CPS energy thermostat

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

New central A/C that is actually efficient. Can easily slice your kilowatt hours in half. Also did a bunch of little things like sealing gaps and such, but have noticed very little improvement, if any at all. Those will take a long time to pay themselves off. The new A/C unit paid itself off over a single summer

If people want to save energy (and cash), then don't use a heater in winter. Your body radiates a crap-load of heat already. Trap it under a few layers of clothing instead of paying though the nose for heat that rises to the ceiling anyways.

Gap sealing costs virtually nothing, so I'm not sure what you mean by it taking a long time to pay itself off. Also, gap sealing, unless the gaps are everywhere and/or large, is not the kind of thing you'll "notice", but you will notice it on your bill if you compare from year to year because it means your heater/cooler is not working as hard to maintain a set temperature since there's less air inflow from outside.

As for new a/cs, sure they are more efficient than older models, but they still use a lot of power - most units I see are rated at 5-8kW. So, it's still important to minimise time used, minimise volume of air conditioned, and set the thermostat as high in summer and low in winter as is comfortable in order to minimise energy consumption and bills.

If you want to see how much more efficient your new unit is, as a very rough guide (which doesn't account for seasonal differences or changes in your behaviour), compare this year's bills to last year and the year before, and the year before, etc. I think we should all do this as a way of reminding ourselves of what we are consuming, and also as a way of reminding ourselves that changes to behaviour and technology can minimise our energy consumption.

[Blake]

So, you agree it's a dumb thing to do, it's going to cost you money (and the environment both resource depletion and emissions), and yet you can't be bothered to set the timers properly, which will take you all of maybe 10 minutes? That's absurd.

I plan on setting them properly during the day thanks to your tip.

thanks

as for the night time, however, I'm not turning them off if we are home.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I plan on setting them properly during the day thanks to your tip.

thanks

as for the night time, however, I'm not turning them off if we are home.

Well done, and apologies for my slight acerbity in that last post. I was having a bad day, but there was no need to be sarcastic.

As for overnight, you can do that, but it will cost you money. If you go to bed at a reasonably regular time, and set the heater to come on 1/2 an hour before you get up, you won't notice the difference temperature wise, particularly if you zone it to the bedrooms. However, you will save 6-8 hours of the heater operating and that could be as much as 16kWh of electricity a night (probably an underassumption given that I'm assuming an 8kW heater operating for 15 moinutes an hour to retain the temperature you have set - it may operate a lot more than that. Want to work this out, if you are up one night record when the heater comes on and goes off for a few hours and average it), which at 15c/kWh (what we pay here) is $3.20 a night, about $300 a quarter, and $1200 a year (based o nthe assumptions above, which need testing). Up to you.

Last thing I'll suggest is why not try it out? And if 1/2 an hour before you get up isn't enough try an hour - adjust it accurately to your need, optimise the efficiency of both your comfort and the operation of the heater now. The reason I suggest this is that the pattern by which you use your heating/cooling is an ongoing thing - you might do the same for the next 20 years, needlessly cost yourself $20,000+ (energy prices are set to skyrocket over the next deacde), and you've also cost the community through potentially unnecessary depletion of a non-renewable resource, not to mention the environment. And please don't get the impression that I'm judging you here, because I'm not. I'm simply listing the potential consequences of your choices.

Good luck with it!

And if what I've told you makes sense to you, learn to explain it simply and tell others around you. Energy efficiency is an easy win for everyone.

PS Maybe I should come over there and start an household energy auditing business, and run seminars on how sustainability can save you money, make you happier, and lower your impact on the planet at the same time?

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Also to the guy who offered his expertise for saving energy, etc. I have a question. I too want to update my house for the purposes of sustainability, etc. (its not just the money), but I don't know where to start. Assume that everything needs upgrading, what are some things to start with. A prioritized checklist would be nice. Or if you know someone who I should talk to, I would be willing to do so too.

Sorry, missed this the first time.

In short:
1. Orientation - maximise the sun entering the house during winter (for you that would be the south face, here it is the north), minimise it in summer using eves, retractable awnings, deciduous trees, etc. Once sunlight enters a house it is absorbed by objects and re-emitted in the longwave IR frequencies, which glass is opaque to ie. once the heat is in, it's in and has to find another way out, which leads to...

2 Insulation - make sure it's at least 10' thick in the ceiling (the more the better), retrofit walls with insulation if they don't already have it (there are a number of blow-in products on the market), and then if you can (raised wood floors), insulate under your floor.

3. Gap, crack and passive vent sealing throughout the house (our houses are leaky, you won't suffocate). Use incense in each room to track back to the air movement through cracks you might not be able to see. Aslo gap seal doors to rooms you don't need to heat/cool and shut off the vents to those rooms (particularly bathrooms! Use radiant heat there, not a vent!).

4. Window coverings - the idea of window coverings is to trap the air at the window and stop any convective currents into the room. that means very well fitted (minimise gaps around sides, top and bottom of blind) insulating honeycomb, Holland or Roman blinds, or double-lined drapes with pelmets and velcro stuck around the frame so that you can seal it well.

There are many other things to talk about - skylights, choice of appliances, lighting, etc, but I need more specifics about the house.

Is there an extreme outdoor temp that would ever justify leaving the unit on it's lowest/highest settings in either summer or winter?

Is it possible for electronics to fry or for anything to get damaged from the house getting down to a freezing temp?

Not sure what you mean by the first question - can you clarify it?

As for second question, I'm sure extreme cold like -15C might affect some things, but no, the only possible problem related to cold that you might face is frozen water pipes. But then I've lived in a place where we regularly go to 0C to -5C in winter and we never had any problems with anything.