7 votes

How to calculate maximum demand charge from appliance wattage

Update: Use this plan to mine bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Beware: sharp spikes This billing scheme is covered with sharp spikes. It'll be practically impossible for average consumers to ...
3 votes

How can I predict now the heat sinks that will appear in winter?

The general principle to use is that actual air leaks are a lot worse than just having poor insulation. Look around your doors, windows, plumbing, attic/basement/crawlspace access hatches, fireplace, ...
  • 2,492
2 votes

How much power/electricity should my central air's blower fan use?

It is very unusual but not unheard of to have a furnace hooked up to a heat pump. Usually you would have an air handler and air handlers usually have backup electric heating strips. These heat strips ...
  • 1,571
2 votes

How can I estimate the percentage of electricity (bill) is due to heating and cooling?

Your method works to a first approximation. One big assumption is that you had no (or little) costs to heat and cool during that smallest-bill month of May. The other big assumption is that all of ...
  • 8,714
2 votes

Home energy monitoring in split floor with one compressor

To add to @crip659 and @LSHaver's comments, unless there's a huge difference in other electronics connected, that A/C is probably your biggest electricity consumer, so dividing by floor space (which ...
  • 2,372
2 votes

How can I predict now the heat sinks that will appear in winter?

My answer is old school but it has worked for me many times. Get a roll of that semi clear plastic and tape a piece to the entire inside window frame, basically sealing it. Any air leaking will either ...
  • 68.9k
1 vote
Accepted

How can I predict now the heat sinks that will appear in winter?

One way is to heat the whole house so it is above the outside ambient temperature, say 24 degrees C, then use a thermal camera to take pictures of the outside walls and roof surfaces of the house. ...
  • 24.1k
1 vote

Where can I find the U-factor (U-value) for a Pella window?

As with most items, there are good, better and best. With Pelli, you can break that down into another hundred parts or so. Background: In the construction industry, most items (locks, carpet, ...
  • 22.8k
1 vote

Does a storm door help prevent heat loss?

I'm going to disagree with the other answers and say that a storm door will provide a very marginal insulation ability. It may not even be worth your time depending on what your actual problems are. ...
  • 27.1k
1 vote

Does a storm door help prevent heat loss?

If you replace the door with another wooden door with a single pane of glass, you won't see any significant benefit. Unless you go to an architectural salvage yard, you'll probably have a difficult ...
  • 37.2k
1 vote

Does a storm door help prevent heat loss?

Does a storm door help prevent heat loss? Yes, unequivocally. The closed storm door traps a pocket of air between the screen and entry doors. That trapped air significantly slows heat transference ...
1 vote

How should I insulate my partially finished, currently uninsulated basement?

I have a similar setup as you. Same Climate Zone (Georgia, USA) and similar type of basement and walls. Since the vapor barrier could cause water condensation in the wall if you go with drywall, you'...
  • 111
1 vote

The best device to measure instantaneous energy usage

Without a doubt, it is the Kill-A-Watt meter. You want to measure Watts. And also Watt-hours. Here is what they look like: They are available from many vendors. Worth every penny. Every brand ...
  • 1,999
1 vote
Accepted

How to calculate maximum demand charge from appliance wattage

The question asks how 30-minute demand is measured and how a 2790 W dryer contributes. There are actually quite a few number of methods for measuring demand, based on old electromechanical meter ...
  • 452
1 vote

How to calculate maximum demand charge from appliance wattage

Rather than hit you with the "peak" demand charge (your maximum draw, instantaneously, at any point in the month) the power company is offering a bit of a break for short-term loads, or short-term ...
  • 166k
1 vote

What is the correct Air Flow change per hour for my house?

Building Air Standard (BAS) is sometimes referred to as BAS - ACH This appears to be a (I begin to think deliberately, after quite a few vague web results) slippery number to track down, but it ...
  • 166k
1 vote
Accepted

Why is the upstairs a lot hotter in a 2 story duplex?

A lot of good suggestions were given, but in my case it ultimately was two things: Poor insulation - the energy audit found the insulation was about 8 to 10 inches too low for our area. Given the age ...
  • 151

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