more power!

[Richard Brown]

On 2/17/2020 at 8:22 AM, Chestnut said:

Man you couldn't convince me to go to an electric stove....

I wonder what the power consumption for a household looks like over time. With a lot of today's energy efficient appliances and gadgets I theorize that energy use per household is goign down. LED light bulbs have saved a ton of money on lighting. The only area where there isn't much room to improve is electric heat, though insulation and air sealing standards have gone through the roof.

My electric was running an average of $350 a month. I have electric stove, 5 ton high efficiency AC, about 2800 sqft with another 1000 sqft shop. I have all led Bulbs and still have a high bill. i just invested in 34 solar panels so I’m off averaging and will get back on when we have the solar panels for a year. 

 

 

[Chestnut]

50 minutes ago, Richard Brown said:

My electric was running an average of $350 a month. I have electric stove, 5 ton high efficiency AC, about 2800 sqft with another 1000 sqft shop. I have all led Bulbs and still have a high bill. i just invested in 34 solar panels so I’m off averaging and will get back on when we have the solar panels for a year.

Report back on the solar panels. I've been interested in installing some on my roof just to offset my electric bill. Though I must admit I thought mine was bad at $70 in the winter and $150 in the summer. I guess I'll consider myself lucky. I also find it interesting that you have a 5 ton AC. We just installed a 2.5 ton for 3,100 sq ft. That's the difference between the north and south.

[wtnhighlander]

Drew, my house is a little smaller than Richard Brown's, and I have a 6 ton unit. I recently heard summer in the South described as 8 months living in Satan's arm pit.

Pretty accurate.

[Coop]

I need re-roof my house but am considering solar panels instead. 

[Chestnut]

13 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Drew, my house is a little smaller than Richard Brown's, and I have a 6 ton unit. I recently heard summer in the South described as 8 months living in Satan's arm pit.

Pretty accurate.

Man that description makes 4 months of frozen stiff sound way better. I'm glad i live in the north.

[Richard Brown]

I still think solar panels are worth it. The rules changed here before I bought mine. You only get the fuel cost back when selling power back to them. So you pay .09 Kwh to buy power and only receive .025 kwh to sell that same power back to them. I’m still arguing my case with the public service commission. The power company talks about their power cost but Solar power owners have power cost as well. My point is check your laws and regulations first. 
 

still I have 30k out on 34 panels that creates more then half the power I consume, I negotiated Twice the normal credit towards the power company bill ($2k) I can get as much as $ 11k in tax credits spread over 5 years. So I’m down to paying like 17k. Take another 10k off for the minimum I’m saving a month so far x 5 years and they may cost me 7k over 5 years. They have a bumper to bumper 25 year warranty so I will make up the rest and gain a good return over the next 20 years. More if I get the rules changed and or adjust when and how I wash and dry clothes ( electric dryers) etc. I also use to work in shop a lot at night so changing that will save me money as well. 

i guess it depends on your goals. My wife will retire in 5-10 years so this will be like an extra source of income once its paid off. 
 

now anyone looking into it let me know. I don’t know if these are national companies but they do pay referral fees. I could use it   Lol  
 

 

[wtnhighlander]

Funny, my Grandma was using solar power for things like drying clothes and heating bathwater before rural TN even had electricity. All it cost her was a rope and a washtub.

You know you are a redneck if you've ever been third through the bath water.  

In all seriousness, it pays to consider that the greenest, most efficient way to reduce energy cost is to just not use so much. 

[Chestnut]

2 hours ago, Richard Brown said:

So you pay .09 Kwh to buy power and only receive .025 kwh to sell that same power back to them.

0.025 sounds right for market rate. Power companies have a lot of cost with expensive overhead and they need to pay those costs just like the next business. Still a better deal than trying to sell logs for a living, markup on lumber is quite large at retail. Poor sawmill guys don't see a fraction of the cash.

If i ever do consider it it'll reach out. It's crossed my mind multiple times. It'll be a lot more tempting if I ever get an electric car.

[drzaius]

52 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

You know you are a redneck if you've ever been third through the bath water.

My neck must be scarlet red then. As a wee lad I was often much farther down the line (BIG family) than that to bathe in a laundry tub full of sludge. Yuck!

[Chip Sawdust]

I had two light bulbs in my garage before I started setting up my shop, and an unused 220V circuit. I added four LED shop lights (4 foot) and split the 220 into a couple healthy 110/20A circuits. I don't use 220 for anything, although I do have a Snap-On welder that requires it. I use my gas welder for 99.9% of my welding needs though, and my stepdaughter can weld anything else I need. It is nice to have enough outlets and 20A CB on each circuit.

[JohnG]

Going to look at solar for our new house once we get settled and know our usage. We are already on a well and septic, and I have a setup where I can burn wood for hot water and heating the house. 
I’m no doomsday prepper but we like the idea of being self sustaining (to an extent) and keeping a small footprint.  We have a large garden, chickens, and bees in the plan as well. 

[Coop]

On 6/25/2020 at 7:14 PM, wtnhighlander said:

You know you are a redneck if you've ever been third through the bath water.  

 

I was the first of four boys and got the first of the baths with # 2 getting my left overs. #3 got the clean water and # 4 getting the left overs. Now I wonder if my first was really something that mom and dad had left over? Hell, who cares as I lived thru it! 

[Richard Brown]

Ok I’m back. After like 14 months I cut my electric bill to $200 a month.  I lose about $28 a month on average because of that rule change I mentioned. Plus I work in my shop a lot after dark which hurts. If I could work during the day and use the two electric dryers only during the day I would likely save a lot more. I’m losing money for produced power not used 4.8 MWh so far since they were installed.  
 

my whole house generator paid off as well this year. Power was out a few hours one day but 17 for another. I have a 22kw generac. Power was always out here before i invested in the damn generator. 

[Chestnut]

$150 a month is some decent savings. That does suck about the rule change, I personally feel that decentralized solar panels are the future for electricity. We'll still need some large power plants but solar could go a long way toward affordable energy, never mind the environmental aspect.

I'm shocked at how expensive your electricity bill is. What do you use electric dryers for in your shop?

[Richard Brown]

3 hours ago, Chestnut said:

$150 a month is some decent savings. That does suck about the rule change, I personally feel that decentralized solar panels are the future for electricity. We'll still need some large power plants but solar could go a long way toward affordable energy, never mind the environmental aspect.

I'm shocked at how expensive your electricity bill is. What do you use electric dryers for in your shop?

Thats my house bill. The shop is connected to the house. I have two laundry rooms. One for me and the wife in our master suite and one for everyone else. I’m retired kind of and home all day, i watch my grand daughters and work in the shop nights and weekends. I have electric stove and dryers but water heaters and central furnace are gas. I’m working to lower the bill but its been that way for 28 years. I’ve just gotten use to it. Lol

 

i always say I could probably turn off the main breaker and still have a bill higher then most. It is what it is. 

[Tom King]

I wish ours was 350 a month.  We have 5 meters spinning here.

[Chestnut]

Oh cloths dryers.

Man got my perspective in check. I'll never think my $70 electric bill is a lot again. Even in the summer with AC running it barley breaks $100.

[pkinneb]

5 hours ago, Chestnut said:

Oh cloths dryers.

Man got my perspective in check. I'll never think my $70 electric bill is a lot again. Even in the summer with AC running it barley breaks $100.

That would be nice!

[Coop]

@Richard Brown, we have electric and gas connections at all of the appliances you mentioned. The previous owner had an electric range and clothes dryer which we traded out for gas. Do you not have that option? 

[Richard Brown]

4 hours ago, pkinneb said:

That would be nice!

Mine would top $500 in summer. That’s why we use the levelized billing. Well i got off of it after getting the solar panels. Its been over a year and I’m going to get back on it. It should be under $200

its an investment but I think its worth it in the long run. 

[Richard Brown]

1 hour ago, Coop said:

@Richard Brown, we have electric and gas connections at all of the appliances you mentioned. The previous owner had an electric range and clothes dryer which we traded out for gas. Do you not have that option? 

Nope. I added the 2nd laundry room and just put electric since the other one was also. 
 

i would have liked a gas range but not adding a new gas line.