Reduce consumption

[rdsaltpower]

As far as peak oil and its effects on me and my family, the main tool has been to reduce consumption. I have sold my old 6cyl. van and bought a 4cyl. car which gets much better gas mileage. We installed 540 watts of solar panels and doubled our insulation. I put all computers, tvs, accessories on power strips to stop phantom loads. We also changed out all incandesent bulbs for compact flourecent ones. I reduced my natural gas heating bill by using my wood stove for aux. heat. I installed a timer on my elect. hot water tank and one of the MOST important things...installed a programmable thermostat on my heating and cooling system. It has paid off nicely.

[Ani]

We do all the "green" and crunchy things in our home. This year in particular we sold our second car, and switched to all-local meat and vegetables. We also use cloth everything - diapers, mama pads, family cloth, etc.

Initially, the small change with the biggest effect for us was turning off the computer after each use, rather than leaving it on during the day.

[gardengirl72]

Hey Salt, any idea how much actual cash you have saved with your green efforts in the house?

[AbbeyLehman]

Is installing a new thermostat relatively easy to do? Does simply changing it out for a new one the way to realize the savings (assuming the temp settings are in line)? We have an old round one that supposedly doesn't kick the heat on until it's set at 75 degrees, which seems outrageous to me. If I get a new one and install it, will that solve the problem?

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack, I'm afraid of $400 heating bills this winter!

[Ani]

It was that simple for us. We just pulled our old round one off the wall (the ancient one that was here when we moved in) and used connected the wires to the new one. Having the thermostat in a good location can also help, or if your house is big, creating zones with multiple thermostats can be great. Those are slightly more complicated though.

[plantoneonme]

One thing I think enough people don't consider is further cutting costs on heating water. When our water tank had to be replaced, we bought a tankless model. It cost more at the beginning but the savings over the past 7 years has more than paid for it. We always paid our natural gas on the budget plan and the first year we installed it, we saved just under $30 a month. I figured I paid off the extra cost in less that 1 1/2 years.

In order to cut costs on electricity...I hang dry 90% of our clothes year round. In the winter or when it is raining, I toss the clothes in the dryer for 5-10 minutes to remove wrinkles. The clothes are then placed on hangers and hung on a bar in the basement. The next morning they are dry and already to be put away. I hang dry just about everything including underwear and socks. I simply clip smaller items on the hangers to dry. One of the few things I don't totally hang dry is towels as the husband doesn't like them "crunchy". I do hang dry them about 75% and then finish in the dryer and you cannot tell the difference. I've been doing this for at least 15 years and way back then figured the savings to be about .75 per load with an electric dryer so I figure the savings now must be much more.

[AbbeyLehman]

I want to go back to hang drying in the house in the winter, too--I need to find the room to do it. Maybe I can play around with some PVC.....Watch out, Yomolove, here I go again! :)

[plantoneonme]

Abbey it sounds like you have a thing for PVC. My first adventure into hanging clothes inside was in a mobile home with extremely limited space. I simply put a tension rod inside the tub and hung them in there after our morning showers were done...heck I did that in my other house for the past 22 years as well LOL. When I moved here last September I found a really long iron pipe in the basement and had dh hang it from the rafters. (To be honest, PVC pipe may not be strong enough unless kept it pretty short.)

In the winter the clothes may not dry as quickly, if that is the case I put a fan on them for awhile...still much cheaper than the clothes dryer. Actually, I did this in the other house because my rod was shorter but with all the space on the new pipe it has not been a problem unless I try to squeeze in an extra load.

OH just had memories of life in the mobile home...hang drying clothes was an absolute necessity. We could barely afford to eat much less pay to wash and dry clothes. I would wash clothes in a big bucket in the tub with a (new) toilet plunger, wring them out and then hang to dry...all this with 2 kids in cloth diapers!! We didn't have a stove back then either. You will not believe what I cooked in an electric pan. Glad that life is over but I did learn a lot and really appreciate all we have!!!

Kim

[rdsaltpower]

yes. it is an easy job to install a programmable thermostat. You use your existing wiring and its color coded. Also the new thermostats are backlit when you touch the screen so they are easy to see at night. We also line dry clothes about eight months a year. You will see immediate savings on your electric bill. Price wise the thermos range from about 40.00 up to over 100.00 depending on bells and whistles.

[rdsaltpower]

Garden girl, my highest bill this summer was around 70.00 In the winter it averages around 45.00 I set my thermo on 78 in summer and 68 in winter. PS we heat with nat. gas but I burn wood in my woodstove and beleive it or not , last winter my avg. gas bill was 25.00. I have free wood so its not a problem.

[gardengirl72]

That is incredible! I am so impressed. As soon as I can rub some coin together I am going to get some wood burning going for my house. Even cordwood is only a couple hundred bucks a cord, delivered.

Very impressed.

[plantoneonme]

One place to find wood in the city is after a big storm. We often see people clearing trees and placing the wood at the street for others to just come by and pick up. One year we removed a very old tree that was over 6 ft across and instead of actually paying someone to haul it away, we put it out by the street with a "free" sign on it. Within 2 days the entire thing, stump and all, was gone.

Kim

[rdsaltpower]

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7775/webpicpanelbx8.th.jpg (http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=webpicpanelbx8.jpg)

[plantoneonme]

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7775/webpicpanelbx8.th.jpg (http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=webpicpanelbx8.jpg)


Can you give us details? Cost, how much energy you produce, how do you store it etc? Kim

[rdsaltpower]

I have roughly 5000.00 in the system give or take. I store my power in 12volt deep cycle batteries. I use ten of them wired together to produce 12v dc. Then I run that through a dc to ac inverter that converts 12v to 110 ac. I also have a small diesel backup generator wired into the batteries for cloudy days etc. The system will run several compact florcesent lights inside the house, and my laptop computer. It will also carry my tv or freezer for a while. I am home on weekends and while the sun is out I run my small freezer and a small ref. during the day. Home made power is still not competative with grid power where I live since its about 7 cents per kilowatt hour . Plus you have to maintain the batteries.

[gardengirl72]

What I find super interesting about that array is that it is on the ground. I always had it my head that they should be up high. Wow, it looks small, in terms of square footage. Where I am, that would save money. Electricity is a huge expense here in Boston.

[plantoneonme]

I have roughly 5000.00 in the system give or take. I store my power in 12volt deep cycle batteries. I use ten of them wired together to produce 12v dc. Then I run that through a dc to ac inverter that converts 12v to 110 ac. I also have a small diesel backup generator wired into the batteries for cloudy days etc. The system will run several compact florcesent lights inside the house, and my laptop computer. It will also carry my tv or freezer for a while. I am home on weekends and while the sun is out I run my small freezer and a small ref. during the day. Home made power is still not competative with grid power where I live since its about 7 cents per kilowatt hour . Plus you have to maintain the batteries.


Does the energy have to be converted? I've seen appliances and lights that run on DC. Do you lose some of the power you produce by converting to AC? I have a small electric/battery refrigerator salvaged from a boat and wondered if it would be more efficient to run it off straight DC from batteries vs converting to AC.

[rdsaltpower]

If an appliance is rated to run on dc, yes you could probably run it direct from the batteries or solar. But you would have to find out how much dc voltage it requires. The common dc voltages are 12v,24v 36v and 48v. I am not sure how a boat electrical system is wired. I know 12v batteries can be wired together to produce different voltages. If you are going to convert your dc to ac the power inverter has to match to voltage your batteries are set up for. You do lose some power when you convert from dc to ac. An excellent site for solar, wind etc info is : www.otherpower.com These guys have a forum and are willing to answer your questions about alt. energy. They also build wind gennys and operate them. Hope this helped.

[rdsaltpower]

I finally got around to crunching the numbers on my gas bill. I have been heating a lot with wood for the last three years which I get for free here from my wooded lot and from free wood pallets I get from work. Keep in mind the price for gas here has fluctuated from 11.22 per mcf (million cubic feet, to
14.99 per mcf and points in between). Ok here we go....
2004----used 52mcf.....cost $750.00
2005----used 33mcf.....cost $476.52
2006----used 33mcf.....cost $477.00
2007----used 15mcf.....cost $388.29

So I was able to reduce consumption of natural gas and supplement my heating requirments with wood. I will post 2008 when this heating season ends. :)

[kirataffy]

my husband is an a/c man. Replace your old round thermostat with a programmable one. It is easy and more accurate. You will notice the difference and so will the electric bill.

I have gotten lazy and don't hang dry anymore. My electric bill shows it. I used to turn off and on the hotwater heater manually. I got lazy there too. My electric bill shows it. Turning off the 5 computers we have also makes a difference. Last Spring, I was good about sucking it up before turning on the air. This winter I got lazy. My electric shows it. In the summer, there isn't much I can do about the a/c. Summer in Florida without a/c is NOT an option. My house needs insualtion BADLY and new windows BADLY. We need to do the attic insulation SOON. That will help. My house is older and wood frame. Not every insulated. I get $300 bills in the summer. I can't afford that this year. I better get off my arse and do something about reducing my consumption.

Taffy

Oh, my husband said that if I run the hot water in the sink before I turn on the dishwasher, then only hotwater will enter the dishwasher and it will take less time and energy to heat it to wash my dishes.

[rdsaltpower]

I just started to line dry a few loads again this month. Weather been too cold for any drying up until now. The dishwasher tip is a good one...less power used to heat the dishwasher water.

[shebear]

The only concern I have with burning wood is the pollution. It does put ultra-fine particle pollution linked to asthma, bronchitis and other lung and heart ailments in the air. It seems like everytime you think you found just the solution, something is wrong with it.

[Backyard Permaculture]

You know? I thought about the same. However a 2 articles from Mother Earth News have at least helped me rethink that item.

One is on burning wood or other organic material to the charcoal stage and then extinguishing it then mixing the charcoal into your soil. You would have to read it to believe it. Go to :

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/Make-Biochar-To-Improve-Your-Soil.aspx?utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email

The other talks about burning waste wood - converted into pellets in a pellet stove, and how that compares to burning fossil fuels. read it at:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/Heat-Your-Home-With-A-Pellet-Stove.aspx

Enjoy the reading

[Kevin]

You know? I thought about the same. However a 2 articles from Mother Earth News have at least helped me rethink that item.

One is on burning wood or other organic material to the charcoal stage and then extinguishing it then mixing the charcoal into your soil. You would have to read it to believe it. Go to :

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/Make-Biochar-To-Improve-Your-Soil.aspx?utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email

The other talks about burning waste wood - converted into pellets in a pellet stove, and how that compares to burning fossil fuels. read it at:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/Heat-Your-Home-With-A-Pellet-Stove.aspx

Enjoy the reading Hey B.P., That article on biochar is amazing . It really does make someone rethink their position on woodburning as an alternative energy source. The idea of sequestering carbon and retaining soil nutrients for decades ,sounds almost too good to be true. Thanks for posting this link. Kevin