Greener Bakersfield » kWh

Eco Swimming Pool Pump is a Great Investment

Lengthwise — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 03:01:04 +0000

A swimming pool is a “must” for surviving a Bakersfield Summer. Nothing offsets a 100 degree Bakersfield summer day better than a quick swim in the backyard pool. But let me ask you a question, do you know how much electricity your blue oasis consumes and the cost associated with this consumption?

The kWh consumption is easy to figure out (Amps x Volts = Watts and remember 1000 watts = 1 kWh), but the cost can range from as cheap as $0.115 or as expensive as $0.410 per kWh depending on your overall home energy consumption and were you fall in PG&E’s 5 tier pricing schedule. Some Bakersfield residents, running a single speed pump, pay more than $350 per month for their swimming pool pump electricity while others frugally only pay $48 per month. I pay $11 per month.

A standard single speed 2hp pool pump motor running 6 hours a day drawing 19.4 amps at 120 volts will consume about 14 kWh. Here’s the math: 19.4 x 120 = 2328 watts. 6 hours x 2328 = 13,968 watts. Convert watts to kWh by dividing total watts by 1000 for a total of 13.96 kWh per day or 418 kWh per month. In the event you operate your pump 12 hours a day and your energy consumption is high enough to enter PG&E’s fifth tier, your cost could be near $342 per month. (Click Read More to Continue)

The Pentair Intelliflo variable frequency pool pump motor I installed at my home runs 20 hours a day and consumes 120 watts an hour for a total of 2.4 kWh a day or 72 kWh per month. My old single speed pump would consume 72 kWh in 5 days! The Intelliflo is an eco smart pool pump that knows the status of your filter and when it requires back washing. This unit is smart and realizes when there is blockage or priming issues and will take corrective actions to ensure optimal performance. The pump has four different modes; filter, vacuum, back wash and manual. Water features can be programmed as well. Here is a link for more info: http://www.pentairpool.com/intelliflo/pdf/IntelliFlo.pdf

With a price tag of $1400, the Pentair Variable frequency pool pump is not cheap, but in most cases will pay for itself in under a year. Over a five year period, you could see a $7000 savings on your electric bill vs. the old single speed model.

-Jeff Williams
www.greenerbakersfield.com

Green Bakersfield
Eco Bakersfield

Understanding your Bakersfield PG&E electric bill

Lengthwise — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:00:04 +0000

I am always amazed at how many people do not fully comprehend their electric bill and PG&E’s pricing structure. Once you understand how PG&E configures residential electric bills, you can effectively begin reducing your overall cost. In November 2008 I began working with a long time friend on cutting his kWh consumption in Northwest Bakersfield. We started by replacing incandescent bulbs with CFL lighting and adjusting his pool pump to winter mode.

I introduced him to PG&E’s online SmartMeter account information to help monitor current consumption and review past usage. I explained to him that PG&E rewards its residential customers with lower rates for lower consumption. PG&E’s billing is set up on a 5 tier system. Here is a snapshot of the winter rates for each tier for the Bakersfield area: (Click Read More to Continue)

(1) Baseline Usage 11.4 kWh per day $0.11536

(2) 101-130% of baseline $0.13115
(3) 131-200% of baseline $0.24711
(4) 201-300% of baseline $0.35432
(5) Over 300% of baseline $0.41049

Take a look at tier (1) $0.11536 and tier (5) $0.41049 pricing. There is a $0.295 difference! My friend’s Jan/Feb usage was 1656 kWh or 51.8 kWh per day. As you can see on the bill below, the first 729 kWh cost $119.53 and the remanding 926 kWh cost $359.78. One of the keys to cutting the overall cost is eliminating or reducing kWh usage in tier (4) and (5). Just cutting consumption by 561 kWh from this bill would deduct $230.53.

Take note of this year vs last year’s usage comparison on the bill. We were able to cut 14 kWh per day with the small changes. If usage was the same as last year, the bill would have an additional $184 added to it for a total bill of $663.

On the bill above, the average price per kWh is found by dividing total price by total kWh used. In this case the price is $0.298 per kWh($479/1656).

The kWh baseline is adjusted for summer and winter usage and is different for other parts of California based on environmental weather conditions. For example, Bakersfield’s summer baseline is 19.4 kWh per day and Santa Cruz’s baseline is 8.3 kWh.

For more information on baseline usage visit PG&E’s website: http://www.pge.com/myhome/customerservice/financialassistance/medicalbaseline/understand/index.shtml

Jeff Williams

www.greenerbakersfield.com

www.savebakersfield.com

Whole Lotta Fan aka Whole House Fan

Contributor — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:38:32 +0000

Here’s another tip before you go solar: install a whole house fan. I bought my AirScape Whole House Fan (WHF) about two years ago along with a couple of watt busting buddies of mine. This summer we installed four more fans for our friends; they couldn’t stand to hear us bragging about how much we liked our fans and how little we had to use our AC’S in these hot Bakersfield summers. I do have a small home (1230 sqft) that was built in the 1980’s, no pool. My wife is a teacher and is home during the summer and my largest PG&E bill last summer was $147.38 including gas. (Click Read More to Continue)

The concept of the WHF is basic. Fresh air is drawn from outside through open windows (usually at night) and is blown directly into the attic causing the hot air in your attic to vent outside. This brings down the heat load of the entire house and allows the house to stay cooler during the day. This means you don’t have to run your AC as much to cool your house down to a comfortable level. I’ve also used it to warm my house on those days when it is warmer outside than in. I usually turn mine on at 2 or 3 in the morning. I’ll get up, go to the bathroom (you probably didn’t need to know that) and check my remote thermometer outside. More nights than not the temp outside is as cool or cooler than the inside of my house (I set my thermostat at 78), so I crack a couple of windows in my bedroom and turn it on. Almost immediately I can feel the fan drawing cool air into the house. I don’t know about you, but I sleep better breathing fresh air rather than recycled.

AirScape http://www.airscapefans.com has three models of fans depending on the square footage of your home. I have the smallest model. On high it draws 70 watts at 1000 cfm, a lot less than an air conditioner (they average about 3kw an hour). It was a very simple installation. It fits into both 16” and 24″ stud bays. The most technical part of the installation would be installing an outlet for the fan; it has a 6′ cord. I’m an electrician, so that was not an obstacle for me. The unit is remote controlled, has a 3 yr warranty, and qualifies for a PG&E rebate. This is just one step in lightening the load on your pocket book and mother earth’s shoulders.

-Tim Douhan

Greener Bakersfield Contributor

TED Unit Helps Save Energy

Lengthwise — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:04:11 +0000

I will admit, I love gadgets, and gadgets that help save energy and money are even better! Not too long ago, my household utility bill was a major monthly expense ($500+ some months). My home is 2500 sq. ft. with a swimming pool. My wife, myself, and our two children live in the home year round. Over the past two years my family and I have been focusing on reducing our kWh consumption. We have changed incandescent bulbs to energy efficient CFL’s and have even started using LED lighting. We have also upgraded our older appliances to newer Energy Star rated appliances. Within a few short months, we were able to cut our kWh usage in half! Over the first year alone, our annual energy bill was slashed by 2600 dollars. Now, with the help of “The Energy Detective”, I am saving even more energy, and energy equals dollars.

Last month I purchased “The Energy Detective” also known as TED. TED is an energy monitor that allows my family to see our kWh consumption in real time! TED can also keeps a running daily kWh total. The TED unit was also super easy for my electrician friend Tim to install. Once the TED unit was installed and up and running, I was enthralled with turning different lights and appliances on and off to check their kWh draws. (Click Read More to Continue)

The Official TED Website explains how the unit works:
TED’s transmitting device, located in your circuit breaker panel, measures the amount of electricity coming into your home as you demand/use it and then transmits data every second over your receiving unit. The receiving display unit can be plugged into any A/C outlet in your home. Check out more on the official TED website including pricing and installation instructions here: http://www.theenergydetective.com/index.html

For me one of the greatest benefits of the TED unit is benchmarking. By benchmarking your current kWh usage for certain event times, one will gain efficiency knowledge for that event. For example, say the event is leaving the house for work or school. My kWh bench mark for this event is 90 watts. A quick glance at the TED unit, before leaving, will confirm that all lights, heating blankets, computers, printers, etc are powered off. In the case where my watt usage is higher, I do a quick search to find the TV, closet light or heating blanket left on. For reference, my “Everyone is in bed or going to bed” benchmark is 120 watts.

Below, I have posted my most recent utility bill that shows this year and last years usage comparison for the same time period. Note the drop from 20 kWh a day last year to 11 kWh this year. Ohh, before I forget, here is a link to a video review of the TED. http://www.mavromatic.com/archives/000674.asp

One of my goals? a green Bakersfield, and a thicker wallet.

-Jeff Williams
www.greenerbakersfield.com
www.greenbakersfield.com
Green Bakersfield
Save Bakersfield