Well it paid off again. Small but nasty storm came through several hours ago. Power went off for a few seconds then came back on but a little flickering. Went totally off an hour ago, and the outage map says it will be back on in a few hours  Outage also says crews have been dispatched but the cause hasn't been identified. That means it will be off at least until the morning if not afternoon or evening. Already got the genny running, cords run, and my wife is enjoying the bedroom AC  I must have some timing because I picked up two NGK spark plugs from NAPA and changed the factory one out just this past week after finally getting a long enough 3/8ths extension. Feels good to have everything ready and days later here we are. |
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Originally Posted By swampfoxoutdoors: Did you ever figure out what was running your bill up so high? It's basically a house full of window AC units in the summer and all electric heating in the winter. Our break months are in the spring and fall when we don't have to run any type of heating or cooling or at least very little. We're getting an Indian Summer and we're supposed to be in the 90's the rest of the week. Unfortunately the Indiana utility body that is supposed to regulate the main power companies here just rubber stamps every price increase Duke or other providers rate increases they request, and we're paying about 40% more per KWH than we were paying less than 10 years ago. Since we are going into fall and winter my plan this year is to buy some sheets of 4x8 insulation and cut them to fit our windows and seal everything up as best as I can. I don't want to go through another winter of $700+ electric bills. |
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Originally Posted By Rebel31: It's basically a house full of window AC units in the summer and all electric heating in the winter. Our break months are in the spring and fall when we don't have to run any type of heating or cooling or at least very little. We're getting an Indian Summer and we're supposed to be in the 90's the rest of the week. Unfortunately the Indiana utility body that is supposed to regulate the main power companies here just rubber stamps every price increase Duke or other providers rate increases they request, and we're paying about 40% more per KWH than we were paying less than 10 years ago. Since we are going into fall and winter my plan this year is to buy some sheets of 4x8 insulation and cut them to fit our windows and seal everything up as best as I can. I don't want to go through another winter of $700+ electric bills. Inflation had led to price increases everywhere including electric and other utility rates. Prices aren’t going to get cheaper. I know nothing about how your house is laid out but if I was in your situation, I’d be looking at mini splits. They aren’t for every situation but do work very well for many situations. I have installed a few of them in different houses. As a matter of fact, I installed another one for a friend yesterday. If you are handy and have the tools, they are easy to install. Most expensive tool I have for installing minis is the nitrogen tank. I always flush with nitrogen and pressure test with nitrogen. You can install without the nitrogen though. It’s just a better install with it. I did one for a friend a couple years ago. Small two story cabin. It had about 16k btu worth of window units before. We put in a dual head 18k mini split. Before the mini split, the window units would struggle to keep the house cool in the daytime. Now with the mini split, it has no issues at all keeping the house at the set temp. Bonus….his electric bill dropped by about 1/2. And, he used to heat with electric heaters. The mini also provides heat so his winter electric bill dropped by about 2/3. The mini splits I’ve been installing are Pioneer brand. Been very happy with them. The one I installed yesterday is their newest hyper heat unit. It’s rated to heat down to -22F. Their Quantum units are rated to heat down to -13F. Bear in mind…while they will be heating at those low temps, your house will need a lot more heat while the mini splits won’t be moving as much. IN is a pretty cold area so mini splits most likely will not totally eliminate your need for resistance heating. But, it would greatly reduce your need for resistance heating so you would likely see a very large reduction in electric costs. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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Originally Posted By Rebel31: Since we are going into fall and winter my plan this year is to buy some sheets of 4x8 insulation and cut them to fit our windows and seal everything up as best as I can. I don't want to go through another winter of $700+ electric bills. We installed heavy-duty weatherproof insulated magnetic doors on our two back doors, and a lighter weight model between the garage and laundry room since it's protected from the elements. They have helped immensely with keeping heat in the house, especially because one of our rear doors faces the prevailing wind so opening it would let a blast of cold air into the house that you could feel in the next room. That doesn't happen any more. |
Heller II - Challenging DC's bans on semi-automatic rifles, large-capacity ammunition feeding devices, and its onerous and expensive handgun registration process. http://www.HellerFoundation.org/
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Thanks for sharing OP, many here appreciate your lessons learned during a shitty situation, I personally respect that. My only comparison was less financial and more about a retarded public utility. Our home was on a well, but the VA load required that if we could be on city water, it had to on city water which the previous owner hooked up. Water payments were an odd part of the month; cash, check, or money order and they had to be physically dropped off at their downtown office which we really never went to. No payment, the next day your water was shut off. It was fucking infuriating to the point I had my FIL help get our well/pump back online and cut the public water off permanently. I hope things get worked out for you to avoid this in the future, but the lessons learned are quite valuable. We had a little under three weeks with no power after Hurricane Helene. I was running two generators, the primary running the water pump and larger utilities, the smaller one was just running a portable AC (before it died) and fans at night as well as charging the “solar charger” batteries. Yeah, fueling, oil changes, extension cords, power management, etc. can be both overwhelming and a PITA, but once you get a battle rhythm going, it really wasn’t that bad. My wife purchased one of those Camplux 12V tankless water heaters. We had water pressure, but my generators couldn’t run both the water heater and pump so the tankless water heater was simply in the bathroom intake hose in a buck that the tub filled and solar generator (12V power source) and propane tank for heat were rigged up to take regular hot showers. It was great when we didn’t have power but needed to go back to work on-premise. I’m kind of glad I didn’t’ go the full house generator as we are planning to move next year. I now have two 4500/5000w generators and our smaller travel 1500w generator. I kind of like unleaded fuel generators even though one of my generators can also be set up for dual fuel (propane), which will run one on gas and the new one-off propane. Fuel was a big issue. I normally only keep about 40-50 gallons on hand and rotate, but mostly for other gas engine stuff. I now have the capacity to store about 100 gallons, which will get rotated and drained for the move next year. I will have to figure out storage at the new home (already did a walk through over labor-day and our offer goes in this next spring; the lady is holding the house for us which is crazy). Anyways, power management is important and you quickly learn what’s needed (like water) and what is tolerable. We opened the windows and ran the fans during the day (even late September was hot as hell in GA), small AC unit at night. Maximizing generator loads is important as well. We only ran the generator twice a day for about 2-4 hours depending on what was the priority. We only washed clothes twice during the 18 days, but when we did and generators were all running, you’re taking showers, running the coffee grinder, charging all the batteries, devices, phones, solar generators, lights, etc. The portable solar generators are great for small electronics in the evening when we could shut the generators off Don’t forget to keep a good stock of oil, sparkplugs, filters, etc. on hand. Also I found my wife struggled with the 5 gallon fuel cans, so I now have a few 2.5 gallon cans which are easier for her to manage. Great thread for those who appreciate it. ROCK6 |
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants" - Thomas Jefferson
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Originally Posted By ark-and-spark: That sounds pretty awful. FPNI We did it for 8 days after Helene. Gas ain’t cheap and a pain to fill up. Bathed in the pool. |
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
  Failed To Load Product Data These work pretty well and the price is right. I keep two of these around the house. One for fuel and one for water. |
"Some of the greatest dads I've ever seen weren't so much perfect as they were willing to work hard to overcome their failings. Does that make sense?"
Yes. Yes it does.
Yes. Yes it does.
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Originally Posted By JerzeyTransplant: Consider alternate heating methods in addition to identifying and fixing drafts/energy leaks. If you have kerosene available to you (from a pump/ not the jugs) it can be a great supplement with the tower type heaters. Another option is a 99% propane space heater or fireplace. |
"...One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for All."
NEVER FORGET 9-11-2001 I am STILL pissed off.
NEVER FORGET 9-11-2001 I am STILL pissed off.
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I have a 3k sqft house built in the early 2000s with 2 HVAC units, 2 stories, and a pool running. In the dead of summer with 100+F days I dont have bills that high or that much usage. OP like others have said you need to nail down all your power consumption items and start to weed through them for better alternatives. Including things like fans, window coverings, etc. What you are paying in electricity would go a long way in efficiency improvements. You got to treat your power consumption like a budget. Look into DIY mini split, gas/wood heat, maybe even some solar. But that all only goes so far unless you work on efficiency improvements - even small ones. |
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Originally Posted By JerzeyTransplant: Consider alternate heating methods in addition to identifying and fixing drafts/energy leaks. If you have kerosene available to you (from a pump/ not the jugs) it can be a great supplement with the tower type heaters. Have you priced kerosene lately? It moves up with diesel. Even at the pump it’s usually higher than diesel. Even electric resistance heating is cheaper than kerosene at the moment in many places. Depends on your kerosene and your electric rates though. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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I would look in to a pellet stove if you don't have easy access to wood, if you do have access to wood a wood stove. I have a heat pump that works, and I still burn 2-2.5 cords of wood a year, but I have 5 acres of oak trees. |
"I am gonna laugh my ass off looking out the air vent of the box car watching some of you shot in the head in a ditch when you finally realize it's time to resist." stolen from RR_broccoli
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Originally Posted By StaccatoC2: I would look in to a pellet stove if you don't have easy access to wood, if you do have access to wood a wood stove. I have a heat pump that works, and I still burn 2-2.5 cords of wood a year, but I have 5 acres of oak trees. I’m not opposed to pellet stoves but pellet prices have jumped in the past few years. We used to have a pellet stove in a past house and we liked it. But pellets are a lot more expensive than they used to be. Still, probably cheaper than oil heat! If you live near a place where pellets are made, see if you can buy from a manufacturer. Friend of mine buys pellets by the pallet from a local manufacturer cheaper than he can buy them in any local store. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt