Energy Use

jkupcha · Nov 7, 2008

I live in Southern jersey and utility rates are pretty high here. I think after all the taxes and "social responsibility" fees are added in I pay .14/KWH. Anyway I got this cool gadget I attached to my panel and it tells me to the penny how much electricity I'm burning real time. Pretty darn accurate. I turned on the blower to my insert and it says its costing me .03/hr. Not too bad. Mostly though its an awareness thing so my wife and kids can actually get a feel for what their energy use costs.
Recommend the gizmo. It's called "The Energy Detective" and you can google it if it might work for you.
Anyway been pretty mild here this week in Jersey. Like 70 today so no burning this week. Thanks - Joe

husky455rancher · Nov 7, 2008

interesting ill have to check that out.

Wood Doctor · Nov 7, 2008

Cost Per Hour

You may wish to take a look at this table:

or the attached PDF of the same. My blower would be costing me about $.02/hr to run, and I'm strongly considering running it together with the wood stove to circulate the warm air throughout the house. Right now I'm 67 F upstairs and 77 F downstairs where the stove is.

John D · Nov 7, 2008

I just got one of these units this week. My brother has a few yrs experience with them,and he has one at his shop as well. They really work, where he used to work,the electric bill went from 8000 a month to 5000 a month on average. A yr after it was installed,they got hit with lightning one night,and no one noticed anything ,as nothing was damaged,the EBU unit saved the shops electric system from voltage spiking,the breaker tripped on the EBU unit though,and when the next months electric bill came and it was up 3000 over the previous month.The went to investigate,reset the breaker,and the next months bills were back around 5000 again.I have had the pleasure of meeting the owner/designer of this unit,and he is a stand up guy.Our utility rates here are thru the roof this yr,our utility co was granted a 41% increase this summer with oil prices so high,and it hasnt went down one cent,even though oil is way down. Im hoping this will help even 1/2 as much as it does on the big commercial 3 phase units.

http://www.ebunit.com/testimonials.html

husky455rancher · Nov 7, 2008

it dosent actually do anything other than monitor the usage correct? its up to you to see what draws electricity and shut it off. i guess you could actually go around and see what every little thing costs you to run.

mga · Nov 7, 2008

gees...natural gas is just a few cents more than wood.

jkupcha · Nov 7, 2008

husky455rancher said:
it dosent actually do anything other than monitor the usage correct? its up to you to see what draws electricity and shut it off. i guess you could actually go around and see what every little thing costs you to run.

Well the one I'm referring to doesn't. It is just awareness. Showing the kids what leaving the lights and TV on really costs.

The one I have is called "The Energy Doctor" or TED for short. you can google it to find its website. The other one mentioned above "ebunit" actually redistributes energy to save money. However it costs a a lot more.
The TED unit was $140 on ebay.

Joshlaugh · Nov 7, 2008

I have one, called a "Kill a watt" I paid $39 for it. You plug the appliance into it and than the KAW into the outlet. It tells you volts, kw, usage per hour, etc.

Wood Doctor · Nov 7, 2008

mga said:
gees...natural gas is just a few cents more than wood.

Interesting, isn't it? Natural gas prices were at $1.40/mcf this past summer and are about half that today.

Notice how NG follows fuel oil like a hawk and always undercuts it a twinge--just enough to get everyone on line whenever a pipeline happens to show up?

hickslawns · Nov 7, 2008

John D-Please keep us posted on your new unit. Very interesting concept. I know I burn wood to save money and I enjoy cutting, splitting,and being outdoors. I also know insulation and other energy efficient devices help to save money. I am not afraid to spend money if it saves me over the long haul. Do you mind telling us how much a residential model costs?

Jkebxjunke · Nov 8, 2008

Wood Doctor said:
You may wish to take a look at this table:

or the attached PDF of the same. My blower would be costing me about $.02/hr to run, and I'm strongly considering running it together with the wood stove to circulate the warm air throughout the house. Right now I'm 67 F upstairs and 77 F downstairs where the stove is.

a side benefit of running the fan is that you will filter the air too.

jkupcha · Nov 8, 2008

Joshlaugh said:
I have one, called a "Kill a watt" I paid $39 for it. You plug the appliance into it and than the KAW into the outlet. It tells you volts, kw, usage per hour, etc.

Yes the TED (The Energy Doctor) is exactly like the "kill-a-watt" but for the entire house instead of just one appliance. And the TED comes with software that tracks your energy usage in forms such as graphs, bars,pies, whatever you select. Points out high usage times and low usage. Kinda nerdy unless you an energy conserver freak like me.

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