What are you doing to save energy?

[SparkyGage]

- I turned off the immersion heater. It was on an "Economy 7" timer that basically means it only turned on overnight to try to save money, and then cooled throughout the day. Those things were built in an era of housewives, and as someone who lives alone and work during the day, it was just a waste - by the time I get home, most of the savings have cooled away. I turn it on when I need it now, and am looking at an instant hot-water heater and a power shower instead. Higher pull, sure, but far less power overall.

On that instant tank-less hot water heater, consider where you live and how cold the water coming in is. Those heaters don't have an ability to heat to a temp like a tank does, but only raise the temperature of the water coming in. In warmer climes they can work well. In colder climes they can mean taking a shower in 70 degree water in the winter. Not telling you to not do it, just look closely at how/if they work in your situation.

 

[n2aws]

Ceiling fans in every room allow one to turn the temperature up about 4 degrees in summer which results in huge savings

Add a presence sensor, or switch so the fan is only on when someone is in the room works nicely too.

It kills me when people leave ceiling fans on 24/7.. apparently they've never heard the phrase that fans cool people, not spaces.

 

[1201]

Add a presence sensor, or switch so the fan is only on when someone is in the room works nicely too.

It kills me when people leave ceiling fans on 24/7.. apparently they've never heard the phrase that fans cool people, not spaces.

My damn fans only work with a remote control. If I had known this I wouldn't have bought them. Really limits my control options.

This guy I follow makes a case for running fan all the time in air tight homes

 

[n2aws]

My damn fans only work with a remote control. If I had know this I wouldn't have bought them. Really limits my control options.

This guy I follow makes a car for running rents all the time in air tight homes

Ahh, yeah, in air tight homes.. I could see them being needed so it doesn't get stagnant.

But, most homes aren't air tight

 

[1201]

Ahh, yeah, in air tight homes.. I could see them being needed so it doesn't get stagnant.

But, most homes aren't air tight

True, nor should they be. Air tight building to me is like audiophilia- batshit crazy

 

[Zwy]

On that instant tank-less hot water heater, consider where you live and how cold the water coming in is. Those heaters don't have an ability to heat to a temp like a tank does, but only raise the temperature of the water coming in. In warmer climes they can work well. In colder climes they can mean taking a shower in 70 degree water in the winter. Not telling you to not do it, just look closely at how/if they work in your situation.

I have a tankless propane in the shop. Tankless usually will meet the temp rise, however they will throttle back the flow in order to meet the temp rise. As no heat is produced when off, there isn't any convective flow either, so there isn't any warm water in the plumbing close to the faucet. If the lines run thru a colder basement, all that water in the line has to run thru before any hot water gets to the faucet. In the morning it does take longer for that first run to get hot water than later in the day.

My unit has a wall mounted thermostat by the sink. In winter I usually bump the desired temp up a few degrees compared to summer. If I'm running the hot water thru the pressure washer, I crank it up to 145F. I would like to go higher but that is max.

 

[Zwy]

Ahh, yeah, in air tight homes.. I could see them being needed so it doesn't get stagnant.

But, most homes aren't air tight

My house isn't tight, 1905 farmhouse.

Running ceiling fans eliminates condensation on windows when it is -30F. The heat is also spread more evenly in a room, run at low speed in reverse to force air to the outside walls and down the walls.

 

[SparkyGage]

I have a tankless propane in the shop. Tankless usually will meet the temp rise, however they will throttle back the flow in order to meet the temp rise. As no heat is produced when off, there isn't any convective flow either, so there isn't any warm water in the plumbing close to the faucet. If the lines run thru a colder basement, all that water in the line has to run thru before any hot water gets to the faucet. In the morning it does take longer for that first run to get hot water than later in the day.

My unit has a wall mounted thermostat by the sink. In winter I usually bump the desired temp up a few degrees compared to summer. If I'm running the hot water thru the pressure washer, I crank it up to 145F. I would like to go higher but that is max.

That's a good point: Tankless gas is a different animal than tankless electric. A water heater is adding BTUs to the water and a gas based system is capable of adding a lot more BTU's per gallon per minute than an electric - this is the same reason a gas water heater can recover faster than an electric water heater of the same volume. In Arkansas gas, (natural, propane, etc) can usually heat the water year round. BUT everyone I know that has tankless electric systems hate them in the winter because the water in the feed lines can get VERY cold and the systems are only capable of a 40-50 degree rise and if the water temp comming in is below 50, the water comming out is below body temperature.

 

[Shimmy]

On that instant tank-less hot water heater, consider where you live and how cold the water coming in is. Those heaters don't have an ability to heat to a temp like a tank does, but only raise the temperature of the water coming in.

For really cold water and electric heat I like the idea of a pre-heating tank plus point of use. Use the pre-heat to get water up to ~70 on cheaper electricity.

 

[SeaGal]

My damn fans only work with a remote control. If I had known this I wouldn't have bought them. Really limits my control options.

Come on now... this is a DIY forum . Just sticky tape a relay to the remote control button contact and hang an ESP32 off the other end ?‍

 

[Sverige]

This is how our home grid consumption looks and as you see it has been a “hobby” (obsession) of mine to get it down for a number of years. In fact the number one piece of advice I could give on lowering your domestic consumption is to keep track of it (in one way or another) and challenge yourself to keep finding ways to beat the corresponding month from the previous year.

The figures are flattered by the fact I installed my offgrid solar progressively between 2020 and 2022 so that accounts for most of the summer months reductions, and in the winter months when heating is our main load, I have only been able to keep improving my lowering the thermostat and tolerating discomfort as the cost of continuing improvements.

I’ve long since gone past any reasonable compromise between convenience and consumption and into silly territory like only switching on the hot water every three days and unplugging the kitchen cooker overnight to save those critical last few watts of standby consumption. Our lounge is 16C each evening and the bedrooms are around 13C which is double duvet territory.

I don’t advise anyone goes too far down the same road because it does become an OCD as finding the final few kWh savings can drive you a bit crazy. But I get the satisfaction of compiling my graphs each month and feel relatively insulated against rising energy prices.

The savings I have achieved are the product of many individual interventions, sometimes finding more efficient solutions, other times investing in more efficient appliances and at times just going without comforts and convenience.

It is a 1,700 sq foot (155 sq m) two floor house in Sweden. Prices are in Swedish kronor and took a major upswing last year due to Ukraine.

 

[1201]

Come on now... this is a DIY forum . Just sticky tape a relay to the remote control button contact and hang an ESP32 off the other end ?‍

Lol. You jest about that but there are people out there who would absolutely do that.

 

[y0bailey]

True, nor should they be. Air tight building to me is like audiophilia- batshit crazy

My house is pretty damn "air tight" and we have a fresh air ventilation system installed.

I hate that system so much because it's "dumb" and will just pull in air at non-adjustable intervals throughout the day/night. I've felt it suck in 100 degree NC humid air mid day in the freaking summer. No commercially available "easy" controller that I've found on the internet...and I'm not savvy enough to program one myself.

I just turn it off. We are in and out of the house 10 times a day easily. I don't think we are dying of C02 toxicity any time soon. We also have HEPA filters everywhere, and they monitor air quality and are always happy.

 

[1201]

My house is pretty damn "air tight" and we have a fresh air ventilation system installed.

I hate that system so much because it's "dumb" and will just pull in air at non-adjustable intervals throughout the day/night. I've felt it suck in 100 degree NC humid air mid day in the freaking summer. No commercially available "easy" controller that I've found on the internet...and I'm not savvy enough to program one myself.

I just turn it off. We are in and out of the house 10 times a day easily. I don't think we are dying of C02 toxicity any time soon. We also have HEPA filters everywhere, and they monitor air quality and are always happy.

I think that's what most people end up doing, is just turn them off. The building science guys would have you believe 24/7 ventilation is good for the house but the bringing in the humid air thing was a bridge too far for me.

 

[pvgirl]

My house is pretty damn "air tight" and we have a fresh air ventilation system installed.

I hate that system so much because it's "dumb" and will just pull in air at non-adjustable intervals throughout the day/night. I've felt it suck in 100 degree NC humid air mid day in the freaking summer. No commercially available "easy" controller that I've found on the internet...and I'm not savvy enough to program one myself.

I just turn it off. We are in and out of the house 10 times a day easily. I don't think we are dying of C02 toxicity any time soon. We also have HEPA filters everywhere, and they monitor air quality and are always happy.

Is this an HRV/ERV or just a vent from the outside to the inside?

 

[y0bailey]

Is this an HRV/ERV or just a vent from the outside to the inside?

Just a vent that opens/closes based on how many SQ feet you have (turn a knob for SQ feet into the controller and that adjusts run-time). Straight up horrible outside air mixed into the ducts with the conditioned air...hot or cold, rain or shine.

There wasn't even a filter where it sucks in the air from outside...and all of my HVAC filters are in the ceilings of the room and not located at the central handler. So it was sucking in NC spring pollen directly into the ductwork/coils. I at least added a filter...but then I just turned it off fully.

 

[Solarcabin Channel]

I decrease my energy use in winter and increase it over summer.

My system is sized for winter use and at least 3 days of low sunshine. With some backup power stations and portable panels that can be extended a week easy.

In summer I have excess solar power so I am recharging my Ebikes, running an electric mower, evap cooler and I use more electric cooking appliances and gadgets. In winter those go in storage and I watch the forecasts and get things charged up on sunny winter days. We get heavy snow here so I use an electric snow blower occasionally.

I don't go without anything and have most the same modern appliances as any home though I do choose the most efficient appliances I can afford. 12/24 volt fridges, induction cooktop, energy star microwave and washer. I use a laptop for entertainment, water pump, led lights, quartz heaters, electric blankets and lots of low watt cooking appliances. I have propane and wood stove backup for heating.

After being off grid with just a small system for so many years it just becomes instinctive to watch the forecast and know when you can run more stuff or wait for a sunny day.

 

[ledow]

Got my Induction hotplate today. Put on a pot to make some tea. I thought the old electric stove was good. In the past I would put hot water in the pot and it usually took 5 to 10 minutes to warm the water. This thing did it in half the time with cold water to start. Very impressive technology.

Wait until you hear about UK kettles.

 

[JJJJ]

Wait until you hear about UK kettles

I am all ears

 

[SparkyGage]

I am all ears

Their 220v kettles seem to take about half the time to boil as our 110v kettles for some reason....