Whole house versus single room heating!

Dec 2018 average temps vs last four years averages combined

Data valid for Forsyth, Mo.

Taney County MO. - After getting through the first third of December in a somewhat fine style, it was becoming apparent that my cold weather strategy of heating just one room in my condominium was bearing some savings in heating costs. Following are the current temperature and power use averages:

December 2018 - (Days 1 through 10)

Average temperature: 39.0°F (versus a historical average of 35°F)

Average power used per day: 22.7 KwH's

At the current rate and assuming that the temps continued to hover at close to normal averages, I could expect to expend about 682 kilowatt hours of electricity. With the current rate (Liberty Utilities) at .13006 per KwH, that would result in a 31 day total of $88.70. Then after the COOP finishes packing in additional charges of about $18, I would have a bill equaling about $107 for the month.

Now, had I tried to warm the entire 900 square foot condo, I would have averaged about 39 KwH's each day for a total bill of $175! Thus, I will have saved about $68 by choosing my plan of selective heating.

OK, I get you all. Sixty or seventy bucks ain't all that much of a savings. However, it will be exactly that amount of money that the Electric COOP out of Canada will not be getting out of me!

About that graphic on top. After taking the average of the last four years (2014-2017) and then plotting those against what is happening in 2018, it was pretty clear to see the days were cooler than had been the case before. That trend looked to hold true through at least the 22^nd day of the month too. Last year I consumed 829 KwH's at a cost of ~$126. With me coming in significantly below that figure, not only was I saving some energy, but I was doing so in colder temps than had be the case some past years! That was good news to me.

Massive power outages strike SW MO!

Liberty Utilities of Canada outage map

Forsyth Mo. - Whenever a power outage affects over seven thousand paying customers for any period of time, (this one lasting over two hours), you can expect that companies like Empire/Liberty a foreign owned power coop might receive a little flack from me, as a result. This outage affected approximately 7800 customers with the true cause being unreported as of this post. (The best thinking was that much of the problems were caused by high winds). And, while this author does not sanction rumors including; upper level mismanagement, antiquated infrastructure or poor maintenance procedures... He does feel inclined to think that where the power is found to be out, that there are likely problems to be found.

Summer time power use for 2018!

Forsyth MO: It was august the 12th and so I was arguably in late summer. I thought it might be of historical interest (at least to myself) to take a gander at the power use curves I was experiencing.

Following are the ground parameters:

Space to be cooled = 900 square feet with a volume of about 7,200 cubic feet.
3.5 ton 2 stage AC unit set to maintain 81F.
Blinds were generally closed.
Normal power use items always on - Computer equipment, fans, flat screen TV
Power appliances cyclical: water heater, refrigerator
Occasional use: Convection stove top, microwave, washer and dryer

The following scatter chart reflected energy consumed as compared to the average outdoor temperatures over a period of 8 days where the daily highs ran a gauntlet from 88 up to 96 degrees. Nighttime temperatures averaged from 60 to 68F. In other words a pretty typical period with partly cloudy skies thrown in for good measure.

Click to enlarge

Understanding that my baseline of power use (ie the average consumed with no AC used) was at about 14 kilowatt hours a day, the trend line that was generated using a scatter chart (avg temp vs kwh) correlated rather well. My average daily use of 25.5 kWh's indicated that my electric bill was going to be ((25.5*30)*.13006) +15 or $115. Not too bad as the average internal temp in the condo ranged from 81 to 84 degrees. Note that whenever the average daily temp drops below 74 degrees, I normally have the AC turned off and so follow a power use level that results in electric bills below $100.