AntiochOG's Quest to Save Energy

AntiochOG · 10-08-10, 09:18 PM

I'm starting this thread as a way to track both my energy usage, and the steps I'm taking to reduce it.

Background:
I live in Corvallis, Oregon in a fourplex built in 1964. My unit is 832 square ft. and located in the middle so I share walls with neighbors on two sides. There are 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. I live here alone 4 nights a week, and my 4 year old daughter lives here too the other 3 nights. The heat is electric baseboard with separate thermostats for each bedroom, and one for the main living area. The bathroom has a small in wall electric heater. The oven and range are electric as are the washer/dryer, and water heater which has 2 4500 watt elements. The roof is flat and white, and there isn't enough room for it possibly have very much insulation inside. There are 3 large single pane sliding glass doors, 1 other single pane window that is about 3x6 feet, and 3 skylights. I replaced all the light bulbs with CFL's the first week I moved in over 4 years ago.

Energy Usage:
I've been able to look up all my electric bills dating back to August of 2008. Because the number of days per billing month varies I've broken them down into average number of kwh used per day.

August 2008 10.36 kwh/day
September 2008 17.93 kwh/day
October 2008 16.84 kwh/day
November 2008 18.88 kwh/day
December 2008 23.57 kwh/day

January 2009 38.42 kwh/day
February 2009 47.64 kwh/day
March 2009 37.77 kwh/day
April 2009 32.43 kwh/day
May 2009 25.23 kwh/day
June 2009 13.87 kwh/day
July 2009 10.52 kwh/day
August 2009 10.83 kwh/day
September 2009 11.24 kwh/day
October 2009 13.35 kwh/day
November 2009 27.34 kwh/day
December 2009 46.23 kwh/day

January 2010 63.12 kwh/day
February 2010 50.75 kwh/day
March 2010 43.72 kwh/day
April 2010 42.13 kwh/day
May 2010 31.52 kwh/day
June 2010 29.47 kwh/day
July 2010 12.28 kwh/day
August 2010 9.50 kwh/day
September 2010 12.38 kwh/day
October 2010 12.10 kwh/day
November 2010 12.00 kwh/day
December 2010 17.76 kwh/day

As you can see last winter I stopped caring about saving money and just wanted to keep my house toasty all the time. This was probably related to having a girlfriend who spent a lot of time at my house, and did her laundry here too. Lately I've been back in the mindset of trying to save energy and the last few months have been good. My current average kwh/day for the last 12 months is 31.82 kwh/day. I'll be updating this thread with not only my latest energy use, but also my new average for the last 12 months.

Conservation:
Rather than just keeping my heat low and being cold all the time, I'm starting to look at ways that I can make my house more efficient. Hopefully I'll be able to stay warm and lower my energy costs.

One of the sliding doors is located in my bedroom. I work nights, so the light from the window is not welcomed when I'm trying to sleep during the day. I've tried covering the window with different things over the years, to trap the warmth and block the light. Currently I have the whole door covered with 1" thick R-tech insulfoam, on top of that there is a comforter hanging over the door, on top of that there are some black out curtains. This setup up does a really good job of keeping the light out, and the temperature behind the blanket feels much cooler than the temperature in the room during the winter.

I've also put the same foam insulation on the lower 4 feet of the sliding door in the living room. This allows lots of light in still, but hopefully helps trap some of the heat.

I've started making some improvements in the last week. I'll post more about that in the next few days. I'll try to get some pictures up too.

10-08-10, 09:18 PM	#1
AntiochOG Lurking Renovator Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Corvallis, OR Posts: 22 Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	AntiochOG's Quest to Save Energy I'm starting this thread as a way to track both my energy usage, and the steps I'm taking to reduce it. Background: I live in Corvallis, Oregon in a fourplex built in 1964. My unit is 832 square ft. and located in the middle so I share walls with neighbors on two sides. There are 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. I live here alone 4 nights a week, and my 4 year old daughter lives here too the other 3 nights. The heat is electric baseboard with separate thermostats for each bedroom, and one for the main living area. The bathroom has a small in wall electric heater. The oven and range are electric as are the washer/dryer, and water heater which has 2 4500 watt elements. The roof is flat and white, and there isn't enough room for it possibly have very much insulation inside. There are 3 large single pane sliding glass doors, 1 other single pane window that is about 3x6 feet, and 3 skylights. I replaced all the light bulbs with CFL's the first week I moved in over 4 years ago. Energy Usage: I've been able to look up all my electric bills dating back to August of 2008. Because the number of days per billing month varies I've broken them down into average number of kwh used per day. August 2008 10.36 kwh/day September 2008 17.93 kwh/day October 2008 16.84 kwh/day November 2008 18.88 kwh/day December 2008 23.57 kwh/day January 2009 38.42 kwh/day February 2009 47.64 kwh/day March 2009 37.77 kwh/day April 2009 32.43 kwh/day May 2009 25.23 kwh/day June 2009 13.87 kwh/day July 2009 10.52 kwh/day August 2009 10.83 kwh/day September 2009 11.24 kwh/day October 2009 13.35 kwh/day November 2009 27.34 kwh/day December 2009 46.23 kwh/day January 2010 63.12 kwh/day February 2010 50.75 kwh/day March 2010 43.72 kwh/day April 2010 42.13 kwh/day May 2010 31.52 kwh/day June 2010 29.47 kwh/day July 2010 12.28 kwh/day August 2010 9.50 kwh/day September 2010 12.38 kwh/day October 2010 12.10 kwh/day November 2010 12.00 kwh/day December 2010 17.76 kwh/day As you can see last winter I stopped caring about saving money and just wanted to keep my house toasty all the time. This was probably related to having a girlfriend who spent a lot of time at my house, and did her laundry here too. Lately I've been back in the mindset of trying to save energy and the last few months have been good. My current average kwh/day for the last 12 months is 31.82 kwh/day. I'll be updating this thread with not only my latest energy use, but also my new average for the last 12 months. Conservation: Rather than just keeping my heat low and being cold all the time, I'm starting to look at ways that I can make my house more efficient. Hopefully I'll be able to stay warm and lower my energy costs. One of the sliding doors is located in my bedroom. I work nights, so the light from the window is not welcomed when I'm trying to sleep during the day. I've tried covering the window with different things over the years, to trap the warmth and block the light. Currently I have the whole door covered with 1" thick R-tech insulfoam, on top of that there is a comforter hanging over the door, on top of that there are some black out curtains. This setup up does a really good job of keeping the light out, and the temperature behind the blanket feels much cooler than the temperature in the room during the winter. I've also put the same foam insulation on the lower 4 feet of the sliding door in the living room. This allows lots of light in still, but hopefully helps trap some of the heat. I've started making some improvements in the last week. I'll post more about that in the next few days. I'll try to get some pictures up too. Last edited by AntiochOG; 12-10-10 at 09:27 AM..