I'm new here

AntiochOG · 10-06-10, 12:32 AM

I stumbled upon this forum today while searching for info on dryer heat exchangers. I ended up buying a LTF Supurr-Flex Lint Trap Kit. I'll let you know how I like it. I spent some time lurking and quickly signed up because there is a wealth of good information here.

I rent an old (maybe 60's) fourplex that is very poorly insulated with 3 single pane sliding glass doors. Everything is electric (heat, hot water, stove, dryer, etc.) It is probably about 800 square feet, and there are 2 of us. I'm located in Corvallis, OR. My average electricity usage is 31.82kwh/day for the last year. I'm hoping with your help I can get that much lower.

So far I've replaced all my light bulbs with CFL's (years ago). Last year I attempted to insulate one of the sliding doors with some R-tech foam insulation sheets and blankets. I think that helped a little. I'd like to insulate the others, but don't want to lose light. I'm going to start venting my dryer inside and line drying clothes as much as I can. In the next month I'll be buying a Kill-A-Watt so hopefully I'll be able to track down lots of wasted energy.

Lately I've been switching off my hot water heater, which is set at 120F, at the breaker when I know I won't be using it for a while. I was excited to see that there is such a thing as a hot water heater timer. I was a bit disappointed to read that they don't help very much on newer water heaters, but I might still give it a shot.

I also started looking into programmable thermostats today. I was a little disappointed by the selection available for line-voltage systems, but I'll keep looking. Feel free to recommend a good one.

I'm looking for more ways that I can improve the efficiency of my house. Since it is a rental I can't do anything permanent or that will take a long time to pay for itself like insulating the walls or adding solar. But I know that there has got to be more ways to save power and money.

-Phil

strider3700 · 10-06-10, 02:25 AM

what do you mean by inline voltage systems?

my old house was all electric 800 sqft with 220V electric baseboards with the built in thermostats. My first winter there I averaged 52 kwh per day. The next year was pretty much the same, that summer I added a programmable thermostat and the next winter it dropped to 34 kwh/day.

For reference my non heating baseline all time low was 15 kwh/day. It took a bit of hunting to find a programmable 220V baseboard thermostat and it was twice the cost of regular furnace thermostats but it paid for itself in the first winter easily. the install involved finding the main feed to the bank of heaters, cutting it and putting the tstat in place then opening each heater and changing them so they are always on.

To insulate doors but let the light through you could use that shrink wrap to cover it completely but it becomes impossible to use. Or you could cover 1/2 with bubble wrap. Just spray on soapy water then stick it on. When the water dries it's stuck there but can be peeled off easily enough. Or you could do both the bubble wrap and shrink wrap. I'll be doing this with most of the basement windows even though they are double pane.

I haven't wrapped my hotwater tank yet but will be doing that this week. My excuse is I was thinking of replacing it... last year...

I did the CFL thing and it may make a difference on the bill but realistically I don't use a lot of lighting and my family knows to stay on my goodside and turn the lights off when you don't need them.

AntiochOG · 10-06-10, 03:56 AM

Your results with the programmable thermostat are very motivating. With Line voltage thermostats system power (120 or 240 volts) is directly switched by the thermostat. Sounds like what you had. I want one that has 7 different days. The best I found so far is by Honeywell, but it can only bet set at 2 different temperatures on auto mode, basically home and away.

I'll have to look into getting some bubble wrap, that seems like a good idea. I'm also going to get some weather stripping and outlet gaskets soon. I'm looking forward to seeing my energy bills go down. Should be fun.

10-06-10, 12:32 AM	#1
AntiochOG Lurking Renovator Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Corvallis, OR Posts: 22 Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I'm new here I stumbled upon this forum today while searching for info on dryer heat exchangers. I ended up buying a LTF Supurr-Flex Lint Trap Kit. I'll let you know how I like it. I spent some time lurking and quickly signed up because there is a wealth of good information here. I rent an old (maybe 60's) fourplex that is very poorly insulated with 3 single pane sliding glass doors. Everything is electric (heat, hot water, stove, dryer, etc.) It is probably about 800 square feet, and there are 2 of us. I'm located in Corvallis, OR. My average electricity usage is 31.82kwh/day for the last year. I'm hoping with your help I can get that much lower. So far I've replaced all my light bulbs with CFL's (years ago). Last year I attempted to insulate one of the sliding doors with some R-tech foam insulation sheets and blankets. I think that helped a little. I'd like to insulate the others, but don't want to lose light. I'm going to start venting my dryer inside and line drying clothes as much as I can. In the next month I'll be buying a Kill-A-Watt so hopefully I'll be able to track down lots of wasted energy. Lately I've been switching off my hot water heater, which is set at 120F, at the breaker when I know I won't be using it for a while. I was excited to see that there is such a thing as a hot water heater timer. I was a bit disappointed to read that they don't help very much on newer water heaters, but I might still give it a shot. I also started looking into programmable thermostats today. I was a little disappointed by the selection available for line-voltage systems, but I'll keep looking. Feel free to recommend a good one. I'm looking for more ways that I can improve the efficiency of my house. Since it is a rental I can't do anything permanent or that will take a long time to pay for itself like insulating the walls or adding solar. But I know that there has got to be more ways to save power and money. -Phil

10-06-10, 02:25 AM	#2
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	what do you mean by inline voltage systems? my old house was all electric 800 sqft with 220V electric baseboards with the built in thermostats. My first winter there I averaged 52 kwh per day. The next year was pretty much the same, that summer I added a programmable thermostat and the next winter it dropped to 34 kwh/day. For reference my non heating baseline all time low was 15 kwh/day. It took a bit of hunting to find a programmable 220V baseboard thermostat and it was twice the cost of regular furnace thermostats but it paid for itself in the first winter easily. the install involved finding the main feed to the bank of heaters, cutting it and putting the tstat in place then opening each heater and changing them so they are always on. To insulate doors but let the light through you could use that shrink wrap to cover it completely but it becomes impossible to use. Or you could cover 1/2 with bubble wrap. Just spray on soapy water then stick it on. When the water dries it's stuck there but can be peeled off easily enough. Or you could do both the bubble wrap and shrink wrap. I'll be doing this with most of the basement windows even though they are double pane. I haven't wrapped my hotwater tank yet but will be doing that this week. My excuse is I was thinking of replacing it... last year... I did the CFL thing and it may make a difference on the bill but realistically I don't use a lot of lighting and my family knows to stay on my goodside and turn the lights off when you don't need them.

10-06-10, 03:56 AM	#3
AntiochOG Lurking Renovator Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Corvallis, OR Posts: 22 Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Your results with the programmable thermostat are very motivating. With Line voltage thermostats system power (120 or 240 volts) is directly switched by the thermostat. Sounds like what you had. I want one that has 7 different days. The best I found so far is by Honeywell, but it can only bet set at 2 different temperatures on auto mode, basically home and away. I'll have to look into getting some bubble wrap, that seems like a good idea. I'm also going to get some weather stripping and outlet gaskets soon. I'm looking forward to seeing my energy bills go down. Should be fun.