mga
wandering
I was wondering how much we were saving by burning wood in our new home, and I got a chance to find out. The stat are: about 3200 square feet, walk out basement, geo-thermal loop system, two FPX 36 fireplaces, 2X6 walls with blown-in insulation, on 17 foot vaulted ceiling, Pella windows (lots of them) and all this was built in 2006-7. The dates of power useage are from 12-22 Jan. The power data came via our smart meter which the company lets me tap into via the computer. In November we were gone for two weeks, set the house temp. to 55, and shut off the hot water heater. Temp was in the 40's +/-. The average use was about 10-12 kw per day.(Two modern frig, wine cooler, two small freezers were going) During 12-22 Jan we were gone with a house sitter here. One person and our dog. The fireplaces were not run, just the geo=thermal. The temp varied from 45 to 9 deg. F The Kw use was avg to about 60+/- 5. One day he did laundry, and his wife did baking. This was a peak of 108Kw. Now that we are back, using one FPX 36 and the temp are in the 30's and NO geo thermal with out doing washing we are back to the normal 35 kw per day. (Keep in mind this includes me being out in the shop running lights, computer and the Buckstove and minor power took stuff.
So, the bottom line is in our case I figure we save about 60% per month or about 100 to 120 $$ depending on the out side temp. If we do washing/drying the 35 kw per day will spike as high as 45kw. At this rate it doesn't take much to pay for chainsaws, etc.
how much are you spending on wood?
if free, how much time are you spending hauling, cutting, splitting, stacking, etc?