$42.37 PG&E for August

[Valley Oak]

We just got a bill for $42.37 from PG&E for our energy use for the month of August.

I'm posting this to find out what other people's experience is regarding their energy costs. We are a family of three (mom, dad, & teenage child). Our house is roughly 2,000 square feet, including the garage.

We are working as hard as we can to keep our energy consumption down as low as possible and would also like to know what methods other people are using to keep theirs down as well.

Thank you,

Edward

[ThePhiant]

We just got a bill for $42.37 from PG&E for our energy use for the month of August.

I'm posting this to find out what other people's experience is regarding their energy costs. We are a family of three (mom, dad, & teenage child).

Edward,
I am surprised that your mom and dad put you in charge of the PG&E bill
is this for a schoolproject?

ours is $47.08, that is for me, 2 children and 2 roommates

[Valley Oak]

I'm very impressed! How do you do it? Do you use compact fluorescent bulbs? On demand water heater? Insulation? Doorway weatherstripping? Energy efficient appliances? Solar energy? Double pane windows?

Thanks,

Edward



Edward,
I am surprised that your mom and dad put you in charge of the PG&E bill
is this for a schoolproject?

ours is $47.08, that is for me, 2 children and 2 roommates

[ThePhiant]

hope this helps

I'm very impressed! How do you do it?
Do you use compact fluorescent bulbs? -yes
On demand water heater? -no, but waterheater doesn't heat without demand
Insulation? yes
Doorway weatherstripping? -some
Energy efficient appliances? -yes
Solar energy? -no
Double pane windows? -yes
woodstove -yes

[saysni]

Edward,
That does not seem like an unreasonable power bill for the sq.ft. and number of people. Don't forget your useage can remain the same (or even less) and your bill can still go up! Can you say rate increases? I'm guessing once winter sets in you're up in the +/-$100 range, also not 'unreasonable' (though hardly 'enjoyable') for typical non-solarized CA home. Your biggest energy hogs are (in descending order?): teenagers, hot tubs, AC/electric heat, electric stoves, well pump, reefers, water heaters, and lighting. Evil sucking vampires also exist in appliances that are 'off' (tv's, vcr/dvd's, power cords (phone, computer), etc. Use power strips on those appliances to really turn them 'off'. Use flourescent lighting. Raise/lower thermostats. Open/close windows. Add attic insulation - ad nauseum, etc. It's good you're paying attention but i'm pretty sure you are on the lower end of the consumption bell curve. Now, if you could just get the g*d*mn*d kid to turn off the lights and close the doors...!
We just got a bill for $42.37 from PG&E for our energy use for the month of August.

I'm posting this to find out what other people's experience is regarding their energy costs. We are a family of three (mom, dad, & teenage child). Our house is roughly 2,000 square feet, including the garage.

We are working as hard as we can to keep our energy consumption down as low as possible and would also like to know what methods other people are using to keep theirs down as well.

Thank you,

Edward

[Valley Oak]

Well, we don't have a hot tub (although I certainly wish we did, especially for parties), we don't use electric heating because we have a gas furnace to heat the house, we DO have a well pump, I don't know what you mean by "reefers" because I always thought you only smoked those, we have an on demand water heater which saves A LOT of money, we use compact fluorescent bulbs, the power strip idea is a good one and I'd never heard of it before, we have a digital thermostat and we can program the heating pattern of the furnace even while we are away from home during the day, we don't have a TV set, our DVD player is a drive in our computer where we watch movies, we do have a cordless phone (and all cordless phones use electricity), our house is insulated.

We can't get rid of the teenager, though, unless there is a local flea market where I can sell it off or auction it off. Do you know what the starting bid price might be for teenager?

I'm glad to know that we are on the lower end of the curve although I don't want to stop there. Not all of our windows are double pane but that is a huge investment that we can't make now and won't be able to for a long time. Replacing all of the windows of your house with double panes is a great energy saver but it costs thousands of dollars, anywhere from $10k to $20 or more, depending on your dwelling. Correct me if I'm wrong, please (and also tell me what company you would recommend for the installation).

Thanks!

Edward


Edward,
That does not seem like an unreasonable power bill for the sq.ft. and number of people. Don't forget your useage can remain the same (or even less) and your bill can still go up! Can you say rate increases? I'm guessing once winter sets in you're up in the +/-$100 range, also not 'unreasonable' (though hardly 'enjoyable') for typical non-solarized CA home. Your biggest energy hogs are (in descending order?): teenagers, hot tubs, AC/electric heat, electric stoves, well pump, reefers, water heaters, and lighting. Evil sucking vampires also exist in appliances that are 'off' (tv's, vcr/dvd's, power cords (phone, computer), etc. Use power strips on those appliances to really turn them 'off'. Use flourescent lighting. Raise/lower thermostats. Open/close windows. Add attic insulation - ad nauseum, etc. It's good you're paying attention but i'm pretty sure you are on the lower end of the consumption bell curve. Now, if you could just get the g*d*mn*d kid to turn off the lights and close the doors...!

[ThePhiant]

eddie,

double paned are a double pain
they fail after 10-15 years (ask for the guarantee)
they fog up and you get to replace them again.
just get the thick curtains
or a smaller house
what do you 3 need 2000sq feet for?


Well, we don't have a hot tub (although I certainly wish we did, especially for parties), we don't use electric heating because we have a gas furnace to heat the house, we DO have a well pump, I don't know what you mean by "reefers" because I always thought you only smoked those, we have an on demand water heater which saves A LOT of money, we use compact fluorescent bulbs, the power strip idea is a good one and I'd never heard of it before, we have a digital thermostat and we can program the heating pattern of the furnace even while we are away from home during the day, we don't have a TV set, our DVD player is a drive in our computer where we watch movies, we do have a cordless phone (and all cordless phones use electricity), our house is insulated.

We can't get rid of the teenager, though, unless there is a local flea market where I can sell it off or auction it off. Do you know what the starting bid price might be for teenager?

I'm glad to know that we are on the lower end of the curve although I don't want to stop there. Not all of our windows are double pane but that is a huge investment that we can't make now and won't be able to for a long time. Replacing all of the windows of your house with double panes is a great energy saver but it costs thousands of dollars, anywhere from $10k to $20 or more, depending on your dwelling. Correct me if I'm wrong, please (and also tell me what company you would recommend for the installation).

Thanks!

Edward

[Dynamique]

I don't know what you mean by "reefers" because I always thought you only smoked those,

Reefer, in this case, is short for refridgerator. It confused me too for a moment!


We can't get rid of the teenager, though, unless there is a local flea market where I can sell it off or auction it off. Do you know what the starting bid price might be for teenager?

You'll probably have to pay someone to take the teenager. But be assured that in 5-8 years, you'll be glad you stuck with it and made the investment.

I'm glad to know that we are on the lower end of the curve although I don't want to stop there. Not all of our windows are double pane but that is a huge investment that we can't make now and won't be able to for a long time. Replacing all of the windows of your house with double panes is a great energy saver but it costs thousands of dollars, anywhere from $10k to $20 or more, depending on your dwelling. Correct me if I'm wrong, please (and also tell me what company you would recommend for the installation).

There is a miniscule federal tax rebate available if you purchase the windows before the end of 2007. Unknown if they have to be actually installed in order to get the rebate.

If you're reasonably handy, you can install them yourself; otherwise, you are at the mercy of a hired contractor. We decided to completely replace the sash (demolish back to the rough opening) rather than use the "over the top" method. Yes, it's more work, but the result is worth it. Still, it is a big job and expensive.

Do you have a fireplace? You might look into replacing it with a woodstove, a fireplace insert or plugging it up if you do not want to make and tend a fire on a regular basis. The old-fashioned open fireplace with masonry chimney sucks out more heat than it produces -- really a bad architectural "feature" that you should change or delete.

["Mad" Miles]

Dear Xango etc.

I think I know what a "duct boot" is, but what, pray tell, is a GFI?

Never mind! I can google with the worst of them. Ground Fault Interruptor, right?

https://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/gfi.html

Go solar! Passive and Photovoltaic. Unfortunately most of us can't afford it, just like them pesky double-paned windows.

Ed Begley Jr. has his exercise bike linked to a generator and batteries. He showed a picture on Thursday night's "Colbert Report". He claims fifteen minutes will power "a light or my laptop" for one day, or his refrigerator for "an hour".

(Paraphrased partial quotes from memory, please don't hold me to their accuracy, I've never had a functioning detail memory. Names, numbers, dates, statistics escape me. Concepts, sequences of events, faces, are easy for me to remember. The mystery of the mind, go figure.)

And keep in mind that when sealing it all up like a biosphere (remember the fiasco of Biosphere II?), if you live in a damp climate, like West Sonoma County in the winter, you're creating perfect living space for molds, viruses and bacteria. There's something to be said for air circulation. Not to mention the off-gassing of industrial chemicals that our modern building materials are full of.

Not a builder, just an inhabitor. My brother Ross is the builder, but he likes an ambient indoor temperature of around 60 degrees Farenheit during the "cold" season. Too austere for me!

"Mad" Miles

:burngrnbounce:

[Valley Oak]

"Mad," I LOVE the idea of bicycling for energy! I want to do this pronto! Do you or anyone here know exactly how I can set this up asap??? I need precise details, materials, etc.

Thanks,

Edward


Dear Xango etc.

I think I know what a "duct boot" is, but what, pray tell, is a GFI?

Never mind! I can google with the worst of them. Ground Fault Interruptor, right?

https://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/gfi.html

Go solar! Passive and Photovoltaic. Unfortunately most of us can't afford it, just like them pesky double-paned windows.

Ed Begley Jr. has his exercise bike linked to a generator and batteries. He showed a picture on Thursday night's "Colbert Report". He claims fifteen minutes will power "a light or my laptop" for one day, or his refrigerator for "an hour".

(Paraphrased partial quotes from memory, please don't hold me to their accuracy, I've never had a functioning detail memory. Names, numbers, dates, statistics escape me. Concepts, sequences of events, faces, are easy for me to remember. The mystery of the mind, go figure.)

And keep in mind that when sealing it all up like a biosphere (remember the fiasco of Biosphere II?), if you live in a damp climate, like West Sonoma County in the winter, you're creating perfect living space for molds, viruses and bacteria. There's something to be said for air circulation. Not to mention the off-gassing of industrial chemicals that our modern building materials are full of.

Not a builder, just an inhabitor. My brother Ross is the builder, but he likes an ambient indoor temperature of around 60 degrees Farenheit during the "cold" season. Too austere for me!

"Mad" Miles

:burngrnbounce:

["Mad" Miles]

Edward/Roble,

I googled Ed Begley Jr., he has environmental tips and a list of contacts (URL's provided) for his favorite local LA region groups. But nothing specific about his bicycle generator. Why don't you email him and ask?

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Good Luck.

Another option might be to talk to an electrician/electrical engineer. I'm sure the basic design is, well, basic. Attach the rear wheel to a belt that turns a wire coil inside a set of magnets and direct the generated current to a storage array of batteries.

Remember the old WWII movies where the island spotter for the allies powered his radio to communicate with U.S. and British ships while hiding out on Japanese islands in the South Pacific?

It's not exactly a new technology. But I suppose the details are more complex. And efficiencies have probably increased in the intervening years.

"Mad" Miles

:burngrnbounce:

[psaltz]

Something as simple as closing the lid on the toilet can help reduce the humidity in a bathroom.

This is also a surefire method of:

1) Keeping the dog from drinking out of the toilet.
2) Guaranteeing that the seat is always down for women users.

and most importantly:

3) Keeping your excrement and urine from showering all around the bathroom during a flush, including in your drinking cup and on your toothbrushes! Ew!

Why isn't everyone doing this automatically?

["Mad" Miles]

Hey Youse Ecofreaks!

I apologize for reviving a dormant thread but on Tuesday evening I stumbled across the first Community Market Farmer's Market and there was a guy there making smoothies with a blender powered by a bicycle.

I raised our question about electrical generating/storing tech using human/bicycle power (his set up was a basic mechanical transfer of energy, no electricity involved.)

He (sorry, I don't remember his name) suggested inquiring at Harbor Freight on Piner Road in Santa Rosa and also with Real Goods as to what technology and technology consultants (i.e. design engineers) are available regarding this question. (Those business names I wrote down.)


Edward, did you email Ed Begley Jr.? Has he gotten back to you?


And psaltz, if your water pressure is so high that when you flush your toilet it showers the contents of the bowl out into the room, well, maybe, at the least, you're wasting water? No toilet I've used in my fifty-one years has demonstrated this problem.

Well maybe some of those institutional crappers with the pressurized water and lever handles, but they don't have lids and I've learned to stand back.

What kind of super-flush technology are you using!!

Just how did a thread about electricity use and conservation turn into one about flying feces and piss?

Ah, the magic of Waccobb....


"Mad" Miles

:burngrnbounce:

[ThePhiant]

Eddie,

have you noticed that we are the only ones who are getting a PG$E bill?
or are we the only ones paying them?


We just got a bill for $42.37 from PG&E for our energy use for the month of August.

I'm posting this to find out what other people's experience is regarding their energy costs. We are a family of three (mom, dad, & teenage child). Our house is roughly 2,000 square feet, including the garage.

We are working as hard as we can to keep our energy consumption down as low as possible and would also like to know what methods other people are using to keep theirs down as well.

Thank you,

Edward

[ShapeShifter]

I have found a few things that work.

In summer or winter, close the blinds to keep the house cool or warm as needed, as it adds extra insulation to the windows. We have single pane, so it's helps a lot.

Switch to CFL bulbs instead of regular light bulbs.

Adjust your thermostat to a more narrow range, and wear layers, and add or peel as necessary.

that's my two cents.

Steven



Eddie,

have you noticed that we are the only ones who are getting a PG$E bill?
or are we the only ones paying them?

[Dynamique]

Has anyone tried those reflective films for windows that supposedly cut down on glare/heat entering the space in the summer and reflect/retain heat in the winter? If so, what was your experience?

[alanora]

Forgive my blending of several threads in my response. Micro sprays of human waste have been found as far as twenty feet from the flush and indeed found on toothbrushes etc. Closing the lid is a feng shui preventative for money going down the drain as well as reducing moisture/mold conditions in the bathroom. It is a habitual thing for me to close it and I have become aware that it is a difficult to alter thing for many other humans that may use the facilities. Part has to do with their knowing insistence that this desire for lid closing is a part of my germ phobic extremes resultant from neuroses as well as nurse training, and part is due to their habit pattern and stubbornness, very human traits. I also pay my electric bill and was not able to reduce as far this summer, only to about 22 where last year got to 17..rate increase? Meanwhile spoke to a relative in a two-bedroom apt. in Queens NY whose bill is closer to 200. Oh yeah, I remember, air conditioner! We can be greatful to live in a climate with fewer temperature extremes with which to contend while we weatherize. And remember where the bugs are mostly located...nothing like stepping on a waterbug the size of NJ on the way to the basement laundry and it seems those mosquitoes were larger, more plentiful, and more greedy back east. Every time my mind starts to think it might prefer a return to warmer climes I remember the bugs and get grateful again. Remember the no see ums at the coast..sand fleas...beautiful beaches littered with blue jellyfish swollen and drying and their sting. Never mind the parental unit who I am learning could be labeled as npd, explaining my earlier tendencies toward caretaking to the point of loss of self. What a wonderful world this wacco place. Mindy


This is also a surefire method of:

1) Keeping the dog from drinking out of the toilet.
2) Guaranteeing that the seat is always down for women users.

and most importantly:

3) Keeping your excrement and urine from showering all around the bathroom during a flush, including in your drinking cup and on your toothbrushes! Ew!

Why isn't everyone doing this automatically?

[tomcat]

Yes, I tried the reflective film on a large west facing window that let a lot of heat in on hot summer afternoons. It did help a bit, but not as much as I was led to believe. Still, every little bit helps.
The thing that I found to be MOST helpful was attic insulation. We used the blown in cellulose and did the job ourselves (takes 2 people) and it REALLY helped keep the house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.


Has anyone tried those reflective films for windows that supposedly cut down on glare/heat entering the space in the summer and reflect/retain heat in the winter? If so, what was your experience?

[don]

Just checked my August PG&E Bill ... $26.40 total for gas and electric :)))
Cheers
don

[Valley Oak]

Miles, below is the response I got from Ed Beagley.

By the way, did he date Meryl Streep? Did he get any nooky?

Edward
-------------

Edward,

To answer your question, I hooked up my exercise bike to my battery array in
1990 and it's still working great!

FYI, what made it fairly simple was having a battery array already in place.
(I need a good sized battery pack to store power for my solar electric
system on my house.)

But, you could hook up an exercise room that generates power instead of
using it, without having any solar set-up!

Check out:

https://www.econvergence.net/electro.htm

It's a company that sells the plans for the bike, or a unit fully assembled.

Also, the company that makes electric bikes for my show is going to start
making exercises bikes real soon!

That company is called Izzip, and they can be found on our website at:

www.livingwithed.net

And, our show is coming back!

We're on Monday nights now, starting August 27th at 10:30 PM on HGTV!

Good luck with this!


Ed
</pre>


Hey Youse Ecofreaks!

I apologize for reviving a dormant thread but on Tuesday evening I stumbled across the first Community Market Farmer's Market and there was a guy there making smoothies with a blender powered by a bicycle.

I raised our question about electrical generating/storing tech using human/bicycle power (his set up was a basic mechanical transfer of energy, no electricity involved.)

He (sorry, I don't remember his name) suggested inquiring at Harbor Freight on Piner Road in Santa Rosa and also with Real Goods as to what technology and technology consultants (i.e. design engineers) are available regarding this question. (Those business names I wrote down.)


Edward, did you email Ed Begley Jr.? Has he gotten back to you?


And psaltz, if your water pressure is so high that when you flush your toilet it showers the contents of the bowl out into the room, well, maybe, at the least, you're wasting water? No toilet I've used in my fifty-one years has demonstrated this problem.

Well maybe some of those institutional crappers with the pressurized water and lever handles, but they don't have lids and I've learned to stand back.

What kind of super-flush technology are you using!!

Just how did a thread about electricity use and conservation turn into one about flying feces and piss?

Ah, the magic of Waccobb....


"Mad" Miles

:burngrnbounce:

["Mad" Miles]

Edward,

Glad Ed got back to you.

As for his nocturnal peregrinations with Meryl Streep, why should I care? Celebrity gossip is just prying into the private life of rich people so an industry can make money. I don't know them, they're not my friends, why should I pay attention?

My approach to celebrity is that if I run into one in public, or private, and if I like their work, I might tell them so should an opportune moment arise. Otherwise they're strangers to me who are in the unfortunate position of having their private lives made public due to an illness endemic in most societies.

Have you read "Day of the Locust"? Nathaniel West got it right.

"Mad" Miles

:burngrnbounce: