[NonToxic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Brandon', '"')It's $40"
Bah.. After replacing my ancient heatpump with a 17 SEER unit my monthly average has gone from $180 to $140.
$40! Never heard of a bill so low...

[DoctorDoom]

All numbers are kwh.

Old Address:

March: 221
April: 217
May: 173
June: 153

New Address:

July: 393
August: 349

[strider3700]

And an update.
Yesterday I recieved my august september bill.
Changes in usage from the previous bill are
I'm using the clothes dryer again About 6 loads in september
I changed that water pump to the more efficient one half a month into the bill
the lights are on a little bit more due to it being dark earlier
I've been doing lots of construction including running a cement mixer for about 30 hours

The results are 0.82 kw/h used for a total of 1213 in 62 days or roughly 600 kwh/month This is still too high for my tastes but is way down from the 1500 kwh/month I started at
It's also just shy of 40% lower then the previous bill.

I'm quickly running out of inexpensive things to do to reduce the usage but here is the list of things still coming up.
- The hot water tank
I'll be doing a few things here. First up is about december I'll be redoing my bathroom with a complete gut. At that time I'll be taking the hotwater tank and relocating it into a closet. I'll possibly replace it at that point with a more efficient model and for sure I'll be rapping it in a large amount of insulation to try and keep it warm when not in use. I'll also be adding a timer to turn it on in the morning and then off during the day during weekdays.
I don't get sun in the winter but solar preheating will be looked into for next spring. I'll plumb everything with this in mind.

-the fridge
It's getting worse noise wise lately and seems to be running more often, it may be going. I have no intention of replacing it this year however.

-electric heat
The project to get wood heat is well underway, hopefully I'll have my first woodfire going mid november.

Really the biggest gain for long term savings is the girlfriend is completely on board at this point. That makes it far easier to explain why you turn the tv off at the power bar instead of with the remote

[BabyPeanut]

I'd be interested in brands especially with web links to them.

So far for oil I have:

Thermo Pride's OH6 Low-Profile Highboy Oil Furnace 87.2% AFUE at medium fire with Riello Burner option.

and for natural gas I have:

Dave Lennox Signature™ Collection G61V Variable Speed Gas Furnace up to 94.6% AFUE.

[SolarDave]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BabyPeanut', 'I')'d be interested in brands especially with web links to them.
for natural gas I have:
Dave Lennox Signature™ Collection G61V Variable Speed Gas Furnace up to 94.6% AFUE.

[purdum]

This may not be quite the information you are looking for, but the efficiency of geothermal heat pump (water furnace) is 300-400%.

If you are replacing a furnace, you might want to take a look at it. We just replaced a 30-year-old 65% efficient oil furnace with a heat pump. The price of fuel oil locally is $2.30/gal. If we had gone with a 90% efficient oil furnace, it would have taken 18 years to recoup the cost. Switching over to gas drops it down to 16 years. The geothermal pays for itself in 5 years. Yes, the initial expense is high, but if you are replacing a furnace anyway the differential cost is much lower.

PM me if you want more specific numbers.

[aflatoxin]

About four years ago I put a bryant 95% condensing gas furnace in. It is not variable capacity. At the same time I put a heat pump in for use as an AC/ supplimental heat system. (basically an ac system with a little extra pipe.) Bryant and Carrier are the same company. I am really happy with the new furnace. It is so quiet you can barely hear it running. Really heavy, I had to put it over a load bearing wall in my attic.

I put the system in myself with the help of a friend who owed me one. I bought new, scratch and dent equipment from a local distributor. (I know they are not supposed to sell to people who are not gas certified, but, hey, I had cash) It cost $2500 for the furnace, the 12 SEER condensor, the evap, tubing set, electronic air cleaner, humidifier, uv duct germ killer, fancy thermostat. My buddy (Union journeyman HVAC/sheetmetal guy) built and installed all of the rigid insulated ducts for $2000. The estimate I got from a local contractor came to $11,000. I used the difference to insulate the hell out of my house and replace all of the doors and windows.

I can heat with either gas, electricity, or both. I'm planning on putting a buried evaporator in for using ground mass energy this year. With gas running about 11-12 a thousand right now, I'm using the heat pump. THe ground mass systems are a lot more efficient that the fan coil units. Currently, it is only getting into the 40's at night, when it starts dropping into the 20's I'll go back to gas.

I used to heat with wood, and I would go through about 6 cords a year. I used, last year, a total of $200 in gas. It is actually cheaper to run this rig than burn wood (costs 175 a cord here). Of course I keep about 10 cords in the woodshed "just in case".

[BabyPeanut]

Hybrid air-source heat pump - fossil fuel dual seems to be a big win. Air source heat pumps are cheap to install and will work on many days. The idea of using electric as a backup for an air source heat pump is a loss since electric heat is expensive. If you are using a fossil fuel furnace for the bad days in many locations the air source heat pump will cheapen the not-so-bad days.

Ground source heat pump is good on paper but I've been unimpressed with the news from http://www.groundloop.com/ and my property is not an easy place to install things. Ground source heat pumps are expensive.

[aflatoxin]

Actually, when I was referring to using electricity, I really meant the heat pump. I confused them, but the heat pump runs on electricity, so I call it electric heat. I guess that most people associate electric heat with resistance-type units.

What I need to do is figure a way for my thermostat to look up gas prices online, electricity prices online, temperatures of the inside and outside air (calc. the efficiency of the heat pump), and decide whether it's cheaper to run the heat pump or the gas burner. Then I would really have something.

[fossilnut2]

Be sure to also look at rebate programs in your state/province/ country, etc. In our province there are grants for certain furnaces, etc.'

There's some good advice above. Some of the issues of cost revolve around how handy you are and how much of the work one does oneself. A high efficiency furnace can mean more maintenance and service calls down the road. Building codes can add some added costs to a new furnace or conversion such as clean air intakes, venting, etc.

Everyone's situation is unique but look at the alternatives for every dollar spent. There's a good comment above about more efficient windows, more insulation, etc.

[PeakOiler]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BabyPeanut', 'T')hat meter box is marketed in the US as "kill-a-watt". I shopped around online for mine and got what was a bargain at the time. Don't know if the prices have gone up or down.
The two biggies are electric hot water tank heater and electric refrigerator. Once you take care of those the results will be stunning. They run all the time and they suck down watts fast.

[Devil]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PeakOiler', 'I') measured a washing machine cycle (not including the rainwater pump's use--that's next to measure) with the Kill-A-Watt meter and learned that the washing machine used 0.27 kw-hrs for one load.

[PeakOiler]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Devil', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PeakOiler', '
')I measured a washing machine cycle (not including the rainwater pump's use--that's next to measure) with the Kill-A-Watt meter and learned that the washing machine used 0.27 kw-hrs for one load.

[Devil]

Sorry, to get clothes clean, you should never put hot water into a washing machine. Reason: much of the components of sweat and some other contaminants like spilt food include proteins which are similar to albumen (egg white). When dry, they are difficult to dissolve, but will do, with agitation, in cold water, but it takes ~10 minutes to do so. In water at > ~40°C they solidify into an insoluble contamination.

This is why - at least here in Europe - all washing machines have only a cold water connection and the pre-rinse and wash start at cold for some time and only then start to heat the water internally. The same goes for dishwashers (try wiping a plate with egg white and putting it into the machine during the hot wash cycle, when the water is at 85°C, and see how well it doesn't clean!)

[strider3700]

Many new PC's have functionality that allows them to wake up from the network, at a specific time or from the keyboard. This draws a few watts constantly.

Turning off the power bar or unplugging it is the only way to really get rid of these issues.

[PeakOiler]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Devil', 'S')orry, to get clothes clean, you should never put hot water into a washing machine. Reason: much of the components of sweat and some other contaminants like spilt food include proteins which are similar to albumen (egg white). When dry, they are difficult to dissolve, but will do, with agitation, in cold water, but it takes ~10 minutes to do so. In water at > ~40°C they solidify into an insoluble contamination.

This is why - at least here in Europe - all washing machines have only a cold water connection and the pre-rinse and wash start at cold for some time and only then start to heat the water internally. The same goes for dishwashers (try wiping a plate with egg white and putting it into the machine during the hot wash cycle, when the water is at 85°C, and see how well it doesn't clean!)

[Devil]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PeakOiler', '
')Even if hot water makes some substances solidify, that's what the agitator is for anyway. Hey, dirt and solids don't dissolve no matter what the temperature is, and hot water and detergent are best for oils, including body oils.

[Caoimhan]

Hot water is recommended to kill dust mites in bedding.

I agree about protein stains, though. Blood and food stains are best rinsed immediately in cold water. I generally wash all my clothes in a cold cycle, though.

I only use hot water on my sheets and pillowcases.

[nocar]

Coimahan,

The European systems starts out washing in cold water, then heats up to your desired temperature. Rinsing is done in cold water. Just like Devil says.

I have learnt that mites are not killed unless you wash at temps over 60C, so I wash a lot of stuff at 65C I would love to get solid facts to be able to wash at lower temps. Anybody with links?

Americans seem to be fond of putting bleach on laundry. In Sweden (I do not know about the rest of Europe), Clorine (the most common bleach) was outlawed for environmental reasons, about 5 years ago. And noone complained, because Clorine has never been much used in Sweden.

nocar

[Caoimhan]

I add Oxyclean to my wash as a color safe bleach.