What chunk of your total utilities is heating and Domestic Hot Water?

[Poindexter]

Just asking. I was about to derail an otherwise well run thread....

I did a preliminary looksee at my utility usage last month, there was a team of undergrads here from USC poking around. I used roughly 300 million BTUs last year in 2400 sqft, and something like 6/7 to 7/8 of that, 85-87% was for heat. The other 13-15% was for refrigeration, internet, lighting, audio, TV, head bolt heaters on the vehicles and etcetera (phone charging). Domestic Hot Water is a problem to categorize as my oil fired boiler has a loop in it to heat DHW, so my DHW is in with heating the house. I did include electrical consumption in the total. 2021/2022 was a relatively cold hard winter, but it wasn't an epic/ record breaking notable winter.

Anecdotally one of the undergrads asked if I thought the government could solve my problems for me. I LOL'd and literally ROFL'd, but I did do the prelim looksee as above between the time he called from LA and the day he showed up in Fairbanks.

Including domestic hot water, what percentage of your energy consumption goes to heat? Just asking, it is the named elephant in the room up here.

I shall tap the tab for "poll" and see what happens.

 

[Poindexter]

I seem to have the desirable poll questions in this thread. Mods please delete the screwed up other version thank you.

 

[Bobbob]

My vote is based on $.08 per kilowatt and 80% heating covered by woodstove. Other 20% covered by heat pump.

 

[Bobbob]

My vote is based on $.08 per kilowatt and 80% heating covered by woodstove. Other 20% covered by heat pump. Hot water is 50 gal electric.

 

[snobuilder]

I'd have to ask my wife .

Not sure if the poll is right for me for.

I can say that with coming up on 4 cords of wood heat usage, We have saved in the neighborhood of $1500 in Nat gas cost.

Having said this out loud I am now questioning why I waste my time and hard work making 4 cords a wood. The payback, at least for now is chit.

But I guess the lack of wear and tear on my old furnace is worth something as well.

 

[stoveliker]

The question in the title is not well posed.

In dollars, hot water is 100 pct of my costs because wood and solar panels leave me zero cost for heat and electricity.

The question in the poll is about bill (dollars).Your description of your own situation is in BTUs.

I use about 38 million of oil BTUs for hot water. I used about two cords of mixed wood, at a roughly estimated average 23 million BTUs per cord,i.e. 46 million BTUs for heat.
Then I have my minisplit which I use when it's 40 F or higher for 24 hrs or more (running on solar electrons). I use about 5.8 MWh per year total, equating to 16 kWh per day. Before I had my minisplit I used 10.5 kWh per day, suggesting 5.5 kWh per day for (minisplit heat+AC) average. Suppose half for heat half for AC. Then still the varying COP makes this unknown.

Multiple sources make it hard to estimate heating usage..

 

[snobuilder]

Solar is free?🤣

 

[stoveliker]

I've hit break even for my wallet indeed. Thanks in part to your generous donation to my IRS tax credit.

On a different note:
How much natural gas do you use? (I don't know how much 1500 gets you).

 

[icestationzebra]

Electric: I pay almost nothing, just monthly connection fees.. I have solar and net-metering. My offset is almost 100%.

Wood: 5 cords at $200 each. I would rather not give up my weekends making wood and just buy it at this point in my life.

Oil: I go thru 750-1000 gallons per year. My oil furnace is also my hot water heater so it is running year round. This year really hurt as oil is up 75% YoY....my last delivery was $5.16/g. When my 25 yr old furnace finally sh!ts the bed I will look at other options.

 

[xman23]

I should know,...... but have no idea. I have one gas and one electric hot water. Any one have suggestions how we could measure the consumption and cost of each of my heaters?

 

[peakbagger]

I will screw up the poll. My hot water is completely free for 8 months a year from a Solar Hot Water system. The circulator pump is DC run off an ancient solar panel and a diff temp switch. When the wood boiler is running, I use Aquatrol hot water maker tank to dump heat off my boiler when the storage hits max temp. All the electricity is "free" with my net metered solar arrays and wood is sweat equity since I am cutting it for timber stand improvement or site clearing so its sweat equity.

 

[Ashful]

What counts into annual utility bill? Just heating? Heating and cooling? Lighting? Fios?

I know the numerator, but the denominator is up for debate.

 

[begreen]

Not following the question. Which utility? With or without wood cost?

 

[Poindexter]

I am honestly still not sure of the question myself. Is internet access a utility, the data utility? Is Amazon Prime a utility, the shipping utility? What about Netflix, the entertainment utility?

To include those the calculation for heat as a percent would have to be in dollars, and I would still be over 75% with internet, Prime and Netflix added on to the dollars.

What I was asked to look at by the undergrad from USC is how much of my utility usage is for heating. He didn't specify BTUs versus $.

 

[brenndatomu]

I am honestly still not sure of the question myself. Is internet access a utility, the data utility? Is Amazon Prime a utility, the shipping utility? What about Netflix, the entertainment utility?

Heck no...water, sewer, electric, gas (or whatever fuel you use) maybe phone/internet connection...Amazon P and Netflix is not a utility IMO.
And even your internet service would probably depend on what you use it for...as to how you classify it.

 

[JRHAWK9]

I can say that with coming up on 4 cords of wood heat usage, We have saved in the neighborhood of $1500 in Nat gas cost.

On a different note:
How much natural gas do you use? (I don't know how much 1500 gets you).

I think you and I may be barking up the same tree here. I want to know too.

 

[Ashful]

… IMO.

Opinions vary. You have a good argument, but I think we need to define the question a bit better, in order for this poll to generate more useful data.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Probably 1/3 of my energy bill. Boiler/water heater, stove, dryer, and range are all natural gas.

 

[gthomas785]

I would think for the purpose of the question then the energy sources (electric, gas, oil, wood) are the relevant utilities.

Phone, water, and internet are usually thought of as utilities but they are irrelevant for calculating the percentage of energy used for heating, which is what I assume the question is getting at.

 

[snobuilder]

I think you and I may be barking up the same tree here. I want to know too.

Nat gas is a cheap commodity unless some politician thinks he gets votes by pleasing some group that wants to limit the general publics access to it. Do you understand my point?

 

[stoveliker]

You are misunderstanding. How many gallons or pounds do you use (pay for with that $1500)?

 

[snobuilder]

Do we need to figure in the cost of the fossil fuel needed to melt sand into a usable silicon solar array, or no? how about lithium mines and the recycling or disposal of batteries once used up? just touching on the realty of being green.

i'm so inspired that my tax dollars helped some of youse virtue signalers realize and fulfill your dreams of being green energy heroes.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 <<<<< one for me, my wife, my 4 kids and my 9 grand kids....lol... as we will surely be paying for it in tax dollars til the day we die.

 

[brenndatomu]

OK, it's official, I have no idea what this thread is supposed to be about

 

[bholler]

Do we need to figure in the cost of the fossil fuel needed to melt sand into a usable silicon solar array, or no? how about lithium mines and the recycling or disposal of batteries once used up? just touching on the realty of being green.

i'm so inspired that my tax dollars helped some of youse virtue signalers realize and fulfill your dreams of being green energy heroes.

Not when we are discussing end cost to the user.

That part is really simple you know what you paid. You know what you are saving. Once the savings meet the cost you are past the payoff period.

As far as tax dollars I would much rather have my money go towards developing and furthering alternative energies than subsidizing oil companies who are already making huge profits. And yes we spend more doing that than subsidizing solar

 

[stoveliker]

Ok. I'm sorry I asked.