Plz Help Insulation questions

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Nomore
Nomore Registered Users Posts: 18 ✭✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
I been reading on this forum and I am getting really close to do my install, I have followed sound advice and been working hard on conservation. I already replaced all my windows with insulated low-e windows. They where not the most energy efficient since they are PGT impact windows, but I live in west palm beach Florida and they made more sense to me since the house never had shutters.

Now a brief, I am currently using about 3000 kilowatt hours per month. I do have a solar water heater, the house is 2000 square feet and it houses a family of six. I noticed mos of my energy goes towards cooling my house, I have a central Trane 16xli system that sucks, runs non stop. I already had many contractors look at the unit and they tell me it is wired and working correctly so I guess I got a lemon.

My house was built in 1990, the insulation on it is a R-20, I had the electric company do a reverse pressure check and there appear to be no major leaks on my vents or ac system. I think I will end up changing my central unit "that it is only 5 years old".

With that said the questions, I am considering blowing some insulation in my attic. Enough insulation to cover my central air lines. I had home depot come over and they wanted a little over 5k to blow enough insulation to equate r49. I did the math and I can blow it myself for about 2k. My second option is having the spray foam on the roof.

Which of the two would be a better investment? Also does anyone knows any contractors in the west palm area that work on insulation and has reasonable rates? If so please drop me a pm.


Thanks
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  • bsolar
    bsolar Solar Expert Posts: 103 ✭✭✭
    #2
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    ac will never jive with solar very well, cant really help with the insulation question but im sure more is better. I do know some central acs are more efficient than others and the tonnage rating needs to be proper for the house and all that, but here is what im considering, an evaporative cooler. Not sure how well they work in humid places like west palm but its an idea .. nothing but a big fan basically on 120 ..

    http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200312879_200312879?cm_ven=natural&cm_cat=netconcepts&cm_pla=Google&cm_ite=northern%2520evaporative%2520cooler
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #3
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    Set the T-stat on the central air a bit higher and install some Sanyo mini-splits to cool the rooms you actually use?

    I think you made a typo with "3000 kilowatt hours per month." I hope so, anyway. Although we off-grid people can't wrap our heads around consumption over 100 kW hours per month. :p
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,457 admin
    #4
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    No--3,000 kWH a month for 6 people, large home, in Florida with A/C... On the high side of normal--I would guess.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #5
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    BB. wrote: »
    No--3,000 kWH a month for 6 people, large home, in Florida with A/C... On the high side of normal--I would guess.

    -Bill

    Ow.
    The worst we ever saw with the all-electric house in Winter and four people living there was still under 1500 kW hours in January. :cry: Even at BC Hydro's $0.10/ kW hour it was expensive.

    One can well understand why the OP wants to do something to get the use down.
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  • Nomore
    Nomore Registered Users Posts: 18 ✭✭
    #6
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    Cariboocoot wrote: »
    Set the T-stat on the central air a bit higher and install some Sanyo mini-splits to cool the rooms you actually use?

    I think you made a typo with "3000 kilowatt hours per month." I hope so, anyway. Although we off-grid people can't wrap our heads around consumption over 100 kW hours per month. :p

    3000 kilowat hours is correct :(
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #7
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    The least I can do is give you some general insulating advice.

    In Florida you have a humid (at times) climate, yes? If you blow in loose fiberglass you can create a condition where the moisture migrates from the outside through the insulation towards the air conditioned interior. When it does so the temperature of the migrating air drops as it nears the cooled interior, causing the moisture to condense inside the insulation. This gets it wet and turns it into soggy, useless junk.

    The solution in these areas is to either use an insulation that is not bothered by moisture, such as rigid foam board or spray foam (best, in my opinion) or to seal the insulation with vapour barrier on the outside as well as the in. Remember the value in insulation isn't the material itself, but the trapped air. Stop the air movement, stop the moisture flow, stop the heat transfer.

    Without actually seeing the situation I can't be more specific than that. Fortunately there are several forum members in Florida and no doubt one of them will have some ideas more suited to your particular circumstances.

    3000 kW hours per month! ARGH!
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  • ggunn
    ggunn Solar Expert Posts: 1,973 ✭✭✭
    #8
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    bsolar wrote: »
    ac will never jive with solar very well, cant really help with the insulation question but im sure more is better. I do know some central acs are more efficient than others and the tonnage rating needs to be proper for the house and all that, but here is what im considering, an evaporative cooler. Not sure how well they work in humid places like west palm but its an idea .. nothing but a big fan basically on 120 ..
    You have to have low humidity for an evaporative cooler to work - somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-30% max. In higher humidity locations all it will do is make everything inside wet. Been there, done that.

    They work great in the desert; in Phoenix you'll see them on practically every residential rooftop. In Louisiana, not so much.
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  • rgk1
    rgk1 Solar Expert Posts: 135 ✭✭✭
    #9
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    I have made the upgrade to low-e windows just as you have and it keeps a lot of heat from the sun out in summer. If you decide to add insulation to the attic I suggest you buy some of the foam in the can and get up in the attic and put some through the holes where the electric wires come down to the rooms (assuming it is all overhead) before adding more insulation. When the wind blows through the attic ventilation it can push and pull air through all those openings and in/out the electrical outlets on the wall. I have a total electric home including electric heat pump with 10kw heat strips and electric hot water, family of 4. A yearly average is 1000kw per month for me. I have overhead main trunk for the central unit with flex duct pipe to each overhead air register. I rolled out R-30 on each side and the top of all the ducts and main trunk so it is all covered in insulation. I used to keep a thermometer in one of the registers and was amazed at temperature of the air, both winter and summer, that was "leaking" out of all the registers when the unit was not operating. Now it is virtually the same as the room temperature. It is still early in the cooling season, but so far no condensation between the sheet metal main trunk and the insulation I added (inside of the duct is insulated by manufacture), nor any of the other flex duct. You probably have higher humidities than I do, but may be worth trying. All the insulating upgrades have made a big difference for me. Now, what to do with 3 sattelite recievers that use as much energy when "off" as they do on - 24/7 at about 80 watts/hr between them.
    4-Risen 320 watt in series/parallel, 8-215ah 6 volt GC2 batteries in series, Exeltech 1100 watt/48 volt inverter, Tristar 45 MPPT controller.
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  • Nomore
    Nomore Registered Users Posts: 18 ✭✭
    #10
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    rgk1 wrote: »
    I have made the upgrade to low-e windows just as you have and it keeps a lot of heat from the sun out in summer. If you decide to add insulation to the attic I suggest you buy some of the foam in the can and get up in the attic and put some through the holes where the electric wires come down to the rooms (assuming it is all overhead) before adding more insulation. When the wind blows through the attic ventilation it can push and pull air through all those openings and in/out the electrical outlets on the wall. I have a total electric home including electric heat pump with 10kw heat strips and electric hot water, family of 4. A yearly average is 1000kw per month for me. I have overhead main trunk for the central unit with flex duct pipe to each overhead air register. I rolled out R-30 on each side and the top of all the ducts and main trunk so it is all covered in insulation. I used to keep a thermometer in one of the registers and was amazed at temperature of the air, both winter and summer, that was "leaking" out of all the registers when the unit was not operating. Now it is virtually the same as the room temperature. It is still early in the cooling season, but so far no condensation between the sheet metal main trunk and the insulation I added (inside of the duct is insulated by manufacture), nor any of the other flex duct. You probably have higher humidities than I do, but may be worth trying. All the insulating upgrades have made a big difference for me. Now, what to do with 3 sattelite recievers that use as much energy when "off" as they do on - 24/7 at about 80 watts/hr between them.

    Crap I just got me 5 DTv receiver three of which are DVR's I am certain that will hurt the bottom line. I honestly think my Trane is the main problem, I did a test on an average we use about 100 kilowat hours per day, I turned off the ac and my usage went down to 30 kilowats or so. Does anyone knows what a 16 seer 4 ton AC should pull? Maybe I need to start by replacing that darn thing.
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  • rgk1
    rgk1 Solar Expert Posts: 135 ✭✭✭
    #11
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    I use Dish and my DVR pulls almost twice the non recording recievers. That is a pretty high SEER. It should have electrical ratings on it and if its a split system, pump seperate unit from the air handler, then ratings on that as well. Someone else would probably have a far better answer than I though. Kinda like my fridge says 5amp. From what I have measured with a Killowatt meter that must be the MAX it can pull when running and defrost or icemaker heater or something. AC unit may have the same principal on the ratings.
    4-Risen 320 watt in series/parallel, 8-215ah 6 volt GC2 batteries in series, Exeltech 1100 watt/48 volt inverter, Tristar 45 MPPT controller.
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  • techntrek
    techntrek Solar Expert Posts: 1,372 ✭✭✭
    #12
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    Cariboocoot wrote: »
    Set the T-stat on the central air a bit higher and install some Sanyo mini-splits to cool the rooms you actually use

    +1

    Several people here use them, they have the highest efficiency you'll find and as Cariboo said, you can do room-by-room zoning so you can keep less-used rooms warmer/cooler than the rest until you actually go into them. 26 SEER!
    4.5 kw APC UPS powered by a Prius, 12 kw Generac, Honda EU3000is
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  • SCharles
    SCharles Solar Expert Posts: 123 ✭✭
    #13
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    I am afraid I cannot help much. I am just stunned by the thought of 3000 Kw hr in a month. I am not criticizing anyone, I am just trying to get my brain around that figure.
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  • RCinFLA
    RCinFLA Solar Expert Posts: 1,484 ✭✭✭✭
    #14
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    16 seer should have pretty good efficiency. A 4 ton 16 SEER should draw less then 3.5 kW's when running. To draw 70 kWH's per day it must be almost constantly running (20 hours per day). For a 4 ton in a 2000 sq ft house that is crazy unless you are setting your thermostat at 68 degs F.

    I live near by you and have a 10 year old 12 SEER Lenox 3.5 ton A/C feeding about 2200 sq ft area. This month I am running about 7 hours a day. At the worst Aug-Sept hot months I peak out at a maximum cumulative runtime of 9.5 hours a day. I do have a programmable therostat (Hunter) that sets different temps four times per day. I run 74 F at night and 78 F during the day. It keeps track of run time per day, yesterday, and for week.

    My house was built in 1982 and insulation sucks with R-13 in attic, R-11 in outside walls. I do have white concrete tile roof which helps.

    Unless you are running temp very low, there is something wrong. Check for duct leakage in attic.
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  • Slappy
    Slappy Solar Expert Posts: 251 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #15
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    I did a test on an average we use about 100 kilowat hours per day, I turned off the ac and my usage went down to 30 kilowats or so. Does anyone knows what a 16 seer 4 ton AC should pull? when was the last time you had the unit serviced, as in getting the coils cleaned?
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  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    #16
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    BB. wrote: »
    No--3,000 kWH a month for 6 people, large home, in Florida with A/C... On the high side of normal--I would guess.

    -Bill

    Yeah I can remember usage like that and more in the summer months here with a 25,000 cubic foot house and 2 Three ton 10 Seer Lenox AC units grinding away.

    Now according to the TED our worst day this month was 22 kWh from the utility and that will be drawn off the 3000 kWh utility bank of power. And that includes a 50% charge of the Volt.

    The new 3 ton 17 Seer Tranes I have now draw about 2500 watts, a big improvement.
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  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    #17
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    SCharles wrote: »
    I am afraid I cannot help much. I am just stunned by the thought of 3000 Kw hr in a month. I am not criticizing anyone, I am just trying to get my brain around that figure.

    Just think of it this way, today the temp here was 108 F. the indoor temp was 78 F, This is about the same delta as you fridge to indoor temps. Now think that one has 25,000 cubic ft to cool with those deltas. It is pretty easy to see how that much power is used.
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  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    #18
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    rgk1 wrote: »
    Now, what to do with 3 sattelite recievers that use as much energy when "off" as they do on - 24/7 at about 80 watts/hr between them.
    Simple solution - - power bar with a switch! Yes, the receiver will take a minute to start up, get the signal and stabilize after being switched back on with the power bar, but that's a small price to pay for not having them suck back almost 2 kwh per day for nothing more than electrically heating your home 24/7.
    Your Sat receivers waste almost as much electricity on average, as I use.
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  • raydias
    raydias Solar Expert Posts: 68 ✭✭✭✭
    #19
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    Consider getting an energy monitor like TED, black and Decker or Current Costs to monitor usage and see what is eating up power.

    I bought the Current Cost (easy install)
    http://www.currentcost.net/buynowmain.html

    You can even log the data to Google Power meter and view usage remotely. I can tell when my wife does laundry LOL.

    I would watch the readings as various devices came on. A couple of things i noticed
    - clothes dryer sucks a lot of power as does the dishwasher
    -they are only 4 years old and came with the house when i bought it

    -tv's and computers even when off pull power (vampire mode). I put those that could be turned off on power strips (game room, computers, WII, etc) and have trained everyone to turn the strips off once done. For the main TV I bought a APC UPS that has a master slave power save option. When the everything is off (TV, DVD, VCR, ETC) the UPS detects that the master plug device is off and turns off the slave plugs. this kills the vampire power being pulled by the other devices. Dropped my off power usage from 80 watts to 20 watts.

    - various lights pulled a lot of power like the 4 florescent lights in the garage - 32 watts x 4 bulbs = 128 watts every time anyone went into the garage. replaced the strips with flush mount fixtures and 4 x 7.5 watt led bulbs = 30 watts

    As for insulation, I made sure all air ducts tubing are wrapped tightly with 2 layers of insulation. you can buy the roles at home depot. Also i used a can of foam insulation to seal all plugs and light switches along any exterior wall. I noticed cold and hot air would leak through them. Builder didn't insulate them. You could also added the foam board with foil on one side to the rafters in order to reflect heat away from the attic.

    On average i was using for a 2ksqft house and 4 people 600kwh in winter and 1000kwh in summer per month. This winter we are down to 400kwh per month and will see how summer works out.


    Last suggestion is to get one of these Wifi enabled thermostats to view and control your air conditioner even when you are out. The kids may be playing with the settings when you're not around.

    http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202352449/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
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  • Solar Guppy
    Solar Guppy Solar Expert Posts: 1,989 ✭✭✭
    #20
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    This is an easy one ...

    You have R20 on a 20 year old home, which probably means its down to R10. Call a local insulation contractor and have blown in fiberglass to bring that up to R40 MINIMUM

    One important note, TELL the contractor what you want, don't ask for his opinion

    Cost for a 2000 sf home is about 1000-1200 dollars

    use of 3Mwhr is VERY common in Florida, lots of homes with sub-par insulation

    I have no clue what Cariboocoot is talking about, blown in fiberglass is the most common insulation in this area and I have never once seen moisture issues using this product

    This increase in insulation should cut your AC run time in half. In Florida, the heat from the attic into the living area is the biggest load on the AC.

    I have a 2600sf home with a pool, built in 1996, the Electric load is about 1800 kwh a month with R40 insulation and a 2 year old SEER 16 Heat pump

    Also, make sure you don't have a second refrigerator in the garage, those alone can suck down 50 bucks a month to cool some soda/beer .. seen this many times, people don't want to get rid of a "work" appliance
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  • LucMan
    LucMan Solar Expert Posts: 223 ✭✭✭
    #21
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    Nomore wrote: »
    I been reading on this forum and I am getting really close to do my install, I have followed sound advice and been working hard on conservation. I already replaced all my windows with insulated low-e windows. They where not the most energy efficient since they are PGT impact windows, but I live in west palm beach Florida and they made more sense to me since the house never had shutters.

    Now a brief, I am currently using about 3000 kilowatt hours per month. I do have a solar water heater, the house is 2000 square feet and it houses a family of six. I noticed mos of my energy goes towards cooling my house, I have a central Trane 16xli system that sucks, runs non stop. I already had many contractors look at the unit and they tell me it is wired and working correctly so I guess I got a lemon.

    My house was built in 1990, the insulation on it is a R-20, I had the electric company do a reverse pressure check and there appear to be no major leaks on my vents or ac system. I think I will end up changing my central unit "that it is only 5 years old".

    With that said the questions, I am considering blowing some insulation in my attic. Enough insulation to cover my central air lines. I had home depot come over and they wanted a little over 5k to blow enough insulation to equate r49. I did the math and I can blow it myself for about 2k. My second option is having the spray foam on the roof.

    Which of the two would be a better investment? Also does anyone knows any contractors in the west palm area that work on insulation and has reasonable rates? If so please drop me a pm.


    Thanks

    Your a/c system is most likely working properly. Central a/c that runs continually in a humid environment is good, the system can't dehumidify if it's not running.
    In my opinion spray foam on the roof is the way to go, it will keep your air handler & duct work running in cooler environment and will cut down on the humidity transfer into the building envelope.
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  • Solar Guppy
    Solar Guppy Solar Expert Posts: 1,989 ✭✭✭
    #22
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    Spray foam is technical better but a much lower return on investment. Spray foam is about 6-10x more expensive, its much lower cost to just blow in the fiber glass deep enough to bury the duct work.

    Its also wise to use ridged board around the air handler, when I replaced mine two years ago, I did a three layer ridged foam board to cover the air handler and made one of the side removable for service. Air handlers are typically @ R5 and a major source of heat gain for the home

    One advantage of spray foam is it locks the plywood to the rafters so in a hurricane even with shingle loss the roof remains intact and waterproof
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  • dwh
    dwh Solar Expert Posts: 1,341 ✭✭✭
    #23
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    techntrek wrote: »
    +1

    Several people here use them, they have the highest efficiency you'll find and as Cariboo said, you can do room-by-room zoning so you can keep less-used rooms warmer/cooler than the rest until you actually go into them. 26 SEER!


    Sanyos mini-splits are 16 SEER. The 220v Fujitsus are 22-23 SEER.


    http://us.sanyo.com/HVAC-Single-Split-Systems-Wall-Mounted-Air-Conditioners/Wall-Mounted-Air-Conditioner-36KS82

    http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/wallmounted9-12RL_specs.htm#specs
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  • Solar Guppy
    Solar Guppy Solar Expert Posts: 1,989 ✭✭✭
    #24
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    BB. wrote: »
    SG, are you referencing Cariboocoot?

    -Bill "all moderators look alike" B. ;)

    Corrected, ... Can this board support the strike code?
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,457 admin
    #25
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    No--it does not. Sometimes, I just use really tiny text to show that I "deleted something"...

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • techntrek
    techntrek Solar Expert Posts: 1,372 ✭✭✭
    #26
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    dwh wrote: »
    Sanyos mini-splits are 16 SEER. The 220v Fujitsus are 22-23 SEER.
    http://us.sanyo.com/HVAC-Single-Split-Systems-Wall-Mounted-Air-Conditioners/Wall-Mounted-Air-Conditioner-36KS82
    http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/wallmounted9-12RL_specs.htm#specs

    26 SEER:

    http://catalog.mitsubishipro.com/item/mr-slim-m-series-heat-pumps/msz-wall-mounted-inverter-heat-pumps/item-1386?

    http://www.e-comfortusa.com/products/9rls-halcyon-wall-mounted-mini-split-single-zone-heat-pump-26-seer--9000btu/1345

    One is Mitsubishi, one is Fujitsu.
    4.5 kw APC UPS powered by a Prius, 12 kw Generac, Honda EU3000is
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  • SolarLurker
    SolarLurker Solar Expert Posts: 122 ✭✭
    #27
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    First, please do not feel bad about using 3000kwh per month, you are here to learn and it's obvious you intend to use less. We all have to start someplace, the bigger your usage the more dramatic your savings will be.

    Insulation is going to be the best bang for the buck, homes in Florida are notoriously under-insulated. I think spray foam is the best bet, fiberglass and cellulose loose r-value overtime.

    If possible consider awnings over south windows.

    Maybe you can install Bermuda shutters or shades

    If your duct work is in your attic, then it is well documented that foil radiant barriers stapled to the rafters will reduce cooling costs.

    Even thought I am in the north east are biggest electric load is now our ac unit. We are really bothered by the heat and keep the house very cool about 68. Degrees. After studying some options I think we are settled on replacing our 11 seer ac with a 24.5 seer iq drive unit.
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  • techntrek
    techntrek Solar Expert Posts: 1,372 ✭✭✭
    #28
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    Have you gotten a price quote on that system? I'm curious about the whole-system replacement cost, if you are willing to share that.
    4.5 kw APC UPS powered by a Prius, 12 kw Generac, Honda EU3000is
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  • Nomore
    Nomore Registered Users Posts: 18 ✭✭
    #29
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions
    RCinFLA wrote: »
    16 seer should have pretty good efficiency. A 4 ton 16 SEER should draw less then 3.5 kW's when running. To draw 70 kWH's per day it must be almost constantly running (20 hours per day). For a 4 ton in a 2000 sq ft house that is crazy unless you are setting your thermostat at 68 degs F.

    I live near by you and have a 10 year old 12 SEER Lenox 3.5 ton A/C feeding about 2200 sq ft area. This month I am running about 7 hours a day. At the worst Aug-Sept hot months I peak out at a maximum cumulative runtime of 9.5 hours a day. I do have a programmable therostat (Hunter) that sets different temps four times per day. I run 74 F at night and 78 F during the day. It keeps track of run time per day, yesterday, and for week.

    My house was built in 1982 and insulation sucks with R-13 in attic, R-11 in outside walls. I do have white concrete tile roof which helps.

    Unless you are running temp very low, there is something wrong. Check for duct leakage in attic.

    I keep my thermostat at 77 at night and 78 day, it does run all day :( I talked to a friend that works for an AC company and he told me to put in a 5 ton. I had a couple companies recommend same. I think I am going to have to do that :( As I mentioned on the initial post, we did a reverse pressure test "I think that is what is called" and there are no leaks on my duct.

    Slappy wrote: »
    I did a test on an average we use about 100 kilowat hours per day, I turned off the ac and my usage went down to 30 kilowats or so. Does anyone knows what a 16 seer 4 ton AC should pull? when was the last time you had the unit serviced, as in getting the coils cleaned?

    I had the unit services about three months ago, I was required to service it since I still had Trane warranty.

    raydias wrote: »
    Consider getting an energy monitor like TED, black and Decker or Current Costs to monitor usage and see what is eating up power.

    I bought the Current Cost (easy install)
    http://www.currentcost.net/buynowmain.html

    You can even log the data to Google Power meter and view usage remotely. I can tell when my wife does laundry LOL.

    I would watch the readings as various devices came on. A couple of things i noticed
    - clothes dryer sucks a lot of power as does the dishwasher
    -they are only 4 years old and came with the house when i bought it

    -tv's and computers even when off pull power (vampire mode). I put those that could be turned off on power strips (game room, computers, WII, etc) and have trained everyone to turn the strips off once done. For the main TV I bought a APC UPS that has a master slave power save option. When the everything is off (TV, DVD, VCR, ETC) the UPS detects that the master plug device is off and turns off the slave plugs. this kills the vampire power being pulled by the other devices. Dropped my off power usage from 80 watts to 20 watts.

    - various lights pulled a lot of power like the 4 florescent lights in the garage - 32 watts x 4 bulbs = 128 watts every time anyone went into the garage. replaced the strips with flush mount fixtures and 4 x 7.5 watt led bulbs = 30 watts

    As for insulation, I made sure all air ducts tubing are wrapped tightly with 2 layers of insulation. you can buy the roles at home depot. Also i used a can of foam insulation to seal all plugs and light switches along any exterior wall. I noticed cold and hot air would leak through them. Builder didn't insulate them. You could also added the foam board with foil on one side to the rafters in order to reflect heat away from the attic.

    On average i was using for a 2ksqft house and 4 people 600kwh in winter and 1000kwh in summer per month. This winter we are down to 400kwh per month and will see how summer works out.


    Last suggestion is to get one of these Wifi enabled thermostats to view and control your air conditioner even when you are out. The kids may be playing with the settings when you're not around.

    http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202352449/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

    I currently have this monitor installed on my main panel, http://www.brultech.com/ But have not monitored in a while, maybe I need to double check things.
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  • Solar Guppy
    Solar Guppy Solar Expert Posts: 1,989 ✭✭✭
    #30
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    5 ton for 2000 sf is nuts ... you need to fix where the heat gain is coming from

    I have a 3.5 Ton on my 2600sf home, and keep it at 76 day and night.

    Its very simple, you need to insulate, not spend 3-5K on swapping in an oversize unit that won't save you a penny on the electric.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,457 admin
    #31
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    Re: Plz Help Insulation questions

    Conservation also applies to what you run in your home too... Inefficient appliances/refrigerators, big entertainment systems left on. Big old desktop/server computers running 24x7 etc... All can add a lot of heat into the home that you then have to spend big money moving out side.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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