After using Kill-O-Watt and making changes, saved 2 kWhr this mo. v last

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davidmcbeth3
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Thu. Feb. 09, 2023 1:23 pm

Well, new electric bill came in ...

Previous bill showed 968 kWhr used

New bill showed 966 kWhr used

Winning ? Argggg.

Of course the rates went up 1st of year so I pay more.

I swapped out bulbs for LEDs and lower watt LEDs from some higher watt LED and some regular bulbs and CFL bulbs...about 1/3rd for each. I spent 30 bucks on new bulbs...

The CFLs were about 10 yrs old .. they were near end of life. And they were not good anyways.

I have 2 plug-in hybrid cars .. they use about 325 kWhr per mo....unknown if they were driven longer over the 2 billing periods.

Last JUL and AUG I used 2200 kWh due to air conditioning uses...can't wait for those bills..$700 for each of those months.

So did using the Kill-O-Watt save me money ? I presume it did but not much.

The only 2 non-essential things I found via Kill-O-Watt is the hot plate on my drip coffee maker using 70 watts/hr keeping coffee warm. So I use a thermos now v. keeping coffee maker hot plate on. And my white noise making fan that is a fan, used 30 watts per hr..I got a white noise machine that uses about 2 watts per hr ( this fan to white noise machine should have equated to a 7 kWh/ mo. savings).

Nothing was remarkable. Bulbs used the wattage that the bulbs said that they used. The Hitzer fans used the wattage that was marked on the motor.

Stuff on "standby" where its plugged in but doing nothing use such a small amt. of electricity (like 100 watts per day total for all of them) are not worth unplugging until needing to be used. 3 kWhr for the month for all these devices .. a buck a month would be the savings.

Biggest suckers of electricity (winter): cars, clothes dryer, cooking stove, refrig. None of which's use is able to be much changed.

It appears as if my efforts have had as much an effect on my house's electrical usage as me yelling at my Bears football team via my TV (which I'm sure that they hear) to stop calling screens that lose 10 yards everytime.


 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Thu. Feb. 09, 2023 3:29 pm

We're both bills exactly the same number of days in length?

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Thu. Feb. 09, 2023 3:31 pm

Lightning wrote:
Thu. Feb. 09, 2023 3:29 pm
We're both bills exactly the same number of days in length?
Both 31 days. Dec & Jan ...

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Thu. Feb. 09, 2023 3:38 pm

Are the bills specifically dated for the periods of electric use? The reason I ask is because my billing period for a "month" can be anywhere between 28 and 32 days and it shows exactly what days I'm being billed for.

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Post by ColdHouse » Thu. Feb. 09, 2023 3:41 pm

There is a benefit of oven cooking during cold weather. That heat will be utilized to offset the heat. Using one when your AC is on is obviously detrimental.

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Fri. Feb. 10, 2023 12:15 am

Lightning wrote:
Thu. Feb. 09, 2023 3:38 pm
Are the bills specifically dated for the periods of electric use? The reason I ask is because my billing period for a "month" can be anywhere between 28 and 32 days and it shows exactly what days I'm being billed for.
I dunno..really 2 kWh is nothing .. could be a car was driven a few miles less.

J

 
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Post by hotblast1357 » Fri. Feb. 10, 2023 6:02 am

Is this “kill-O-watt” thing a whole house monitoring system? If not you need one of these to really know, I know what everything uses that I am monitoring, in real time, and recorded history, for years, so that I can actually see what’s going on, without something like this you might as well play in the stock market.

Help me decide on this product: Smart Home Energy Monitor with 16 50A Circuit Level Sensors | Vue - Real Time Electricity Monitor/Meter | Solar/Net Metering https://a.co/d/5J4GfCV


 
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Post by BigBarney » Fri. Feb. 10, 2023 3:37 pm

Just got my smart monitor and will install on weekend.

This is the only accurate and fairly inexpensive way to know your

energy usage on each circuit and each item on the circuit.

The car can be highly variable , do you have a smart charger or

car that keeps a record of each charge during the month?

I posted a code to get a discount on the monitor,$162.00 for

the kit with 16 circuits and 4 regular receptacles monitors.

BigBarney

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Fri. Feb. 10, 2023 4:11 pm

BigBarney wrote:
Fri. Feb. 10, 2023 3:37 pm


The car can be highly variable , do you have a smart charger or

car that keeps a record of each charge during the month?



BigBarney
Good ? Barney..

But no, the car only provides kWh on a trip by trip basis, not accumulative over any period of time. I did not even know it kept that 1 trip data until you posed the question and I looked into it.

I have used by Kill-O-Watt for longer term measurements but I always forget about it.

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Fri. Feb. 10, 2023 4:12 pm

hotblast1357 wrote:
Fri. Feb. 10, 2023 6:02 am
Is this “kill-O-watt” thing a whole house monitoring system? If not you need one of these to really know, I know what everything uses that I am monitoring, in real time, and recorded history, for years, so that I can actually see what’s going on, without something like this you might as well play in the stock market.

Help me decide on this product: Smart Home Energy Monitor with 16 50A Circuit Level Sensors | Vue - Real Time Electricity Monitor/Meter | Solar/Net Metering https://a.co/d/5J4GfCV
https://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Ele ... B000RGF29Q

Kill-O-Watt .. point of use monitor

https://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Ele ... B000RGF29Q

 
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Post by ColdHouse » Mon. Mar. 20, 2023 3:39 pm

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I have way more than 16 circuits.

 
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Post by warminmn » Mon. Mar. 20, 2023 4:43 pm

CH, my wallet hurts just looking at all those 240v breakers! I have one 240 breaker for my water heater and six 120's. 60 amp. My well is separate.

 
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Post by ColdHouse » Mon. Mar. 20, 2023 5:17 pm

warminmn wrote:
Mon. Mar. 20, 2023 4:43 pm
CH, my wallet hurts just looking at all those 240v breakers! I have one 240 breaker for my water heater and six 120's. 60 amp. My well is separate.
The detached garage has another 20 circuits.

 
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Post by ColdHouse » Mon. Mar. 20, 2023 5:18 pm

You guys want to know how much electricity is used on one circuit. I have light switches that I don't know what they do.

 
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Post by WESOman » Tue. Oct. 10, 2023 6:22 am

davidmcbeth3 wrote:
Thu. Feb. 09, 2023 1:23 pm
Well, new electric bill came in ... It appears as if my efforts have had as much an effect on my house's electrical usage as me yelling at my Bears football team via my TV (which I'm sure that they hear) to stop calling screens that lose 10 yards everytime.
On the bright side, the results of your efforts may just mean that you are as efficient as you can get without changing your lifestyle. If we live in a tiny insulated box with a candle as the source of heat and light, we can live much cheaper. .... As Henry David Thoreau said, "In short, I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one's self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely; as the pursuits of the simpler nations are still the sports of the more artificial. It is not necessary that a man should earn his living by the sweat of his brow, unless he sweats easier than I do"....You now know the cost of the style of life you choose to live. Perhaps once we reach the point of maximum efficiency, the next logical step is to see what we can eliminate. Remember that any money saved tends to generally be spent on purchasing something else that then brings with it more operational and maintenance expenses. In this world seemingly consumed with ecological stewardship and energy efficiency, how many homes do you pass with laundry drying on wash lines? We have turned ecological stewardship and energy efficiency into gods which daily confront us with the sins of our consumption.


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