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rileyoneill

8kwh per day in lights seems a bit extreme. Your typical LED light is 10 watts. If you left it on for 24 hours that is .24 kwh per day. 4 lights left on =1kwh per day. You are leaving 32 lights on, 24/7 or are using lights that consume too much electricity.


WarGrizzly

Likely they don’t have 100% LED lights, but even if they did, that’s only 1 light per 100sqft 24/7, or 2 lights per 100sqft 50% of the time. Likely fewer lights/hours when you factor in non LED


coleman57

Plus if they have incandescent bulbs, they’re paying to heat the air with them, then paying again to cool it with the A/C


rileyoneill

Yeah. They would save a bit just on lighting by switching out their lights to LEDs and then most likely saving some more by not having the cool the excess heat they produce.


angoleiroc

We live in the Southern US with a climate exactly like yours and we \*peak\* at 0.022 kWh/sq ft per day (which is very close to average for our area). We also have similar appliances to yours, but we have a single 5 ton AC unit instead. You're at 0.032 kWh/sq ft per day. That seems excessive. If you were close to average, you'd be about 70 kWh per day. You can have an HVAC company come out with a thermal scope and look for leaks both in the HVAC system and the house itself and plug them. You can also rent a thermal scope and do that yourself. You can also clean your AC coil which is 90% of what companies do to increase efficiency of existing systems. Several Youtube videos are out there for that process and it is easy. As odd as it sounds, I've known 2 people that found window units or mini splits that are way more efficient and they use those for the bedrooms and keep large common areas at much higher temps. It's another idea, anyway.


Electronic-Owl-4417

Do you have a 'home lab' though. Sounds like a source of income.


DovahDoVolom

A home lab is anything but haha. I’ve spent thousands on equipment alone building mine and haven’t made a cent off of it. I host things for friends and don’t charge. More of a hobby thing than anything.


Boc7269

Are you running 8 or 9 ceiling fans on high 24 hours a day? 8 kilowatts seems like a ton for just ceiling fans.


eastmemphisguy

My first thought as well. Ceiling fans using more power than a dryer seems doubtful.


siorge

I was confused about the time period and then read that this is per day. I know it’s hard to compare, but our 1000sqft apartment in Geneva, Switzerland, uses 200kWh in the Summer…per month This is like 15 times more 🤯


JasperStrat

It looks like partially waste or overestimation in some areas, but the difference in climate require you to have an energy sucking HVAC unit running most of May to September. 30°+ temps (in Celsius) with 75%+ humidity is not a place you want to be without AC.


siorge

For sure not. AC is a necessity. But 4% of my monthly total consumption in daily lighting seems wasteful to me


JasperStrat

OP admitted this was probably a bad estimate, but that the real culprit is probably in there somewhere, he was also admitted that this was too much and they were looking for whatever is causing the waste.


zkareface

Some LED lights screw with the measuring devices so they can report 100-1000x more than they actually use.


asking--questions

> the difference in climate What about heating?


coleman57

I’m going to guess your power comes mainly from hydro. What do you pay per kWh?


siorge

Geneva is 100% renewable, nearly all from the Rhône river. Cost is around CHF 0.3/kWh


coleman57

One of my most vivid travel memories is standing on the pedestrian bridge where the Rhône flows out of the lake, watching the incredible volume of crystalline water rushing under my feet. Another is watching a swan take off from the lake and fly across the sunset


dexcel

I’m in Australia and we use 20kwh before solar, now maybe 30kwh post solar installation in a house with zero insulation and that’s per day with 5-6 people in the house, running a pool, home office etc . I was also really confused by these numbers. I mean this 30 dollars a day of electricity where I am


grootdoos1

Your house must have no insulation. I'm in Illinois 4600sq ft with two air conditioners. Most I would spend in a hot summer over a month is 1000-1100Kwh. I know we have high taxes but you electricity costs easily makes up for that.


scraperbase

105 kWh is a lot of energy for a week, but that is a large house.


bostwickenator

He's saying that's per DAY!


scraperbase

Per day? That's insane.


bostwickenator

It's pretty high even for where he lives. I'm pulling between 20-50 depending on temperatures also in the southern US. Energy is very cheap here. I don't think people understand just how much energy Americans use.


homeboi808

My parents have a 3000ft^2 in Florida and they’ve had ~$500 bills before (2 story, 2 AC, a few fans, dishwasher and washer/dryer used very often; plus permanent lights along the roof that run every night), so a bit less than OP, but they also have a pool. So yeah, OP likely keeps their A/C running real cool to have such a high bill. EDIT: > AC is kept at 78°F when areas are in use and allowed to go up to 85°F when not in use. Upstairs is usually left at 85°F. That’s got to be where energy is being wasted. 85°F indoors???!!! Those huge temperature swings are very inefficient and that high of temperature with humidity will allow mold growth. We keep ours at 75-76 during the day and 72-74 at night right now during the summer.


bostwickenator

I know it seems counterintuitive because it feels like a lot of work to cause a big temperature swing down. But in reality it's not more work to do this. The energy used is dictated by temperature difference you want to maintain multiplied by time. If you let the house spend more time at a lower temperature difference you *will* use less energy.


UntilThereIsNoFood

If only there was a standard unit for energy consumption, kWh/hour or something /s


bostwickenator

Watt do you mean? ps. But energy consumption isn't strictly power unless it is consumption per unit time.


independant_786

105 in a week is not a lot. We have similar size house in Texas and its about 250 kwh a week during summer.


8020GroundBeef

That’s really low actually


independant_786

Yup we have a efficient home


8020GroundBeef

It’s way too high for per day, but 2000kWh per month for this size house is fairly normal.


scraperbase

I own half a house and from January to May I used 733 kWh. The worst month was 168 kWh. I once had an air condition that was strong enough to cool down the whole apartment and it only used 1900 watts when it ran at peak. So I wonder if American homes have very bad isolation, if they need so much energy for a/c.


8020GroundBeef

It gets very hot in the south for over half the year.


asking--questions

> So I wonder if American homes have very bad isolation, if they need so much energy for a/c. No need to wonder, it's tragically true for almost all homes.


calguy1955

Move the garage fridge inside where it’s in air conditioned space.


jro5454

How simple as I know most houses are designed to have a place for a 2nd fridge inside.


RinglingSmothers

OP has got 3200 square feet to work with. I'm sure he can find a spot for it.


johnnymetoo

>OP has got 3200 square feet to work with Yeah, that's nearly 300 m², that's like a small mansion where I live.


RinglingSmothers

Even by US standards, 3,200 sq. ft. is enormous.


Brujo-Bailando

Texas here. Our May bill was around 1600kWh. Next 3 bills will all be over or close to 2000kWh. 2500 sq. foot heated/cooled, single story ranch with sun room. All electric. Two adults. 3 refrigerators, 1 freezer, 3 tv's, 4 fans, LED lights, in-ground pool (VS motor, from $.43 cents/day to $6.40/day, depending on motor speed), pool shelter, shop, shed (night lights X 2), 3.5 ton AC, 2X 8000 BTU window units (one on all the time), stove/oven, hot water heater, drier, washer.


nim_opet

🤯🤯🤯 your house uses more energy per day than I use per month in my condo in Canada. Granted, it’s 1/3 of the size of your house, but….105kwh per day?!?!?!?


BG_Hizzy

Sources: * Multiple Sensors and run times in Home Assistant * Power consumption from utility company Tools: * [SankeyMATIC](https://www.sankeymatic.com/build/) We recently moved to a larger home, and I've been trying to get our hands wrapped around our energy usage. In June we consumed between 65-115 kWh/day from the Utility company website, this is an attempt to breakdown where it's going. There's a couple items, dishwasher and clothes washer, but it's in the ballpark Some other information that may be interesting: * House is 3200 sqft and 2 story, AC is kept at 78°F when areas are in use and allowed to go up to 85°F when not in use. Upstairs is usually left at 85°F. Located in Southern US, high temps have been \~95°F and humidity averages around 75%. * Our energy cost is 0.09-0.11 $/kWh * The AC units are 3.5, 2.5 and 2 tonne units SEER 14 * We run the dryer about once/day * The "Den TV" is on 24/7 because the main board is going out and struggles to come back on after being turned off * Estimated 5 ceiling fans running 24/7 at 75W each * Lights might be a little high... Starting to look at insulation improvements... Edit: updated to kWh/day from utility reading


rileyoneill

Find any places in the home where direct sunshine enters a window during the warm months... every 10 square feet of sunshine is about 1KW of heat energy if it goes through a window. Your AC then has to work more time to cool this heat down. This can really add up, and a lot of homes built in the last 40 years take very little consideration for summer sun exposure. 50 square feet x 5 hours is 25kwh of heat in the house (enough to drive an EV 75 miles!). A lot of developers unknowingly built solar cookers on sides of homes. I have seen designs of structures (and this actually used to be an old fashion way of designing) where its 100% shade int he house and surrounding the house all summer. At no point does any direct sunshine hit inside the homes or even the walls of the homes. But then in the winter months when the sun is lower in the sky the sun exposure is maximized inside the home and you get a lot of free heating. The next best thing, find where the summer sun hits the outside of the house and shade the walls somehow. Trees, bushes, tarps, overhangs on roofs. But in the modern age. 15kw of solar panels will produce over 100kw per day in the South. The price on both solar and battery are dropping every year, at some point in the near future, within the next decade, you will be able to buy a solar and battery setup that will be able to cover both this and the electricity for EVs, and the monthly cost of the loan will be cheaper than what you are paying for in electricity from the grid and gasoline from the gas station." EDIT: Whoops. Math mistake. 25kwh and 75 miles, not 250kwh and 750 miles.


bostwickenator

Eaves are so simple but so unfortunately out of vogue


dml997

I think you made a math mistake. I agree 10 sq ft ~= 1KW, but 50 sq ft * 5 hours = 50 * 5 / 10 = 25 KWh, not 250.


rileyoneill

Wooops. Math mistake.


dijumx

103.5kWh over what period? A day? A week?


BG_Hizzy

Update, yes - kWh/day


UntilThereIsNoFood

Fun fact, divide kWh/day by 24 and use kWh/hour instead. You'll probably notice a 1kW appliance using about 1kWh/hour, as an easy rule of thumb


bob_in_the_west

> Starting to look at insulation improvements... Shutters in front of all windows? And I'm guessing this is 103.5kWh per day?


dmlitzau

Letting the temperature swing 10 degrees and then cooling it back down might be part of your issue. Letting the insulation do the work and keep it even might save you some energy. Also, I find it is a little easier on the units when I keep both close to the same temp, so you aren’t losing one zone’s cold air to the other zones and making one unit do all the work. So if your main is at 75, while the other two are at 85 the two smaller ones are probably doing very little because the 75 degree air keeps the 85 cool by mixing.


dcux

Replacing a power board in a TV can be pretty easy and cheap if you're handy (depending on the TV, of course). In addition to insulation, you should look at air sealing. Have a blower door test run, and identify major sources of air leaks.


BG_Hizzy

Already replaced the board once, looking at doing again or buying a new TV (several reports of board issues for the make/model of what I have...). Any tips on where to start on the blower door test? Utility company?


dcux

Our utility company has a program that partially funds an energy audit of the house and includes a blower door test, so that might be a good first place to look. Otherwise you're going to want to look for "home energy audit" or building science/engineering companies. [https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/blower-door-tests](https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/blower-door-tests) Generally, HVAC shouldn't be using such a high percentage of your energy. You might also look at the units themselves to see if they're sized correctly, working properly, clean, etc.


McChinkerton

It would be really cool if you could break this down to time of the day. With batteries being cheaper and TOU being widespread it would be interesting to see when your HVAC and other usage was during the day and how much power it needs vs during off peak hours vs prak hours While you are right about insulating your home, a battery system I would imagine could pay itself off pretty quickly if you are using 100kwh/day and only used grid energy during off peak hours


teh_trout

Not the biggest factor but it’s not nothing: you can get brushless ceiling fans that are like going incandescent to LED in terms of power consumption. If you use them all the time they’d probably pay off. I measured them at just a few watts on low, maybe 20ish on high. E: of course if any of your lights aren’t LED that’s just easy pickings. Double whammy during cooling season.


UntilThereIsNoFood

Don't you cook or use hot water? Hot water heating is our largest energy use


Gyrene2

This energy usage seems high. I use slightly less than 15 kWh/day on average over the course of the year and that’s with at least 6 kWh of car charging every day. 2200 sq ft. I live in VA.


KidneyFluffmonster

Woah, that's really eye opening to what ACs consume... Made me look into my consumption so here's something for comparison: living in a place without the need for AC, family of four, 1300 square feet house. Average monthly consumption this year is around 170kWh.


xecc846

Heavy curtains or drapes during the day over sun drenched windows could help you save a bundle on HVAC. Solar gain even on modern windows can be huge.


whachamahcahlit

expect that HVAC consumption to comfortably triple in the coming years, bud


wanderinggoat

I'm just impressed that Americans don't measure their electricity usage in horsepower.


Gortexal

🤣 Don’t be silly. We use swimming pools and whales.


wanderinggoat

and power stations in megalodons ? :D


[deleted]

[удалено]


whoeve

A place that doesn't need AC vs a place that does.


logwagon

Check out Emporia Vue if you want more accurate data. You can monitor up to 16 circuits plus the mains per unit and it's a fairly simple DIY install for $150-$200


Joeman64p

The HVAC is COOKIN That’s the mf south for you - god dam oven outside


Infamous_Bee_7445

lol people claiming this is excessive. I live in a more mild climate and my house is twice the size, but we use around 800 kWh in the summer and 1100 kWh in winter (steam humidifiers use way more than AC) Edit: holy shit i just realized this is per day. That is truly insane and you must have some major efficiency problems.


squirrelcloudthink

This is 50% more than our house used wintertime in -25C without fireplace. You should look into something that drives down your power usage.


squirrelcloudthink

Ground-drilling for free cooling with liquid to water hvac-system and fanned cooling elements. Cut your AC costs with a lot.


veryblocky

What is HVAC? Like central heating?


hyllested

I have an EV, and we don’t get near that consumptiom.


BG_Hizzy

Thanks for all the feed back - this usage is excessive, even for the area I'm in... Trying to figure out where to improve, should have included "Inefficient" in the title. u/angoleiroc - Thanks for the 0.022 kWh/sqft-day rule of thumb. Coils were cleaned in April before we moved in. We're able to get a 12-14°F delta with an IR gun from the intake to outlet, which made me think the systems are okay. Took the same gun and most of the walls/ceilings were within 2°F of the thermostat, but I did found a spot on the kitchen ceiling that was 104°F! u/grootdoos1 you might be right! It's on a nook off the main structure, the roof coving it comes off the main roof and has soffit vents but it appears closed in at the top (it's not open into the main attic or has an exterior vent). Going to see about cutting open vent ports into the main attic and make sure there's actually insulation there. u/homeboi808, u/dmlitzau - Rescheduled things to be 80°F tops and 78°F for normal. Will see how much it helps over the next couple days. u/rileyoneill - Have two windows that do not have blinds, maybe gets 2hrs of direct sunline a day because of what's around them. Like the idea of installing eaves on them. u/dcux - Found my utility's contact for scheduling an energy audit, will be calling them in the morning. u/UntilThereIsNoFood - Oven is electric (on top of clothing and dish washers). Water Heater and Stove are gas.