[Raiderman]

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

Is anyone home in the house during the expensive afternoon time period?

I work from home and my wife is a student. My typical workday is 6a-2p. The house stays cool until about 4:00, then it's warm. It doesn't get hot until 6:00p, and even then, it isn't unbearable. On the uber-hot days, we will run errands or go to GVR for a couple hours at the top of the heat. It cools down quickly when the a/c kicks back on at 7.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by zinsavage123

Some simple tips, but ones that do work. If you aren't home simply unplug things you are not using. It actually does save money and has been proven. Even though the device/appliance may be off, plugged in still means it is drawing energy. I know it is a burden for some, but if you want to save a few bucks it is worth it believe me.

A simple way to do this is to use X10 controllers. Push one button & the electricity is cut. For those who don't know what an X10 controller is, just google it. You get a module that is about the size of a double deck of cards. You plug it into the wall socket & then plug, for example, your TV into the module. Then, when you don't want electricity to it, you just push a button on a separate controller. One button & you can cut electricity to anything that draws a current.

The downside of this is you may need to reset the time-of-day, if that is important to you.

[Danknee]

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

A simple way to do this is to use X10 controllers. Push one button & the electricity is cut. For those who don't know what an X10 controller is, just google it. You get a module that is about the size of a double deck of cards. You plug it into the wall socket & then plug, for example, your TV into the module. Then, when you don't want electricity to it, you just push a button on a separate controller. One button & you can cut electricity to anything that draws a current.

The downside of this is you may need to reset the time-of-day, if that is important to you.

Or you can go the Belkin Wemo route (Wi-Fi). Control each socket or light switch through your phone.

[C_A_Braun]

Originally Posted by winter-rabbit

Is it worth it if after i buy a house to install solar panels? Seems like no brainer in NV with all the sunny days. Is net-metering honored by the local power company?

NV, is not at all a residential solar friendly environment. Sucks too due to the abundance of sunshine. I have PV panels on my home in CA and would love to put the same on my home in NV. It just doesn't make a bit of financial sense at this time though.

Maybe someday.

[gigglesnap]

Originally Posted by winter-rabbit

Is it worth it if after i buy a house to install solar panels? Seems like no brainer in NV with all the sunny days. Is net-metering honored by the local power company?

Solar panels are worth it, but only in the long run and even then there are huge install costs. A lot of solar power companies also try to inflate your return on investment by factoring in the supposed increase in value to your home, even though you won't see a dollar from that unless you sell your home (and even then it might not be much). With all things considered, it can often take as long as a decade before you start seeing a net profit in the form of energy savings, or selling energy credits back to NV Energy.

If you have time to do some reading, then I recommend checking this guy's blog out: In Search of Solar Electricity - Journey to Sunland: In The Beginning.......

He literally spent 3 years researching solar power in Nevada and it's probably one of the best accounts I've ever read on the subject.

[Danknee]

The price of LED bulbs keeps coming down. Right now Costco has 60 watt equivalent bulbs that are being subsidized by an automatic NVEnergy rebate. Check it out:


Compact fluorescent is still cheaper and just as efficient, but I personally do not like the delay to turn them on or the occasional flicker.

I ran a quick cost analysis for this particular bulb comparing it to a standard 60 watt bulb. It will take 118 days of running a bulb for 8 hours per day to break even. The bulbs have a 25,000 hour lifespan which translates to a $154 savings over the lifetime of the bulb, this amount accounts for the $5.26 additional initial cost and the $0.75 replacement cost per 1000 hours for the standard bulb.

Summary:


Data points:

• LED costs $5.26 more than standard initially
• LED costs $.0056 less to operate per hour

[winter-rabbit]

You see that rebate on the Costco sheet breakdown? You already been paying for it as part of a local energy tax in your electric bill.

Originally Posted by Danknee

The price of LED bulbs keeps coming down. Right now Costco has 60 watt equivalent bulbs that are being subsidized by an automatic NVEnergy rebate. Check it out:


Compact fluorescent is still cheaper and just as efficient, but I personally do not like the delay to turn them on or the occasional flicker.

I ran a quick cost analysis for this particular bulb comparing it to a standard 60 watt bulb. It will take 118 days of running a bulb for 8 hours per day to break even. The bulbs have a 25,000 hour lifespan which translates to a $154 savings over the lifetime of the bulb, this amount accounts for the $5.26 additional initial cost and the $0.75 replacement cost per 1000 hours for the standard bulb.

Summary:


Data points:

• LED costs $5.26 more than standard initially
• LED costs $.0056 less to operate per hour

[Danknee]

Originally Posted by winter-rabbit

You see that rebate on the Costco sheet breakdown? You already been paying for it as part of a local energy tax in your electric bill.

I'm not complaining about the 12 cents per kWh, that is competitively cheap compared to many other states. But you are correct in asserting that it is a cost to NV Energy to subsidize these. Might as well be one of the customers that takes advantage of the situation.

[C_A_Braun]

I recently replaced every incandescent and cfl bulb in my Calif home with LEDs. Cost me about $300 for all of them. The light they give off is great and payback will be pretty quick. I did the whole house all at once.

First thing I did when we bought our home in Henderson was to remove all the incandescent bulbs and put in CFLs. I am now in the process of replacing those with LEDs but will do so at a much slower pace (perhaps 2-3 months to swap them all out)

[LV2ndHome]

Originally Posted by Danknee

The price of LED bulbs keeps coming down. Right now Costco has 60 watt equivalent bulbs that are being subsidized by an automatic NVEnergy rebate. Check it out:


Compact fluorescent is still cheaper and just as efficient, but I personally do not like the delay to turn them on or the occasional flicker.

I ran a quick cost analysis for this particular bulb comparing it to a standard 60 watt bulb. It will take 118 days of running a bulb for 8 hours per day to break even. The bulbs have a 25,000 hour lifespan which translates to a $154 savings over the lifetime of the bulb, this amount accounts for the $5.26 additional initial cost and the $0.75 replacement cost per 1000 hours for the standard bulb.

Summary:


Data points:

• LED costs $5.26 more than standard initially
• LED costs $.0056 less to operate per hour

I'm a huge fan of LED, and have changed out about 30-40 recessed can floodlights to Cree LR6's after first trying CFL's. Like you, we didn't like the slight delay on of the CFLs and that they come on at only about 50% brightness, then taking close to a minute to reach full brightness. CFLs also aren't very environmentally friendly to dispose of as they contain mercury.

I don't care for Feit brand however. Cree has a reputation for being the "Cadillac" brand of LED lighting and can be had for the same price: Cree 60W Equivalent Soft White (2700K) A19 Dimmable LED Light Bulb-BA19-08027OMF-12DE26-2U100 at The Home Depot (Note that the HD price varies by location, but you can also find the bulbs on eBay). First thing to note as an indication of quality is that the 60w equivalent Cree is only 9.5w vs Feit's 13.5w. If you research reviews you will find the Crees run cooler, and also find many reports of some Feits failing very quickly vs practically no premature failure reports for Cree. Another thing is Cree offers a 2700K bulb, which is the same color light as an incandescent bulb (warm white). The Feit is 3000K, which will be a little cooler white in color. Note that Cree also offers a 5000K version (very cool white in color), so be sure and get the correct bulb for your color preference. Also I think the Cree does a little better job in providing omnidirectional light, while the Feit tends to have a bit more directional concentration.

We had numerous Feit CFLs in the past and experienced several very quick failures as an example of their bad quality, though admittedly I've never personally had any Feit LEDs. I've recently been researching candelabra LED bulbs (E12 base) as I'd like to change out about 15 incandescents, but Cree does not yet offer one. Feit does, but they have bad reviews as mentioned above, as do the cheap China ones. So I've decided to wait until something better comes along on that style. I think and hope Cree will likely release something soon or someone else will start making a good candelabra bulb that uses the Cree LED chipset.