Technical > Home Improvement > Electric Bill

reply to nunya

Re: Electric Bill

reply to Hall

reply to Archivis

reply to Hall

reply to Archivis
when you "turn the heat on" are you heating the whole house or just the room your in... that will also make a big diff

reply to Archivis

said by Archivis:

said by Bob:

Don't forget the guy here who had a space heater he didn't know about running 24/7.

Just a bunch of baseboards everywhere

reply to Archivis
Check with the power company and find out if they can do a home energy audit. Some companies will do one at no cost to you. One of my relatives had a home energy audit on an older home. The energy audit was performed using a thermal imaging camera.

Their unfinished basement walls were uninsulated. It was recommended that they insulate the basement walls to an R19 value. They also learned that the attic insulation was originally R19 but over the years had compacted to about an R11 value. The auditor recommended that they add attic insulation to an value of R30 or higher. At the time there was a federal and/or state program where part of the cost to upgrade insulation was paid for through energy conservation rebates.

I believe that they saved about 20% on their annual energy cost with the insulation upgrade. They later replaced their hot air furnace and central air conditioner with a high efficiency unit, which further reduced energy consumption. Part of the cost was offset by energy conservation rebates.

reply to Archivis
I'd say you're about right on for 3000 SF.
As I mentioned earlier, electric heat just sucks butt holes. Really, any appliance that uses electricity to make heat cannot be made any more efficient (Ranges, WH, Dryer, Furnace, Baseboard, etc...). Electricity is very inefficient way of moving energy, but it is 100% efficient at it's point of use.

There are some things you can do:
1) Turn down the heat. It sounds like you already have it pretty low, so this suggestion probably won't help.
2) Insulate if needed. Seal cracks.
3) Consider having a forced air system installed with a heat pump or gas heat (if available).
4) ~Or~ Consider getting split ductless systems with heat pumps installed.

The heat pump water heaters get their efficiency by offloading the work onto the heating system. Unless you are in a Southern climate or the WH is outdoors, they don't make much sense.

You can put an insulation blanket on your existing electric WH, but I've heard that they really don't help with standby losses all that much.

I've never understood closing off sections of the house. It's like saying you are only going to pee in one corner of the pool, so the rest should be fine.
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If someone refers to herself / himself as a "guru", they probably aren't.

reply to pferrie3

reply to toby

reply to nunya

I've no experience with electric (baseboard) heat, but if you turn it off in a room (during the day, while you're gone 4-8 hours), how long does it take to make it comfortable ?

I'm not sure if turning the heat off entirely but leaving doors open would allow enough heat from the heated rooms that are on would help.

reply to Archivis
A nigh 12-year member and yet the concept of multi-quoting remains a mystery.

reply to Archivis

reply to Oedipus
Anyone got a link to the thread about the heater element running 24/7? would love to read it.

reply to Archivis
How well is the basement really insulated and the house.

reply to Majestik

reply to Hall

reply to Archivis
You have not mentioned what fuel sources are available. Natural Gas is one of the best fuels for space and water heating. Let us know what fuel sources you have available.

In the case of Natural Gas, some suppliers will offer financial incentives to convert. A friend of mine's father lived along a road where the gas company installed a new line to supply a central school, further down the road. They replaced the gun type oil burner in his relatively new hot air furnace, with a gun type gas burner and the electric water heater with a gas water heater at no cost to him. They also ran a black pipe gas line to the kitchen to allow my friends father to install a gas stove when their relatively new electric stove wore out. The gas company also gave them a rebate that partially offset the cost of replacing their electric dryer with a gas dryer.

It is very important to consider how long you will live in the home and amount of time to payback improvements that you make to reduce energy costs. Most energy auditors have forms to calculate the payback interval for any improvements you make at today's energy cost.

I do not have Natural Gas available in my area. Apparently, there were petitions and attempts to convert the neighborhood at one point (or even twice), but there weren't enough people willing to sign up for it.
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A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -MLK