What is your average kWh/day usage? - Page 4

strider3700 · 11-01-11, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xringer

Anyways 15kWh in 24 hours comes out to .625 per hour on average.
$3.24 a day. That's going to add up to some serious moola..
$97.20 a month (just for heating) if we keep this up..

That's not that bad really. I have over the last two winters run $100/month during the cold months more then I do during the summer. The difference is the electric heatpump. If I remember correctly you pay way more then I do per kwh. Mine is 6.2 cents/kwh for the first 1300 then 8.7 cents/kwh.

Xringer · 11-01-11, 01:16 PM

My TED is projecting 383 kWh for this billing cycle. 22 days left. ($81.80 @ $0.216 each)..
I'll bet it doesn't really know how cold it's going to get this month!!

A few years ago, I was stupid and signed up for a locked-in rate..
Never believing in a million years that NStar would LOWER their rates!
As of right now, we are paying 20 to 30 percent too much.
I would have canceled it had I known how much I would have saved.
Even with the $50 cancellation fee.. Just too busy to check it out!

But, the agreement ends next month and we should have a little
lower rate.. For a while I hope!

AC_Hacker · 11-01-11, 02:11 PM

My average power use for October is 9.8 kWh per day.

The smaller LED bulbs I have been installing are helping out.

I really like the title of this thread, "What is your average kWh/day usage?", because it keeps us focused on the amount of energy we are using, and at the same time keeps us aware of the implied amount of environmental damage we are doing when we use energy.

I think this is a much better way to frame our predicament, than to look just at the cost of our energy.

Because there are strategies that we can use to save money on our energy consumption that would actually increase the damage we do to our environment.

One example that comes to mind, would be to start burning coal in our homes.

The price of coal to consumers is actually pretty cheap, but the environmental damage would be high.

This is another reason why going the extra mile to reduce energy consumption through serious insulation strategies, and also reducing the amount of house we heat through the winter months, is such a good idea.

-AC_Hacker

strider3700 · 11-01-11, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AC_Hacker

I really like the title of this thread, "What is your average kWh/day usage?", because it keeps us focused on the amount of energy we are using, and at the same time keeps us aware of the implied amount of environmental damage we are doing when we use energy.

I fully agree. I just wish everyone would convert their other energy costs to kwh. It would allow us pure electric homes to see how we're doing vs the electric and gas homes.

Of course when we get to that point next we need to factor in size of home, HDD/CDD and number of occupants,...

Xringer · 11-01-11, 05:13 PM

'start burning coal in our homes.'

I did that one winter. Didn't like the mess. But, I still have the coal grate installed..
So, I'm Coal-Ready, if the need arises..

I would have to pull out the Fusion powered heating element first..

Hv23t · 11-02-11, 10:05 AM

My Kwh usage for the spring thru fall months average 22.4 kwh a day.
During the winter it goes up to nearly 40 kwh. But those numbers are spiked a few times by thanksgiving Christmas and new years party's. I know last new years party used 300kwh over the two days, Luckly spread out over two different power bills. My house is 4500sq ft, everything is electric except the stove and the furnaces which run on propane. I have a ge heat pump water heater that is saving me a fortune on the 2 propane heaters we previously had. We have a swimming pool which uses 6kwh a day. And we are on a well so the sprinklers and any water we use will drive it up some. Last year we used about 300 gallons of propane for heat. Which I'm trying to eleminate since it's now costing 3.82 a gallon. I bought a 3.5 ton amana packaged heat pump off craigslist last weekend. And now I need to figure out how to plumb it in. My wife thinks its ugly so she doesn't want to see it. I considered installing in the addic, which has alot of volume but I'm not sure yet.

Oh I should mention the entire bottom floor of the house is tile, so during the summer it keeps the place cool. Then at night we open windows and turn on the whole house fan all night. I think we only turned on the upstairs a/c 4 or 5 times this year.

Phantom · 11-02-11, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strider3700

I fully agree. I just wish everyone would convert their other energy costs to kwh. It would allow us pure electric homes to see how we're doing vs the electric and gas homes.

Of course when we get to that point next we need to factor in size of home, HDD/CDD and number of occupants,...

Do you have a conversion factor for Natural gas to kwh? I have used 8ccf of gas each month except for last month and that was 14ccf I believe it was due to the hotwater heater having a hole in it leaking warm water but not putting out the flame so it kept trying to heat fresh water.

Daox · 11-02-11, 10:44 AM

The wiki says:

1 therm of gas = 100 ccf
1 therm of gas = 29.3072222 kWh

So that means:
1 ccf = .29307 kWh

AntiochOG · 11-02-11, 01:09 PM

I'm 100% electric (heat, cooking, hot water) and for the past 12 months I've averaged 14.55 kWh per day.

MN Renovator · 11-02-11, 08:08 PM

Trailing 12 months of energy.

325 therms of methane / 12 months = 27 therms a month or .89 therms per day.
Most companies provide a little over 100k BTU per CCF. Our HVOG is a little worse than average but my CCF and therms has come out to be on parity for all but I think one of the coldest months but my gas company bills by therms here so it is what I pay attention to. Base load in non-heating months is usually about 8 therms and as low as 4 therms if I take a long summer vacation for the month and don't bother to turn off the water heater. 8 therms is about $4.50. 80 therms is in the mid $60's. Almost 40% of my average bill on a yearly basis is taxes and fees. Total was in the low $300's for the year.

For comparison, the previous owners of this house used more gas in their two highest billing months of winter 2009 going 2010 than I did in a 12 month period. Window plastic, air sealing, removing the outdoor air intake from the furnaces return ductwork, and general conservation(not setting the thermostat to Tahiti) were huge energy moves. I've got about a half-ton of cellulose insulation to blow into the attic and I'm hoping I can get my air sealing of the attic penetrations finished off soon enough to where I can blow the insulation before its too cold to be up in the attic.

Electricity was about 2500kwh for the past 12 months. I made a mistake in the summer thinking that using a portal dehumidifier running 24/7 and letting it get a warmer would reduce the electric bill. Stupid idea, thing runs 750 watts and created a higher monthly bill than the same month the year before and there was slightly less comfort. Oh well, live and learn. 2500kwh/12=208 kwh per month or 6.85kwh/day.

I leave my laptop on 24/7, uses 25 watts from the outlet surfing the web with the built-in display on, a little less when its closed. A little less than 100 watts doing extreme graphics work and processing full bore while charging the battery. It's about the only thing I could probably change at this point to gain electrical efficiency outside of replacing my furnace, a/c, and refrigerator. Base load is 130kwh in non-heating or cooling months.

You can't really make a therm to BTU cross comparison because they are two entirely different types of energy and transported in two very different ways. Transmission losses with electricity, efficiencies of power plants, comparisons of going with a heat pump(and tons of COP factors) vs resistance heating versus going with a gas pipeline are just too different. I'd venture a guess that burning piped methane in my house is far more resource efficient and cleaner than going with an electric mix, even with a very efficient heat pump. In my case it would take geothermal to have a cheaper heating operating cost or lower resource usage due to the extreme cold winter climate here, I don't know of an ASHP that can pump even 20k BTU at design temp of -20f, which isn't enough to keep my house at 70. If I build a new house I might consider geothermal because it might be cost effective to do since they've got the excavation equipment out for the foundation already.

Summary
.89 therms/day 325 therms Low $300's for the year including fees/taxes.
6.85kwh/day 2500kwh $400 or so for the year including fees/taxes.

$252 or so for both utilities fees, franchise fees, french fry fees, etc for both, so about $450 for actual energy.

11-01-11, 01:16 PM	#32
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	TED speaks! My TED is projecting 383 kWh for this billing cycle. 22 days left. ($81.80 @ $0.216 each).. I'll bet it doesn't really know how cold it's going to get this month!! A few years ago, I was stupid and signed up for a locked-in rate.. Never believing in a million years that NStar would LOWER their rates! As of right now, we are paying 20 to 30 percent too much. I would have canceled it had I known how much I would have saved. Even with the $50 cancellation fee.. Just too busy to check it out! But, the agreement ends next month and we should have a little lower rate.. For a while I hope!

11-01-11, 02:11 PM	#33
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	What is your average kWh/day usage? My average power use for October is 9.8 kWh per day. The smaller LED bulbs I have been installing are helping out. I really like the title of this thread, "What is your average kWh/day usage?", because it keeps us focused on the amount of energy we are using, and at the same time keeps us aware of the implied amount of environmental damage we are doing when we use energy. I think this is a much better way to frame our predicament, than to look just at the cost of our energy. Because there are strategies that we can use to save money on our energy consumption that would actually increase the damage we do to our environment. One example that comes to mind, would be to start burning coal in our homes. The price of coal to consumers is actually pretty cheap, but the environmental damage would be high. This is another reason why going the extra mile to reduce energy consumption through serious insulation strategies, and also reducing the amount of house we heat through the winter months, is such a good idea. -AC_Hacker __________________ I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...

11-01-11, 05:13 PM	#35
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	'start burning coal in our homes.' I did that one winter. Didn't like the mess. But, I still have the coal grate installed.. So, I'm Coal-Ready, if the need arises.. I would have to pull out the Fusion powered heating element first.. Last edited by Xringer; 11-02-11 at 11:42 AM..

11-02-11, 10:44 AM	#38
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	The wiki says: 1 therm of gas = 100 ccf 1 therm of gas = 29.3072222 kWh So that means: 1 ccf = .29307 kWh __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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11-02-11, 10:05 AM	#36
Hv23t Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Califo Posts: 54 Thanks: 3 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	My Kwh usage for the spring thru fall months average 22.4 kwh a day. During the winter it goes up to nearly 40 kwh. But those numbers are spiked a few times by thanksgiving Christmas and new years party's. I know last new years party used 300kwh over the two days, Luckly spread out over two different power bills. My house is 4500sq ft, everything is electric except the stove and the furnaces which run on propane. I have a ge heat pump water heater that is saving me a fortune on the 2 propane heaters we previously had. We have a swimming pool which uses 6kwh a day. And we are on a well so the sprinklers and any water we use will drive it up some. Last year we used about 300 gallons of propane for heat. Which I'm trying to eleminate since it's now costing 3.82 a gallon. I bought a 3.5 ton amana packaged heat pump off craigslist last weekend. And now I need to figure out how to plumb it in. My wife thinks its ugly so she doesn't want to see it. I considered installing in the addic, which has alot of volume but I'm not sure yet. Oh I should mention the entire bottom floor of the house is tile, so during the summer it keeps the place cool. Then at night we open windows and turn on the whole house fan all night. I think we only turned on the upstairs a/c 4 or 5 times this year.

11-02-11, 01:09 PM	#39
AntiochOG Lurking Renovator Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Corvallis, OR Posts: 22 Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I'm 100% electric (heat, cooking, hot water) and for the past 12 months I've averaged 14.55 kWh per day.

11-02-11, 08:08 PM	#40
MN Renovator Less usage=Cheaper bills Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 939 Thanks: 41 Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts	Trailing 12 months of energy. 325 therms of methane / 12 months = 27 therms a month or .89 therms per day. Most companies provide a little over 100k BTU per CCF. Our HVOG is a little worse than average but my CCF and therms has come out to be on parity for all but I think one of the coldest months but my gas company bills by therms here so it is what I pay attention to. Base load in non-heating months is usually about 8 therms and as low as 4 therms if I take a long summer vacation for the month and don't bother to turn off the water heater. 8 therms is about $4.50. 80 therms is in the mid $60's. Almost 40% of my average bill on a yearly basis is taxes and fees. Total was in the low $300's for the year. For comparison, the previous owners of this house used more gas in their two highest billing months of winter 2009 going 2010 than I did in a 12 month period. Window plastic, air sealing, removing the outdoor air intake from the furnaces return ductwork, and general conservation(not setting the thermostat to Tahiti) were huge energy moves. I've got about a half-ton of cellulose insulation to blow into the attic and I'm hoping I can get my air sealing of the attic penetrations finished off soon enough to where I can blow the insulation before its too cold to be up in the attic. Electricity was about 2500kwh for the past 12 months. I made a mistake in the summer thinking that using a portal dehumidifier running 24/7 and letting it get a warmer would reduce the electric bill. Stupid idea, thing runs 750 watts and created a higher monthly bill than the same month the year before and there was slightly less comfort. Oh well, live and learn. 2500kwh/12=208 kwh per month or 6.85kwh/day. I leave my laptop on 24/7, uses 25 watts from the outlet surfing the web with the built-in display on, a little less when its closed. A little less than 100 watts doing extreme graphics work and processing full bore while charging the battery. It's about the only thing I could probably change at this point to gain electrical efficiency outside of replacing my furnace, a/c, and refrigerator. Base load is 130kwh in non-heating or cooling months. You can't really make a therm to BTU cross comparison because they are two entirely different types of energy and transported in two very different ways. Transmission losses with electricity, efficiencies of power plants, comparisons of going with a heat pump(and tons of COP factors) vs resistance heating versus going with a gas pipeline are just too different. I'd venture a guess that burning piped methane in my house is far more resource efficient and cleaner than going with an electric mix, even with a very efficient heat pump. In my case it would take geothermal to have a cheaper heating operating cost or lower resource usage due to the extreme cold winter climate here, I don't know of an ASHP that can pump even 20k BTU at design temp of -20f, which isn't enough to keep my house at 70. If I build a new house I might consider geothermal because it might be cost effective to do since they've got the excavation equipment out for the foundation already. Summary .89 therms/day 325 therms Low $300's for the year including fees/taxes. 6.85kwh/day 2500kwh $400 or so for the year including fees/taxes. $252 or so for both utilities fees, franchise fees, french fry fees, etc for both, so about $450 for actual energy.