Home Owners: An Energy Question

[Donger]

If you would be so willing, I'd like to know what your average monthly electricity usage is for your home.

Thanks.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by KCFalcon59

No.

What are your setpoints for heating and cooling?

[jiveturkey]

Originally Posted by Donger

Do you guys think it would be possible for you to reduce your electricity consumption by 20%?

I've put a lot into reducing it already and by a lot I mean I changed some light bulbs.

[penguinz]

Originally Posted by Donger

Do you guys think it would be possible for you to reduce your electricity consumption by 20%?

I could knock off a decent chunk but don;t know if it would be 20% or not.

[Amnorix]

$200/month, more or less, whatever that works out to in winter time. Summer is higher (don't know without going back in the checkbook) due to use of central air system.

Oil heat, but basement is on electric heat. Appliances are all electric.

Cutting electric use by 20%? No. We're pretty efficient about turning off the lights etc. We might be able to use more efficient bulbs or soemthing, but I doubt that would get 20% savings. WE'd basically need to unplug the fridge and store stuff in the snow during the winter months, or do laundry by hand or something to save 20%.

[rageeumr]

Originally Posted by Donger

Do you guys think it would be possible for you to reduce your electricity consumption by 20%?

We certainly COULD. I know a guy who used to keep his thermostat at 50 all winter and never ran AC. I think that would drop me 20%, but realistically I think it would be tough without using PV panels or something like that.

We set our stat at 68 (drops to 60 during the day) in the winter and 75 (up to 80) in the summer.

I do have a kegerator and extra fridge at the bar that are somewhat unnecessary I guess.....

[Donger]

Folks may already be aware of this, but for every degree F that you increase your cooling setpoint, you will save ~4%

[Donger]

Here's a breakdown of all those gadgets in the average home and watt they consume:

Watt-hours per one hour of use

Central AC system (2.5 tons)

3500

Window unit AC, medium size

900

Refrigerator with door left open

358

Amount wasted by keeping the fridge door open

215

Desktop computer system

160

Refrigerator (normal use)

143

Ceiling fan (42", on high)

75

Television (19" CRT)

75

Four CFL lights

72

[KCFalcon59]

Originally Posted by Donger

What are your setpoints for heating and cooling?

Heat is at 68. On rare occasions do I turn it past 70.

Cooling at 64. I like even numbers for some reason.

[Iowanian]

Originally Posted by jiveturkey

I've put a lot into reducing it already and by a lot I mean I changed some light bulbs.

I've installed 15 new windows, insulated and sided my home, caulked-foamed every space I could consider air getting in/out, upgraded appliances, changed light fixtures and switched to expensive light bulbs that don't last worth a damn, to save energy. I change filters on the furnace, and a plethora of other things.

In the same time, I moved to a home office, so I'm home using light, heat and power that I wouldn't have previously.

I should probably ask for a report that shows the energy usage for the year before I did the work and the year after(this fall). It won't be precise, but I can compare months to see how much E savings I'll get from my $xx,xxx expenditure.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by KCFalcon59

Heat is at 68. On rare occasions do I turn it past 70.

Cooling at 64. I like even numbers for some reason.

That's a pretty aggressive cooling setpoint.

[penguinz]

Originally Posted by KCFalcon59

Heat is at 68. On rare occasions do I turn it past 70.

Cooling at 64. I like even numbers for some reason.

64!

[CanadianChief]

My average monthly bill is $150. That's divided into about $100 for Natural Gas and $50 for Electricity.

[sparkky]

Originally Posted by Donger

Do you guys think it would be possible for you to reduce your electricity consumption by 20%?

I think I could do maybe 10% without too much grief but not 20%.
after Omama gets his "cap and tax" gig pushed thru, I and many others might be surprise what we could cut back on.

[Coach]

1.21 Jiggawatts.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by KCFalcon59

Heat is at 68. On rare occasions do I turn it past 70.

Cooling at 64. I like even numbers for some reason.

That's how my home is currently set during winter weather. The wife and I rarely go past 68. And during summer times, we probably won't use the A/C, but instead, use box fans.

Of course, during the summer times, we'll probably be in the basement more often than not, since it's much more cooler.