Energy Savings - Revision history

Javier at 03:36, 14 April 2010

2010-04-14T03:36:34Z

LibraSun at 17:40, 3 August 2009

2009-08-03T17:40:08Z

LibraSun: /* How much money will Vera save me on my energy bill? */

2009-08-02T04:56:29Z

‎How much money will Vera save me on my energy bill?

LibraSun at 04:36, 1 August 2009

2009-08-01T04:36:33Z

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Micasaverde at 20:46, 13 October 2008

2008-10-13T20:46:04Z

Micasaverde at 20:45, 13 October 2008

2008-10-13T20:45:18Z

Micasaverde at 18:48, 10 October 2008

2008-10-10T18:48:18Z

Micasaverde at 23:52, 9 October 2008

2008-10-09T23:52:51Z

Micasaverde at 20:25, 9 October 2008

2008-10-09T20:25:08Z

Micasaverde at 20:24, 9 October 2008

2008-10-09T20:24:12Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:36, 14 April 2010
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		+	[[Category:User Instructions]]
	== How much money will Vera save me on my energy bill? ==		== How much money will Vera save me on my energy bill? ==

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 Electricity usage for the month of October, 2008: '''1,048 kWh'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Note the increasing kWh cost for each pricing tier)<br>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 0-100% of Baseline = 317.20000 kWh @ $0.11559<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; 101-130% of Baseline = 95.16000 kWh @ $0.13142<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; 131-200% of Baseline = 222.04000 kWh @ $0.22580<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; 201-300% of Baseline = 317.20000 kWh @ $0.31304<br>&nbsp; ''Over'' 300% of Baseline = 96.77500 kWh @ $0.35876<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Total bill '''$233.31'''
-For this family, '''reducing energy usage by ''23%''''', to 809 kWh, '''would reduce their bill by ''1/3''''', to $153, because any energy savings come off the ''highest'' rate. Look at your utility bill to find the highest electricity rate you are paying. In this case, keeping that 100 watt light ''off'' would save the familiy $25.20 per month.
+For this family, '''reducing energy usage by ''23%''''', to 809 kWh, '''would reduce their bill by ''1/3''''', to $153, because any energy savings come off the ''highest'' rate. Look at your utility bill to find the highest electricity rate you are paying. In this case, keeping that 100 watt light ''off'' would save the family $25.20 per month.
 Note that the utility company in this example has set the "baseline usage" at 317 kWh of electricity, which translates to 440 watts used over the course of a month. That means if this family left five 100-watt lights burning all month, they'd use ''more ''than their baseline and begin paying premium rates&nbsp;for any electricity usage beyond 317 kilowatt-hours.
 Here are some common household items and how much electricity they use, along with what it would cost per month, at the premium rate, if they were left on all the time. (Of course, the air conditioning unit would likely not be running 24/7, even if it was left on, because once it got the house to the set temperature it shuts itself automatically.)
@@ Line 101: / Line 101: @@
 |}
-In this example, we only looked at three simple ways Vera can reduce energy usage, and for the California family described here using 1,048 kWh in electricity, and paying $233/month, '''''Vera would save around $90/month, well over 1/3'''''. If you were considering a software-based home control system that runs on a PC, note that leaving the PC computer on all month can cost between $20 and $90/month in electricity if you're already in the premium rate category, and will use up a lot of the energy you saved. Vera uses only $1.50 of electricity a month and does the same thing, a fraction of that used by even the most power-efficient laptops.
+In this example, we only looked at three simple ways Vera can reduce energy usage, and for the California family described here using 1,048 kWh in electricity, and paying $233/month, '''''Vera would save around $90/month, well over 1/3'''''. If you were considering a software-based home control system that runs on a PC, note that leaving the PC computer on all month can cost between $20 and $90 per month in electricity if you're already in the premium rate category, and will use up a lot of the energy you saved. Vera uses only $1.50 of electricity a month and does the same thing, a fraction of that used by even the most power-efficient laptops.

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 Naturally this depends on many factors, including how much your local utility charges you for electricity at any given time. So, we'll present a hypothetical example here based on a family in California with a 3-bedroom home, with prices as of October, 2008.
 The amount of electricity consumed by any device is measured in watts. Light bulbs, the most common electrical device in most homes, have a wattage printed on them, with 100 watts being typical. The total cumulative electricity used over time is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh). This is what the electric company measures and charges you for. There are 720 hours in a 30-day month, so a 100 watt light, if left on all month, will use 72 kWh of electricity.
-In California, as with most regions, each home is allowed to use a very modest amount at a low price, while the price for electricity increases as you use more. Currently the cheapest price for electricity is 11 cents per kWh, and the highest is 35 cents. So leaving a 100 watt light on all month would cost $7.92 if your overall energy usage is very low, and $25.20 if your overall energy usage is substantially higher.
+In California, as with most regions, each home is allowed to use a very modest amount at a low price, while the price for electricity increases as you use more.&nbsp;In our example, we'll assume&nbsp;the cheapest price for electricity is 11 cents per kWh, and the highest rate is 35 cents. So leaving a 100 watt light on all month would cost $7.92 if your overall energy usage is very low, and $25.20 if your overall energy usage is substantially higher.
 Here is a breakdown of an electric bill for our example family's California home:
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 Electricity usage for the month of October, 2008: '''1,048 kWh'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Note the increasing kWh cost for each pricing tier)<br>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 0-100% of Baseline = 317.20000 kWh @ $0.11559<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; 101-130% of Baseline = 95.16000 kWh @ $0.13142<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; 131-200% of Baseline = 222.04000 kWh @ $0.22580<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; 201-300% of Baseline = 317.20000 kWh @ $0.31304<br>&nbsp; ''Over'' 300% of Baseline = 96.77500 kWh @ $0.35876<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Total bill '''$233.31'''
 For this family, '''reducing energy usage by ''23%''''', to 809 kWh, '''would reduce their bill by ''1/3''''', to $153, because any energy savings come off the ''highest'' rate. Look at your utility bill to find the highest electricity rate you are paying. In this case, keeping that 100 watt light ''off'' would save the familiy $25.20 per month.
-Note that the utility company in this example has set the "baseline usage" at 317 kWh of electricity, which translates to 440 watts used over the course of a month. That means if this family left five 100-watt lights burning all month, they'd use ''more ''than their base rate and paying a premium rate!
+Note that the utility company in this example has set the "baseline usage" at 317 kWh of electricity, which translates to 440 watts used over the course of a month. That means if this family left five 100-watt lights burning all month, they'd use ''more ''than their baseline and begin paying premium rates&nbsp;for any electricity usage beyond 317 kilowatt-hours.
-Here are some common household items and how much electricity they use, along with what it would cost per month at the premium rate if they were left on all the time. (Of course, the air conditioning unit would likely not be running 24/7, even if it was left on, because once it got the house to the set temperature it shuts itself automatically.)
+Here are some common household items and how much electricity they use, along with what it would cost per month, at the premium rate, if they were left on all the time. (Of course, the air conditioning unit would likely not be running 24/7, even if it was left on, because once it got the house to the set temperature it shuts itself automatically.)
-{| class="usage"
+{| class="usage FCK__ShowTableBorders"
 |-
 ! Appliance
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 So, how much energy can Vera really save me? Let's add up some common savings:
-{| class="usage"
+{| class="usage FCK__ShowTableBorders"
 |-
 ! Savings

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 | Computer (new model, no monitor)
 | 100
-| $.13
+| $.04
 | $25
 |-

@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 | $1,260
 |-
-| Computer with Monitor
+| Computer with Monitor (old one)
 | 365
 | $.13
 | $92
 |-
 | Heater (Portable)
@@ Line 98: / Line 103: @@
 |}
-In this example, we only looked at three simple ways Vera can reduce energy usage, and for the California family described here using 1,048 Kwh in electricity, and paying $233/month, '''''Vera would save around $90/month, well over 1/3'''''.  If you were considering a software-based home control system that runs on a PC, note that leaving the PC computer on all month will cost $92/month in electricity if you're already in the premium rate category, and will use up all the energy you saved.  Vera uses only $1.50 of electricity a month and does the same thing.  Even a miserly laptop will use around 90 watts of electricity, vs. 6 for Vera.
+In this example, we only looked at three simple ways Vera can reduce energy usage, and for the California family described here using 1,048 Kwh in electricity, and paying $233/month, '''''Vera would save around $90/month, well over 1/3'''''.  If you were considering a software-based home control system that runs on a PC, note that leaving the PC computer on all month can cost between $20 and $90/month in electricity if you're already in the premium rate category, and will use up a lot of the energy you saved.  Vera uses only $1.50 of electricity a month and does the same thing, a fraction of that used be even the most power efficient laptops.

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:48, 10 October 2008
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−	In this example, we only looked at three simple ways Vera can reduce energy usage, and for the California family described here using 1,048 Kwh in electricity, and paying $233/month, '''''Vera would save around $90/month, well over 1/3'''''. If you were considering a software-based home control system that runs on a PC, note that leaving the PC computer on all month will cost $92/month in electricity, ~~using~~ up all the energy you saved. Vera uses only $1.50 of electricity a month and does the same thing.	+	In this example, we only looked at three simple ways Vera can reduce energy usage, and for the California family described here using 1,048 Kwh in electricity, and paying $233/month, '''''Vera would save around $90/month, well over 1/3'''''. If you were considering a software-based home control system that runs on a PC, note that leaving the PC computer on all month will cost $92/month in electricity if you're already in the premium rate category, and will use up all the energy you saved. Vera uses only $1.50 of electricity a month and does the same thing. Even a miserly laptop will use around 90 watts of electricity, vs. 6 for Vera.

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 Without getting too technical, the amount of electricity you are using at any given moment is measured in watts.  Lights are the most common ways to use electricity, and how many watts the light uses are printed on the light bulb.  100 watts is typical.  How much energy you use over time is measured in Kilowatt hours (Kwh).  This is what the electric company charges you for.  There are 720 hours in a 30 day month, so a 100 watt light, if left on all month, will use 72 Kwh.  In California, like in most places, each home is allowed to use a very modest amount at a low price, and as you use more, the price goes up.  Currently the cheapest price is 11 cents per Kwh, the highest is 35 cents.  So leaving a 100 watt light on all month will cost you $7.92 for the month if your overall energy usage is very low, and will cost you $25.20 for the month if your energy usage is higher.
-When you save energy, reducing your overall usage, you are saving money at the highest rate.  So look at your utility bill and see what the highest rate you are paying is.  Here is the usage for our California home with a $233 electric bill:
+When you save energy, reducing your overall usage, you are saving money at the highest rate.  ''This means, in this example below, the family only need to reduce it's energy consumption by 23% to reduce the bill by more than 1/3.''  Look at your utility bill and see what the highest rate you are paying is.  Here is the usage for our California home with a $233 electric bill, with actual figures:
-,291 Kwh used for the month<br/>
+,048 Kwh used for the month<br/>
 Baseline Usage 317.20000 Kwh @ $0.11559<br/>
 -130% of Baseline 95.16000 Kwh @ $0.13142<br/>
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 Total $233.31
-So, in this case, keeping that 100 watt light off will save $25.20 per month.  We are only allowed to use 317 Kwh of electricity at the base rate before our rate goes up, this means 440 watts continuously.  So if we had only five 100 watt lights on over the month we'd be using more than our base rate and paying the premium rate.  Here are some common items and how much electricity they use, and what it would cost at the premium rate if they were left on all the time.  Of course, the air conditioning unit would likely not be running 24/7, even if it was left on, because once it got the house to the set temperature it shuts itself automatically.
+For this family, reducing the energy usage by 23%, to 809 Kwh, will reduce the bill by 1/3 to $153, because any energy savings come off the highest rate.
 {| class="usage"
@@ Line 85: / Line 87: @@
 | $8
 | Morning Lights
-| Assume in the morning you normally have five 100 lights on in the house.  You actually don't need the lights on once the sun rises, say at 7am, but, with the rush to get off to work and school you probably don't turn them off until you leave the house, say at 8:30a.  Letting Vera shut the lights off for you 90 minutes earlier than you would have will save you 22.5 Kwh/month, which is
+| Assume in the morning you normally have five 100 lights on in the house.  You actually don't need the lights on once the sun rises, say at 7am, but, with the rush to get off to work and school you probably don't turn them off until you leave the house, say at 8:30a.  Letting Vera shut the lights off for you 90 minutes earlier than you would have will save you 22.5 Kwh/month, which is $8/month
 |-
 | $17
 | Porch lights
-| Assume you have 2 porch lights which you turn on in the evening, but don't turn off when you go to bed.  Having Vera shut them off for you, reducing them 8 hours/day saves you 48 Kwh/month or $16.80
+| Assume you have 2 porch lights which you turn on in the evening, but don't turn off when you go to bed.  Having Vera shut them off for you, reducing them 8 hours/day saves you 48 Kwh/month or $17/month
 |-
 | $71
 | HVAC
-| Assume you have a 36,000 BTU central air conditioner which, when left on, runs 33% of the time.  Assume that twice a week someone forgets to shut it off when you leave for work or school, and turn it down when you go to sleep, each time for 8 hours.  Vera would save you $71 for the month.
+| Assume you have a 36,000 BTU central air conditioner which, when left on, runs 33% of the time.  Assume that twice a week someone forgets to shut it off when you leave for work or school, and twice a week it doesn't get turned down when you go to sleep, each time for 8 hours.  Vera would save you $71 for the month.
 |}
-In this example, we only looked at three simple ways Vera can reduce energy usage, and for the California family described here using 1,291 Kwh in electricity, and paying $233/month, '''''Vera would save around $90/month, well over 1/3'''''.  If you were considering a software-based home control system that runs on a PC, note that leaving the PC computer on all month will cost $92/month in electricity, using up all the energy you saved.  Vera uses only $1.50 of electricity a month and does the same thing.
+In this example, we only looked at three simple ways Vera can reduce energy usage, and for the California family described here using 1,048 Kwh in electricity, and paying $233/month, '''''Vera would save around $90/month, well over 1/3'''''.  If you were considering a software-based home control system that runs on a PC, note that leaving the PC computer on all month will cost $92/month in electricity, using up all the energy you saved.  Vera uses only $1.50 of electricity a month and does the same thing.

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:25, 9 October 2008
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−	In this example, we only looked at three simple ways Vera can reduce energy usage, and for the California family described here using 1,291 Kwh in electricity, and paying $233/month, Vera would save around $90/month, well over 1/3. If you were considering a software-based home control system that runs on a PC, note that leaving the PC computer on all month will cost $92/month in electricity, using up all the energy you saved. Vera uses only $1.50 of electricity a month and does the same thing.	+	In this example, we only looked at three simple ways Vera can reduce energy usage, and for the California family described here using 1,291 Kwh in electricity, and paying $233/month, '''''Vera would save around $90/month, well over 1/3'''''. If you were considering a software-based home control system that runs on a PC, note that leaving the PC computer on all month will cost $92/month in electricity, using up all the energy you saved. Vera uses only $1.50 of electricity a month and does the same thing.