what is your monthly power consumption in KW hours?
 

post in poll what your monthly power consumption is for your residence. I am trying to reduce our power consumption and costs for our house. I am curious as to where we sit compared to other people.

home = 1400 sqft.
live in the country with our own well and barn for animals

Monthly consumption averages 1200 KWh

Speedy:)

Our house is 1600 sq. ft..

We used 560 kw hours last month.

This month will be higher. The humidity has been very high and I've had to run the air to prevent condensation on the walls of our living room (which is in the half-basement).

Last month was 530kwh.

What type/size/voltage is your well pump(s)? They are big energy hogs if not the right size/voltage for the job. Refrigeration? Do you have a second reefer/freezer in the garage? What do you use for cooling/heating? Solar HWH is about $2500 (less if you source the parts yourself).

I think the voltage is 220 2 phase IIRC.
We have only 1 refrigerator.
heat with a propane furnace
cool with 2 X 10,000 BTU window A/C's
hot water heater is a 50 Gallon electric

I was thinking our consumption is real high. I unplugged every appliance in the house to check to see if we had a drain somewhere in a circuit but the meter didn't show anything.

Last month I switched to compact fluorescent lights throughout the house, garage and barn thinking it would make a big difference. Maybe saw a $10 reduction in the energy bill.

We do have a Mercury vapor light for outdoor farm lighting. It is about a 300W light. I am thinking about getting one of those new compact fluorescent outdoor lights.



Anybody else out in the country who can share their consumption?

Speedy:)

2100 sq ft

1186 KWh last month

Energy usage is so dependent on weather and region it's hard to compare unless you're neighbors.

Electric appliances that could be gas but aren't... :D
Stove
Oven
Clothes dryer
3 wall/window AC units 12k, 8K, 6K.

1350 sqft total
900 sqft air conditioned

709kwh last month
836kwh this month
1500-1700 during previous summer*
320-600 during winter

* This summer should be much lower since I replaced all the A/C duct work, insulated the attic more, and had the roof coated white.

844 kWH last billing period.

Averages about 744 to 868 kWH for March through Nov, then Dec/Jan/Feb can be 900 to 1180 kWH due to running the furnace. Surprisingly, the summer months when we may use central A/C (Jul/Aug) don't have any more kWH use than the spring or fall.

House is 3010 sq ft inhabited, plus basement.

You didn't ask about the appliances, but . . . gas range/oven, central heat/cool using gas furnace, conventional gas water heater, gas clothes dryer. Major electrical appliances are the clothes washer, fridge, separate freezer. Pacific NW climate. Family of four.

The only thing I've done to reduce energy use is switch to CFLs. Before it gets hot, I need to finish installing blackout blinds in the attic skylights, and install a one-room portable A/C unit there. That should allow us to avoid running the central A/C. I also need to go through and look for phantom loads. like the TV, computer, etc. I think our consumption could be lower.

Hmm...nothing seems out of the ordinary. The window A/C's could be pushing the kwh up. Have you considered a split system?

http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/wallmounted.htm

http://www.imagineenergy.net/shop.php?action=detail&id=55&PHPSESSID=8cbc30ce082 63de3848fcf436b62ac79

Here is a device to identify and measure phantom loads.

This is kind of a hijack, but since we're talking about home power . . .

Just for kicks, I updated the spreadsheet that tells me if its economic for me to have a solar PV system yet.

Currently I would need $24K of panels for a 20 year payback. Not for me, thanks.

When (1) I reduce our consumption 20%, (2) panel efficiency increases 10%, (3) panel cost ($/watt) decreases 50%, (4) conventional utility rate rises 10%, then I will need $9K of panels for a 7 year payback. OK, that will make sense.

I average about 500-600. I live alone, don't have A/C.

3,010 last month

Hard to compare just Electric bills, because some have gas heat, cooking, water heaters etc. My townhouse is all electric and we hit 2400 Kwh in the summer, thermostat at 78

My bill dated 5/20/08: 684 kwh, my house is 2,100 sqft.

Although I live in Fresno, CA (very hot in the summer), I haven't used the A/C yet. In fact, last year I only used the A/C for about a two week period when it was 105+. Since I installed a whole house fan, that's what I use most - it's much nicer than A/C as it's like having a constant mild breeze without blowing right on you like an occilating fan.

603kWhs last month; that's about $100 in San Diego county.

3000sqft, don't run A/C or heat unless it's really hot/cold, almost 100% CFLs, all phantom drains unplugged or switched off at power strip or switched power strip and good habit of keeping unnecessary lights off. Water heater is LPG, but everything else electric.

On months where I REALLY watch consumption, my bill is as low as $85.

I don't own a home, but i can post results from my fathers house.
5.5k sqft
average is around 900ish kwh or less, with usually a 1-2 month peak in the summer of about 2k

Lots of insulation, double pain windows, radiant floor heating (awesome), flow through water heater (terrible), and all doors are fully sealed from the outside.

2000 sqft 2 story house built in 1967.

In Dec, Jan, Feb, we run between 700 and 850.

In June, July and Aug we peak at about 2200-2300 usually in June, and then back down to 1500-1800 for the rest of the "summer"

So, my answer is "D. All of the Above"

I took an average over 2005 and 2006, and came up with 1253.

2300 sq foot two story house, with a jacuzzi and swimming pool. All electric (no gas piping in this part of town) so its going to be high.

I used 456 "peak" kw and 1041 "off peak" last month. Total of 1497kw all month long.

I schedule everything possible to run "off peak" to conserve energy and my bill. We hit 110 degrees, a record, two weeks ago so the A/C has been working hard but its set at 80 most of the time so doing what I can.

1,297 in April and it wasn't even hot. I have a pool and run the 1.5 hp motor 8 hours/day. Gas water heater and stove/oven plus pool heater, which we haven't used yet this year. I have a live in MIL who can't seem to turn lights off. I've been switching to CFLs over time.