Electric Saving Tips

[EddieWalker]

I just read a realy good article in the latest issue of Journal of Light Construction called A Close Look at Common Energy Claims.

JLC Online - Where Contractors Go To Work on the Web

There were two things that interested me in the article. One was the savings you get from upgrading from single to double pained windows and how long it takes to make up that price in energy savings. Usually 20 plus years. The other was the use of caulking to seal up the house. I use caulking for painting, but not for weather proofing, so it's not something I had really thought about. I've heard TV shows and even the local news stations recomend caulking to seal up a home, and just assumed it accomplished something. The article explains why this is not true and how caulking in the wrong places is actually a very bad thing to do. Which I know, but never considered others would do this until reading the story.

Eddie

 

[RobJ]

These thermostats are something I'd never heard of until today, Rob. And our previous homes from '68 to '89 had gas heat, gas cooking, gas water heater, etc., even a gas starter in the fireplace. But our current home is total electric. In fact, there aren't even any natural gas lines in the whole neighborhood. I just did a quick check and found that so far in 2008, my electricity cost is up 11.72% over the same time period in 2007.

I should clarify, the AC cycling was back then. They use RF to turn it on and off, like a beeper the installer told me. The internet thermostat is cool I guess but I've had a programable timer on my AC since about 1988. The bummer is when everyone is home suring the summer, it runs a lot because I can't cut it off during the day.

And no matter what the power companies say or use to say, turning OFF saves more than turning it up. When we leave...it's off no matter what. Before we had the kids and we both worked, the old Hunter thermostat had a daily run time indicator. Yes the AC would run for 4 straight hours with I turned it on before we got home, but that was still less than turning it up to 80 or 82. Actually running an AC for 4-5 hours straight is better on the unit to.

 

[RobJ]

Yep. I have my garden on a timer that waters at night. I cannot water during the day because the garden hose lays in the sun. The water coming out of that hose will burn your skin and wilt the plants. I may have to bury it.

Yeah until that water in the hose that's in the sun runs itself out it can be hot.

Have you tried watering in the early morning? All the garden guys say it better to prevent mildew and stuff if it stays wet all night.

 

[texbaylea]

I just read a realy good article in the latest issue of Journal of Light Construction called A Close Look at Common Energy Claims.

JLC Online - Where Contractors Go To Work on the Web

There were two things that interested me in the article. One was the savings you get from upgrading from single to double pained windows and how long it takes to make up that price in energy savings. Usually 20 plus years. The other was the use of caulking to seal up the house. I use caulking for painting, but not for weather proofing, so it's not something I had really thought about. I've heard TV shows and even the local news stations recomend caulking to seal up a home, and just assumed it accomplished something. The article explains why this is not true and how caulking in the wrong places is actually a very bad thing to do. Which I know, but never considered others would do this until reading the story.

Eddie

Eddie
I had read the JLC article and earlier ones and that convinced me of what I felt about replacing old single pane windows. Will not bother now. We have been doing a lot of upgrading to our current home and added attic insulation and a new white metal roof seemed to have made quite a difference in our heat load. It will take a few months of bills to be sure. We added a room across the back which got rid of two leaky sliding door and a leaky chimney which has helped reduce air leakage a lot. I do not understand why anyone needs a wood burning fireplace in south Texas. For ambiance maybe but you will pay for it.

The addition has 2 x 6 walls and double pane low-e windows and door. The mini split heat pump can get it really cold. The new room is the new kitchen and we have yet to move into it. Will have to see how well it works when we start cooking in there.

We have a few small single pane windows that I plan on putting reflective film on but extending the porch over the window most exposed to the west sun has helped reduce the heat gain a lot - no direct sun now.

Still considering solar water heating but my best exposure is on the carport roof so water leakage is less critical there.

Vernon

 

[waynokakid]

Here is a link to a good read and interesting projects on solar and saving on utilities.

BuildItSolar: Solar energy projects for Do It Yourselfers to save money and reduce pollution

 

[tallyho8]

Ceiling fans help keep you cooler while you raise the AC temperature.
Later,
Dan

I have heard this statement many times but I don't agree with it. I have ceiling fans in every room of my home because they were here when I bought it.

Warm air rises. If you are sitting in a chair at your computer and you put a thermometer at the level of your head and put another thermometer next to the ceiling, you will find that the upper temperature is noticeably higher. When you turn on the ceiling fan it blows the warm air down on you and evens out the temperature in the room by making the lower part you occupy warmer and making the ceiling area cooler.

I have found that a fan that I can sit on the floor by me or on a desk level with me, will blow cooler air on me than using the ceiling fan because it circulates the cooler air and leaves the warm air up by the ceiling.

 

[Bird]

I have no scientific evidence of the efficiency of ceiling fans, but I'm a believer. The house we bought new in 1977 had none and I installed 4 myself. I also helped a neighbor install one in his den. Then I installed 4 in my parents' home in Oklahoma. Down in the country, we ordered a custom built double wide manufactured home and specified ceiling fans in the living room and each bedroom. Our current home, which we bought about 2.5 years ago has a nice little ceiling fan in the master bedroom and had an incredibly cheap one without lights in the living room. I replaced that one with a much nicer one with lights. And I installed ceiling fans in the 2 bedrooms that had none. Of course, one of those "bedrooms" is now my office/study/computer room, so I have a ceiling fan right over my head. So, yep, I'm a fan of ceiling fans (pun intended).

However, I also have a 16", 3-speed fan on a stand 6' behind me right now, so if I come in the house hot, or when I get out of a hot shower; i.e., want to cool down faster, I turn that fan on.

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah until that water in the hose that's in the sun runs itself out it can be hot.

Have you tried watering in the early morning? All the garden guys say it better to prevent mildew and stuff if it stays wet all night.

Yes, I water the garden at night (early morning) with one impact sprinkler. I tried drip out there last year, but the emitter hoses were all over the place and a pain to till around. The flower boxes are on drippers that drip directly on the dirt, so the hot water does not touch the plants during the day. They seem to be thriving so far. I have a few spray emitters, but those are attached to a soaker hose that drains itself so the heat doesn't build up in that section.

 

[MossRoad]

I have no scientific evidence of the efficiency of ceiling fans, but I'm a believer. The house we bought new in 1977 had none and I installed 4 myself. I also helped a neighbor install one in his den. Then I installed 4 in my parents' home in Oklahoma. Down in the country, we ordered a custom built double wide manufactured home and specified ceiling fans in the living room and each bedroom. Our current home, which we bought about 2.5 years ago has a nice little ceiling fan in the master bedroom and had an incredibly cheap one without lights in the living room. I replaced that one with a much nicer one with lights. And I installed ceiling fans in the 2 bedrooms that had none. Of course, one of those "bedrooms" is now my office/study/computer room, so I have a ceiling fan right over my head. So, yep, I'm a fan of ceiling fans (pun intended).

However, I also have a 16", 3-speed fan on a stand 6' behind me right now, so if I come in the house hot, or when I get out of a hot shower; i.e., want to cool down faster, I turn that fan on.

We have a ceiling fan in our dining room. In the winter I have it blow up instead of down. On the lowest speed, it circulates the heat from the ceiling out to the walls and down behind the dining room chairs. It does a nice job of evening out the heat in the room during meals, especially for the chairs that are next to the windows. In summer, I have it blowing down most of the time. With the dining room windows on the north side of the house open it does a good job of forcing the cooler air out of the dining room and into the kitchen, living room and hallway. But during meals, I reverse it so the food doesn't get cool!

 

[mjarrels]

Oddly enough... the only ceiling fan I have is outside on the screen pourch! Rarely gets used except on very hot days and there is no wind blowing.

mark

 

[RavensRoost]

Ceiling fans do not cool the air or the house. They make you (your body) feel cooler though because the breeze they generate evaporates moisture from your skin. So they can be used to compensate for elevating the t-stat setting...sort of. Work fairly well in a dry climate, less well in humid climates. Some people incorrectly believe they really do cool the room and leave them all on which is actually going backwards from an energy saving perspective (but a plus for comfort).

We have a single hot water solar panel on out (flat) garage roof circulating to an 80 gallon HW heater here in Phoenix and use virtually no electricty to heat water in the summer for sure, and works surprisingly well in winter/fall/spring as long as it is sunny. If you are in a fairly sunny area and are going to be in the place long enough for it to pay back, they really do work. (If you are in cold climate, you need to use a "closed" system e.g. one that uses a small heat exchanger with glycol on the outside loop and plain water on the inside/HW loop.) Mine came with the house when we bought 12 years ago so did not get any tax break, did have to pay for a new HW heater and some other upgrades a few years ago.

RavensRoost

 

[sunspot]

Has anyone heard of the Marathon electric water heater?
Marathon Water Heaters
They are expensive at around $800 but would they be worth it in the long run?

 

[MossRoad]

Ceiling fans do not cool the air or the house.

RavensRoost

In our house, the cool air comes in through the windows and the fan moves it along to the rest of the house, helping to cool it. The air cools the house, but the fan moves the cool air, so it does help to cool the house.

 

[SpringHollow]

we installed a vacuum insulated solar hot water system on someone's house that ran for 20 years heating their house, indoor swimming pool, and domestic water - it worked great and Rochester is one of the cloudiest cities in the winter.

I would be there checking on the system, first thing in the morning and it would be raining, and the system would literally be making boiling water. The manufacturer went out of business when the solar tax credits ended in the late 80's.

Ken

 

[bigshovel]

Just installed a whole house fan with an automatic attic fan on thermostat. So far I see no to little need for A/C. It took about 10 hours and three hundred bucks and a little swearing but wow does it cool down the house quick. It also allowed me to turn off three cieling fans and the dehumidifier seems to run less. Only the electric bill will tell.

Brad

 

[heehaw]

i've only seen this done a couple times: run a air duct into the attic to supply air to your cloths dryer: the air is already hot so the dryer doesn't have to heat it as much.
I've read about the Marathon water heaters: lifetime warranty against leaking: really low standby loss, but it still heats the water the same way all electric water heaters do...using a lot of electricity...
heehaw

 

[zeuspaul]

Put your tea kettle on the shelf and get an electric tea kettle for heating water for tea or pre heating water for general cooking. I have the Aroma (got mine at Target) If you heat water on a range the little electric ones will save energy. I have a propane range and this thing is much more efficient than heating water with propane.

Aroma AWK-115S - 1.5-Liter Stainless Steel X-Press Water Kettle

Zeuspaul

 

[VA_Joe]

I just read a realy good article in the latest issue of Journal of Light Construction called A Close Look at Common Energy Claims.

JLC Online - Where Contractors Go To Work on the Web

There were two things that interested me in the article. One was the savings you get from upgrading from single to double pained windows and how long it takes to make up that price in energy savings. Usually 20 plus years. The other was the use of caulking to seal up the house. I use caulking for painting, but not for weather proofing, so it's not something I had really thought about. I've heard TV shows and even the local news stations recomend caulking to seal up a home, and just assumed it accomplished something. The article explains why this is not true and how caulking in the wrong places is actually a very bad thing to do. Which I know, but never considered others would do this until reading the story.

Eddie

I read it - interesting article. I do think they missed an important aspect with the windows. It all depends on where you live and how cold it gets. If the windows don't have a good mechanical seal or if they are situated in a location such that they result in a cold zone that causes the homeowner to significantly turn up the central heat in the rest of the house to make up for it - then it is probably worthwhile to do the replacement.

Joe

 

[riptides]

Interesting topic.

I might add get rid of your kids if you have them. Since school is now out I can expect my electirc bill to triple. Seriously.

When I was in the middle east we actually had our cold water stores on the roof of our villa. Brilliant idea. We turned off our hot water heaters inside the villa and used them as cold instead.

You could always see the rookies in the compound as they sported a nice scalding rash in the morning debriefs.

It was a learned behaviour. That, and avoid drinking tap water.

So, it is a good idea if your in sunny areas to have the sun heat water. Anyway you can do it, even for an outdoor shower!

 

[dmccarty]

I have heard this statement many times but I don't agree with it. I have ceiling fans in every room of my home because they were here when I bought it.

Well, we bought 'em. Lots of them. They work for us. We put one in every major room in the house and one on the porch. Moving the air helps keep you cool.

We have reversed the fans in the winter to pull the hot air from the ceiling. Since we have 10 foot ceilings I figured there would be lots of heat up there from the wood stove we use to heat the house. The air temps when up a degree or so with the fans reversed. BUT with the ever so slight breeze we felt cooler. Not a good thing in winter we just let the air mix normally.

Later,
Dan