220V Appliance Electricity Usage Meter

[ceyko]

So, I constantly have extremely high electric bills. (300-350 in the winter / 600-800 in the winter in a 2600 sq ft house) I've bought a killawatt and know what all my PCs, entertainment center...etc use per month on average. I've also followed and/or implemented nearly any/all home efficiency measures (cept solar barrier).

I suspect that some of my problem is older/less efficient washer/dryer and maybe 1 or 2 other 220 appliances. Any idea on a device that'll do that fairly easy like a killawatt? If I can prove that I'll save 25, 50...100 bucks a month by replacing them I'll do so.

Otherwise, maybe my outside meter is off but I want all my ducks in a row first since that is not likely.

Any ideas will be appreciated.

Take care,

[Vertnut]

The washer and dryer may be inefficient, but unless they run a whole lot, there's got to be other culprits.

[Big Studly]

what are these home energy measures you have taken?

[Thehead]

do you have any gas appliances or EVERYTHING electric.

[JimD]

My bill went down a shitload with the install of my hot water heater timer.

[ceyko]

what are these home energy measures you have taken?

I'm not sure I 100% understand your question. But in short I was able to leave a killawatt in place for a week or 2 on various devices throughout my house to ascertain their cost to me monthly. Only for 110 devices though...

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travelpower/7657/

...my goal is to figure out a way to see how much or little my 220 devices are affecting my bill. (washer, dryer..etc)

TheHead Stove and hot water heater are gas. Washer, dryer and of course AC are electric.

Vertnut My washer/dryer are not used like a laundromat or anything, but probably run through 4-6 loads each per week. Maybe a couple more under specific circumstances.

Take care,

[Txstang1]

Subscribing.

Last months electric bill was 688.00 (2400sqft)

[Turbo5.4]

why not just fix the meter??? ehh

[ceyko]

why not just fix the meter??? ehh

Well, cause when I go after the power company for the meter to be fixed I want to be 100% sure it is broken and/or that I've done everything I can to ensure it is not something on my end. ehh

[bard]

They make whole house devices like the killawatt, but they aren't cheap. Find an electrician with a amp meter that can be used to measure how much current the remaining devices are using while in use. I forget the specific name, but it doesn't go inline with the circuit, but rather wraps around the electrical line during use.

[Big Studly]

I'm not sure I 100% understand your question. But in short I was able to leave a killawatt in place for a week or 2 on various devices throughout my house to ascertain their cost to me monthly. Only for 110 devices though...

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travelpower/7657/

...my goal is to figure out a way to see how much or little my 220 devices are affecting my bill. (washer, dryer..etc)

TheHead Stove and hot water heater are gas. Washer, dryer and of course AC are electric.

Vertnut My washer/dryer are not used like a laundromat or anything, but probably run through 4-6 loads each per week. Maybe a couple more under specific circumstances.

Take care,

well, you said you implemented any/all home energy measures, I was just curious what you did. There are quite a bit of things you can do in your home to reduce energy.

[STANGGT40]

here's something that's fairly simple. get on ebay, craigslist, etc. and get a meterbase with a meter. then, just put it between your meter and your main breaker...see if they both read the same after a week or so.

[bullet]

How old is the hvac system , what size is it ? And what seer ?

[kpc01]

On a similar note, on a different forum there were a lot of people complaining about their bills and almost all of them had double or close to double the usual bills. I know mjy house is all gas heat and I was also out of town 2 of the 4 weeks in December and my usage was 1600 compared to 896 in November. Some said they called their provider and the providers had so man complaints that they were looking into it. I called my provider and they played stupid. I don't know what the catch is but I'm looking into it. Just an FYI

[bard]

www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=95652


All your questions are answered for $17

Read up on it first.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_clamp

[ceyko]

well, you said you implemented any/all home energy measures, I was just curious what you did. There are quite a bit of things you can do in your home to reduce energy.

Ah, fair enough. I know I probably did miss some, but I've done as many as I can find that are relatively sensible. I'll list out some below, but I'll forget since we've been gradually improving/adding for the last several years. :) My next thing is I bought an IR thermometer to determine if the wall insulation and/or windows are sucking.

However, I know the AC draws a lot of power. The problem is during the winter something is getting me as well since I have gas heat. Whatever that is would not be a home efficiency problem from a insulation/comfort perspective. It would almost have to be an appliance/washer/dryer I'd think OR of course the power company has had an f'ed meter out there all these years. :)

Quick list of improvements
Had a old 5 ton unit outside - Replaced with 14 SEER unit about 1-2 years ago

Solar Screens (just did)

Attic Fan

Better attic ventilation via additional vents in eaves.(sp?)

Programmable Thermostat - Have temps sent fairly low in winter and pretty high in the summer. Especially compared to what I've seen other people post.

Set non vital PC/Displays to either go to standby or shutoff after 10-30 minutes

Replaced all bulbs with the low energy bulbs

Tried closing off unused rooms - Did not seem to help, just a slight PITA

Measured known 110 power hogs and did turn off via wall/power switch on surge protector things that made sense.

Have HVAC system inspected before it gets cold and before it gets too hot.

HAD 2 different HVAC companies check ducts, vents...etc. They've always tweaked things that never seem to make a different.

Checked attic insulation.

Insulated garage door.

-Going to add additional insulation to upstairs room on walls that are exposed to attic-

At this moment that is all I can think of.

Remember though, I could leave my windows open this time a year and it would not cause a high electric bill due to gas heating. What I suspect is an appliance. I feel -okay- about insulation and stuff, but will find out soon if there is a problem with the IR thermometer. Just waiting for temps to go down/up so I can see a decent contrast on inside/outside wall temps if there is one to be found.

Any idea what an acceptable heat/cooling loss on standard double pain windows should be?

Any way, don't know if that helps provide anymore insight on what I'm trying to accomplish. If I recall Big Studly you're in the HVAC business - and anyone else - I'll listen to suggestions and any clever ideas. I just gotta nail this down for my short term budget and resale. I'd hate to explain to a potential buyer they'd have to pay 800+ in the summer for a 2600 sq ft house. :) (I would not buy it if I were them)

STANGGT40 I'm not 100% sure what you're saying but I can research it and figure it out. Although I am a geek, I learned a long time ago that I'm not qualified to jack with electrical in a manner I think you're suggesting. :) Although, honestly that would be ideal. Double check their work. I did see on cool tools some device that measure their meter - but of course it won't make its own measurements. I need to be careful or I'll make myself extra crispy. :D

BardIf you think of the name, can you let me know? Maybe I can rent it somewhere for a week or two at a fair price? That seems safe to me. heh

[ceyko]

www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=95652


All your questions are answered for $17

Sweet, good find. Do you know if it has to be clamped to bare wire or over insulated would work? I never used that type of multimeter before.

Edit: Maybe I'm thinking this through wrong, but wouldn't that only confirm that it is 220 and so forth?

[bullet]

How old is the house ?


How long have you lived there ?


Have the bills slowly gotten higher or have they always been that way ?



You mention it is two story 2600 sq ft running on 1 single unit.

This is stretching the limit a tad as the general rule is 500 sqft per ton on a single story on a new well insulated house and to be more efficient most two stories now are built with 2 units or are zoned when using one.


You said you replaced the outside unit but how old is the inside coil, blower and furnace ?


How old is the refridgerator and how many do you have ?

What about a deep freeze ?




My moms house built in 1969 is 1900 sqft, gas heater and water heater, all rest electric and her bill runs about $250 in the winter and 350 -375 in the summer with a 12 seer inside and out and non insulated windows with heat on 70 during winter and 77 in the summer.

[ceyko]

Hey bullet,
House is around 7 years old.

Lived here 7 years.

Hard to tell if the bills have gone up, we can only guesstimate based off kwh s that we use each year and the cost of our bill each year in comparison. It does seem as if they are going up though. Nothing higher then 400ish our first few years and our cost per kwh has not doubled.

It's technically like 2550, but I just call it 2600 since it is easier to type. :) I specifically asked 2 HVAC companies about that when I was getting quotes and neither gave me a warm fuzzy about adding an additional unit. I have 1 room upstairs that is about 16x16 give/take and it is hot as hell usually and I wanted a small unit for it. Otherwise it is a ranch style home.

Furnace is as old as the house and seems to be doing okay. Had to replace the inside coil around 3-4 years into owning the home and don't know about the blower. The blower would affect things during the winter too huh?

Your mom's house is overall at a more comfy temp then my home at a much lower cost per sq ft. :(

[Big Studly]

Ah, fair enough. I know I probably did miss some, but I've done as many as I can find that are relatively sensible. I'll list out some below, but I'll forget since we've been gradually improving/adding for the last several years. :) My next thing is I bought an IR thermometer to determine if the wall insulation and/or windows are sucking.

However, I know the AC draws a lot of power. The problem is during the winter something is getting me as well since I have gas heat. Whatever that is would not be a home efficiency problem from a insulation/comfort perspective. It would almost have to be an appliance/washer/dryer I'd think OR of course the power company has had an f'ed meter out there all these years. :)

Quick list of improvements
Had a old 5 ton unit outside - Replaced with 14 SEER unit about 1-2 years ago

Solar Screens (just did)

Attic Fan

Better attic ventilation via additional vents in eaves.(sp?)

Programmable Thermostat - Have temps sent fairly low in winter and pretty high in the summer. Especially compared to what I've seen other people post.

Set non vital PC/Displays to either go to standby or shutoff after 10-30 minutes

Replaced all bulbs with the low energy bulbs

Tried closing off unused rooms - Did not seem to help, just a slight PITA

Measured known 110 power hogs and did turn off via wall/power switch on surge protector things that made sense.

Have HVAC system inspected before it gets cold and before it gets too hot.

HAD 2 different HVAC companies check ducts, vents...etc. They've always tweaked things that never seem to make a different.

Checked attic insulation.

Insulated garage door.

-Going to add additional insulation to upstairs room on walls that are exposed to attic-

At this moment that is all I can think of.

Remember though, I could leave my windows open this time a year and it would not cause a high electric bill due to gas heating. What I suspect is an appliance. I feel -okay- about insulation and stuff, but will find out soon if there is a problem with the IR thermometer. Just waiting for temps to go down/up so I can see a decent contrast on inside/outside wall temps if there is one to be found.

Any idea what an acceptable heat/cooling loss on standard double pain windows should be?

Any way, don't know if that helps provide anymore insight on what I'm trying to accomplish. If I recall Big Studly you're in the HVAC business - and anyone else - I'll listen to suggestions and any clever ideas. I just gotta nail this down for my short term budget and resale. I'd hate to explain to a potential buyer they'd have to pay 800+ in the summer for a 2600 sq ft house. :) (I would not buy it if I were them)

STANGGT40 I'm not 100% sure what you're saying but I can research it and figure it out. Although I am a geek, I learned a long time ago that I'm not qualified to jack with electrical in a manner I think you're suggesting. :) Although, honestly that would be ideal. Double check their work. I did see on cool tools some device that measure their meter - but of course it won't make its own measurements. I need to be careful or I'll make myself extra crispy. :D

BardIf you think of the name, can you let me know? Maybe I can rent it somewhere for a week or two at a fair price? That seems safe to me. heh

That is pretty good, sometimes, your homes energy consumption is what it is. Just a few comments...you said you added an attic fan, just because you add one, doesn't mean it is right. If it is power ventilated, make sure you have the right CFM, if it is a whirly bird, make sure you have the right number. Another energy measure is you can turn down the thermostat on your water heater. Closing off the rooms is counter productive. You need the return air, and the supply air for that matter. If you want to shut the air off to them, shut them off at the vent so no air enters the room. It will force more air into the used part of the house, where the thermostat is. Also, make sure your thermostat is near your return air grille.

The heat gain from windows is based on the solar heat gain coeficient and the u-value (inverted R value) of the glazing and varies depending on type of window and glazing.

When was your house built, and do you know how much insulation you have in the attic?

Side note, do not buy a radiant barrier, you can negate the need for one with proper insulation, unless you want to hang out in your attic for some reason.

Take your IR themometer and measure the air temp at the vents for heating and cooling cycle. Should be 55F for cooling and around 110F for heating. If there is a way to adjust your outside air damper, you can set it for the minimum. Not sure what the resedential code requires as a minimum though.

If you really wanted to nit pick, replace the fan on your air handler with a premium efficency motor and use a notched belt on the fan seave.

In reality, the tonnage of the condenser isn't the driving factor for the size of the HVAC unit, it is the supply air amount and temperature. If either are not correct, you could be wasting a lot of energy.

If your house is old, check for leaks at doors and windows.

Cover up skylights in the summer if you have them. Open them in the winter.

I am not sure of your exact symptons so I am just throwing stuff out there. If you have any specific questions, I can sure try to answer them though.

[DFWtechie]

I had huge electric for a few months and could figure it out. Panel is balanced, solar screens,programable tstat,insulated garage and attic fans. I found the element in the water heater was bad and when it was on you could hardly see the dash on the meter wheel it was spinning so fast. Kill the breaker to the water heater and watch your meter, if it slows way down replace the element and install a timer on the water heater. I noticed my bill drop a good 10-15%. The element was around 15-20 and the timer was around 45.00 well worth it. I set mine to shut off at 11p and come back on at 4am and go back off at 9am back on at 3pm. You can turn it back on manually if you need to use during the off time.

[Big Studly]

I had huge electric for a few months and could figure it out. Panel is balanced, solar screens,programable tstat,insulated garage and attic fans. I found the element in the water heater was bad and when it was on you could hardly see the dash on the meter wheel it was spinning so fast. Kill the breaker to the water heater and watch your meter, if it slows way down replace the element and install a timer on the water heater. I noticed my bill drop a good 10-15%. The element was around 15-20 and the timer was around 45.00 well worth it. I set mine to shut off at 11p and come back on at 4am and go back off at 9am back on at 3pm. You can turn it back on manually if you need to use during the off time.

you mean you didn't spend thousands of dollars to install an electric instant water heater? Don't you know what a "home improvement is"!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[bard]

The wiki explains it pretty well, but in a nutshell the clamp goes around the condutor without touching it and will measure the amps being used, not the voltage. You can't just run it around the cord coming from the wall because that includes mulitple wires which in essence will measure the difference between the two wires (if I understand it correctly). You can remove the outlet from the wall and measure just one wire without disconnecting the appliance. There is a possibility for electrocution, but as long as you don't touch anything you'll be fine. If you're intimidated, I'm sure an electrician can come measure all the major appliances in an hour or two and give an educated opinion on your situation.

[bullet]

Hey bullet,
House is around 7 years old.

Lived here 7 years.

Hard to tell if the bills have gone up, we can only guesstimate based off kwh s that we use each year and the cost of our bill each year in comparison. It does seem as if they are going up though. Nothing higher then 400ish our first few years and our cost per kwh has not doubled.

It's technically like 2550, but I just call it 2600 since it is easier to type. :) I specifically asked 2 HVAC companies about that when I was getting quotes and neither gave me a warm fuzzy about adding an additional unit. I have 1 room upstairs that is about 16x16 give/take and it is hot as hell usually and I wanted a small unit for it. Otherwise it is a ranch style home.

Furnace is as old as the house and seems to be doing okay. Had to replace the inside coil around 3-4 years into owning the home and don't know about the blower. The blower would affect things during the winter too huh?

Your mom's house is overall at a more comfy temp then my home at a much lower cost per sq ft. :(


What seer is the coil ?

12 I assume or higher ?


The blower fan is only 110 volt and I would doubt it would be pulling that much load even if it is not optimal but I guess it is possible.



You never answered, How many fridges and freezers are you running and how old are they ?


How old is the electric dryer ?




I have only seen once case of a meter being off so much that it made the bill out of whack, but it was a 30 year old house and the electric company came and changed it out for free after just asking them to do it.




Also, are you sure they are not estimating your bill due to the gate being locked or dog ?

[ceyko]

bullet Missed the fridge question.

-We have 2 fridge/freezers and one is in the garage BUT we took that thing and shut it down for an extended period once and it made about a 20 dollar difference in the summertime. Heck, that's another reason why I'm thinking about upgrading washer/dryer. Get the stack able ones and put the fridge next to them. Anyway, I know it being in the garage sounds bad but...
1. As mentioned we shut it down once and it never made that much of a difference.
2. It is packed full usually.
3. It is rarely opened as it is more for storage.

The garage fridge is around 10 years old and the one in my house is around 6.

The coil I was not in the US when that was replaced and can't remember the details. I PRESUME it was 12 SEER or better. My old man is a building in PA and ran it buy his HVAC guy and he seemed to think it was okay. It was expensive. :)

Electric dryer - the one we're using now could be 12 years old. The other one we have that crapped out is aroun 6-7 years old.

They have no reason to estimate on mine since the meter is on the side of the house before the backyard fence starts. Standard development house.

I'll look, but I guess that fan does not just plug in huh? I could use my killawatt to see what's going on with it if it does. hehe

Big Studly
The attic fan we threw in was supposedly over sized for our home and when we forget to use it (incorrectly adjusted thermo or just don't have it on), the electric bill sucks still but the upstairs room and some other rooms are very uncomfortable. When it use, at least the hosue is a bit more comfy. No whirlybirds, just standard builder vents and then the extra vents we put in under the eaves.

House was built about 2001 - I'm not good with insulation. It LOOKS right. i.e, the interior walls that I can see studs have insulation between the studs, the ceiling studs have the blow in type (cept over the garage).

Radiant barrier - Yeah, I've not read that everything is perfect with it and that may especially hold true with an amateur install. I'm just kind of getting desperate. :)

Will do the air temp measurements. Presume you'd recommend every vent? As that would test the AC/Heater but also make sure duct work is working too at each location?

No door leaks, we went through that drill too - we did find 1 window leak this year and fixed it, but for the most part I THINK we're being pretty diligent on the efficiency side. When your electric bill is 400 it does not make sense to spend 100-500 to make it 350. When it is 600-800 - it makes sense to spend some money to get it to 400. Sucks when it stays at 800 when you just spent a bunch to fix it. :(

Oh and no skylights. Also, we do shut the doors to a "closed" room after shutting down the vent. You're recommending leaving the room open but just closing the vent? Not arguing, even if I did disagree I'll probably try it this year - won't get much worst. :)

My water heater is gas - so I assume there is not much I can do there. I'm not sure there is even a plug on it. I'll check though.

bard
Seems like a worthwhile investment to go along with my killawatt and IR thermometer. Maybe one day I can be an amateur house efficiency inspector. Run around with gadgets, drinking beer telling people how jack up their home is. :) Can't talk crap right now until I fix my own stuff. lol

All
All the suggestions and help so far are appreciated. Thank you.

Take care,

[Vertnut]

As simple as it sounds, a few tubes of caulk can help. Windows (in and out), doors (thresholds and up top).

[ceyko]

As simple as it sounds, a few tubes of caulk can help. Windows (in and out), doors (thresholds and up top).

Concur, that's another one we've done. Granted I gotta reinspect this year but a couple of years ago we put around 3-4 tubes on/around windows and numerous other places that did not look right. Along with some larger holes we used the expanding foam. (i.e. where the AC stuff comes into the house)

Edit: Also worth noting - a lot of changes seemed to help the comfort level in the house, but has not seemed to make a difference in the overall electric bill. That's why I'm trying to figure out wth else is causing it as I think we're fairly efficient now. Plus our bill seems quite high for the winter when we have gas heat and the AC is not running.

Take care,

[bullet]

bullet Missed the fridge question.

-We have 2 fridge/freezers and one is in the garage BUT we took that thing and shut it down for an extended period once and it made about a 20 dollar difference in the summertime. Heck, that's another reason why I'm thinking about upgrading washer/dryer. Get the stack able ones and put the fridge next to them. Anyway, I know it being in the garage sounds bad but...
1. As mentioned we shut it down once and it never made that much of a difference.
2. It is packed full usually.
3. It is rarely opened as it is more for storage.

The garage fridge is around 10 years old and the one in my house is around 6.

The coil I was not in the US when that was replaced and can't remember the details. I PRESUME it was 12 SEER or better. My old man is a building in PA and ran it buy his HVAC guy and he seemed to think it was okay. It was expensive. :)

Electric dryer - the one we're using now could be 12 years old. The other one we have that crapped out is aroun 6-7 years old.

They have no reason to estimate on mine since the meter is on the side of the house before the backyard fence starts. Standard development house.

I'll look, but I guess that fan does not just plug in huh? I could use my killawatt to see what's going on with it if it does. hehe

Big Studly
The attic fan we threw in was supposedly over sized for our home and when we forget to use it (incorrectly adjusted thermo or just don't have it on), the electric bill sucks still but the upstairs room and some other rooms are very uncomfortable. When it use, at least the hosue is a bit more comfy. No whirlybirds, just standard builder vents and then the extra vents we put in under the eaves.

House was built about 2001 - I'm not good with insulation. It LOOKS right. i.e, the interior walls that I can see studs have insulation between the studs, the ceiling studs have the blow in type (cept over the garage).

Radiant barrier - Yeah, I've not read that everything is perfect with it and that may especially hold true with an amateur install. I'm just kind of getting desperate. :)

Will do the air temp measurements. Presume you'd recommend every vent? As that would test the AC/Heater but also make sure duct work is working too at each location?

No door leaks, we went through that drill too - we did find 1 window leak this year and fixed it, but for the most part I THINK we're being pretty diligent on the efficiency side. When your electric bill is 400 it does not make sense to spend 100-500 to make it 350. When it is 600-800 - it makes sense to spend some money to get it to 400. Sucks when it stays at 800 when you just spent a bunch to fix it. :(

Oh and no skylights. Also, we do shut the doors to a "closed" room after shutting down the vent. You're recommending leaving the room open but just closing the vent? Not arguing, even if I did disagree I'll probably try it this year - won't get much worst. :)

My water heater is gas - so I assume there is not much I can do there. I'm not sure there is even a plug on it. I'll check though.

bard
Seems like a worthwhile investment to go along with my killawatt and IR thermometer. Maybe one day I can be an amateur house efficiency inspector. Run around with gadgets, drinking beer telling people how jack up their home is. :) Can't talk crap right now until I fix my own stuff. lol

All
All the suggestions and help so far are appreciated. Thank you.

Take care,




I think 1 fridge is responsible for roughy 8% of your energy consumption. If you are running 2 and a freezer then I would expect your bill to be ~ 16% higher than the plain house. Do you know what your neighbors bills are running in regards to square ft ? Have you tested the fridges to see what they are drawing ? The new ones are energy star rated, and use about a 1/3 to 1/2 compared to a 20 year old fridge, but 6 and 10 years old should not be that inefficient unless something is wrong with them. IE is it really worth spending $1000 on a new fridge so save $50 a year in electricity ? Or $1500 for a new HE washer and dryer that also saves $50 per year ? You can spend 4k replacing the fridges, freezer and washer and dryer but unless their is something majorly wrong with them it is going to take nearly 20 years for them to pay back your initial investment.

Here is a handy calculator to use for them.


http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=refrig.calculator



The blower motor is hardwired into the part of your unit where the coil is mounted.







This might be useful to you as well.


http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=HOME_ENERGY_YARDSTICK.showGet Started




Last but not least, why don't you just call someone higher up at your power provider and explain all the things you have done and persuade them to come switch out your meter before you spend anymore money on your end.

[Big Studly]

bullet Missed the fridge question.

-We have 2 fridge/freezers and one is in the garage BUT we took that thing and shut it down for an extended period once and it made about a 20 dollar difference in the summertime. Heck, that's another reason why I'm thinking about upgrading washer/dryer. Get the stack able ones and put the fridge next to them. Anyway, I know it being in the garage sounds bad but...
1. As mentioned we shut it down once and it never made that much of a difference.
2. It is packed full usually.
3. It is rarely opened as it is more for storage.

The garage fridge is around 10 years old and the one in my house is around 6.

The coil I was not in the US when that was replaced and can't remember the details. I PRESUME it was 12 SEER or better. My old man is a building in PA and ran it buy his HVAC guy and he seemed to think it was okay. It was expensive. :)

Electric dryer - the one we're using now could be 12 years old. The other one we have that crapped out is aroun 6-7 years old.

They have no reason to estimate on mine since the meter is on the side of the house before the backyard fence starts. Standard development house.

I'll look, but I guess that fan does not just plug in huh? I could use my killawatt to see what's going on with it if it does. hehe

Big Studly
The attic fan we threw in was supposedly over sized for our home and when we forget to use it (incorrectly adjusted thermo or just don't have it on), the electric bill sucks still but the upstairs room and some other rooms are very uncomfortable. When it use, at least the hosue is a bit more comfy. No whirlybirds, just standard builder vents and then the extra vents we put in under the eaves.

House was built about 2001 - I'm not good with insulation. It LOOKS right. i.e, the interior walls that I can see studs have insulation between the studs, the ceiling studs have the blow in type (cept over the garage).

Radiant barrier - Yeah, I've not read that everything is perfect with it and that may especially hold true with an amateur install. I'm just kind of getting desperate. :)

Will do the air temp measurements. Presume you'd recommend every vent? As that would test the AC/Heater but also make sure duct work is working too at each location?

No door leaks, we went through that drill too - we did find 1 window leak this year and fixed it, but for the most part I THINK we're being pretty diligent on the efficiency side. When your electric bill is 400 it does not make sense to spend 100-500 to make it 350. When it is 600-800 - it makes sense to spend some money to get it to 400. Sucks when it stays at 800 when you just spent a bunch to fix it. :(

Oh and no skylights. Also, we do shut the doors to a "closed" room after shutting down the vent. You're recommending leaving the room open but just closing the vent? Not arguing, even if I did disagree I'll probably try it this year - won't get much worst. :)

My water heater is gas - so I assume there is not much I can do there. I'm not sure there is even a plug on it. I'll check though.

bard
Seems like a worthwhile investment to go along with my killawatt and IR thermometer. Maybe one day I can be an amateur house efficiency inspector. Run around with gadgets, drinking beer telling people how jack up their home is. :) Can't talk crap right now until I fix my own stuff. lol

All
All the suggestions and help so far are appreciated. Thank you.

Take care,

you don't need to check every vent for temperature, that won't tell you anything about your ducts. If you were able to measure the amount of air out of each vent, that would.

can't remember off hand, did you have your a/c unit replaced? If so, did they go up in size/down in size? One portion of it replaced?

the water heater probably isn't costing you that much unless the thermocouple is bad. You can adjust the thermostat down. There are timers for gas, but I think you have to have the peizo-electric type pilot light.

Finally, you can never have enough insulation. You would be better served spending the money on insulation instead of a radiant barrier. There is a point of diminishing returns, but assuming that the builder put in the minimum amount of insulation to meet the energy code, you have a ways to go before you get there.

I would also make sure that your a/c unit isn't bringing in too much outside air. That could potentially kill you energy wise.

[ceyko]

Finally, you can never have enough insulation. You would be better served spending the money on insulation instead of a radiant barrier. There is a point of diminishing returns, but assuming that the builder put in the minimum amount of insulation to meet the energy code, you have a ways to go before you get there.


So before it got real hot this year I went up in the attic and installed some of that board/foam insulation over the batts stuff for a room that is exposed up there. Found strips that were not actually in there, but you could not tell until up close and personal. Sealed all joints with foam.

Also went to HD, rented an insulation blower and added another 6-12" (depending on what was needed - tried for R-35) of insulation. Not only was this fairly cheap, but it took all of 4 hours to do.

Anyway, we also are at 9 cents per KwH this year as opposed to 15. However, I noticed the bill this year is around 500 KwHs less than last year. Proof? Scientific? No, but we hold fairly steady.

Oh, I went around the house and between silicon and latex caulk - I went through 5 tubes. Found some disturbing places that were likely leaking that were never sealed from the beginning.

300 dollars is my biggest bill this year, which is awesome. Other years we'd be well over 500 by this time. I can't remember, but I think 600 at this point would not be an exaggeration. (sp?)

Either way, insulation made a difference. My IR thermometer shows a hot spot yet in one room. Pisses me off cause I'm not sure how to fix it. It is probably a 2'x5' section that is 15* wamer in the morning. Once that is good, I think the whole house is in good shape then.

[jyro]

How old is the hvac system , what size is it ? And what seer ?

what temperature are you trying to keep the house

[bard]

I would also make sure that your a/c unit isn't bringing in too much outside air. That could potentially kill you energy wise.

How would one go about doing this?