Holy Cow! I cannot believe how cheap our electric bill is now. (Christmas: how much, house)

[The Villages Guy]

Here is an update, for folks interested in the results of our changeout to LED bulbs and a variable speed pool pump.

As we all know, the last half of December involved record setting heat and the first half of this month has been very cold. So the electric bill includes both using AC and more heat than we have used our entire time here.

The result is we just received our lowest electric bill ever. Only $120 for a 2,600 sq ft home with pool, all outside lights on all night, Christmas lights, large freezer in the garage, an extra fridge inside in addition to the normal huge kitchen fridge/freezer, an extra dorm style fridge inside, water heater in garage, multiple computer systems running as wife's job is home based when not traveling and multiple therapeutic devices for me. I am obviously home all day, so things are running.

Those two changes make an incedible difference in our climate. I highly suggest it to others.

[stevo75]

Originally Posted by North_Pinellas_Guy

Here is an update, for folks interested in the results of our changeout to LED bulbs and a variable speed pool pump.

As we all know, the last half of December involved record setting heat and the first half of this month has been very cold. So the electric bill includes both using AC and more heat than we have used our entire time here.

The result is we just received our lowest electric bill ever. Only $120 for a 2,600 sq ft home with pool, all outside lights on all night, Christmas lights, large freezer in the garage, an extra fridge inside in addition to the normal huge kitchen fridge/freezer, an extra dorm style fridge inside, water heater in garage, multiple computer systems running as wife's job is home based when not traveling and multiple therapeutic devices for me. I am obviously home all day, so things are running.

Those two changes make an incedible difference in our climate. I highly suggest it to others.

What was the previous bill?

I am slowly changing mine out to LED. Will look into the variable pool pump

[ilikepizza]

Thanks for the tips. Never heard of the variable speed pool pump. How much are they and how do they work?

[HWTechGuy]

I have a variable speed pump. It definitely helps the cause. My motivation wasn't primarily power-savings. The pool equipment is right outside my bedroom window. I can run it low-speed now overnight while we're sleeping. The old one kept me up at night so I only ran it during the day.

I have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Hayward-SP3400.../dp/B004TS04WI

I caught a great online deal and paid $700 including shipping/tax when I got mine.

[dothetwist]

In fairness, you need to amortize the difference in price between power-saving pump v. regular pump over its life. Some reviews are mixed as to how long the power saver pumps last v. normal pump.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by stevo75

What was the previous bill?

I am slowly changing mine out to LED. Will look into the variable pool pump

For the same period last year, it was about 50% more. However this year we ran the outside lights all night, we added an additional fridge and the temps required more temp control.....so the overall savings is even more than that.

[bentlebee]

Great news when utility bills are lower as everyone I know (including myself) dislike to pay them but like to use power .

We also bought LED lights and have the exterior lights on for most of the nights and have some flood lights on the side of the house that work on sensors.

Inside we had some recessed can lights switched out for LED versions.

Keep in mind that aside from the bill being lower, LED lights are more expensive when you buy them so it is only saving money in the long run as you pay upfront a higher amount.

Keep in mind that every power company has different prizes as TECO is much more expensive than Withlacoochee.

[debnova]

Thanks for info. Do you think the pool electricity was the largest part of your previous bill? I don't own a pool, but want to save electricity and my new ppo roof (white, membrane type like some commercial buildings) saves me money monthly, too. I have a smalll home (1200 sq) and pay about what you do with only me here. A bit confusing. Thanks.

[SeaSpur]

We replaced every light with LEDs around this time last year as well; seen a dramatic increase alone from that. Our bill during this time of year was around $230 (3000 sq ft) and is now $170-80.

If you search hard and often, you can replace with LEDs very very cheaply. I bought flood light sized LED bulbs to replace all of my recessed for under $3 each...and I've bout standard LED bulbs right around a dollar each.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by debnova

Thanks for info. Do you think the pool electricity was the largest part of your previous bill? I don't own a pool, but want to save electricity and my new ppo roof (white, membrane type like some commercial buildings) saves me money monthly, too. I have a smalll home (1200 sq) and pay about what you do with only me here. A bit confusing. Thanks.

Probably around 50/50, but that will depend on the time of year. With our warm and humid late Spring, Summer and early Fall, you will run the variable speed pool pump longer than single speed....but it runs with such little power, that it saves you a lot over the course of the month. Also, LED's do not dump all that heat into the house you are trying to cool, so it really helps in a climate like ours.