🚀 go-pugleaf

> pattsd@aud.alcatel.com (Samuel David Patton) wrote:
> 
I'm trying to find out if anyone else got thier electric bill last month and 
was
as shocked as we were. We are in the Dallas area and have a 6 month old 
Holigan 
Home (supposed to be very energy efficient), ~2300sqft., 2 story, all electric 

> >with seperate heat pumps for upstairs and downstairs. We have the Hunter 
multi-stage 
> >heat pump programmable thermostats and keep the temperature around 72 
degrees. The 
> >wife and I both work so no ones home during the day. We just got our 
electric bill 
> >for last month and it was $285.00! The month before was around $200.00! 
This just
> >seems outrageous to us! Especially for a house with 2x6 exterior walls with 
R-19
> >insulation, Tyvek house wrap, and R-33 in the attic! It's supposed to be 
very
> >energy efficient, but obviously isn't! Something just doesn't seem right 
here!
> >

Sounds like may be misprogramming your thermostats too low during the day
when no one is home.  Try leaving the temperature constant.  The idea
behind Heat/AC is to keep the home comfy.  If you let the temp fall
too much during the day, you're spending a lot of energy warming the
STRUCTURE (ie, the walls, slab, masonry, etc) back up to where it
was.  When you leave the temp constant, all you're doing is keeping
the AIR a constant temp.  All the insulation now helps to keep the
warm air in and the structure a constant temp.  Heat pumps are said to be most 
efficient when there are minimal temperature swings.  Set the temp and leave 
it be.  Or, try this experiment:

If your Hunter model has the energy-minder feature (the clock that tells you
how long the unit actually runs each day) you can get immediate feedback as to 
the effectiveness of different programming levels.  Start at a constant
temperature, then adjust the set-back temp back one degree more each day 
until you can no longer realize a benefit.  Alternatively, you can keep an
eye on your electric meter (assuming your other daily usage patterns 
are constant.)  This week is a perfect opportunity to try this in the Dallas 
area as daytime temperatures have held fairly constant (50 degrees) for the 
past few days.  It's something like this:

energy
savings
  I
  I
  I  +++ 
  I++   ++
  +-------++------------ setback difference
  I         ++
  I           ++
  I            ++
  I             ++
  0  2  4  6  8  10

When we lived in a small apartment in Plano (<900 sqft) we put a Hunter
thermostat on our system and had set backs +/- 10 degrees!  The unit
was powerful enough and the apartment was small enough that the temperature
rise-time was minimal, and this setting saved us a significant amount.  In a 
large house, it doesn't quite work the same way.  We found our house to be 
most efficient with a +/- 2 degree change (which is not worth the effort or 
the savings.)  

Two-storey homes are also intrinsically harder to heat/cool because of the
vertical migration of warm air upstairs.  

We have a 2500sqft SINGLE STOREY house in Murphy (Just north and east of
Richardson) with a single 5-ton dual fuel (Gas/Electric) heat pump.  Our worst 
electric bill thus far this winter has been $132.00!  And our house has
2x4 exterior walls (not sure what the insulation blanket in the attic is...)
We keep our thermo at a constant 72 degrees, no set-back periods.  We use
ceiling fans, even in the winter, in all living areas.  Our worst gas-bill
has been $40, and we have gas water heater & cooktop, too.

All in all, I think Holligan's are known for energy efficiency.  It may just
be that you're not using the heat pumps efficiently.  What's your emergency
heat?  Electric or Gas?  Electric resistance coils are tremendously 
Inefficient.  Minimize their use by not using the setback functions.

Also, do some candle-tests arounds windows & exterior wall outlets.  If you
feel any drafts, fix 'em.  Make sure you keep your chimney flue closed, and 
firebox doors, too, if you have 'em.

Let me know if you want to compare more.  We're virtually neighbors, so I know 
we pay the same rate for gas & electricity.  :)

Tony Phillips