Future: DC yes, AC no?

Quote: kenarman

Up in the frozen North here I average about 600 KWH / month. I have A/C in summer and 16 hours of darkness in the dead of winter so my usuage is the lowest in the spring and fall. Gas furnace which cost $55.00 month for the gas on a balanced payment plan.

Pfft. Guys who pull it should get it free. Or at least a steep discount. I'd raise hell if I were you ;)

Quote: Face

Pfft. Guys who pull it should get it free. Or at least a steep discount. I'd raise hell if I were you ;)

Thanks for the tune Face. "power to the people" that line is a flash back to my time at university enrolled in university.

Quote: kenarman

Thanks for the tune Face. "power to the people" that line is a flash back to my time at university enrolled in university.

You bet =) I know we haven't talked a ton, but I think of you damn near every single day cuz of the tunes I listen to. Hope all is well up there above the Medicine Line.

Quote: Face

Holy all of the expletives. You guys got industrial smelters at your houses?

All the talk made me actually look at my bills. This month has been my highest at 314kwh. I haven't had a bill reach $40 since... well, ever. Not even with the compressor and welder going all the time back in the spring, or the aquarium pumps on eternally.

My refusal to use a/c or lights, and the lack of TV... that can't account for it all, can it? O.o

I just checked my current usage online for June and I am at an average of 118.2kwh per day. That is a little less than I was expecting but July and August are the hottest months here. I would guess 80% of that usage is for the air conditioners because in the winter months I was only averaging about 23kwh per day.

Quote: DRich

I just checked my current usage online for June and I am at an average of 118.2kwh per day. That is a little less than I was expecting but July and August are the hottest months here.

118.2kwh per day is about 5000Watts on average running continuously.


1 Ton of Air Conditioning (TAC): Defined as 2000 lbm (1 short ton) ice melted in 24 hours.
1 TAC ~ 3,504 Watts
1.5 TAC ~ 5,256 Watts
3.0 TAC ~ 10,512 Watts

A common size for an air conditionging unit is 1.5 Tons, but 3 tons is not unusual. Check your A/C and look at the capacity. The unit below is 1.5 Tons, and is about $700 because it is not very efficient



In Pennsylvania the air conditioning is only a problem on a few days, but we have 8 space heaters. Logically, you would think that is nuts, but the house is so big and old that it takes thousands of gallons of heating oil to bring the home to comfortable level. It is cheaper to run space heaters. The three refrigerators, dehumidifiers, electric hot water, inefficient washing machine don't help either.

Quote: DRich

I would guess 80% of that usage is for the air conditioners because in the winter months I was only averaging about 23kwh per day.

Your home is probably fairly efficient. I am guessing you use gas to heat the home, heat the water, and possibly to cook. It helps if your refrigerators and washing machine are less than 20 years old and if you don't need dehumidifiers. The lowest single day we had was 26.80 kWh, and only 10% of the days in 2015 were 41.80 kWh or less.


But the average is still 62.5 kWh per day for 2015. We only passed 100 kWh on 7 days last year, and six were in the winter. But including unfinished space the home has 9000 square feet.

I have a space heater in my bedroom. I haven't turned it on in two years. And, yes, sometimes I do need it. In winter we commonly get mornings at 3-6 C. That's just above freezing.

Winter tends to be sunny, so the day can be very mild, say around 14-16 C max. But the thin air holds on to less heat than you'd think. So nights and early mornings are cool. And if it gets too cloudy, the temperature really drops. Days with a high of 12 C are not uncommon in winter.

Quote: Nareed

I have a space heater in my bedroom.

What's your primary source of heat? Liquefied petroleum gas or natural gas or heating oil? How many appliances (refrigerator, microwave, breadmaker)? What do you heat your water with?

Electricity is the primary way to heat a home in the South, and it is second to natural gas in the West and Midwest. Only in the Northeast is heating oil or kerosene second to natural gas.


They say that the average USA electric residential usage is 30 kWh per day, but we only went below 30 kWh three days last year. There is simply too much stuff in this house that runs on electric, from the stoves to the refrigerators to the lights, to the hot water.

Quote: Pacomartin

118.2kwh per day is about 5000Watts on average running continuously.


1 Ton of Air Conditioning (TAC): Defined as 2000 lbm (1 short ton) ice melted in 24 hours.
1 TAC ~ 3,504 Watts
1.5 TAC ~ 5,256 Watts
3.0 TAC ~ 10,512 Watts

A common size for an air conditionging unit is 1.5 Tons, but 3 tons is not unusual. Check your A/C and look at the capacity. The unit below is 1.5 Tons, and is about $700 because it is not very efficient

I have two A/C units as pictured below. The big unit doesn't have a label but the little one does. I don't know how many tons they are but 5000Watts per hour seems reasonable to me. This time of year they barely shut off. It appears that they are from 1993 so they probably aren't very efficient.

Quote: Pacomartin

What's your primary source of heat?

Fusion :)

Seriously, for ambient heating, I depend on the Sun. It runs on nuclear fusion, you know.

I use natural gas for cooking and the water heater. I have an electric teapot to heat water for coffee.

I don't heat the whole apartment. Only my bedroom.

Maybe the kitchen when I'm cooking. But that's radiated heat from the stove and the oven.

Quote: DRich

I have two A/C units as pictured below. The big unit doesn't have a label but the little one does. I don't know how many tons they are but 5000Watts per hour seems reasonable to me. This time of year they barely shut off. It appears that they are from 1993 so they probably aren't very efficient.

I think the smaller unit has a SEER rating of 10 or 11,
As of January 2006, a residential air conditioner must have a SEER of at least 13 to be sold in the United States. Air conditioners with a rating of less than 13 manufactured before January 2006 may still be sold and installed, and replacement parts and services are still available, so the standard does not require that homeowners change existing units. For most homeowners, the standard SEER 13 units are most cost effective, but the longer the cooling seasons and the higher the electricity costs, the more that higher SEER units are reasonable. Higher efficiency models can have a SEER of up to 23.

If your fridge was made before 2001, then yes, you should almost certainly trade it in. Older fridges are wildly ineffecient. The best modern models use less than half of what 1993-2000 fridges used. For older fridges it's even more striking: Replacing a 1992 fridge with a modern Energy Star model could save $1400 in electricity costs over the useful life of the fridge.

I think air conditioners that are over 20 years old should probably be replaced as well. The electricity savings makes it worthwhile over a relatively short time period.