There are a few things I refuse to give up! During an Oklahoma 105 degree summer day, my air conditioner is running strong to cool my house! But we just found a great, and FREE, monitor to tell us what we are using each day! We contacted our electric company (Oklahoma Electric Cooperative) to question our last bill and they offered a daily usage monitor email each day to tell us what we used the day before.
So, yesterday I took the boys to the zoo and was out all day. Today we got the email showing our usage dropped 20 kwh because I turned the air conditioner off while I was gone!
I have never turned it off for a day because I was told it wasn't worth it. But I see now that it is! If you are gone during the day, turn off the a/c unit! It really will save you on your electric bill!
One more electric savings... the dryer. I use my dryer twice a week (about 4 loads). I noticed a spike in the usage on those days of about 10 kwh. To run the dryer twice, it takes half the kwh of electricity that it does to run your a/c all day! So today, my laundry day, will consist of hanging my clothes to dry, just to see what the savings is.
Just curious though, on the a/c, doesn't it have to run so much more to get back down to a comfortable temperature when you get home & turn it back on? The day you went to the zoo was not a 105-degree day; therefore, the a/c didn't have to work as hard when you came home. Our a/c went out for a day when it was in the 100's, and after being fixed the next day, it ran FOREVER to get back to a comfortable temp. I'd be curious to know what kwh we used that day.
ReplyDeleteI was always told that, but it isn't true! Yesterday wasn't 105, but we turned off the unit when we went to Texas at the beginning of August when it was 105. It was off for 3 days. It took a couple hours to cool down when we returned and our thermometer said it was 85 degrees when we got home. But we also have amazing insulation!
ReplyDeleteJon and his dad are a/c guys and said for most units, you need a programmable thermostat and just turn it up 5 or 10 degrees when you leave so it isn't running as hard while you're gone. You won't walk into a cold house, but it will still feel better than going outside in August.
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=12720
ReplyDeleteThis link will tell you about turning your thermostat down to save money
Our old house had a programmable thermostat & we always had it set to go down when we left the house. I definitely understand the value in that but just am not sold on completely shutting it off when we leave if it's super hot outside. It took way more than 2 hours to get to a comfortable temp. after just one day of no a/c on a very hot day. Our house was not built very well - we are finding this out the longer we live here, so I'm positive our insulation could use some improvement. We now do not have a programmable thermostat and DEFINITELY need one. It does help, however, that I'm home most of the time & can adjust as needed.
ReplyDelete