[greenworm]

$10 gas per year.
$50-$100 maintenance of wood stove/chainsaw per year.


Best view of the impending apocalypse, priceless.

[duke3522]

Here in our old farm house we are total electric. Beside the usual electric stuff it includes water pump, heat, and cooking. Our electric budget is $206 a month for everything. So that would be $2472 a year.

But I hope to lower that a little every year with by weatherizing, but in a 126 year old farm house there is a lot of weatherizing to do. We have already replaced most of the light bulbs with fluorescents, and when we replaced our appliances 2 years ago we purchased the most efficent we could find within our budget.

[rwwff]

electric $250 / mo
natural gas $40 /mo
gasoline $300 /mo

[lateralus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PeakOiler', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mekrob', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') recall reading that some people that use fuel oil to heat their homes can easily spend $700/mo during the winter. That blows me away. That's about what I spend in an entire year

[markam]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'w')hy do people live in such cold climates?

[PeakOiler]

Update on annual home power use in response to the latest poll on the PO home page.

2006 YTD (as of 8/15/06, the date of the last meter reading on the utility bill): 4,474 kw-hrs, $619.27

$0 for natural gas
$0 for fuel oil
$15 for firewood (February)
$0 for propane
$0 for solar

[dbarberic]

For my N.E. Ohio 2,500 Sq Ft home:
$100/mo Natural Gas
$50-$110/mo for Electricity (high end for summer A/C use)
$50-60/mo for Water and Sewer

On winter weekends I supplement the Natural Gas heat with a wood burning fireplace insert.
I was also able to drop my water by 1/3-1/2 and electrical by about 1/4 by moving to an Energy Star dishwasher, clothing washer, and refrigerator.
I also got a nice 15-25% decrease in Natural Gas use when I went crazy last fall and super sealed every nook and crack in my house, including insulating gaskets for my outer wall electrical plugs and switches.
One of my next to-do projects is insulating our basement and all the heating/cooling ductwork in the basement. (The basement is not finished and is not heated or cooled).

[Pops]

Old houses…
Ours is 100 years old this year. Most of the downstairs windows and door have been updated and now all the walls have insulation, from what I would consider R-8-9 in the areas poorly insulated (but at least insulated some) in the 60s, to about R-24 in the areas we have completed. We plan to add rigid insulation to the areas done previously. The floors have yet to be done as well as any of the upstairs walls – except the thin stuff under the siding, the attic is R-19 or so.
Another big problem we have had is our propane system – every part of which as sprung a leak except for the tank itself. The copper under the house leaked, then the copper under the ground leaked, the fill valve and pop-off both leaked and now we have a small leak on the wet leg that can’t be fixed until the tank is empty.

We have installed a new energy-star oven (sort of new anyway, we bought it 4 years ago!), a new well pump, lots of ceiling fans, a nice little Vermont Castings woodstove and want to put in an on-demand water heater (when we strike oil).
We have central heat and air (ducted for the downstairs only) that is rarely used – this last month has been an exception though the last bill was only $80 with the animals and plants drinking a lot of water and the a/c running what we consider a lot. I have added extra insulation to the ductwork but the thing is pretty old and inefficient.

One final thing I’ll mention is we have converted an old smokehouse into a summer kitchen for baking, canning etc in the summertime which should make things much more pleasant in the house and cut down the a/c use next year. We used the old range from the kitchen remodel and an old wall-hung sink we dug out of the weeds – no hot water as yet.
Just eyeballing the electric bills last year we averaged around $55/mo = $660/yr. (the rise due to the electric oven will probably be offset by all the new insulation)

I won’t admit how much propane we have pumped into the air but will guess with the new oven and after rebuilding every part of our system we will use 250 gal or less per year. It seems like we pay about $.50 over Spot Price for propane - call it $1.65/gal today so around $420 at todays rate
If you add in the market value of cordwood and not just the cost (one could be doing other things) we burned less than 2 cords/year the last 2 winters but the were very mild so figure 3 cords/year average at $120/cord is $360/year.

Our gas and what little diesel we use are fairly discretionary since we work at home, I don’t track it but I’ll guess one thankful every month - $60 @ $3/gal = $720 maybe?
Old houses…
Ours is 100 years old this year. Most of the downstairs windows and door have been updated and now all the walls have insulation, from what I would consider R-8-9 in the areas poorly insulated (but at least insulated some) in the 60s, to about R-24 in the areas we have completed. We plan to add rigid insulation to the areas done previously. The floors have yet to be done as well as any of the upstairs walls – except the thin stuff under the siding, the attic is R-19 or so.

Another big problem we have had is our propane system – every part of which as sprung a leak except for the tank itself. The copper under the house leaked, then the copper under the ground leaked, the fill valve and pop-off both leaked and now we have a small leak on the wet leg that can’t be fixed until the tank is empty.
We have installed a new energy-star oven (sort of new anyway, we bought it 4 years ago!), a new well pump, lots of ceiling fans, a nice little Vermont Castings woodstove and want to put in an on-demand water heater (when we strike oil).

We have central heat and air ducted for the downstairs only that is rarely used – this last month has been an exception. I have added extra insulation to the ductwork.
One final thing I’ll mention is we have converted an old smokehouse into a summer kitchen for baking, canning etc in the summertime which should make things much more pleasant in the house and cut down the a/c use next year. We used the old range from the kitchen remodel and an old wall-hung sink we dug out of the weeds – no hot water as yet.

Just eyeballing the electric bills last year we averaged around $55/mo = $660/yr. (the rise due to the electric oven will probably be offset by all the new insulation)
I won’t admit how much propane we have pumped into the air but will guess with the new oven and after rebuilding every part of our system we will use 250 gal or less per year. It seems like we pay about $.50 over Spot Price for propane - call it $1.65/gal today so around $420 at todays rate
If you add in the market value of cordwood and not just the cost (one could be doing other things) we burned less than 2 cords/year the last 2 winters but the were very mild so figure 3 cords/year average at $120/cord is $360/year.
Our gas and what little diesel we use are fairly discretionary since we work here, I don’t track it but I’ll guess one thankful every month - $60 @ $3/gal = $720 maybe?

$2,200/year, about $150/month out of pocket is what I guess. I really can’t afford much more so that is where it will have to stay. We could cut our use by half I guess without much discomfort - hopefully because of our continuing improvements and fewer trips to town just to fiddle around…

[PeakOiler]

Great responses everyone. Thanks.

--Just wanted to add that the passive solar water heater was installed Nov. 15th, 2002, and a more efficient A/C compressor replaced the old one that died Sept, 2001.
Since I enter all my energy data in spreadsheets, it's easier to keep track of energy expenses.
I noted about a 25% decrease in electricity use (on an annual average) after installing the solar water heater. I estimate an eight-year payback (since the utility electric rate is still pretty low.) If I was paying California electric rates around $0.30/kw-hr, the payback time of a solar water heater would be about 3 years or less (assuming similar solar insolation).

[Pops]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'O')ur gas and what little diesel we use are fairly discretionary since we work at home, I don’t track it but I’ll guess one thankful every month - $60 @ $3/gal = $720 maybe?

[smiley]

We've got a 4 bedroom stone masonry house, built in 1935. Over the past few years rockwool insulation has been added and the windows are double glazed.
Our biggest expense is gas for heating, but that fluctuates a lot depending on the severity of the winter. Last winter was pretty severe with temperatures hitting -10°C several times over two months.
So I reckon our bill will be around $130 a month for this year, that includes gas electricity and water.

[EndOfSewers]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smiley', ' ')Last winter was pretty severe with temperatures hitting -10°C several times over two months.

[smiley]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')xcuse me while I laugh my ass off. -10 is t-shirt weather if the wind isn't too bad.

[HamRadioRocks]

I just received my natural gas bill for February (covering Jan. 10th to Feb. 12th). My average use per day was 3.58 Therms (over 33 days, or 118 therms total), and the average temperature was 12 degrees. A year ago, I used 3.17 therms/day average (95 therms total over 30 days) while the average temperature was 18 degrees warmer (30 degrees). So although there were 51.4% more heating degree day units this year than the same period last year, my daily energy usage was only 13% greater. So my daily energy usage was down 25 after adjusting for the heating degree day units.

As an added bonus, my daily cost was actually lower this year than last year for the same period last year, only $4.05 instead of $4.28.
Adding the rope caulking, doubling up on the plastic window insulation, and turning the thermostat down to 59 degrees (compared to 63 degrees last year) has paid off.
I'm sure there's more I can do to save energy. I'm always on the lookout for ways to save energy. Saving on air conditioning will be much more difficult, as I find indoor temperatures above 80 degrees to be very oppressive.

So why isn't everyone else in the world with me on this?

[TommyJefferson]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('HamRadioRocks', '.')..my daily energy usage was down 25 after adjusting for the heating degree day units.
...So why isn't everyone else in the world with me on this?

[BrownDog]

Good work.

We dropped our electricity usage (cooling is our biggest user) about 25% last year vs. the previous year by doing many of the same things. We still have more to do, though the next 25% may be harder to achieve.

[ThePostman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('HamRadioRocks', 'S')o why isn't everyone else in the world with me on this?

[snax]

The thing that strikes me about the whole heating and cooling issue is how ignorant we have been about doing it efficiently. Just with the simple adjustment of the orientation of dwellings, and properly placed windows, heating and cooling loads can be drastically reduced, and it is 100% passive. Throw in solar water heat used for regulating the temperature of a large insulated mass in the foundation of a house, and the heating and cooling load can be even further reduced.
Solar design is such a promising field for energy conservation. It's just too bad so many homes have been built with zero regard for it.
And while I would probably be happy living in a house that hovers around 60F during the winter, whininess factor from the rest of my family seems to escalate exponentially with each degree we go below 68F. :\

[ThePostman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('snax', 'S')olar design is such a promising field for energy conservation. It's just too bad so many homes have been built with zero regard for it.
And while I would probably be happy living in a house that hovers around 60F during the winter, whininess factor from the rest of my family seems to escalate exponentially with each degree we go below 68F. :\

[HamRadioRocks]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('snax', 'S')olar design is such a promising field for energy conservation. It's just too bad so many homes have been built with zero regard for it.
And while I would probably be happy living in a house that hovers around 60F during the winter, whininess factor from the rest of my family seems to escalate exponentially with each degree we go below 68F. :\