What is your average monthly residential KWH usage?

[Crystal Clarity]

(You should be able to see a monthly average on your electricity bill-or figure it out averaging the past 12 months)

Yes, I realize that this is a very unscientific way of measuring your carbon footprint. WAY too many variables so feel free to elaborate.

For example: MY SO and I fall into the 300-600/month range and have actually used as little as 211/month before... However, there are only the 2 of us (unless you count our 2 Fur-Butted kids). Furthermore, one of the reasons we are able to keep it fairly low is the fact that we heat our home entirely with wood and our summers are cool enough that we are able to use only fans and not air conditioning. And I can't discount the fact that our hot water heater is gas powered, therefore we're using energy that doesn't appear on our electric bill...

Also, we live in the country with no public transportation available, therefore do alot of driving to work/ect. And one of our 2 vehicles is a pickup. We try to use the pickup as little as possible and only as intended...for hauling wood ect. But it doesn't always work that way.

So needless to say, we have ALOT of room for improvement.

[NNN0LHI]

1. My neighbor heated his home with mostly wood for a few years

Last year he had to have the inside of the house repainted at least twice to cover the smoke stains. And then I watched him carry thousands of dollars worth of expensive drapes out and put them in the garbage because they were ruined by the smell and other staining effects from the smoke. He had to have Orkin come out because he had termites too. Then he had to have someone come out and repair the termite damage. Termites probably came from the wood he used to stack next to his house.

He doesn't use his wood burner any more. And he has one of the wood burners that aren't supposed to leak smoke. But it did.

He thought burning wood was a great idea. Until it ended up costing him more money than if he had just used his gas furnace.

I couldn't stand going into his house. It always smelled like smoke inside.

Don

[Crystal Clarity]

3. For us, woodstoves are not

and idea, they're quite common in my neck of the woods. I'd be willing to guess that about 60% of people in my State use wood-stoves as a form of heat-either entirely or as a backup. For example, my SO has lived all but one of his 44 years with that form of heat. And woodstoves, as long as they are installed correctly do none of the damage that your friend had to contend with. Nor does the house smell like smoke.

But your point is well taken. :hi:

[NNN0LHI]

5. He is a cheapskate so he probably had some goof install it for him as a favor

He is always trying to save a nickel and it ends up costing him more.

A real ignorant redneck.

Don

[Crystal Clarity]

6. I think I know that guy...LOL

Or his brother... come to think of it, he must have a HUGE extended family because there are plenty like him around here too. :-)

[earth mom]

24. Sounds like something was wrong with his woodstove. We use one and don't have any smoke inside.

:shrug:

[ThomWV]

2. 1200, but our water comes from a well

So while our electricity bill is high, we have no water bill and its electricity that brings our water to us. There is no natural gas service to this area either, so electricity heats our water and drives our furnace in the winters too. However, unlike most of the rest of the country, the power source for our energy use is, in a sense, home grown. The power comes from coal, and the coal comes from here. An analogous situation is people who shop for locally grown food at nearby farms.

[meow mix]

4. extremely high, work at home in high usage business

i drive very little to try to make it up.

[madokie]

7. between 900 and a 1000

I might drive a couple hundred miles a year, my wife somewhat more than that but we'd never be able to wear out even a well used vehicle. So yes this poll is not a very good way to gauge a persons carbon footprint

[Smarmie Doofus]

8. Kick. nt

[FBI_Un_Sub]

9. Our 600-900 is high because

Mrs is am invalid and has higher computer and tv usage, plus we are both retired and spend more time at home.

[tularetom]

10. Ours is high because we're on well water

I estimate during the warm months about a third of our 1200 -1300 KWH is pumping water, another third is air conditioning. In the winter we drop to below 1000, we use less water and no air conditioning. Sometimes the bills are horrendous.

I've been looking into installing solar, but at our age the payback period is long enough to make the investment not viable.

[pinboy3niner]

11. 235, and going lower (228 last month)

A recent switch to CFL bulbs for all lighting (except a few 3- way lamps) is already paying off. Frugality in use of heating/cooling made a big difference, but that's harder to do in households that have infants and young children.

[MindPilot]

12. 900-1000 -- big old house.

Completely uninsulated--built at a time when apparently electricity was free, they paid you to use gas and water flowed uphill.

Plus my main hobby is woodworking, so there are lots of power tools.

[mrcheerful]

13. According to my bill statement I used 14 kwh this month which roughly came out to

$32.84, after adding all the sales tax and other add on fee's the bill went up to $55.32. I also have natural gas which came in as 0.084 MCF for the month or $7.13 but after the taxes and other add on's the final cost was $35.41. Btw, gasoline use normally runs $20 to $30 a month, which isn't bad with a 30 year old van with a small block V-8 but as both SO and I are disabled we only use the van to go to Doctors and grocery shopping. It's kinda funny as family have claimed I am wasteful for having the van that we didn't pay for, SO got it in her divorce settlement.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. I am on grid tie solar and generate more than I use

[Crystal Clarity]

20. That's excellent!!!

Question though:

Societal benefits not withstanding, how long (approximately) do you think your solar power installation(s) will take to pay you back in your investment in it? Serious question... I really want to learn more about alternatives from people who have actually taken that step.

[BelgianMadCow]

15. bey your pardon, but your average amount is terribly high

380 kWh per month for a family of four that cooks on electricity but heats on something else is average in belgium.

Mine is double that, I have a leak which I've been unable to find so far :grr:

[donco6]

16. 796, all windsource. n/t

[RedRocco]

17. I haven't had electricity at home in over 19 months

It's not so bad really, though the oil lamps are kind of dim for reading.

[FarCenter]

18. Oil? Whale or kerosene?

[RedRocco]

22. kerosene

I'm not kidding either, you try living on $135 a week take home.

[Catshrink]

19. It was 387 in April but...

and this is a big but, I didn't use heat or air in April as the weather is mild then. I've had the A/C on a couple of days this month and we're heading into the summer's heat so it will go way, way up very shortly.

[REP]

21. Average abt 700; far less than average use for units in this complex

It's usually less than 700, but we do use the AC when it's hot. We have a lot of computers, I use a CPAP (which obviously has to be on all night), etc, but if there's an energy-saving device, we use it. Changed all the bulbs to CFLs when we moved in! Wasn't easy finding CFL floods at first, but got 'em all replaced.

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. low, got a new refrigerator that cut use substantially. Living in LA, don't use a lot of heat