On Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:36:26 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
mm wrote:

On Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:09:53 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:


There is one caveat. If your water heater is so poorly insulated or so
unfavorably situated that the water temp inside returns to supply
ambient before those ten hours elapse, then you'll save. Since you're
obviously energy conscious, that caveat likely doesn't apply.

I've turned off the electricity to my water heater and it stays pretty
hot for 3 days iirc. And it would stay hot a lot longer if I weren't
using the hot water. The major thing cooling off the water is the
cold water going in when I use hot water.


Usage is very strange. I went away for November and December (and my
billing periods were from the 15th to the 14th, and my bill was almost
the same as the previous year when I was here the whole time.

The water heater was off, and empty. The furnaace was down to about 45
and it's oil so it only used electricity to run the ignition and
blower, and the furance fan.

About 4 lights were on timers, but I leave 3 of them on timers even
when I'm home.

It was not an estimated reading.

I still haven't figured it out.

We love a good mystery. I'm sure you know that for comparison, it's
kilowatt-hours that count, not dollars. How old is that refrigerator?

Yeah, I forgot to say that I compared KwH, not dollars.

The fridge is only 29 years old, but when I was away, I didn't open
the door at all, so however high the electric usage it was, it should
have been less, a lot less, when I was away.

If I'm lucky I may go away for 2 months March and April of next
year**. I'll try to do a better job, if possible, of comparing then

**Prior to last years trip I hadn't been anywhere except to visit my
brother in 10 years. Plus I'm trying to sell a project on these trips
(but haven't attempted to deduct even a fraction of the costs. I don't
think I can since I've not gotten any revenue.)