But how much power do those huge screens use? What about the giant ones used at sports arenas? I think we actually use more power these days than we did 30 years ago.....
my house, built in 1988-89,
added; lil' over 1,650 sqft, 50 year/thick heat resistant comp roof,
T111 sided, 2x6 construction, stick-framed
Just the change of the old propane & electric heater
replaced with a modern/new '
all-electric HVAC unit',
we didn't even have AC prior to 2010-ish,
only a huge inefficient swamp cooler/"whole house fan"
on the roof, 1989 tech.
it cut my electric bill in 1/2, even in the winter months
& my dad turning it up to 70* all the damn time
& I don't need or hardly use any propane anymore
($3,000+ a year savings, way, way more today, it's dbl'd in price)
I only use like 100cuft
a year now, only my water heater is still propane
I 'use to' use almost 2 times that a month, in the winter alone...
I can have the AC on 75* all summer, 90*-100*+
(when my dad doesn't put it at 80*, he's always cold)
& still
not have anywhere near the expense...
or usage prior...
I did all the low wattage, compact fluorescents lights everywhere too,
about the same time, 11wt usage for a 35-40wt bulb/lums
I'm just now having to replace a few of them...
With LED lights...
my PG&E averages $125 a month, maybe,
some bills in the fall & spring, are only like $70 a month
(we don't have any wind or solar BS either)
we did do more insulation '
blown in' 12"s, in the attic', at the same time too
it used to be average $280-$310 in winter, before even paying for propane
that was another $300 a month min.
$125-$175 in summer
with no AC, it's about $4,000 a year in savings
we have 'no natural gas' up here, not supplied to the property
I can actually go out & read exact usage anytime
we rarely have much more than the fridge (newer), the TV (newer),
my computer (newer),
the old landline phones chargers/answering machine,
a couple old lil' alarm clocks/radios
& 1 or 2 lights here or there, whatever room we are in if needed
pretty minimal usage...
I just looked at it, it said right now (a few mins ago) lights,
3 on a ceiling fan fixture in my office
(11wts draw each, the TV & my computer & the fridge/freezer, 2 clocks, phones)
going from 90wts, to when the fridge kicks on 'spike to 275wt'
& settles back down to about 220wt, till the fridge motor stops,
then back down to about 90wt...
when the heater kicks on it's a 2,000wt spike, settles to like 1,200wt draw
like 10 min.s every hr, when it's cold, it does get cold in Calif. too
electronics, pumps fans motors & appliances especially are
far more efficient than '
they ever were', way back in the 80's at a min.,
leaps & bounds different, when this place was built...
time to update for some people
bite the bullet now & save a ton later, for years to come
