We Beat our Personal kWh Record

[oldtoyota]

Our bill is under $40 for the first time--maybe ever?--but definitely in the past year.

Yay! Rock on to line drying clothing and using less hot water.

291 kWh
1100-1200 sq ft home
3 people

[Greg]

That's amazing.  I'm still trying to train myself not to use the hot tap for everything.

[Simple Abundant Living]

Well done!  We had our lowest bill in the 8.5 yrs we've lived here. $63.69 for 727kwh ($.0876/kwh). I know we could do better, but it's baby steps, right?  We've only used the A/C twice so far this year. We just put a covering on our porch, so we are trying not to use A/C for the rest of the year! 

5500 sqft home
8 people
Gas furnace and water heater

[oldtoyota]

That's amazing.  I'm still trying to train myself not to use the hot tap for everything.

Thanks! In the winter, I am guilty of hot showers. What can I say? In summer, it's easier to go cooler with the water. I am also using cold water for all the washing…well, most of the time anyway.

[oldtoyota]

Well done!  We had our lowest bill in the 8.5 yrs we've lived here. $63.69 for 727kwh ($.0876/kwh). I know we could do better, but it's baby steps, right?  We've only used the A/C twice so far this year. We just put a covering on our porch, so we are trying not to use A/C for the rest of the year! 

5500 sqft home
8 people
Gas furnace and water heater

$60 seems good to me for 8 people! Congratulations!

[EK]

$40 is so awesome!!!  I've been okay with hovering around $80 lately, but your low bill makes me want to try harder and do better!  Thank you!!

[boarder42]

nice our personal best was last month at 404 KWH ... havent been able to get under 400 yet.  and i'm pretty sure we ran the AC much more this month.  Damn this humidity.  could live in an 80+ degree house with fans and no humidiity.  oh well

[oldtoyota]

$40 is so awesome!!!  I've been okay with hovering around $80 lately, but your low bill makes me want to try harder and do better!  Thank you!!

Thanks! I was looking at the paper bill that came last night, and it shows how much CO2 we're not using. It's inspiring.

[oldtoyota]

nice our personal best was last month at 404 KWH ... havent been able to get under 400 yet.  and i'm pretty sure we ran the AC much more this month.  Damn this humidity.  could live in an 80+ degree house with fans and no humidiity.  oh well

Humidity is hard to handle! I also turn on the AC when it gets humid to avoid mold problems. I have the AC set to 80 or 82 and keep the curtains closed on the sunny side of the house. Every little bit helps.

[boarder42]

yep we do all that too... our house is 1800 Sq Ft.  so its almost double the OPs house size.  and we definitely need all that room for the 2 of us not expecting kids ... .HA HA

[skunkfunk]

Mine was $89 last month (1600 sq ft.) Thermostat is set to 89 during our smart hours, and it does get there before 7 pm or so most days. On the smart hours thing, we pay $0.21 during peak 2-7pm hours and $0.07 during off hours. Our average cost per kwh has been $0.08 so I think we're doing ok. Unfortunately the dead beaver I bagged up and threw in the garbage outside is making it impossible for my pregnant wife to go outside or open the windows, so that is hurting us this month.

So yeah, I'm humbled by your 291 kwh. I used 47 yesterday alone. That's around 5x your usage!

[oldtoyota]

So yeah, I'm humbled by your 291 kwh. I used 47 yesterday alone. That's around 5x your usage!

I had not done that calculation. Wow. Thank you for pointing it out! I used to think we'd never get beneath 11 and we did. Whoa.

[boarder42]

47 kwh a day... where are you located... do they make more efficient ways for you to cool your property... dang man

[Ottawa]

Welcome to the sub 300 club!!

May = 274kWh = $48.52
House = 3 people, 1300sq ft plus 600sqft basement.

[skunkfunk]

47 kwh a day... where are you located... do they make more efficient ways for you to cool your property... dang man

Oklahoma City. I think I'm slightly below average on consumption. My house is from 1955 and most of the windows are old, and there is insufficient insulation in the attic. Our electricity is cheap enough that I can't make the numbers work on a DIY energy efficiency project. I've got 0% chance of convincing my wife we should quit running the electric dryer, and I don't think installing a gas version would make much difference. The AC unit is pretty old, but not horribly inefficient. No incandescent lights in the house.

I'm open to suggestions, but not sure that I can expect anything.

[NinetyFour]

So far the year, my usage has been:  164, 172, 198, 119, 173, 145 kWhs per month.

This is for my small (500 sq ft) home and for my tenant's small (700 sq ft) home.

The bills would be lower if the tenant had some clue as to how to use (waste) less energy.

[oldtoyota]

47 kwh a day... where are you located... do they make more efficient ways for you to cool your property... dang man

Oklahoma City. I think I'm slightly below average on consumption. My house is from 1955 and most of the windows are old, and there is insufficient insulation in the attic. Our electricity is cheap enough that I can't make the numbers work on a DIY energy efficiency project. I've got 0% chance of convincing my wife we should quit running the electric dryer, and I don't think installing a gas version would make much difference. The AC unit is pretty old, but not horribly inefficient. No incandescent lights in the house.

I'm open to suggestions, but not sure that I can expect anything.

You might want to look into insulating the attic. Our house--also old--had NO attic insulation. I felt the biggest difference in the winter because I was far less cold. Over time, I grew acclimated to the difference so don't notice it now.

Insulating an attic doesn't cost that much and you can DIY. I learned how by insulating beneath the subfloor when helping to rehab a house. It's easy, and I really meant that. The hardest part of wearing the protective gear and cutting the stuff with the exacto knife.