| Author | Message | ||
     Blake |
Here's ours for recent history. Even though last Summer was hotter, out electrical usage decreased overall due to new much more efficient air conditioner condensing unit.  Electricity here after all the fees and taxes runs about $0.086/KWH   Natural Gas here after taxes and fees runs $0.88/CCF (CCF = 100 cubic feet) | ||
| Geforce |
My 20+ year old TRANE heat pumps (all electric house) work well, but not efficiently. A month ago my bill was $650 some-odd bucks... 8,000 KWH usage. *sigh* | ||
| Hootowl |
Good Lord, I thought my 20+ year old Ruud was bad. My power bill in August is $200, $150 of which is AC. I'd like to replace it, but until it stops working, I can't justify spending four thousand dollars to replace it in order to save $2-3 hundred a year on power. Its day will come, I'm sure. | ||
| Hootowl |
Cory, natural gas is almost free, and much more efficient at heating. You would recoup the cost of installing a burner in no time. Assuming gas is available in your area. | ||
| Cowboy |
Home is 2000 ft. natural gas for winter heat--$50.00 per mo. elec. summer AC.-------------$150.00per mo. propane B B Q pit------------$20.oo per mo. shop and smoke house wood heat-(gas for chain saw) -------------------$4.00 per mo. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Outdoors wood boiler for heat. The gas meter reader knows the numbers by heart....it never changes......  | ||
| Toona |
Hmm, my building for my business is a total of 8200 sf, of which only about 4000 sf is heated by natural gas. I have 3 phase power and run a CNC mill part time. I turn the furnace off mid April and don't turn it back on until it gets cold again in Oct/Nov. My gas bill for a nasty cold January was $340 and my elec was $240. The elec bill jumped roughly $60-$70 when I installed the mill. I don't have A/C. My building is not insulated very well and that is the item of attention for this coming summer. | ||
| Strokizator |
The end of this month will mark the 1-year point after solar installation and a time-of-use meter. I'm expecting the bill to be under $150 for the whole year and that's with the A/C on in the summer and somebody at home all day. If I got rid of the hot tub I know I could zero it out. The trick is to use the power during off-peak (8˘) and sell it back at full peak (27˘). I'm out in the country and use propane for hot water and the kitchen range - about 300 gallons a year. I installed a soapstone stove/firebox about ten years ago and can heat the house with a little less than 1 cord a year. | ||
| Teeps |
How does a soapstone fire box differ from a fire place? Do you get the burnt smell in the heated area? | ||
| Blake |
John (Stroki), >>> The trick is to use the power during off-peak (8˘) and sell it back at full peak (27˘). I have an idea about how to make some REALLY easy money. Those figures are accurate? Really? | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Not too bad I guess for a 38 year old 1500 ft² house. Central air unit, gas furnace, windows, and insulation are all original.  Yes, I nearly freeze to death in the winter, but the gas bill stays low   | ||
| Kenm123t |
Blake buys batteries | ||
| Iamike |
It makes a better comparison to use heating & cooling degree days between years. I'm sure the amount of sunshine and wind has some effect too but I don't know how to factor that in. I replaced our old furnace in our last house with a Pulse. They estimated the old one was 40% efficient and the Pulse is 96%. After 2 years of running and factoring in the HDDs I think they lie about the old ones being so bad. I don't remember the exact numbers but at best we got a 20% gain from the old one. It would take the life of the furnace to break even by paying the extra $1,000 for the Pulse. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Having been in the HVAC business for going on 29 years, I can tell you there is far more to efficiency than equipment...the very best equipment poorly installed or serviced yields nothing in increased efficiency... It is possible for an ancient system to outperform a modern one if the old one has been properly designed, installed and serviced.... Here are some tips...if your system is over a year old....it needs to be serviced...if you are using a "permanent" or HEPA filter in a system designed for standard filters....you ARE KILLING your unit...replace with standard spun poly or fiberglass filter....if you are using the HEPA filters because you or a family member has allergies....have your doctor write a prescription for an electronic filter..(same filtration, never buy a filter again)...just pull the cells and clean them....BUY HONEYWELL...BUY EXTENDED WARRANTY! Yes they are expensive, but many health insurance companies cover the cost. When you buy or have your equipment serviced...use professional people (if you have a buddy that works on the side...ok) just do not use "the guy that used to work on them" because if he was any good, he would still be...you can make a damn good living in the business if you are smart and motivated.. Call your utility company and see if they have any "programs" for duct testing (checking for air duct leaks) most systems leak a little....a little leak is money falling out of your pocket...if you do, and the guy walks in with an infrared "thermometer" gun and starts walking around "shooting" air vents...send him packing...he is there for the money and will do you no good at all...the equipment needs to be opened up and inspected....a REALLY GOOD company will take digital pictures and explain them to you.. and a THERMOMETER needs to be inserted in the air stream to accurately measure the temperature. If you have a system problem and the "tech" tells you the new outdoor unit will "work fine" with your 20 year old indoor unit....he may as well have "idiot" tattooed across his forehead... Want to find out a tech's skill level? Ask him to check the airflow...how many CFM is going thru the system...if he tells you that he needs the specialty team and a truck full of testing equipment, send him packing....all he needs is an accurate thermometer, a good meter and a calculator to figure within less than 10%. Fact: Over 70% of standard construction homes have ductwork issues caused by incompetence or pricing issues. Over 70% of all A/C units have improper refrigerant charges. Ask your tech if YOUR unit needs to be charged by superheat or subcool...if he says subcool and does not measure the indoor wetbulb temperature to do the superheat calcs...he is blowing smoke up yerass...charge is critical it takes a certain amount of time to check it. That is why you should never let the "$39.95 tune-up guy" near your unit...he is only there to sell you parts you don't need and air filters that will kill your unit... I could go on for hours...but i'm out of time. | ||
| Geforce |
Fast, can you come to my house and "fix my stuff? I can pay you in juggling lessons... or... jokes. | ||
| Strokizator |
Those numbers have changed. PG&E's (Pacific Gas & Electric) rates for summer usage as of 3/1/11 are: -------------- Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Peak -------- $0.31 $0.33 $0.48 $0.59 Partial Peak $0.15 $0.17 $0.32 $0.43 Off Peak----$0.09 $0.11 $0.26 $0.37 Tier 1(baseline of 300 kW) usage only is next to impossible to achieve so most people are into tier 2 (130% of baseline) or tier 3 (200%) by mid summer. People with pools, dual a/c units,etc. easily hit tier 4 (300%). Add another $12 per month for "meter" charges so even if you don't use power you still owe $0.40 per day. To answer another question, a soapstone stove is a freestanding unit that's about 28"w x 26"d x 30"h with a cast iron framework. Most of the stove is made from 1.25" slabs of soapstone. With proper adjusting of dampers you can make wood last a very long time and the soapstone reaches temps of 450 to 500 degrees. So you've got this 475lb "rock" sitting in your living room that radiates a warm cozy heat. The far end of my house stays in the mid 60's with outside temps in the low 30's or high 20's. http://www.woodstove.com/index.php/fireview (Message edited by strokizator on March 08, 2011) | ||
| Strokizator |
Blake, your July 2010 electric bill would have been nearly $400 here in California. | ||
| Xodot |
Our publicly owned electrical utility was so poorly managed it was in debt, so the province turned it into a private industry. What did it do with that debt? Oh! why we are still paying for it - it is a line item on our bill every month as "Debt repayment" for a percentage (I think about 5% ) added to our total bill. How is that for bureaucratic bungling taking it out on the little guy? Of course the retiring executives got hansom wages and separation packages when the utility privatized.... <sigh> | ||
| Blake |
Who did you imagine would pay for your public debt?  | ||
| Blake |
John (Stroki), Just wondering if that is the actual payback rate for electricity that you sell to the utility. If it is, like I said, I have an idea. Most likely that is the fee they charge and probably only pay half that or thereabouts? | ||
| Gnx423 |
Here is my electric usage for the last year, figured the christmas lights would have drawn more in December and Jan. I pay about 18 cents a KWH with generation and delivery. I have a minisplit ac unit that cools the entire house in the summer and have an oil heat boiler. I don't even want to think about oil prices right now.  | ||
| Strokizator |
Blake, I think I know where you're going with this. I can send power into the grid anytime the sun is shining. My E6 meter is broken down into total KWH, partial peak hours, peak hours and off peak hours. Up until 10am I am buying and selling at 9˘, from 10 to 1 it's 15˘ and 1 to 7 it's 31˘. Depending on current usage and the power of the sun, I can actually spin my meter backwards. During the middle of the day I'm producing more than I use and selling it back at 31˘ At night and early mornings I'm buying 9˘ electricity. My wife can run appliances off peak and for every 3.4kwh she uses, we need only produce 1kwh in the afternoon to break even dollarwise. This all works until I completely zero out my bill and then the utility buys back any excess I make at the 9˘ rate regardless of when it was produced. I originally wanted to go to a larger system and hopefully get a big check from the guys who have been gouging me for years but it doesn't work that way - not yet anyway. Now if I can figure out how to run my A/C in the afternoon on 9˘ power, I'd be a happy man. Maybe what you were thinking could accomplish that. |
