I was rather interested in the Geyser until I saw the price. On amazon it's 900 bucks and while I may be able to find it slightly less elsewhere, thats a chunk of change and I can't see that being a smart move for me at this time. The marathon is only a few years old and is a great water heater that I won't be selling. The warranty alone would keep me. If the geyser was less expensive, like say half, I can see that being a good option and the dehumidification is a nice plus, especially for my basement install.
reducing electrical bill
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I was rather interested in the Geyser until I saw the price. On amazon it's 900 bucks and while I may be able to find it slightly less elsewhere, thats a chunk of change and I can't see that being a smart move for me at this time. The marathon is only a few years old and is a great water heater that I won't be selling. The warranty alone would keep me. If the geyser was less expensive, like say half, I can see that being a good option and the dehumidification is a nice plus, especially for my basement install.
I was rather interested in the Geyser until I saw the price. On amazon it's 900 bucks and while I may be able to find it slightly less elsewhere, thats a chunk of change and I can't see that being a smart move for me at this time. The marathon is only a few years old and is a great water heater that I won't be selling. The warranty alone would keep me. If the geyser was less expensive, like say half, I can see that being a good option and the dehumidification is a nice plus, especially for my basement install.
Do you happen to have a pic of these U shaped heat traps you referred too? Not sure I've heard of those before. Thanks!
Edit. Disregard what they look like, now I wonder if they do work and make a noticeable difference. My water heater is in my basement and all my piping is above the water heater so this may be worth looking into if they make a difference.
The U heat traps work very well, but their economy also relates to how well the internal neat traps work in your hot water heater. Really old hot water heaters had none, newer ones had heat traps that worked some, and I would assume the better water heaters today have heat traps that are quite effective. But, you can tell how well they work by feeling the pipes on the cold water inlet and hot water outlet. If these are warm to hot and no hot water has been run for a period of time, then you are losing heat with no benefit by hot water is thermo-siphoning into your system.
I had set a goal of reducing my annual kWh to below10,000, but after installing a Geospring HPWH, I instantly met that goal and am now looking to get below 8000. It easily saves me $20/month, and only cost me $200 more with all the rebates etc.
TE
TE
maple1
Minister of Fire
Not to say it is the case here, but well pumps can use a lot of juice if not 'tuned up' right. And over time they can go out of 'tune' if a little bit of sediment gets built up in the wrong place that would affect pressure switches & gauges. More cushion tank capacity can reduce starts, and turning down the high pressure cut off just a bit can greatly lessen the time the pump runs, depending on the pump & how good it is matched to the pumping needs. I have a 3/4 hp shallow well pump, and it really struggled to get that last 5psi in the system before I turned it down that 5psi. Didn't really notice the difference between 35psi & 40psi at the taps. My gauge stopped working quite a few months ago, didn't get around to replacing it until last month. I was surprised how much I had to readjust the settings. Next on my well water list is to add another cushion tank. Also gives you more water in reserve for a power outage situation.
And even more if you develop a small leak in the pit adapter...
It was a heck of a shock to find an electric bill three times higher than normal, with no obvious explanation.
TE
Yes watch those well pumps... as was mentioned make sure the tank isn't waterlogged (no air) or if the tank is a bladder type here is a troubleshooter:
http://www.apswater.com/article.asp?id=308&title=Trouble_Shooting_A_Water_Pressure_Bladder_Tank
http://www.apswater.com/article.asp?id=308&title=Trouble_Shooting_A_Water_Pressure_Bladder_Tank
March 2015 - February 2016 set a record on electric energy conservation in our household. This year reflected our full switch-over to LED lighting and continuing prior conservation efforts, especially including attention to keeping electric "off" when not actually in use. Total 12 month General Service + DHW kWh = 4,254, or 354 kWh/month. Total Dual Service (electric heat) = 3,962 kWh. Total usage = 8,216 kWh.
Historical usage for General + DHW was 6,000 kWh/yr, so we achieved a reduction of 1,746 kWh, which is a 29% reduction in usage. Historical usage for heat also was 6,000 kWh/yr. The reduction in 2015-2016 to 3,962 kWh is due to a much warmer than average winter. Warmer than normal winters have been an ever increasing trend over the past 20 years.
Total historical usage was based on the two year period prior to October 2013. That was the month we installed our solar PV system, and before installing solar PV we made substantial conservation efforts to achieve reduction in electric usage.
Historical usage for General + DHW was 6,000 kWh/yr, so we achieved a reduction of 1,746 kWh, which is a 29% reduction in usage. Historical usage for heat also was 6,000 kWh/yr. The reduction in 2015-2016 to 3,962 kWh is due to a much warmer than average winter. Warmer than normal winters have been an ever increasing trend over the past 20 years.
Total historical usage was based on the two year period prior to October 2013. That was the month we installed our solar PV system, and before installing solar PV we made substantial conservation efforts to achieve reduction in electric usage.
Made an error, although still a record year on electric energy conservation in our household. I failed to account for solar PV used in the household. In the chart below the monthly readings for solar are actual for the month, while the monthly readings for the utility, CWP, are taken on the 8th of the month. So April reading for CWP is the month from March 9 to April 8, etc.
The full results, all in kWh:
![[Hearth.com] reducing electrical bill](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/177/177083-98cac6054bda6f851f1e0a2393b72f08.jpg?hash=ofq2cDh6xA "[Hearth.com] reducing electrical bill")
The full results, all in kWh:
WOw i dont even have electric heat or electric hot water in winter,only in summer and my electric bill is higher than yours. Avg $150 paying about
10-12 c KWH. 6 people in the house dont help ,lots of laundry with an electric dryer.
I agree. I have an Effergy whole house electrical energy monitor and it was eye opening how much the electric dryer used. When I saw that it was costing me $1.50-$2 to dry clothes I invested in a indoor drying rack and hung a clothesline.
In the summer I dry them outside on the line and the winter a simple rack by the woodstove works great.
I am in CT where electricity is .25 kwh total cost delivered so the extra 10 mins of hanging the clothes is worth it.
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Clothes dryer is a big load but it cycles a lot and is pretty short term. I've found bigger costs from cooking. Baking especially.
Our Oven is a self clean which is very energy efficient. The higher insulation content of the self clean is definitely worth the price of the upgrade.
Once up to temp the heating element only comes on occasionally to maintain oven temp ,you can see it through the door window.
I'm in the market for a new oven/range due to color so will keep this in mind. Stupid almond oven.
Convection ovens tend to bake faster. If self clean is important, watch out for stoves that don't isolate electronics very well from the high heat. Those that do not are prone to premature failure.
Our Self clean is a Black Glass top Kenmore, Glass top still cleans up like new, its about 16 YRs old and everything works. ID say we got our moneys worth long ago. When you turn it off the oven stays hot for hours. Ill always have a self clean.
SIL bought a high-end Viking with all the bells and whistles. Self-clean feature fried the control board twice in 5 yrs. of moderate use. The second time they informed her the part was no longer being made.
Same here.
Its interesting that some SC ovens use a catalytic converter to treat the smoke produced.
There are some apparently valid concerns about the health effects of these fumes on humans and pets. http://learn.compactappliance.com/self-cleaning-oven-hazards/
Not that I would ever use the self clean feature, but having it apparently leads to superior insulation levels around the oven. I monitor my daily power usage with an efergy and I can really tell when somebody baked cookies. Less so when a load of laundry (wash and dry) was done. We do have a HE front load washer and an efficient duct run for the dryer so maybe we just have our laundry situation dialed in.
Same here, we've never used the self-clean feature of our wall oven, but appreciate the better insulation for more even baking, less energy wasted.
Nice info guys. I think I have used the self-clean function once or twice, usually when the weather allowed and we could run the kitchen exhaust fan the whole time.
Anyone got any hard info that SC ovens use less energy for baking?
Anyone got any hard info that SC ovens use less energy for baking?
Next up ior scrutiny is my water bill ,its just getting out of control. Average at least $80 a month sometimes higher.
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