Does cooling your house down at night really save energy? - Page 3

Xringer · 12-30-10, 09:20 AM

It's been cold here in Woburn lately.. Averaging 29.3F for the last few weeks..
And leaving the Sanyo set to 21C is got it using about 10.5 kWh a day.

However, on those really cold nights, we did use some oil to assist the Sanyo,
so the baseboards in the den didn't get down near 0.0C..

Using the TED and the re-caled efergy unit, I think we are typical using about 500w.
At worse case, that's 12kWh per day.

It's sure nice to get up in the middle of the night and have a warm bath room..

Piwoslaw · 01-27-11, 06:13 AM

Back to the discussion about cooling the house down for a few hours and then warming it up with a heat pump.

On EnergySavers.gov - Thermostats and Control systems I found this:

Quote:

Limitations For Homes With Heat Pumps, Electric Resistance Heating, Steam Heat, And Radiant Floor Heating

Programmable thermostats are generally not recommended for heat pumps. In its cooling mode, a heat pump operates like an air conditioner, so turning up the thermostat (either manually or with a programmable thermostat) will save energy and money. But when a heat pump is in its heating mode, setting back its thermostat can cause the unit to operate inefficiently, thereby canceling out any savings achieved by lowering the temperature setting. Maintaining a moderate setting is the most cost-effective practice. Recently, however, some companies have begun selling specially designed programmable thermostats for heat pumps, which make setting back the thermostat cost effective. These thermostats typically use special algorithms to minimize the use of backup electric resistance heat systems.

Xringer · 01-28-11, 08:23 AM

I have just about given up on keeping the house (main living areas) at 21C.
I've been shutting down the mini-split during snow storms & when the outdoor temps
get too low. (Below -12 C).

And, January has been filled with too many extra cold nights and snow storms..

With oil heat (back-up) on, we are at 18-19C in the AM and try to get it up
to 21C with extra oil burns and hi-amp space heaters..

It's a costly roller-coaster ride..

This morning, it's sunny. When it got up to -8C, the Sanyo was able to take over again..

Ahh, mellow Sanyo warmth!!

Next month (I hope) we will be trying to get back on board with 21C 24-7..

12-30-10, 09:20 AM	#21
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	It's been cold here in Woburn lately.. Averaging 29.3F for the last few weeks.. And leaving the Sanyo set to 21C is got it using about 10.5 kWh a day. However, on those really cold nights, we did use some oil to assist the Sanyo, so the baseboards in the den didn't get down near 0.0C.. Using the TED and the re-caled efergy unit, I think we are typical using about 500w. At worse case, that's 12kWh per day. It's sure nice to get up in the middle of the night and have a warm bath room..

01-28-11, 08:23 AM	#23
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	I have just about given up on keeping the house (main living areas) at 21C. I've been shutting down the mini-split during snow storms & when the outdoor temps get too low. (Below -12 C). And, January has been filled with too many extra cold nights and snow storms.. With oil heat (back-up) on, we are at 18-19C in the AM and try to get it up to 21C with extra oil burns and hi-amp space heaters.. It's a costly roller-coaster ride.. This morning, it's sunny. When it got up to -8C, the Sanyo was able to take over again.. Ahh, mellow Sanyo warmth!! Next month (I hope) we will be trying to get back on board with 21C 24-7..