Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [energy]

14 questions
27
votes
13 answers

Locating source of excessive energy use

Background Info: My house is all electric. Last month when I got my electric bill, I flipped. It was triple that of any month prior. Now I know the cold (heating) can affect this so I decided to turn my thermostat back, even though I never had to…
hack3rfx
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19
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6 answers

Why is my background energy usage higher in the first half of each hour?

I have a smart electricity meter, which reports half-hourly readings to my supplier. I’ve noticed that when I’m not in the property, there seems to be an oscillating pattern to my energy usage: the first half of each hour often has a higher power…
DavidH
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9
votes
5 answers

Will a whole house surge protector save energy?

I'm considering having an electrician install a whole house surge protector. The house gets 200 amps from the grid. The surge protector would protect appliances and the new electric car (a Leaf). Some manufacturers claim that their surge protectors…
David Levner
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6
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4 answers

Why has my electricity bill doubled?

In recent months, my electricity bill has been steadily going up, from 20% to 40% to, now, 100%. It's doubled. I don't see any appliance running continuously except several ceiling fans. All my appliances are regular, meaning what one would find at…
joehua
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2
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1 answer

Smart Energy Tracking / Metering Receptacle Outlet

I am searching for a power receptacle outlet that tracks and reports energy usage like a KillAWatt device but looks like a regular receptacle and connects to my WiFi so I can access it via phone app. The closest item to what I was looking for is an…
user1709730
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2 answers

Does an burnt out florescent lightbulb use the same amount of power as a new one does

Does a burnt out florescent light bulb use the same amount of energy as new florescent light bulb does
Bill Worthington
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1
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1 answer

Sharing solar energy

Solar installers have said that our flat-ish roof isn't going to work for panel installation. Our neighbor is building a new house that will have ample electricity generated by his panels. They are open to us joining forces and sharing the…
Barbara
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1
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3 answers

Much higher energy use, maybe due to an old electrical heater?

We had an 100% increase of power consumption last and this year. It is mostly the night-tariff, which we now consume 27'000 kWh The day-tariff is only around 2'500 kWh. First we thought this may be due to our new computers, but then the day tariff…
Tim
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1
vote
2 answers

Installing Neurio home energy monitor, can't get to service wires

I opened up my main panel and saw that there aren't actual wires coming into the main breaker as they describe in their installation video. The top half of my panel is behind the PG&E meter, so I suspect the wires coming from the street are behind…
Shygar
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0
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1 answer

Is it possible to make an "energy harvester" that drains old batteries?

I am currently looking at my stack of old batteries at home, did some measurements and found that most of them contain at least some energy left. I was then thinking. What is I could make a device with several mountpoints (holders for different…
Bob Ortiz
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0
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1 answer

What determines which heat energy meter is mine in a duplex?

I am specifically referring to meters for heat/AC energy. Our duplex has two meters, but when I went to submit our reading and create our account it said that the one with the lower reading was not the one attached to our bill. I assume that the…
Michele
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4 answers

Are individual electric heaters more efficient to operate than an electric boiler?

(Edited to provide additional info) My wife is looking to buy an old house (I'm guessing 19th century) that'll need a lot of renovating, including the heating system. Renovation works will include (some) insulation and modernisation of the electric…
RJVB
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0
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2 answers

Energy Consumption Per Month of Freezer

So, I am for the first time buying a freezer yet I am confused about the energy consumption. On the website, it has this sticker: I cannot work out if it means: "This appliance will consume 168kw per year" or "If used for a whole year, this…
Mark
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1 answer

Ridge Vents vs Gable Vents Energy Savings as a Percentage or $ Figure

I am having a new roof installed and there is an additional item Ridge Vents that I can add to the home - I currently have Gable Vents - no sofits. I understand that the gables need to be blocked and Sofits added so that there is no short circuiting…
Ken
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