Monitoring Electricity Use...

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I wouldn't replace a fridge until it breaks or is needed for some other reason than energy efficiency.

I certainly agree with that. Our appliances are almost 20 years old though, and the fridge has been abused. It went through one, umm, episode that entailed being full of food for a week or so with no power going to it. That was a heck of a mess to clean up, and although it appears to still be working OK I have a feeling it hasn't been quite the same since - therefore looking forward to monitoring it to see if it's anything close to what it's rated at. I have also had to get some big clamps out & apply some muscle to straighten out the door on it, twice. It seemed that repeated pulls on the handle over the years lead to warping - that corner had a gap, and you could see the 'twist' in the door looking across it from the side. I thought it was kind of weird, but it happened. It's also missing a bin because one kind of went to pieces.

Also just replaced the pump on the washer last week, so replacement is likely coming almost due on a couple of fronts.
 
maple1 said:
Also just replaced the pump on the washer last week, so replacement is likely coming almost due on a couple of fronts.
Click to expand...

I replaced a still working fine 11 yo top loader with a new hi-eff front loader I got on sale for $600. I penciled out $150-$200 energy savings per year, about half of that in reduced electric dryer usage from higher spin speeds.
 
maple1 said:
I wouldn't replace a fridge until it breaks or is needed for some other reason than energy efficiency.

I certainly agree with that. Our appliances are almost 20 years old though, and the fridge has been abused..
Click to expand...

Heck, I just replaces one because it was the wrong color. Well, that and when the compressor would shut off it went per clunk clunk clunk. Still cooled fine though. Who would want an almond fridge?
 
woodgeek said:
I replaced a still working fine 11 yo top loader with a new hi-eff front loader I got on sale for $600. I penciled out $150-$200 energy savings per year, about half of that in reduced electric dryer usage from higher spin speeds.
Click to expand...
Can I freeload off your hard work and ask you what you bought, and what you think of it? So many options and dramatically varying reviews online, I don't know where to start shopping. Our washer and dryer are about 12 years old, I replaced the washer pump about five years ago, but I must have reinstalled the drum off center so now its slowly eating itself away each spin.

TE
 
A washer that most folks haven't heard about but are "tanks" is a Staber, even thought they use minimal power and water, they don't make the energy star listings as I think energy star is a voluntary program for smaller companies. The clothes come out very after the spin cycle.

http://www.staber.com/washingmachines

The design is ingenious with few parts and no transmission to worry about plus a mechanical timer. I especially like that there are no rubber seals to worry about. Everything is set up for the homeowner to make repairs if they are ever needed and barring abuse or an electrical surge, the only major wear part is the drive belt They are not fashion designs for sure but they run for a long time. They were designed for off grid solar users long ago. Its basically a commercial machine and I think they offer a coin device if you want to pay for it.
 
peakbagger said:
A washer that most folks haven't heard about but are "tanks" is a Staber, even thought they use minimal power and water, they don't make the energy star listings as I think energy star is a voluntary program for smaller companies. The clothes come out very after the spin cycle.

http://www.staber.com/washingmachines

The design is ingenious with few parts and no transmission to worry about plus a mechanical timer. I especially like that there are no rubber seals to worry about. Everything is set up for the homeowner to make repairs if they are ever needed and barring abuse or an electrical surge, the only major wear part is the drive belt They are not fashion designs for sure but they run for a long time. They were designed for off grid solar users long ago. Its basically a commercial machine and I think they offer a coin device if you want to pay for it.
Click to expand...

Awesome machine. 1300$ plus a few hundred to ship though for the cheapest model. Uses 16 gallons per load. Nice! After fighting my whirlpool duet front loaders and all of the leaks and repairs, I welcome some fresh ideas.
 
TradEddie said:
Can I freeload off your hard work and ask you what you bought, and what you think of it? So many options and dramatically varying reviews online, I don't know where to start shopping. Our washer and dryer are about 12 years old, I replaced the washer pump about five years ago, but I must have reinstalled the drum off center so now its slowly eating itself away each spin.

TE
Click to expand...
We've had a Bosch front loader for about 5 years, no problems, cleans well,Eco mode, spins dry, made in USA.
 
TradEddie said:
Can I freeload off your hard work and ask you what you bought, and what you think of it? So many options and dramatically varying reviews online, I don't know where to start shopping. Our washer and dryer are about 12 years old, I replaced the washer pump about five years ago, but I must have reinstalled the drum off center so now its slowly eating itself away each spin.

TE
Click to expand...

Its one of the cheaper LG front loaders. Only feature lacking is 'steam sanitize' which I think is a BS feature for OCD folks. Only issue I had was 'water hammer' banging the pipes in my house, which was solved by buying a pair of 'water hammer arrestors' and installing them on the hoses.
 
I think the Staber is the option for a large family where its running frequently or for small commercial type operations. The trade off is that the way the clothes are loaded is not obvious to some and there is potential to get pinched if its not done right. I bought one so I never had to buy another washer. Its also great for poly pro and fleece, the stuff comes out just about dry. I have worn clothes right out of it.
 
which whole house electricty monitor to get? i see a few here have a efergy one, like or dislike?
 
I have a LG washer HE, not a front load but a tub model Direct drive motor, about a year old no problems so far, did make difference in electric and water usage. Then because of the high speed spin and replacing the electric dryer with a HF Gas dryer has made a noticable diferance in the utility bills, still the bills come in at about 460kw/month. So there is a bunch of stuff to find that are power robbing me. only one GFI circuit .
 
maple1 said:
I wouldn't replace a fridge until it breaks or is needed for some other reason than energy efficiency.

I certainly agree with that. Our appliances are almost 20 years old though, and the fridge has been abused. It went through one, umm, episode that entailed being full of food for a week or so with no power going to it. That was a heck of a mess to clean up, and although it appears to still be working OK I have a feeling it hasn't been quite the same since - therefore looking forward to monitoring it to see if it's anything close to what it's rated at. I have also had to get some big clamps out & apply some muscle to straighten out the door on it, twice. It seemed that repeated pulls on the handle over the years lead to warping - that corner had a gap, and you could see the 'twist' in the door looking across it from the side. I thought it was kind of weird, but it happened. It's also missing a bin because one kind of went to pieces.

Also just replaced the pump on the washer last week, so replacement is likely coming almost due on a couple of fronts.
Click to expand...

We think our new appliances are efficient, but it's all relative. Here is a comparison of the annual average power consumption for a US fridge vs some average per capita annual power consumption for some African nations.

fridge-power consumption.png
 
If I forget about the fact thatI live in a very cold winter climate, still my kwh usage, which I also think is "relatively" low, far exceeds that not only of people in these countries, but also in many western European countries. My wife and I have gotten our general usage down to about 8-10 kwh/day + 3 kwh/day for domestic hot water. And at 11-14 kwh/day we have made a big reduction from usage 2 years ago. And then there is about 6000 kwh/yr for electricity to keep the basement at 50F during the winter.

Refrig/freezer side x side: 3 kwh/day (1095 kwh/yr)
Upright freezer: 1.3 kwh/day
Everything else: 3.7 - 5.7 kwh/day
 
maple1 said:
I wouldn't replace a fridge until it breaks or is needed for some other reason than energy efficiency.
Click to expand...

Replaced our thirty year old one this year and love it. $500 hauled in and installed and the old one that finally died hauled away. I thought the old one was fine electric usage wise. Pffft. This one is bigger and just uses 118 watts when it decides to run. And less than the running wattage of the old one defrosting.

Makes some weird noises sometimes but I understand that is what the newer ones do.

Should have done it years ago.
 
Can someone please tell me how the efergy hooks up to your power supply. I spent an hour going through all the ebay listings and all I see is that most are not 200 amp but some are and they say 'clip onto your power supply'. So breaker panel cover comes off and you 'clip' it to the main feeds?

BTW, we got an LG front load washer a year ago and very happy with it. Much cheaper to run but the cycles are longer. Take care that you go through a sani cycle once in awhile, otherwise the inside stinks. Also, there's been a few news articles about people washing everything in cold water due to high energy costs. Soap and cold water alone do not kill fecal bacteria well enough. My wife stated changing her laundry sorting and all underwear, pj's, etc. now go through a hot wash. I also got a new Bosch dishwasher and although cheaper to run, my wife is not as happy. Most of these achieve less power usage by running better DC motors and much less water but the trade-off is extended cycle times. We run everything in the later evening or weekend now because hydro is half the cost.
 
DougA said:
Can someone please tell me how the efergy hooks up to your power supply. I spent an hour going through all the ebay listings and all I see is that most are not 200 amp but some are and they say 'clip onto your power supply'. So breaker panel cover comes off and you 'clip' it to the main feeds?

BTW, we got an LG front load washer a year ago and very happy with it. Much cheaper to run but the cycles are longer. Take care that you go through a sani cycle once in awhile, otherwise the inside stinks. Also, there's been a few news articles about people washing everything in cold water due to high energy costs. Soap and cold water alone do not kill fecal bacteria well enough. My wife stated changing her laundry sorting and all underwear, pj's, etc. now go through a hot wash. I also got a new Bosch dishwasher and although cheaper to run, my wife is not as happy. Most of these achieve less power usage by running better DC motors and much less water but the trade-off is extended cycle times. We run everything in the later evening or weekend now because hydro is half the cost.
Click to expand...

Yes. They are a loose fit though. I used a small cable tie under each one to keep them from sliding down my wires.
 
DougA said:
Can someone please tell me how the efergy hooks up to your power supply. I spent an hour going through all the ebay listings and all I see is that most are not 200 amp but some are and they say 'clip onto your power supply'. So breaker panel cover comes off and you 'clip' it to the main feeds?
Click to expand...

Yes, all they are is little clamp aroudn donuts that snap aroudn the existing feeds that enter your main breaker in the panel. You do NOT need to disconnect any wires in the panel. I installed mine without turning off the power or anything. I also put on some zip ties to prevent the donuts from sliding down to the main breaker and also to make sure that the donut is totally flat and square to the wire. The donuts are oversized to allow clamping around many sized of wire. They can be removed easily and moved to another circuit if you want to monitor and log, say, a hot tub.

After a while though you will notice the signature wattage consumptions of various devices.
 
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Thanks for that. I was thinking they had to be hard wired in.
 
I am closely looking at the efergy with the hub for the Internet connection. I really wanted to be able to monitor my entire house and my geothermal separately.

I assume that means I need two different units.
 
Highbeam said:
How does that relate to this thread Doug?

The efergy is setup for only a single circuit. There are other home energy monitor systems that can be built to monitor every circuit on your panel but the complexity and cost go way up. It is likely better to just buy two efergies.
Click to expand...
why monitor use just to cut kw's. cost relates and reason to cut,save ,don't use it.
 
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