Electric Bills Expected to Rise

[Midpack]

We haven't run our AC yet (we're in Chicago) and summer is almost half over--take that, electric company! Our new $12 Walmart window fan in the bedroom is doing the trick at night--it blows hot air out until we go to bed, then we turn it around and it blows cooler air in. Bonus is the white noise. Suppose it gets a little too warm in Texas to rely on this method....

We're also in Chicagoland and the temps have been amazing, literally only about 3 hot days so far this entire year - and even then only in the low 90's (unlike to 110+ days I've noticed in AZ and SoCal). And winters here seem to be getting easier every decade. If global warming really is on, I am betting we're going to be sitting on some of the most valuable real estate in the country in time. The south/southwest will simply become unbearable.

 

[NW-Bound]

...(unlike to 110+ days I've noticed in AZ and SoCal). The south/southwest will simply become unbearable.

Yeah, rub it in my sunburnt skin...

I have two residences, one in the desert where jobs are, and the second one in the high AZ country (7000ft, cool in summer, COLD in winter with lows in the single digits, and often negative). The mountain home would make a nice main residence, in fact costs more than my desert home. Many AZ residents have the same arrangement to become snowbirds within the state. This was also my original intent, but oh, the costs, the costs...

I thought about consolidating into just one residence to save cost. The problem is in finding a suitable place with a year-round moderate temperature, AND ALSO affordable. Haven't found that yet, and may just give up.

The above is a prelude to the main point which I will say. Solar cooling is still expensive, but solar heating is TRIVIAL. I am experimenting with the latter in my mountain home. In the last energy crisis, there was much published literature on solar heating, but then it died out. Will we see a revival of that soon?

 

[ERD50]

Solar cooling is still expensive, but solar heating is TRIVIAL. I am experimenting with the latter in my mountain home. In the last energy crisis, there was much published literature on solar heating, but then it died out. Will we see a revival of that soon?

I think energy will need to get more expensive yet, or alternative energy cheaper. There are so many things that I see that I could do to save on energy costs - but they all cost more than the energy, would wear out, probably break, reduce the resale value of the house, etc, etc...

Now, if you built a house from the ground up with excellent insulation, properly designed air exchange units, and as much passive solar heating/cooling as possible (properly sized overhangs, windows in the correct orientation), it might work for you. I just don't think we are there yet.

-ERD50

 

[Marquette]

It got up to 85, almost sort of. I was dying outside here. I don't know how you southern people do it. Luckily the people we're staying with love to run the AC so I'm safe inside.

 

[harley]

I think energy will need to get more expensive yet, or alternative energy cheaper. There are so many things that I see that I could do to save on energy costs - but they all cost more than the energy, would wear out, probably break, reduce the resale value of the house, etc, etc...

Now, if you built a house from the ground up with excellent insulation, properly designed air exchange units, and as much passive solar heating/cooling as possible (properly sized overhangs, windows in the correct orientation), it might work for you. I just don't think we are there yet.

-ERD50

We just finished and moved into our dream home. My wife did the design and decorating, but I threw my 2 cents in on the tech side. We put in geothermal heating and cooling, with heat recovery ventilation, and a doodad that captures waste heat (when cooling) and uses it to heat the water for free. It's pretty cool. We insulated as best we could, and got quality windows. I looked into solar shingles, but the ROI seemed a long way down the road, plus with all the salt spray they get dirty andefficiency drops quickly.

We just moved from VA to MD, and I've only gotten a couple bills. I'm really curious if the savings are as advertised. They seem a little high, but I think MD prices are a bit higher. My old bills are still in storage, but next week the POD comes. Soon after that I'll do a comparison. Hope it was worth it.

Harley

 

[ERD50]

We just finished and moved into our dream home. My wife did the design and decorating, but I threw my 2 cents in on the tech side. We put in geothermal heating and cooling, with heat recovery ventilation, and a doodad that captures waste heat (when cooling) and uses it to heat the water for free. It's pretty cool. We insulated as best we could, and got quality windows. I looked into solar shingles, but the ROI seemed a long way down the road, plus with all the salt spray they get dirty andefficiency drops quickly.

We just moved from VA to MD, and I've only gotten a couple bills. I'm really curious if the savings are as advertised. They seem a little high, but I think MD prices are a bit higher. My old bills are still in storage, but next week the POD comes. Soon after that I'll do a comparison. Hope it was worth it.

Harley

Meant to reply to this sooner, but...

The changes you made seem like good ones, I suspect you'll get a decent payback, esp if energy continues to rise.

I'm curious about the heat recovery ventilation - I've googled a bit in the past, and they seem expensive. But the idea makes a lot of sense to me. Seems these could get pretty advanced - draw in outside air and heat it with exhausted air while in heating mode; draw in cool air in the summer if the humidity is low, etc. This could be more automatic than opening and closing windows, and could provide filtered air to keep the house cleaner, or help with allergies.

Does your recovery system do any of that?


-ERD50

 

[Patrick]

I looked into solar shingles, but the ROI seemed a long way down the road, plus with all the salt spray they get dirty andefficiency drops quickly.

Doesn't the dirt get rinsed off the next time it rains?

 

[samclem]

I'm curious about the heat recovery ventilation - I've googled a bit in the past, and they seem expensive. But the idea makes a lot of sense to me. Seems these could get pretty advanced - draw in outside air and heat it with exhausted air while in heating mode; draw in cool air in the summer if the humidity is low, etc. This could be more automatic than opening and closing windows, and could provide filtered air to keep the house cleaner, or help with allergies.
-ERD50

When I was looking into this for our house, I found this thing.
Smartvent® Home Ventilation Products
It looks like an interesting approach, and considerably cheaper than an HRV. I like the positive pressure idea (it might help us with our slifght radon problem, would help keep dust out, etc), and I'm sure it increases indoor air quality. I'd need to figure out the costs (of loss of conditioned air) from running the thing. The documentation also indicated that it measures outdoor humidity, but I would think it would also need to measure indoor humidity in order to be truly "smart."

 

[Brat]

I happened to catch a comment that the Silicon Valley is concerned about the capacity of the power grid to transmit what we need. That fits with a comment I heard that the windmills around the Columbia River generated more kw than the system could handle recently.

Consider for a moment how much electric cars will add to the transmission load. Jeesh, there is a lot of infrastructure to consider.

We were pick'n at Picken's possible self interest in the high voltage lines in Texas... Now I will not only give him the benefit of the doubt, I am willing to give him a whole truckload of credit for getting us off our national... arses.

 

[Tadpole]

We just finished and moved into our dream home. My wife did the design and decorating, but I threw my 2 cents in on the tech side. We put in geothermal heating and cooling, with heat recovery ventilation, and a doodad that captures waste heat (when cooling) and uses it to heat the water for free. It's pretty cool. We insulated as best we could, and got quality windows. I looked into solar shingles, but the ROI seemed a long way down the road, plus with all the salt spray they get dirty andefficiency drops quickly.

We just moved from VA to MD, and I've only gotten a couple bills. I'm really curious if the savings are as advertised. They seem a little high, but I think MD prices are a bit higher. My old bills are still in storage, but next week the POD comes. Soon after that I'll do a comparison. Hope it was worth it.

Harley

It is my understanding that the MD electric bills were held down by the MD government and that we are due for a rapid increase now that those arrangements are expiring.