HVAC, Electric Bill and Winter

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Cruiser Jimmy

Cruiser Jimmy

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Western Slope, CO
My heating and cooling for the season is purely electric, no gas. New HVAC system was installed in 2007 with a pretty high ser rating. I have a Honeywell programmable thermostat that is set for temps based on leave, return, wake, sleep. The heat pump and aux heat is used for the winter. The Midwest gets large fluctuation in temps due to the jet stream so the furnace is contently working to adjust throughout the week. I have the thermostat set at 68º for the heat, no higher.

I recently found a huge ventilation leak in my recirculating duct system right at the exit from the system. Fixed it after discovered that the crawl space was being heated as well as the main living area. The ventilation system is insulated on the delivery(crawl) and return(attic.) I resealed around the outside of the windows this fall.

There are only two people living in the house and I have just closed off registers and doors to rooms that are not being used. My neighbor's bill was $200 with a 4 person family and strictly electric heat. Larger square footage even.

1500 sq-ft ranch. Just got the bill from Duke this month and it's $0.4K+, WTF?
I say .4K because it feels like the bill is a thousand dollars.


Any HVAC people out there that could lend a tip or two?
Anything you found that helped bring the bill down?
Optimal settings on the thermostat? Something

Need help!!
 
Throw in a wood or pellet stove....wood is easier to get (providing you have a chainsaw and a truck or trailer..I mean your on Mud, so obviously you own both..silly question) but the chimney needs to be set up to vent a wood stove.

A pellet stove on the other hand requires a 4" pipe, in most cases, direct vent chimney(out the side of the house) and you could pick up pellets in your Prius.
 
If there was one leak in the ducts, there's probably more. Get an energy auditor to perform a duct blast test and blower door to assess any leaks in your home's exterior envelope (there's usually fed/state money to help you with this)

Insulation levels? Get at least R48 blown into your attic. Do you live on a slab? Is the floor insulated? Batts in walls are usually very s***tily installed, how are your windows? (Windows are last on the list though, seal up your house, insulate it, then get U .32 or lower glazing)

Also look at the rest of your habits, do you have an additional fridge/freezer? Efficient dryer? Switch to CFLs?
 
something is up with your system - the energy audit is a good one. When I built my house, I ended up calling in a favor from my home inspector and we did the blower door and used the camera to sense where the cold (or warm ) weather was coming in.

With my outdoor woodstove, I love the warm house - 70degrees all the time and my total utility bill for 4,000 square feet is $120 a month...winter, summer, whatever.
 
Trollhole said:
Heat pumps plain suck when it gets down below 32. If it's that cold a lot during a month expect to have those heat strips coming on a lot.
Click to expand...

snobdds said:
Yep...look into your heat pump.
Click to expand...

Another thing about heatpumps your not helping yourself setting back the temperatures when it's cold. Set at one temperature and leave it. Setting it back your almost surely using the electric $trips to bring the temperature back up. Try disabling the strips and see how the heatpump does on it's own and how much the strips are helping out.
 
electric heat must be a construct of the TVA
 
Living in the Past said:
Another thing about heatpumps your not helping yourself setting back the temperatures when it's cold. Set at one temperature and leave it. Setting it back your almost surely using the electric $trips to bring the temperature back up.
Click to expand...

THIS.

Read through this for some more details on what is happening.
 
Thanks all for the advice.

My system does a great job of holding the temp that I have set it at. I could make it 74º and walk around in shorts and a tee but I don't do that. The system is new in '07 and I've had maintenance preform annually.

I don't have heat strips in the house with the exception of one room, an addition that HVAC was not plumbed for.

I think the audit is in order right now.

My neighbor stated that they only use the aux heat and recirculated air method and the resulting bill was about $200. He turns the pump on when the temps dip below 32º. Aux can't keep up.
All this just got me to investigate and start looking into lowering the bill.

I'll let you know what I find out.
 
Cruiser Jimmy said:
Thanks all for the advice.

I don't have heat strips in the house with the exception of one room, an addition that HVAC was not plumbed for.

I'll let you know what I find out.
Click to expand...

Jimmy,

I'm pretty sure the heat strips being refered to are the aux heat elements in the heat pump itself not separate baseboard units. ;)

Good luck with your efforts.

Nick
 
zebrabeefj40 said:
I'm pretty sure the heat strips being refered to are the aux heat elements in the heat pump itself not separate baseboard units.
Click to expand...

Yes, the auxiliary heat strips in the furnace are the energy hogs.
 
If the first blast of air coming from your vent is warm chances are you have heat strips. Heat strip are common in cooler areas to keep the first blast of air coming from your vents cold.

A heat pump is basically a AC system run backward$. Most cases there is heat remaining in your coil when the unit shuts off. You can harvest the heat a few ways. One if your t-stat may have setting to keep your fan running once your comp shuts down, your unit could have setting on it to accomplish this also, or you can install a trigger when off adjustable relay in your unit on the fan relay (~$15). I use the trigger when off relay and my fan runs for 5 minutes in the winter and 7 minutes in summer (AZ) At the end of its timed cycle the heat air it is producing is still warmer then the temps inside the house.

Duct pressure testing can also find the loss causing high cost.

Does your power company offer different rate schedules? Talk with them and explain your issue. They can compare how your cost compares to others in the area.

Spend the time and walk around and look for any areas producing cold air. Something as simple as electrical outlet boxes can let a lot of cold air in.

Put your electric water heater on a timer. Most dont need the water heater heating water from 9PM-6AM. Water heater run ~$.45 / hour to run.

One of the fastest energy saving payback is LED lamps. Anywhere you have lights on for 5 hours a day you can pay for the cost of a LED lamp in about a year.

Most times if your house is heavy with thermo mass, block,stone, or brick thick wall you do not benefit from setting back your t-stat. At the end of the day after your heat has been set back all day if you can fell the coolness coming off you walls chances are you are not benefiting from a set back.

Good luck...I hate power companies FWIW:D
 
zebrabeefj40 said:
Jimmy,

I'm pretty sure the heat strips being refered to are the aux heat elements in the heat pump itself not separate baseboard units. ;)

Good luck with your efforts.

Nick
Click to expand...


Thanks Nick. Totally having brianfarts during posting is something I hate.:doh:
 
I have about the same size ranch style house built in 1967 and I have a oil furnace. The first year we owned the house we went thru almost 400 gallon of oil. Oil was 2 something a gallon so price wasn't that bad, and was alot cheaper compared to my parents electric heatpump.
The 2nd year(09) we owned it I bought 20 bags of the blown insulation from home depot and used the machine to blow it in and its about 10" deep or so and I changed the tstat to a digital unit and now we use about 150 gallons a year. I started finishing the basement in 2010 so I had the duct work replaced and its now taped in all the joints and covered with the bubble wrap insulation. House stays warm and the electric bill stays around $60 in the winter and goes up to $120 in the summer with the tstat set on 68.
 
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