I never thought I’d be happy to get a $182 electric bill but I was today. In spite of record-breaking heat this summer, with a string of days above 100 degrees, our August power bill is actually less than it was last August! With power experts warning of bills 11% higher or more, I was sure we’d be looking at a record power bill. Needless to say I’m pleasantly surprised!
According to Progress Energy’s excellent bill analyzer, last August had 33 days in the billing cycle. We used a total of 1947 Kwh last August (and 1946 Kwh the year before that). This year we had 32 days in the billing cycle and used just 1779 Kwh. What’s more, the average daily high temperature this month was 95 (!) degrees, five astonishing degrees warmer than last year.
So, what made such a huge difference? I think the biggest change was adding more insulation to our attic. This made an immediate impact and is still paying off 13 months later. Certainly its the best $120 we’ve spent on the house. Before we added insulation, our AC could not keep up with the heat. With the exception of the hottest 105+ degree days its done just fine.
The second is the replacement of the attic fan. The fan itself uses electricity to cool the attic, so its not as efficient as a passive ridge vent, but it has proven to make a difference in the attic temperature. Even during the hottest days of the heat wave the attic remained around 130 degrees. In light of those relatively modest attic temperatures, I think the reason our AC couldn’t keep up with the 100+ degree weather was that there was simply no place for the heat to go once the compressor brought it outside.
The third difference was my discovery that our clothes washer is so efficient at wringing water out of laundry that clothes can be easily dried with the dryer on the low setting! I’d always assumed that I needed to use the high setting (or the middle, permanent press one) to properly dry clothes but our washer makes this unnecessary for all but the largest loads. After our air conditioner our dryer is our biggest electricity hog.
The fourth difference is the replacement of all inside incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. This saves electricity in lighting the house as well as saving electricity cooling the house, because these bulbs don’t generate nearly as much heat as incandescent bulbs. Newer CFLs create fantastic light, too, so you won’t even miss your “warm” bulbs.
Finally, we also bumped up our thermostat to 77 degrees, day and night. With the scorching heat outside, even 77 degrees can feel frigid at times. We’re still comfortable and the air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard. Ceiling fans help us feel cooler, too.
All that said, bring on the fall. I can’t wait for cooler weather!
Congratulations, Mark! That’s a pretty decent bill…
Wish I could say that my experience with CFLs is as good as yours. Right now they are just underwhelming in their brightness but its better than a candle!
Nice going!
I’ve been using CFL’s for years and I’m very pleased. There are only 3 or 4 places in the new house where I need to replace the bulbs. The rest of the house is set up, inside and out.
Have you wrapped your water heater yet? I haven’t done it at the new house yet but turning the water heater thermostat down and wrapping it with insulation together should further reduce your electric bill appreciably.
scootdawg – Don’t cheap out on your bulbs. CFL’s are an investment. If you spend the extra on good bulbs with the right lumens, you’ll be pleased. I replaced all of the globe bulbs in my downstairs bathroom with CFL’s and when you first turn it on, yes they are a little dim. Within about 30 seconds they warm up and you want to wear shades it is so bright in there.
BTW, ~1600sf home in north Raleigh, family of 5, my most recent Progress Energy bill was $166.90. 1712 kWh usage during the billing period. Last month was only marginally better.
Thermostat is usually 75 but it goes up and down. I know it’s evil of me but when it is especially hot outside I turn the inside thermostat to 73, or sometimes even 71.
I’ve already identified some more areas where I can further cut down use without losing my precious A/C. 🙂 I have a bunch of candelabra bulbs that I have just learned are burning 60W each. Seven of them, in all. It will be a bit pricey to replace them but it will be worth the trouble.
I’ve got two old servers in the house doing the job that could be handled by one today. I’ve got the hardware, so I just need to sit down and make it happen.
The water heater temp is getting turned down tonight. The WH is apparently pretty well insulated internally, as the outside casing does not appear to be radiating heat.
The attic is already well-insulated, and the canopy of mature oaks overhead is keeping the attic temps well below 130.
Both of our computer monitors are big old CRT’s. I need to hook up the Kill-a-watt but I wouldn’t be surprised if each was burning well over 65W or so. Maybe a lot more. I think a couple of LCD’s would be a good upgrade.