electric fireplace 400 sq ft image
Brandee
Anyone will better understanding would be greatly appreciated; my husband and I live in a entirely electric (no gas) home, and I'm trying to find ways to cut down on our electric bill. We cannot, at this time, afford new appliances, and obviously we cannot unplug some of our appliances when not used (deep freezer, refrigerator). I try to limit the amount of laundry we do, but don't know some things- would it be more efficient to primarily use toaster oven and microwave vs. oven (of course, depending on amount of time), or turn off computer (I've been told it takes more power to stat and stop than let run idle), unplug small appliances (cable boxes and alarm clocks) that have a constant display time, etc...
We try to keep the temp at a regular not adjusting if possible (1200 sq. ft, 2 bed, but last month's bill of $400 is pushing our budget limits.
Any ideas?
Answer
Older model freezers use up LOTS of electricity.
Could you do away with the need for it and use your refrigerator's freezer?
That would save a lot.
Also, your computer should have a power-saving setting when not in use.
Small appliances like clocks and such don't really use that much power.
Your furnace and water heater use the most.
Try turning down the thermostats and bundling up.
If no one is home during the day for say, 8hrs, turn the furnace thermostat
all the way down,
but if your just going shopping or something,
just turn it down slightly.
Otherwise it will have to run longer to get the temperature back up to "comfortable."
Use your fireplace if you have one.
Also, check your insulation and weatherstripping around the house.
Thick drapes over your windows will keep a lot of the cold from coming in the house.
Best of luck.
how do you heat your house in winter?
Q. I am just curious as to how others are heating their house during the winter months. We are looking to reduce our propane bill it just seems that every option we choose ends up being about the same cost without investing $10,000 for geothermal (after rebates). We just installed a 91% efficient furnace last year so our furnace is good to go. We also have a free standing wood stove that we use on occasion. The wood stove is old and we don't trust it while we are sleeping or away for very long. Last year we used about 700 gallons LP and burned probably 1/2 cord of wood. We have a single level 1500 sq. ft. house. We were considering putting a pellet stove in but are unsure how many tons of pellets it would burn to determine if it would be worth it. We also though about installing some of the new ceiling fans that have the space heater in them, but they are $250 a pop and still cost a lot to operate. Just looking for some opinions and no, I don't want to hang blankets up or shut rooms off because we use all of them. Does anyone use a pellet stove? How much pellets do you burn? Do you like it? Thanks in advance!!!!!
Answer
We have a 3-story, 4,200 s.f. center-hall stucco-on-brick colonial built in 1890 with 46 windows and five glass (French) doors. We have hot-water radiators and burn natural gas to to heat, as well as we have three functional fire-places built with the house. Natural gas in the PECO service area is approximately $1.14/therm (100,000 BTU), about 43% cheaper than #2 fuel oil at this time. We moved into the house about 2.5 years ago, and when we moved in the existing heating system had been allowed to freeze, the boiler (400,000 BTU oil-burner) had failed and 17 of 34 radiators had also failed along with four of six risers. Yes, we knew this going in.
When we replaced the radiators, we installed thermostatic valves. We installed a 96% efficient gas-fired modulating condensing boiler (230,000 BTU) that also handled domestic hot water via a super-insulated low-loss storage tank. The total cost of the conversion and replacements including the registered master plumber to do the boiler install and the inspection and utility certification was just over $12,000 - I did 80% of the work myself. My plumber stated that if he had done the entire job, it would have cost just under $20,000. I believe him. But the payback against Oil is pretty fast at any price.
Our cost last year (Philadelphia region) for all energy for 12 full months was under $3,600, inclusive of heat, hot water, cooking (gas) drying (gas) and electricity. We do not have central AC, but we do have large window units on the first floor and smaller units in each bedroom, of which three are going at any one time, typically, in very hot weather. Under most conditions only the bedroom units are on and only when occupied. Large masonry houses neither get so not nor so cold as frame houses in weather extremes. We are on track in 2010 to be slightly lower than in 2009 overall. We heat to 58F when the house is empty (during the day) and 68F during the evenings and on weekends, or when we are home (vacation or days off). We use a "smart" thermostat with an outside air sensor that works with the boiler to have the house at-temperature when we want it to be, not just starting the system at that point. We are not fanatical about heating (or cooling) at all. We use the fireplaces (library, dining room and master bedroom) quite often in the winter - they draw well and permit good modulation - so we do feel that they are net-positive for energy. Many are not. If we run the fireplace in the bedroom with the door partially closed it does get warm pretty quickly.
The thermostatic radiator valves allow us to reduce heat in unoccupied rooms even when the rest of the house is warm - which results in large savings - yet have the convenience of just turning them up if needed. We have considered a pellet stove (we have an ideal location for one) and also fireplace inserts. The cost-benefit ratio is not quite there yet - based on our use and habits, we have calculated that when natural gas reaches about $2.00/therm they will be a worthwhile investment - as long as good burning wood (oak) remains at $125/full cord or less.
A 200,000 BTU (net) geothermal system will set us back in excess of $25,000 in our environment - that is simply not going to happen. The payback will be beyond our lifetime.
All our rooms but the four majors (library, dining room, living room and kitchen) have ceiling fans - and we use them pretty much all year. Up in the winter, down in the summer. We do have electric space heaters - basic ceramic plug-in portables - that we use here-and-there as needed. Spending $0.21/hour to make one or two people and/or two cats comfortable in one room is a bunch better than heating an entire house for $2.63/hour to the same temperature - although I repeat - we are not fanatical about heat - we just will not heat all 4,200 s.f. if there is only one of us at home during an odd time. So, calculate on that basis when you are considering alternate fuels or heat sources.
Other things we have done: Install tight storm doors (high-quality), repair windows, caulk cracks, insulate and install the correct vapor-barrier system in our crawl-spaces, use only high-quality energy-star appliances sized for our actual needs, move to CLF lamps for general use, water saving faucets and shower-heads and so on and so forth. Each and every little bit helps. No one item overly costly and nothing exotic or hard to maintain.
Good luck with it.
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