Electricity Usage & Bills? (live, versus, electric bill)

[nhkev]

my hot water runs off my boiler up north and in the summer I turn the setting way down so the boiler doesn't keep running all day to heat water i'm not using. When I went to turn down the water temp at the florida house there wasn't any way to adjust water temp. Is this the norm for electric hot water heaters? I was thinking of maybe putting it on a timer so from 7pm to 5am it's turned off. anyone else doing something like this?

[faithfulFrank]

Originally Posted by nhkev

my hot water runs off my boiler up north and in the summer I turn the setting way down so the boiler doesn't keep running all day to heat water i'm not using. When I went to turn down the water temp at the florida house there wasn't any way to adjust water temp. Is this the norm for electric hot water heaters? I was thinking of maybe putting it on a timer so from 7pm to 5am it's turned off. anyone else doing something like this?

On a normal electric tank the thermostat is behind the panel, usually the bottom one, where the two elements are. There should be two rectangle panels, held on by two screws each. Taking off the panels should reveal the two elements and the thermostat, where there is a small dial where you could adjust the temp.
That is assuming you have a normal tank heater. If you are not familiar with these, make sure you turn off the water heater breaker...(should be a double pole 30 amp breaker.)

I should clarify that there is a top and a bottom element, one each behind each panel.
Frank

[imagardener]

I was surprised at how much a pool adds to electric cost, just pump no heat. We moved to a similar size house but now have a pool and electric bill is about $40 more/month.

Heating a pool would add a lot more I assume but we don't.

[movetoflorida]

Originally Posted by nhkev

my hot water runs off my boiler up north and in the summer I turn the setting way down so the boiler doesn't keep running all day to heat water i'm not using. When I went to turn down the water temp at the florida house there wasn't any way to adjust water temp. Is this the norm for electric hot water heaters? I was thinking of maybe putting it on a timer so from 7pm to 5am it's turned off. anyone else doing something like this?

You can save some on the electric bill with the water heater adjustments but not a lot. It also depends on how many people are using it and how often. Tank size is a factor as well. If you turn your water heater to a lower setting, you are going to use more of the heated water and less cold water for a shower. If you run the dishwasher and washer on hot water and someone else trys to take a shower, you could run out of hot water depending on the tank size. If your dishwasher heats the water above 140 degrees (it should to get the dishes clean and sanitized) it will use more electricity to make up for the lower water temperature setting of the water heater. You can help the dishwasher by running the hot water at the kitchen sink to clear the cold water out of the pipe just b4 turning on the dishwasher. Hot water is an important factor in clean dishes. If the heater is set higher, you will use less of the heated water for a comfortable shower and the dishwasher will use less electricity. A timer might save some but your water heater will do a lot of recovering and use a lot of power to recover when the timer turns it back on. The recommended setting is 120 degrees or hot if the thermo. says warm, hot, hotter. I recommend turning the water heater off when you are away for a few days or longer for safety and saving money. A water heater can overheat and flood a house while you are away if the relief valve is not plumbed properly (happened to my neighbor when he was out of town). You may want to turn all the water off when you are out of town, just make sure you turn the icemaker and water heater off first.

[tommy-105]

LCEC used to have a off peak usage device that would control when the heater could come on. I couldn't find any info on it, but found this instead.

LCEC - HRU Program

Kind of costly to set up, but what a great idea.

[nhkev]

all great and helpful feedback thank you

[TheIncredibleWizard]

Yes, I live just N of Boston so heating the house is a significant issue from Oct thru May most years.
But I've got two woodburning stoves and access to a good supply of free hardwood.
So for a few hundred hours of decent physical exertion per year, I avoid most of the winter heating bill pain.

And I have a pair of thru-wall A/C units upstairs that I turned on for first time in late July this year, due to cool wet summer we're having...

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by TheIncredibleWizard

And I have a pair of thru-wall A/C units upstairs that I turned on for first time in late July this year, due to cool wet summer we're having...

My mother is practically freezing to death up there, this year. I was going to take a vacation back to my homestate, this summer. Now I'm glad I didn't. Instead, TN has the New England weather, this year.

[121804]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

My mother is practically freezing to death up there, this year. I was going to take a vacation back to my homestate, this summer. Now I'm glad I didn't. Instead, TN has the New England weather, this year.

It was in the low 60s on the 4th of July here & the coldest July on record in our state. Bizarre. This past Saturday it was close to 98. Weird. We just turned on our a/c for the first time in the day this past Sat since last Aug.... No complaints, I've been averaging a $24/mn elec bill since April

[nhkev]

I still havn't used the ac once this summer and we have not had one day hit 90 degrees yet. I hear ya about splitting wood it's all I've been doing the past 3 days, and I'm noticing some of the leaves on the trees beginning to yellow. two years ago when oil was $4 gallon my heating bills were almost $900 a month with a $200 electric bill.