blakey
ArboristSite Operative
I bet that will slow the electricity usage a lot. Good work!
Electric consumption from Heatmor?
- Thread starter Angel4JohnnyB
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Labman
ArboristSite Guru
There is a device called I think a Kill-A-Watt. Anything you plug it into, it records the KW hours it uses. I don't know if it comes in 240 volt versions or not. There are ways of making it work with hard wired devices.
whiting-5
ArboristSite Operative
my hot tub is set to come on and run at 40 degrees to keep from frezzing even if you have the panel shut down i would look at draining it i dont buy the fittings shrink
ours is inside our master bathroom when building our house my wife said rather have it inside felt we would get more use out of it and save electricity had one outside before never again. now when i build my dry sauna it will be in the woods
ours is inside our master bathroom when building our house my wife said rather have it inside felt we would get more use out of it and save electricity had one outside before never again. now when i build my dry sauna it will be in the woods
RuralCruiser007
ArboristSite Member
We use our hot tub all the time. Last night in point. Sure our power bill is high, but it is in the plans as to when we get an OWB or I build one, to have the OWB heat the hot tub also.
We like to save money(got this hot tub for free). If you take the time or initiative to repair or think outside the box then you can reduce your electical consumption. One of the plans is to build a small shop for right now, then start adding solar and wind power to offset our electrical consumption.
We hate being tied to the grid, and are lookin' to change that. It takes time and perseverance to get there. If I wasn't so much an information and net junkie I would try and live in the boon docks and completely off grid.
Glenn
We like to save money(got this hot tub for free). If you take the time or initiative to repair or think outside the box then you can reduce your electical consumption. One of the plans is to build a small shop for right now, then start adding solar and wind power to offset our electrical consumption.
We hate being tied to the grid, and are lookin' to change that. It takes time and perseverance to get there. If I wasn't so much an information and net junkie I would try and live in the boon docks and completely off grid.
Glenn
projectsho89
ArboristSite Operative
I have both a a hot tub (in the basement) and a Kill-A-Watt. Unfortunately, there's no way to use a KAW on a 240 volt system nor is there a version that does so. It's a pretty handy little toy: I used it to see just how much juice was being wasted...er, used, by my Christmas lights, for example. I also figured out that a dehumidifier is an energy hog and a few more of the devices in the home are right up there....
If you want to measure the power usage of a 240 volt appliance, you can use a clamp AC meter (about $40 from Sears) to find the current draw and do the math.
Steve
Using a amp clamp & math wont work with appliances that have heating coils that cycle on & off. I tried that with our dryer. Our electric company has a device, not sure if its a K-A-W or not, that has a amp clamp that plugs into a small computer & you enter your cost per kilowatt hr & it will tell you how much it cost to operate. as it turns out it only cost about 25 cents to dry a load of clothes. You could put it on a hot tub for 24 hrs. & it will tell you how much it cost for that day. Check with your power company.
Ed*L
ArboristSite Guru
I'm going to suggest you have your main electrical(s) panel and meter box inspected. Slightly loose lugs on the main breakers will generate heat, heat=power loss=high bills.
You can check it yourself by removing the box cover and use an ir thermometer to check temperature at the lugs, the should be within a degree or 2 of room temperature.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ir+thermometer
This condition will cause high power bills, it also sneaks up on you over time, electricity cycles and causes vibration, if the lug screws aren't properly tightened they loosen over time.
Ed
You can check it yourself by removing the box cover and use an ir thermometer to check temperature at the lugs, the should be within a degree or 2 of room temperature.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ir+thermometer
This condition will cause high power bills, it also sneaks up on you over time, electricity cycles and causes vibration, if the lug screws aren't properly tightened they loosen over time.
Ed
I just checked with the power company. It is a Kill-A-Watt
projectsho89
ArboristSite Operative
Of course it can be done manually, however, it is tedious and time consuming and is best suited to an automated monitoring device. But it can be done.
Interesting, since P3 International (maker of the KAW) doesn't offer one that has either a clamp or works on a 240VAC supply.
I wonder what KAW model it might be?
Steve
Mister Twister
ArboristSite Operative
Something you mentioned earlier sticks in my mind. Even though you have the hot water tank set down to 120 degrees when the cold water comes in they still turn on to heat it as the water piped in goes into the middle of the tank or bottom so you don't get cold water out the top. My heater is gas but it still had to be turned off because it was still coming on during normal usage. You may want to check that it is not coming on which would be hard on an electric tank or if you can't turn the breaker off to it. A lot of people don't know there electric heaters are still coming on and using energy.
Good luck...
Good luck...
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You are correct, I looked them up on google & that isnt what I used. this thing was a tabletop unit like a small computer if I remember, been a few years since I used it, or maybe my mind is gone. I will try to get more info tomorrow.
If it was from the power company and hooked to a laptop it might be a Fluke meter, same concept as the kill-a-wat but alot more elaborate....they make them in all sizes up to really big, we just had a 3 phase 250hp air compressor monitored with one...yeah that had a bit of a spike when it went online...
Wirenut2266
ArboristSite Guru
Here you go: Drain tub, down to just above pump intake jets. Pour in a few gallons of RV antifreeze, run pumps a couple miunutes, done. Power down and walk away. No differant than winterizing a rv or cabin.
It is a Brultech, I borrowed it again to see how much my water heater is costing
