Cutting power use to the bone.

[paulsharvey]

We condition 365 days a year; either heating or cooling, here in N FLa. During October/November; yiu very well might heat during night, and by 11am, switch over to AC. We heat with heat pump, and try to avoid using E strips, but when it gets down in 20s, heat pump won't keep it warm. Ac set at 74 when wife is home, 76 when she's at work; heat set at 69. You might get a couple hours of open window Temps, but never whole days. Even when it's 70, it's probably very humid.

 

[4570Man]

Curiously, what do people in your area use for heating fuel if they live outside the city and don't have access to natural gas?

Electric and propane mostly. Some people burn firewood. Without access to natural gas your heating cost go up considerably.

 

[Oaktree]

It does help that I have a double wall Pan Abode cedar home. Walls are rated at R48 - ceiling at R65.

Good insulation makes a huge difference. Nothing so modern here, just an 1830s vintage farmhouse, but it's plank construction so that means 4" thick solid wood walls (lotsa fun updating wiring in outside walls!). No idea what the R value is of them, I did add 1" foam board between the strapping for drywall in the 2 rooms I gutted (kitchen & bathroom). 2nd floor ceiling is a bunch of poured in Zonolite-type stuff with 6" fiberglass over it. Holds the heat/cool quite well for an old house.

 

[bnold]

One thing to point out about cooling is that it takes much more energy to cool a building than it does to heat just due to the inherent inefficiencies in having to "push" heat into a hot outdoor environment. So while the difference in heating effects in winter may be close to negligible, especially if your home isn't sealed, the added heat in the summer is significant because of the inefficiency of pumping the extra heat out of the house as @CobyRupert pointed out above.

All the best,

Peter

Not really the case. Or at least location dependent.

The exterior to interior delta T for heating in my climate (N. Texas) is greater than that for cooling. Very often seeing more BTUs for heating than cooling. Or in my case (house) nearly the same. The increase in cooling BTU required comes from additional internal loads inside the conditioned space, lights, appliances, people, etc… these values are often ignored, especially in commercial applications for heating as the initial morning warmups are occurring without those internal loads present with the coldest outdoor air temps.

The spread generally gets larger as you go north. Heating BTU required quickly outruns cooling required.

 

[ultrarunner]

Still have a study published in search of the ideal climate based on the number of annual heating and cooling days.

Oakland California topped the list for metro areas.

Growing up the only time the heat was on is when when Grandparents and great Aunt visited during the Hoilidays…

No one had A/C and new homes for decades no heaters.

Could be why average kWh per day for a 2500 square feet home the single pane windows and 2x4 walls always within 10-12 kWh per day year round?

The above includes one family size refrigerator circa 1980 and large freezer circa 1967 plus electric dryer and cooking.

 

[bnold]

Still have a study published in search of the ideal climate based on the number of annual heating and cooling days.

Oakland California topped the list for metro areas.

Growing up the only time the heat was on is when when Grandparents and great Aunt visited during the Hoilidays…

No one had A/C and new homes for decades no heaters.

Could be why average kWh per day for a 2500 square feet home the single pane windows and 2x4 walls always within 10-12 kWh per day year round?

The above includes one family size refrigerator circa 1980 and large freezer circa 1967 plus electric dryer and cooking.

Ya, coastal tempering.

100kwh/day here pretty easy.

 

[ultrarunner]

In Olympia the kWh use boggles my mind but all electric including well pump 2 electric furnaces with one being Heat Pump.

Simply going to LED made a big difference and adding a timer to pond pump.

 

[Oaktree]

100kwh/day here pretty easy.

Yikes! Don't think I'd want your electric bill!! We don't use much more than that a month.

 

[lman]

Yikes! Don't think I'd want your electric bill!! We don't use much more than that a month.

Maybe he's got an air conditioner in his chicken house.

 

[bnold]

Maybe he's got an air conditioner in his chicken house.

Shop yes!
No chicken house though…

3 AC units on the property… (2 house, 1 shop)

When it’s 2pm and the weather app shows this, you can bet they are all running.