The KWH Competition

[TMonter]

"we use cloth diapers not disposables "

Wow, this 33 year old couldn't imagine trying that. We've got a 5 week old that can go thru well over a dozen diapers per day. Not that its any of my business but why are you using cloth?

Three things:

1) Cost, regardless of what people say cloth is tons cheaper than disposables figured over the length a child is in diapers. We figure we spent $5-600 on fitted cloth diapers and about $10-15 a month on detergent and laundry to clean them. These fitted diapers last through 2-3 children and about 4 years.

Figure what you spend per month on diapers and compare the two.

2) Trash/recycling we don't like the idea of having landfills full of diapers and the chemical they contain.

3) Diapers contain nasty chemicals to wick moisture away from your child. Who knows what kid of hard these chemical actually do even if they are deemed "safe".

 

[DBoon]

Tough to run a dehumidifier and heat with hot water and be under 400 kWh/month. But if you don't heat with hot water but still run a dehumidifer, it is very possible.

Hint on the dehumidifier - I was amazed how much less efficient the smaller dehumidifiers were. If you pull out the drain bucket, you can usually see the efficiency in liters/kWh. The largest model is the most efficient. If you buy that and just run it straight for 8-10 hours/day (overnight even if you have off-peak electric rates), then you can still get the job done with less electricity.