Forsyth MO - In late June, every
year, I always grow a little bit concerned about how much money my
heat pump is going to burn through just to keep my house cooled down
to a still warmish 82°F.
With electric rate recently
increased to a summertime rate of 0.1149 cents per kilowatt hour
(up from .1070 or a 7% increase), I want to make sure I'm doing all
that I can to keep my electric bill as small as possible. Note that
the Empire Electric Coop also tacks on a $12.52 usage charge
to every monthly bill!
In July, down here in southwest
Missouri, we can often get into the low to mid nineties (average high
is 89°F),
with oftentimes lots of humidity to make things even more
uncomfortable. From past experiments, I've already ascertained that
when the temperature hits the 90 degree mark, it will typically mean
a 30+ kWh power use day to run my whole house and to cool it down to
81°F.
Last year, the temperature hit 90+ over 16 times in July! The only
thing that save me that year was a surprise cool down toward the end
of the month! My total power used, that year, was 674 kWh. That would
relate to a $90 electric bill at todays current rates.
 |
| Forsyth MO temps for July 2013 |
The
Plan
So, what's my plan for this
summer? I want to keep my electric cost as low as possible without
frying in the process. I've considered a couple of alternatives,
including purchasing a small portable AC unit to cool just my man
cave. This unit has a dual function in that it both cools the air and
dehumidifies! The SPT 8,000BTU Single Hose Portable AC unit pictured
here, sells for $288 on Amazon. The problem I have with this approach
is that it also uses power!
A
second approach to saving on energy would be to utilize my basement
on the really hot days. The air down there typically runs at about
67°F
all year long. It's a finished basement complete with a bedroom and a
bathroom, so I may just plan to move down there and see how that
goes. Stay tuned for more!
