How many KWH/month used in your household?

[freeztar]

One small freezer.

 

And one *big* one outside. :confused:

 

My home studio comprising a MacBook Pro, a 22" LCD monitor, two active studio monitors (ie speakers), various other hardware. Most of this stuff is *always on*, some in active state and some in standby.

 

Perhaps hook it all up to a switch so it can all be flipped on/off easily when needed. I used to leave my monitors and hardware on standby when not in use (powered up when the computer fires up), but now I make a point to turn everything off. Having a central switch makes this a lot easier for those days you finish a long session and feel lazy (at least for me). :doh:

We have *no gas* appliances (apart from our outdoor BBW). There is no home gas service system in Norway, even though Norway is one of the world's largest exporters of natural gas.

 

That is odd. :)

[Cedars]

Euro power is the same as all other powers I think.. KWH=KWH.

 

Yeah, but dont you guys (euros) use 210v or 220v rather than 120v like the USA?

1) Heating: Since our heat comes from outside sources, and since we have no electric panels, it shouldn't matter that January and February have been very cold months (down to -20C). But we do have electric cables heating the bathroom floors, this is controlled by a thermostat and set to approx 20C. This can of course be changed and also switched off.

That might be a good place to start. But still, lucky you guys. Our bathroom is in the basement so its cold on the feet (and other places) especially in the winter.

2) Electric lighting: Since it's the dark season we do tend to have more lights on during larger portions of the day.

Compact Florescents are amazing energy saver. We converted over years and years ago and saw an instant impact on our electric bill.

 

Another thing. Outside lights on. We cut our bill by $20 a month by shutting off the outside light (it was an instant on at dark type).

4) Gadgets: We have two LCD TVs, one which is used quite a bit and one which is rarely used. BluRay, PVR/Cable box, wireless router, Internet router, surround receiver. A 24" iMac. My home studio comprising a MacBook Pro, a 22" LCD monitor, two active studio monitors (ie speakers), various other hardware. Most of this stuff is *always on*, some in active state and some in standby. We have an alarm system which uses wireless motion and smoke detectors talking to a central in the basement. This is of course always on (we can't switch it off).

Any gadgets without a blinking clock.

 

Put them on a zip strip or build an on/off box. They consume power. A plugged in x-box cost me around $3 a month. I insisted the kids (owners of said x-box) put it on a zip strip and thats how much the bill went down. I think they put the tv on it too, but I cant remember for sure.

 

Dvd players, tvs, etc almost all consume power when turned off.

 

Suggestion not implemented:

For clock works and memory dependent machines, you might want to explore getting a UPS with an alarm shut off. Alot of them will hold the time and not burn the battery up. Plug the ups into a timer and set it to power down at a certain time, and power up at a certain time. Then you dont have to worry about reseting the clock (or other things).

 

But I'd still like to see how much I can bring this down, at least to try and understand what it is that draws all this power. I'll start by noting each morning what the meter says, and try to switch off the standby utilities before I head for work etc. I'll also make sure to switch out old light bulbs with power saving ones (we did this in our previous place but haven't got around to it here, silly really).

I just started switching things out and implementing other things (like zip strips) and watched my monthly bill get less and less.

[C1ay]

Yeah, but dont you guys (euros) use 210v or 220v rather than 120v like the USA?

 

That doesn't matter. A 220V appliance draws half the amps as the same wattage appliance at 120V. The wattage is the same either way.

[Roadam]

Electric water heaters use alot. It takes 12kwh to heat 200 liters from 10 to 60 degrees.

 

If you have central heating, why dont you have loop made trough your hot water boiler? I guess that central heating operates at 40 degrees at least, which is hot enough for a shower. And floor heating the bathroom could also be done trough that.

 

Clothes can be dried trough hanging them near the radiator.

Like that:

(radiator is on the wall behind the clothes)

Takes some time though...

[Turtle]

Electric water heaters use alot. It takes 12kwh to heat 200 liters from 10 to 60 degrees.

 

Clothes can be dried trough hanging them near the radiator.

Like that:

(radiator is on the wall behind the clothes)

Takes some time though...

 

Nice! I was thinking drying on lines outside as well, and whether in or out, if you want that "tumbled" feel you could throw line dried clothes in with a softner strip and tumble on the "no heat" setting. :hyper:

 

On the hot-water heater, check the thermostat and set it as low as you can get by with. :)

 

Energy Saving Tips - Water Heaters

Lower Water Heater Thermostat

One of the quickest, easiest and surest energy saving measures is lowering the thermostat setting on your water heater. Although some manufacturers and installers set water heaters at 140°F, settings between 115° and 120°F work fine for many households. That's a bout midway between the “low” and “medium” settings on most water heaters. The bottom line is keeping your water heater set at the lowest temperature that provides you with sufficient hot water. You can always try turning it down, then inch it back up if you find you are running out of hot water or having other problems. Moreover, there is a safety benefit to lowering your water heater temperature. Water heated to 140°F water can pose a scalding hazard, especially a concern where young children have access to faucets. ...

[Tormod]

Oddly enough, I can't find a thermostat on our water heater! I'll have to call the manufacturer.

 

As for hanging clothes on outdoors racks or lines, that's possible but not practical (it's, uhm, winter). Indoors near radiators is a possibility, but our radiators are mostly placed where it's rather impractical to place the clothes!

[Turtle]

Oddly enough, I can't find a thermostat on our water heater! I'll have to call the manufacturer.

 

As for hanging clothes on outdoors racks or lines, that's possible but not practical (it's, uhm, winter). Indoors near radiators is a possibility, but our radiators are mostly placed where it's rather impractical to place the clothes!

 

Rats! Confounded at every turn! :doh: Do I need to fly over & chat up some officials? :rant: :hihi: Here in the states, the thermostats (yes two of them on a 50+ gallon tank) are inside the tank enclosure underneath removeable metal cover-plates and a thin bat of insulation. Warning!!! Electrocution hazzard!!! :) If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it. :lol: Call an electrician.

To reset these thermostats, the power is shut off at the breaker, the panels removed, and the thermostats adjusted, then panels back on, then power at breaker back on. I have in one past career, installed or repaired a hundred or so electric water heaters.

[freeztar]

Good info Turtle!

 

FWIW though, my hot water heater has the thermostat prominently displayed outside any enclosures and easily accessible. Maybe because it's gas?

[Turtle]

Good info Turtle!:boy:

 

FWIW though, my hot water heater has the thermostat prominently displayed outside any enclosures and easily accessible. Maybe because it's gas?

 

 

Yes; gas water heaters have a single external dial-type thermostat. What I don't like about them is that they don't annotate the dial with actual temperatures, but rather with obscure markings such as A B C or little arrows. :Alien: If the manual is around, they sometimes list an approximate temperature equivalent. :hyper:

[Tormod]

 

We have more smilies than I can recall ever adding to our system...

 

My uncle is an electrician! Checking the thermostat sounds like a task for him then.

[freeztar]

Yes; gas water heaters have a single external dial-type thermostat. What I don't like about them is that they don't annotate the dial with actual temperatures, but rather with obscure markings such as A B C or little arrows. :hihi: If the manual is around, they sometimes list an approximate temperature equivalent.:hihi: :eek_big:

 

Yep. My goal (we've been here a month so far) is to slowly lower the dial until we reach a hot water deficiency and then crank it up ever so slightly. It's not very scientific in the sense of an accurate number for the temp, but it gets the job done through experimentation and puts us (hopefully) at an optimal balance between power consumption and hot water needs.

[Turtle]

Yep. My goal (we've been here a month so far) is to slowly lower the dial until we reach a hot water deficiency and then crank it up ever so slightly. It's not very scientific in the sense of an accurate number for the temp, but it gets the job done through experimentation and puts us (hopefully) at an optimal balance between power consumption and hot water needs.

 

Ditto yep; me too on the experimentos. :hihi: We have gas hot water & I had to adjust it based on acutal experience. After 3 months of my roomies whining about "can't get a shower" - their idea is 20 minutes of hot water 'til it's gone is how you time a shower :doh: - I finally tweeked it up a hair. I have a bunch of roomies & the tank is in the garage and either someone is bumping the dial getting out of a car or something or one my wayward wasteful weasels is sneaking out & turning it up after I turn it down!!! :phones:

One thing though is that my natural gas water heater has no outside electrical connections and will work even if I loose electricity. :hihi: :) On the down side, when we get that big quake the gas lines are all gonna snap off village wide and there will be a fire display like few have seen. :D :kiss2: :naughty: If it ain't one thing it's another. :eek2:

[freeztar]

My sympathies to you and your mission Turts. I know it can't be easy with multiple roomies.

 

I'm curious what our monthly consumption will be, but we haven't received the first bill yet. May it be staved away as long as possible! :phones:

 

Any day now...any day...:naughty:

 

Results to come...

[Turtle]

My sympathies to you and your mission Turts. I know it can't be easy with multiple roomies.

 

I'm curious what our monthly consumption will be, but we haven't received the first bill yet. May it be staved away as long as possible! :hihi:

 

Any day now...any day...:doh:

 

Results to come...

 

There is no rest for the wrong-doers and the less-wrong-doers don't need any! ;) :ud:

 

Say; when you get that bill, let me know what you pay per Kilowatt Hour. I just checked my last bill and we pay 7.65¢ kph. (We used 1170 kwh!!!! :doh: :doh: :eek::Crunk: ) What do y'all pay for your juice? :eek:

[freeztar]

There is no rest for the wrong-doers and the less-wrong-doers don't need any!

 

Say; when you get that bill, let me know what you pay per Kilowatt Hour. I just checked my last bill and we pay 7.65¢ kph. (We used 1170 kwh!!!! :doh: :doh: :hihi::Curved::Crunk: ) What do y'all pay for your juice? :doh: ;)

 

My first bill covered the 22 day period of 2/2-2/23. Dividing out (they don't explicitly print the KWH charge) it comes to $0.11069 per KWH. In that 22 day period, we used 389 KWH. Dividing out again, that means we're using about 18KWH per day. Of course, our heating is gas and our cooling is electric, so I expect that number to climb quite a bit in the coming months.

[Turtle]

My first bill covered the 22 day period of 2/2-2/23. Dividing out (they don't explicitly print the KWH charge) it comes to $0.11069 per KWH. In that 22 day period, we used 389 KWH. Dividing out again, that means we're using about 18KWH per day. Of course, our heating is gas and our cooling is electric, so I expect that number to climb quite a bit in the coming months.

 

Wow!!! You pay almost twice as much per kwh as I do! Maybe mine is lower because I live so close to Bonneville dam? ;)

 

What do the rest of you pay per kwh for your juice? :) :P

[Tormod]

First monitored monthly reading coming up soon...