Household Energy Audit - 2011

How many people does this cover? If it is three or more, it's not bad.

 

heat looks really low, you must be freezing!

 

Looks higher than my total house energy use, all electric (ductless heat pump added three years ago), two people of empty nest age.

Puget Sound Region/suburb house
Prius 12,406 miles, 228 gallons, $811.
Two other cars, 12,046 miles, ~420 gallons, ~$1490 (not actually totaled yet)
Elec 8,112 kwh , ~$609 (estimated from latest tiered rates)
About 1 cubic foot of wood, no gas or oil,
Total Energy Cost ~$2910

 

Sorry, I was still updating after you responded.

This air source heat pump is much more efficient than was possible in the 70's, and is approaching the efficiency of ground sources units of not very long ago. Five years back when we used only resistance heat, and before I sealed some air leaks and upgraded the hot water appliances, this house averaged 10,600 kwh/year, and exceeded your house during three winters of the 1990s.

My next goal is to push annual energy below 7500 kwh, aiming towards 7000. The new frig (already six months old) and patio door will help, and I'm considering a heat pump water heater. The federal incentive expired, but the local incentive is continuing. Plumbing reroute is the main obstacle, and I'll be looking for updated performance data from the utility. One available model performs no better than straight electric in the climate.

 

In nj? How big is house (sq footage)? How many occupant ?

 

Good score on that washer. Can you triple-dip by getting something like a Washwise Rebate from your local utility? Fridge rebates might also be available, though likely smaller.

I put in a high efficiency washer and modern dishwasher just over five years ago. Along better air leak sealing of many plumbing and ceiling electrical penetrations, removal of south facing window screens in winter to improve solar heat gain, and probably a few more things, average annual consumption dropped to 9300. Modern low flow toilets also slashed water consumption and flushed much better than the old water hogs.

The spouse was skeptical about my desire for a new better / quieter / more efficient dishwasher. That resistance vanished the moment we pulled out the old one and discovered it was already a goner, the leakage just hadn't yet gone far enough to be discovered.

A better fridge was also desired, but we couldn't find anything that filled our 'want' list. But when the old one died over the summer, that list was quickly trimmed to fit available models. The Kill-A-Watt meter shows a 400 kwh/yr savings, though a portion of that is offset by increased heating need.

I had originally hoped for more savings from the heat pump, but also realized that some of it would evaporate as the thermostat was pushed up to accommodate aging metabolisms. We ended with a simultaneous ~1000khw/yr savings and warmer house.

 

I'm in south jersey too. Nat gas is $1.25 per therm + $9.22 monthly customer charge. I used 790 therm last year + cc = $1100. My teenage daughter like to take loooong shower and my 16 yr old 80% efficiency furnace is the culprit. Due for a 95% eff furnace replacement soon. Or maybe hybrid system.

As for gasoline, 20K miles total (both cars, Mercedes V8 & Camry 4) avg @ 22.5 mpg= 888gal @$3.50 =$3100. Should be less this year. MB got totaled, replace with a Prius.

I have solar panel, 1300 kwh surplus electricity last year. I will replace my gas range to electric in the near future when my 7 yr old hot-tub is done.

Total energy cost last year $4200ish
Should be less this year with Prius and even less in coming years with upgrade and changes to my house.

 

For my House in Maine (7500 HDD),
Heating: 2 cords of wood, $60
Hot water et al: 256 Gallons of propane, $923
Electric: 1186 kWh, $309
Prius: still working out numbers, ~$1200
Total: $2492

 

Brilliant numbers Corwyn. What energy source do you cook with ?

 

COuple of points,, first,, good on everyone for doing what they can! Next, solar hot water comes way cheaper wi th higher efficiency than PV, and ought to be considered before PV for best ener efficiency

I would also argue ( strongly) against converting any gas burning appliance to resistance electric, EVEN if you have excess PV. Depending on yOur net metering structure you might be on the hook for excess production, but from a green house gas production equation, selling your excess PV (or even giving it away!) so that it can be used to reduce the effect of conventional (coal fired?) electric generation. Resistance electric is singularly the least efficient heat source. It takes ~10 BTUs of generation to deliver a single BTU at the heater.

Icarus


PS. In our 6 month off grid house, we use ~.8kwh of PV supplied electic pe day. We also use about 10 gallons of propane per month, and 2 cords of wood. This is in far northern Ontario Canada

The rest of the year, we use ~10 kwh/ day, 1.5 cords of wood depending on where we are when. We also drive the Prius ~7000 miles per year, and a Subaru ~5-6000, we probably use ~250 gallons of propane for point source heat, demand hot water, suplimented by solar. Our biggest use is the shop and the hot tub,, a small 2 person model' that probably uses ~2 kwh/day. (in the off grid house we have a wood fired tub!)

Icarus

 

there's pleny of gas here, but not in my town. 2500 foot 60 year old cape, updated insulation, two empty nesters, keep heat at 64 day and 52 night. 800 gallons of heating oil last year, about 3 grand.