and barely above for a couple days. I have an outdoor Hot Tub and that just sucked down the energy. My winter average is usually 35-40Kwh when it's cold.

02-21-16, 12:29 PM	#4
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	You can reduce peak power draw of an electric dryer like I did here: http://ecorenovator.org/forum/applia...-selector.html It works real good in hot dry climate like I have. If you are starting with 100% humidity air like you get on the east coast, might not work as well.

03-01-16, 07:19 PM	#6
mejunkhound Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: PNW Posts: 197 Thanks: 0 Thanked 47 Times in 31 Posts	Do laundry only once a week, Saturday. 2 large dryers, typical is 70 kWhrs. Largest on our record is 170 kW-hr, one fall day last year when dryer was used and I spent 5 or 6 hours welding out at the barn, 230A dc welder, and house needed some heat. 5 T GSHP and 3T air-air HP, neither run at same time though. Electric WH (hybrid). DW may have used the 10 HP pressure washer a couple hours that day also.

04-16-16, 09:04 AM	#7
Servicetech Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Moore Oklahoma Posts: 267 Thanks: 108 Thanked 23 Times in 21 Posts	50KWH during the heat of the summer. 100+ degree days will do that !!!

06-24-16, 10:47 AM	#8
nupur Lurking Renovator Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: India Posts: 5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Mine was during summer when the mercury was soaring high. the air conditioning was on all day, must've used up atleast 50 kwhrs.

11-28-16, 12:01 AM	#9
wilsonsmith Banned Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: USA Posts: 3 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	During summer the usage of power is much higher than the normal seasons. Due to high temperature of 100 degree or more, we should keep ac on for the whole day. Regular electronic appliances cost more power usage during summer. Our largest power usage is 100 kwh per hour.

12-01-16, 12:36 AM	#10
MN Renovator Less usage=Cheaper bills Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 940 Thanks: 41 Thanked 117 Times in 91 Posts	Mine was caused by one of my tenants. Don't get housemates unless you have a lot of patience. This was in September, which in Minnesota can have large swings on a clear sunny day from temperatures in the 80s down to night temperatures in the 50s. On this particular night in September, the air conditioner was set to run in the evening after the sun went down, usually it satisfies the thermostat and shuts down before it gets cold outside, but one of the roommates decided to lower the thermostat, the temperature wasn't met and it continued to get into the high 50's outside with a dew point hugging that temperature(which means don't open the windows unless you like mold in your basement!). A temperature in the 50s is a recipe for a frozen coil. The coil froze and the air conditioner ran for over 24 hours before shutting off at midnight the next night. This used 67.5kwh in a day. The part that bothered me the most is my hi/low thermometer showed that it was 64 degrees at some point. For a comparison, I've managed 7 months in 2015 using less power than that day! Imagine how upset I was about this. Now that same housemate is trying to turn the temperature up on the thermostat on a daily basis. He doesn't seem to care how much the utilities cost or care at all about energy usage, which was something that we discussed in depth before he moved in, but he was just being a non-committed yes man. It's hard to not kick this person out. He's also relatively uneducated with willful ignorance and is noisy at night. I keep telling myself the income from sharing the house is worth the trouble. It's not money that I need but it's helpful to have in order to save extra money and fund hobbies. The other housemate uses two TVs at the same time and watches Netflix on one with a gaming system and plays video games on the other at the same time. This amounts to about 8kwh per day, just doing that. It used to be more back when I let them use my big screen(105" screen) projector but that uses 200 watts on its own and it would be running for 8 hours a day plus the gaming system they connected to it. Once the bulb burned out, I haven't bothered replacing it and I work allow them to buy the bulb because then they will feel they have some level of 'ownership' should I decide to not let them use my projector. Since I didn't use it too much anyway, mostly due to the thoughts of its energy consumption, I'll probably never buy the bulb. I'm considering an LED 4k projector once they have a reasonable price if the power level is reasonable, say 100 watts or less. The 200 watt was far brighter than I needed. The thing that bothers me the most about the whole thing is my solar system used to give me plenty of bill credits and I'd always produce at least as much power, but almost always more than I used, but with roommates they use gobs of power, leave lights, fans, and TVs on when they leave the room for extended periods of time. I figure towards the end of 2017 it'll be time for both to leave because I'll have my spent the money to get my IFR rating and mostly funded other things I want to fund. If one leaves on their own accord, the other will likely get kicked out shortly after.