How am I doing?

HamRadioRocks · Heavy Crude Joined: Jul 19, 2006 Posts: 108

I live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

I live in a 768 square foot 1-story house that I rent, and I live alone.

The backyard doesn't have any trees to shade the house, though there is a newly planted tree that will eventually reduce the summer electric bill (probably too late for me, though).

I don't have a washer and dryer in the house, so that artificially holds down my electric bill, though I'm not sure by how much. (I go to the laundromat a few times a month.) My usage history (month/year, kWh, and days in the month, and kWh/day):
11/6 114 29 3.93
10/6 1 28 0.04
9/6 324* 33 9.82
8/6 400 29 13.79
7/6 309 32 9.66
6/6 177* 31 5.71
5/6 103 28 3.68
4/6 144 32 4.5
3/6 192 29 6.62
2/6 203 29 7
1/6 187 33 5.67
12/5 230 32 7.19
11/5 122 28 4.36
10/5 233 32 7.28
9/5 234 28 8.36
8/5 535* 31 17.26
7/5 424 32 13.25

The asterisks are estimates, by the way. There was a change in my billing dates this fall, which explains the 1kWh month. The bill date is in the beginning of the month, so the June bill is low because that's mostly May usage. My 8/06 usage would be higher if I hadn't been on vacation during the hottest week. (Despite going north, I didn't escape the hot weather.) My 1/06 bill would also have been higher if I hadn't been away on vacation for over a week.

How am I doing? I've noticed that my usage is the lowest in the spring and fall, somewhat higher in winter, and MUCH higher in summer.

Any ideas on why my winter electric bills are higher than my spring and fall bills? No, I don't have elaborate Christmas lights. I do use my humidifiers heavily in winter, and the early nightfalls mean that my lights are on for a greater number of hours per day. Or is my greater winter use due to greater use of the computer, DVD player, ham radio, etc. since I spend more time indoors?

ReserveGrowthRulz · permanently banned Joined: Dec 30, 2005 Posts: 818

HamRadioRocks · Heavy Crude Joined: Jul 19, 2006 Posts: 108

My gas usage history (bill date, days in month, actual/estimate, therms)
11/7/06 28 Actual 57
10/10/06 27 Actual 25
9/13/06 30 Actual 13
8/14/06 31 Actual 16
7/14/06 30 Actual 15
6/14/06 30 Actual 18
5/15/06 31 Actual 35
4/14/06 29 Actual 59
3/16/06 29 Actual 85
2/15/06 30 Actual 95
1/16/06 33 Actual 37
12/14/05 33 Estimate 161
11/11/05 29 Actual 50
10/13/05 29 Actual 25
9/14/05 30 Actual 14
8/15/05 31 Actual 17
7/15/05 30 Actual 15

As you would expect, my usage is highest in winter and lowest in summer. My 1/16/06 usage was low because I was away for over a week during the preceding month, and the temperatures were exceptionally mild. I also believe that my usage for 12/14/05 was overestimated (though the preceding month was exceptionally cold) , and the gas company had to compensate for this error.

How am I doing? This summer, I turned the water temperature for the thermostat all the way down (down to the "vacation" setting), though it doesn't seem to have helped. (That's probably because the setting was rather low anyway.) My fall 2006 usage is higher than my fall 2005 usage, but fall 2005 was warm while fall 2006 was chilly. (I expect this December's usage to be MUCH lower than last December's simply because it's been MUCH milder than the same period last year.)

Last year, I put a layer of plastic insulation on the exterior of most of my windows. I also kept the thermostat down at 63 degrees last winter.

This year, I've added TWO layers of plastic insulation to the same windows. I've put rope caulking in the cracks around all of my windows. I'm even adding a layer of plastic insulation to the inside of some windows.

That said, how am I doing? I'm sure I'm doing far better than the average person, but that still probably isn't good enough.

HamRadioRocks · Heavy Crude Joined: Jul 19, 2006 Posts: 108

This winter, I'm also turning the thermostat even lower than I did last year. Early in the heating season, I had the thermostat at 67 degrees (which felt cryogenic given that I wasn't used to the cold yet) and have been gradually lowering it. I have the thermostat now down to 62 degrees and should have it down to the upper 50s by around January and February. It's MUCH easier to adjust to colder temperatures in winter than hotter temperatures in summer. Given that my Body Mass Index is in the 5th percentile (19.4, male, age 33), I figure everyone else should be able to handle even lower temperatures than I can. (Now why isn't this the case?)

EnergyHog · Heavy Crude Joined: Mar 27, 2006 Posts: 215

I somehow talked the wife into going down to 52 degrees last winter. I was worried that pipes near the exterior walls might freeze but they didn't. People that came over asked if our heat was broke. Very Happy

62 is the minimum this year.
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Don35 · Heavy Crude Joined: Feb 07, 2006 Posts: 114

I use a programmable thermostat. It warms the house to 68 in the mornings and just before we get home. It lowers to 50 after we've gone to bed and when we leave for work. Cut my heating bill by at least 30%. Added about a 18" of insulation in the attic, cut the bill more. Added a radiant barrier around the house and in the attic. Not sure if that did much; kinda hard to measure that one. I’ve insulated hot water pipes, put in more efficient windows, a tankless hot water heater (not common yet in the US), etc. Lowered my energy consumption considerably, but not as much as if I had done it all in the building stage. It took several years to do as I could afford it. Lots of ideas out there.
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Laughs_Last · Intermediate Crude Joined: Jul 26, 2005 Posts: 851

Loki · Expert Joined: Apr 08, 2006 Posts: 976 Location: Cascadia

Your electricity figures don't look too bad. Your average use over the last 12mos is 209 kWh/mo. Mine is about 169 kWh/mo, but I live in a smaller place (450sf) and my hot water isn't included in that 169 kWh. I also don't have my own washer/dryer (or air conditioner) and I have central heating (oil furnace). Here are my figures for the last 4 years:

There was a big jump in Oct 2005 due entirely to swapping my laptop for a desktop computer. I keep it on most of the time, whether I'm using it or not. I probably shouldn't do that anymore.

One thing that's really helped me understand my electricity use is the Kill-A-Watt meter. Definitely worth picking one up if you're interested in reducing your consumption.

HamRadioRocks · Heavy Crude Joined: Jul 19, 2006 Posts: 108

smallpoxgirl · Moderator Joined: Nov 08, 2004 Posts: 5212

dooberheim · Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 7:08 pm Post subject: Re: How am I doing?

Ceiling fans help a lot, as does an attic fan that draws hot air out of the house.

The design of the house is a big help - when I lived in Florida, one of the apartments I rented was built before A/C. It had 10 foot ceilings and a whole bunch of windows. I had a window A/C but hardly ever had to use it. Pretty neat.

DK
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gego · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Mar 03, 2005 Posts: 1334

In a world with limited resources, if it makes you feel good to do without so that others can use what you don't plus some, then more power to you.

You know of course that your conservation efforts may help your own pocketbook, but they will hardly solve the energy depletion inevitability.

PeakOiler · Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 8:28 am Post subject: Re: How am I doing?

Not bad HamRadioRocks.

With the exception of a wood stove, a solar water heater, and one small (36W) PV panel, my small 3-2 house is all-electric. That is to say, the house does not use natural gas, propane, or fuel oil.
Here's an updated graph of my electric history:

And gego is right. Our conservation efforts ultimately won't make a difference. But it's nice not having huge energy bills.

As you can tell, I've reached a plateau in the last few years after addressing the larger electric appliances, i.e, the electric central heater, electric water heater, and a more efficient AC since 2000.

Sorry about the image size. I'm not sure how to upload a smaller image so one doesn't have to scroll horizontally.
Edit: Fixed width of image, I think....
edited by Aimrehtopyh to preserve page width

Kingcoal · Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:27 am Post subject: Re: How am I doing?

Just to put things into perspective, what about your car/truck (if you own one?) The average internal combustion engine has, at best, an efficiency of about 30%. That's under ideal operating conditions, such as steady highway travel. If you do a lot of around town driving, I wouldn't be surprised to see that number plummet below 10%.

Why do I bring this up? Well, modern oil/NG furnaces are capable of efficiencies exceeding 90%. Most of your modern home appliances are very efficient. Florescent lights are very efficient.

Maybe that's why 70% of our oil goes into transportation. Want to save oil, park your car, buy locally grown food, don't use air travel and take public transit wherever possible.
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nocar · Intermediate Crude Joined: Nov 05, 2004 Posts: 665

Thank you, King Coal. I just want to add - do not go by air plane either.

nocar