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Do you use your home efficiency?
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OB Bus
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 3:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency Reply with quote

OB Bus wrote:
1949 house we have owned for 40 years.
Originally it was 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath and 1300 sq feet. No insulation at all.
When we started having kids we added a second story with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. The house is now 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms (2 full, 1 half and one 3/4). 2400 Sq feet.
Insulation on the 2nd floor was R19 in the walls and R30 in the ceiling. We were able to retrofit about half of the first story with R11.
This all was very comfortable with 3 kids, family visits, 2 dogs and 2+ cats.

With just two of us here (and all of our "kids" living out of state) it is way too much. We use one bedroom and one bath upstairs, one downstairs bedroom is the office. But we love it here and do not plan to move.


And to quote myself, I forgot the energy notes.
90% of our heat comes from a wood stove in the living room downstairs, balance is from a forced air gas furnace. We have solar and our "True Up" bill just came in for the year. We have a *credit* of $43...for the year. Our break even point was at 5.5 years. So no electric bills at all.
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Jon Schmid
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 7:00 pm    Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency Reply with quote

We have a 1280 sq ft house here in L.A. suburbia. Basically 2BR (we use what is technically the master BR as our family room), 1-1/2 baths, living room, kitchen, dining room and a very small utility room for the washer/dryer and gas water heater. We use 100% of the house, especially the family room. Now, if we could just get more use out of the admittedly unheated pool... Cool
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madmike
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 5:14 am    Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency Reply with quote

Heck,Your in Southern Ca. Build a Solar water Heater for the Pool Wink Laughing
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obus Premium Member
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 6:14 am    Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency Reply with quote

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2016 we moved into a 1950s ranch. it was added onto in the back the whole width and an entire basement in 1987. From the road the house looks small. 2000sq ft. Was 3 Br 1.5ba but my wife is disabled and i lost the 3br/office to a full bath with roll in shower. My Mil lives with us half the week to take care of my wife when i work and takes the 2nd br. Basement is filled with vw parts and clothes mostly. We have the original boiler to the house from the 50s and it is dual zoned natural gas baseboard heat. Heated floors in 2 of the bathrooms. All the windows feel drafty and house is insulated like crap! Wood burning fire place upstairs and a wood burning stove in the basement that no matter how hard i try, it doesnt heat up more than that side of the basement. Had a generac 22kw whole house genrator just put in this past spring. To stay on topic, i don't think i could live in a smaller house at the current time.

24 x 20 garage was added during pandemic. Built high so i can maybe add a lift. no insulation, heating or cooling.
***Edit: stove link https://www.instagram.com/p/CKpmGEYpsm5/?igshid=YzdkMWQ2MWU=
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Last edited by obus on Fri Dec 02, 2022 8:40 pm; edited 4 times in total
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oprn
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:21 am    Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency Reply with quote

A good garage/shop is NEVER wasted space! Nor is any room full of VW parts! Wink

Ok, I am biased!
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:31 am    Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency Reply with quote

Efficiency math

Average daily use, 30 kWH, so average hourly usage about 1000 watts

Refrigeration amd AC are big draws, but it’s puts in perspective thst 10 pirate draws of 50 watts, like a computer charger, a TV in standby, can add up to half your electricity load. In my abandoned 4 bedroom now up for sale, I unplugged my big fridge and just use a dorm fridge , electricity drop was big
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TDCTDI
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:35 am    Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency Reply with quote

obus wrote:
…no matter how hard i try, it doesnt heat up more than that side of the basement….



Thus the fallacy of a wood stove/fireplace. Burning anything requires oxygen, the fire is drawing cold air from EVERY crack & crevice in the structure, consuming it, & sending it up the chimney.

Give your stove its own air supply from outside the house, so it’s not drawing cold air into the house. Also, making a heat exchanger on the chimney side helps to use heat that is just sent up the chimney.
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madmike
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 3:19 pm    Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency Reply with quote

Sounds Like a 'Ben Franklin stove' ? Great for screwing in front of but don't heat for shit. Pic of stove please? ,,not the screwin Laughing
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 4:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Home use efficiency Reply with quote

I put in a fire place a few years ago.massive difference in the cooler months. all our rooms get used. my power bills now are less than when I bought the home back around 82, and thats with the added 24x32"shop, 12 x12 4wheeler&stuff shop,11x16 2 story barn.everythuing is heated in the winter and cooled in the summer execpt for the 4 wheeler barn. house is around 1400 sqf. a few addtions & lotsa work to seal it up & insulate it. so basicly I get free heating & ac in my shop&barn.
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oprn
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 5:19 pm    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote

We are off the intended topic again and I realize it is the way I worded the title so I changed it. We are getting into heating costs and insolation values and that's all good but my intent was to see how many of us actually needed and use the living space we bought. I know we don't.
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photogdave
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 7:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote

oprn wrote:
We are off the intended topic again and I realize it is the way I worded the title so I changed it. We are getting into heating costs and insolation values and that's all good but my intent was to see how many of us actually needed and use the living space we bought. I know we don't.


Then I guess it should read "Do you use your home efficiently". Wink
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chrisflstf
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 8:20 pm    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote

Switching to all Led lighting made a big diff for me. I dont have to change the floodlight bulbs every 7 months any more either on the garage
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modok
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:27 pm    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote

Hmmm, I think I see were you want to go with this.
Just space utilization.
Should ask everybody about our SHOP space, probably far more dense.
Or..... how much empty space is in YOUR spice cabinet? if any


I'll battle you all for most usable tools and inventory per square foot in the shop. Laughing
But it certainly CAN approach the contents being far more valuable than the walls they are in, or suffering from being packed too tight. For sure.... you can go too far. End up planning yourself into a corner, no space left for the unexpected, which always happens anyway.
I'm more up against the PROBLEM of simply not having enough airspace in the shop, have been WORKING on ventilation schemes but not much to look at for inspiration, it's far more practical to just build a better shop really, tho I will experiment a bit more yet.
I'm certainly AGAINST the idea we should all live in khrushchevka apartments, where there is no EXTRA space at all and each unit is the same.
the life of a GOOD quality home is LONG and what is wasted space now may be necessary at some time soon. A good diversity strategy to have more rather than not enough.
One reason prices are UP these days is generally there are no little "starter homes" anymore, and that's good. Nobody wants to live in an OLD tiny drafty house, nor should they. I was at one time quite interested in energy efficient designs and eliminating wasted space but I now think of that stuff more as a gimmick. Rather, building a HOME with enough space and infrastructure in the walls that it COULD be a duplex might be far more efficient long term strategy than any fancy design.
So now I think.....more like what everybody says about machine tools......always buy one size larger than you think you need.
But I'm no expert on it, change my mind.
In any case quality over quantity. There are LOTs of terrible little shacks and appartments in this town I'm very glad NOt to be living in.
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oprn
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:30 am    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote

I find that any unused space just collects "stuff" that is also unused for the most part. That goes for the shop as well as the house.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:26 am    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote


Link



Why does it matter? It’s MY stuff, in MY house.
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steve244
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:52 am    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote

Don't go all Marie Kondo on your stuff. That show makes my eyes bleed.

House hording makes me happy.

Kidding. Although my basement doesn't lie.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:36 am    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote

If you go to Maria Kondo it gets Conde Nasty

EVs still suck
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 1:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote

How do some people live without a baseball. It’s a place to put all your stuff.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 1:50 pm    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote

modok wrote:

One reason prices are UP these days is generally there are no little "starter homes" anymore, and that's good. Nobody wants to live in an OLD tiny drafty house, nor should they.


totally disagree.

people looking to get out of the renting market need these houses. by and large, they do upgrades and either 1) live there for life or 2) move up to a bigger home as needed.

home ownership is a huge step in building wealth. I watched a vid not too long ago about how these companies were buying up these homes and the interviewer asked the company representative "so you're killing the American dream" and the asshole replied "we'll just rent them the dream"

sorry, that's fucking evil. now it's almost to the point building a home is equal to buying an existing one and that's wrong too.

when I bought my first house I was there about 7.5-8 years before I sold. figuring the mortgage I paid on those 8 years (so say about 96 payments) and about 10k in upgrades, I made my 96 payments back, plus 65k so I basically lived there for "free" and made money that went into the building of the new house, which even if the bottom falls out still would net around a 700k profit if I sold today.

there is no way you could pull that off as a renter and I feel bad that people that want home ownership just can't compete today....it's wrong
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 2:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Do you use your home efficiency? Reply with quote

Quote:
home ownership is a huge step in building wealth. I watched a vid not too long ago about how these companies were buying up these homes and the interviewer asked the company representative "so you're killing the American dream" and the asshole replied "we'll just rent them the dream"

sorry, that's fucking evil. now it's almost to the point building a home is equal to buying an existing one and that's wrong too.


It’s scary that skills and I are on he same page on this. That is f-evil, indeed.

I’m with you on this and I hate EVs, too
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