need advice on saving electricity

[elijahboy]

haha you ask what shape the water tank is in

funny thing is i have never seen it WE CANT FIND IT some jack enclosed it with a friggin pantry and there is no access panels on the exterior

my uncle (the one that owned the property before us) has never seen it and they owned the property since mid 90s

its is electric

for some reason there is a gas/propane line coming from the ground outside and no one knows what its for

yes the insulation needs to be replaced entirely as its hanging on the ground

the roof was rotting so they put the metal roof on so im sure the insulation up there is shot

super cool you mentioned the brick veneer cause i had never thought of that

i had thought about solar panels as there was a company here advertising a panel including insulation for 6k

loving the tile idea as the back door where the sun come in has a porch added to it and it will be screened in after the demo is done and i can use the darker screen to block some of the sun but im not sure that makes sense here as we only have like 3 or 4 months of winter

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that your hot water tank is electric? Since you're asking on how to save on electricity. I agree with XPC, on demand hotwater heaters are still too "new" to recover your investment. But there are things you can do with standard tanks. First off, what condition is the one you have in? If it's fairly descent, here's something my grand parents did. When they had a new well dug on thier property (65 miles north of Greenbay Wisconsin), my grandfather disconnected the old tank from the electric, but still had the water ran to it, then from there to the new hotwater tank. What this did was created a holding tank where the rather cold water being pumped into the well could then come up to room temp. Much more efficent then trying to heat water that was fresh out of the ground.

If you don't have the space to do that. No matter how efficent of a tank you get, get a blanket to wrap it in! Then set the temp to 110F and forget about it. (Temp is what I've seen recommended on the DIY channel as being safe and energy efficent).

Something everyone should be aware of. Skip the CFL bulbs! If ya break one you need a hazmat team (pratcially) to clean up the mess, and technically if one dies your not sappose to toss that in the trash because of the mercury content in them. Go straigh to LED's. The last even longer and are more efficent then the CFL's.

You mentioned a skirt underneath. First check to make sure ya have proper insulation underneath. Then I would suggest using treated lumber and frame a skirt. Insulate this and then use a brick vaneer to make it look nice. Don't forget to leave your self an access so if you need to get to plumbing underneath you can do so. You can also lay some plastic down as a vapor barrior too. Just lay that ontop of the gravel underneath.

I love the idea of a steel roof. Not only do they last longer, but if you are interested in going solar in the future, there's companies out there that make a flexible adhesive backed solar panels ment to fit between the steel panel ridges. I seen this on Planet Green not to long ago and there's a article in Mother Earth News as well explaining the project.

I've two suggestions about the sun hitting the east and west sides. The first it to take advantage of this for winter heating. Install darker colored cermic or stone tiles. The tiles will become a thermal mass and soak up the heat. Of course this isn't great in the summer when it's cooling you want, so I'd suggest getting some awnings you can raise and lower. That way you can control the amount of sun is hitting the tiles inside. If the door itself is older or not double paned, I'd replace it with a better one.

There is however an inexpensive quick fix. Home Depot carries a mylar film you can glue to the inside of the glass. It not only reflects sunlight in the summer, it also gives your window a few extra R value points in the winter as well. This stuff comes in mirrored, smoke and semi transparent.

 

[Jaxom]

Oh, I forgot to mention. If you like the idea of framing and then vaneer. I would suggest then to dig out a footing and either pour some concrete or use pavers or something. While treated lumber will last longer exposed to the weather you still want to get it off the ground! At least and few inches.

 

[xpc]

Something everyone should be aware of. Skip the CFL bulbs! If ya break one you need a hazmat team (pratcially) to clean up the mess, and technically if one dies your not sappose to toss that in the trash because of the mercury content in them. Go straigh to LED's. The last even longer and are more efficent then the CFL's.

You sound smart enough not to really believe that CFL rhetoric, it is true for the most part but only in an infinitesimal alarmist chicken little way - can you say california.

LEDs are getting there and hope to be alive once perfected into a reasonably priced product. Failure rates are still too high for the use to offset their cost, we replaced thousands of 50 cent incandescent bulbs prone to vibration failure with $40 LEDs which then had a yearly 50% failure rate in mission critical annunciation systems - nope not yet for this boy, I stocked up on 100 watt bulbs and will defend them to the death.

 

[Wifezilla]

I think probably your single biggest "bang for buck" step would be to shade all your windows, especially the sliding door -- awnings or a covered porch or things like that. IN ADDITION use insulating drapes or other means to keep what heat enters the windowglass from transferring so badly into the house.

Second biggest "bang for buck" step would be a couple good powerful window fans, if you do not already have them, so that the moment the outdoor air is cool enough (use a thermometer, 'feel' can be decieving) you can crank the fans to start sucking cool outdoor air through the whole house.

Third biggest "bang for your buck" step would be very heavy insulation, like at least R30, in both the floor and the ceiling.

We can keep our house cool in Colorado during outrageous heat with a couple of window fans. Now we could NOT do that BEFORE we got our new windows. Also deepening the west facing front porch helped.

 

[xpc]

There is however an inexpensive quick fix. Home Depot carries a mylar film you can glue to the inside of the glass. It not only reflects sunlight in the summer, it also gives your window a few extra R value points in the winter as well. This stuff comes in mirrored, smoke and semi transparent.

I have to throw one caveat with this, if they are new in warranty dual pane+ windows you will void the warranty and run the risk of blowing the argon seal - this will allow moisture to get between the panes and be a pain to see out of.

The highly detailed experiment I posted last summer gave the manufactures warning and also substantiates what Jaxom just said. Use on single pane or on the outside of dual panes as it works just as well but doesn't stay in place as long.

The reason is because the mylar does not reflect 100% (nothing does) but rather redistributes the ultraviolet and then heats the glass to a temperature that can not be touched, the double panes turns it into thermos bottle and expands the glass to rupture the seal.

 

[elijahboy]

so xpc the mylar is to be left alone really?

There is however an inexpensive quick fix. Home Depot carries a mylar film you can glue to the inside of the glass. It not only reflects sunlight in the summer, it also gives your window a few extra R value points in the winter as well. This stuff comes in mirrored, smoke and semi transparent.

I have to throw one caveat with this, if they are new in warranty dual pane+ windows you will void the warranty and run the risk of blowing the argon seal - this will allow moisture to get between the panes and be a pain to see out of.

The highly detailed experiment I posted last summer gave the manufactures warning and also substantiates what Jaxom just said. Use on single pane or on the outside of dual panes as it works just as well but doesn't stay in place as long.

The reason is because the mylar does not reflect 100% (nothing does) but rather redistributes the ultraviolet and then heats the glass to a temperature that can not be touched, the double panes turns it into thermos bottle and expands the glass to rupture the seal.

 

[xpc]

so xpc the mylar is to be left alone really?

I used it on two of my hottest windows for an entire summer and all was good, I did not want to risk all my new dual panes and did not put back up this year. I have blinds and insulated curtains instead.

I am just quoting facts from the manufacture, they must of had a few lawsuits and decided to add it to their list of disclaimers.

 

[xpc]

I just looked it up as it has been many years since I read about it last. Here is the quote from the people in sunny Florida:

"Furthermore, many double pane window manufacturers void their warranties if the homeowner puts a window film on their product. One reason for this is that when the film gets hot, it makes the pane it is affixed to get hot as well. The glass expands, and expands more than the outer glass without the film. This difference in expansion can create stresses in the window which in worst cases can cause the window to break, through no fault of the window. If you wish to apply window film to a double pane window, make sure the window manufacturer will continue to back the window warranty."

the fart linkage
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/buildings/homes/windows/films.htm

 

[Old Sew'n'Sew]

HERE ARE A FEW HILLBILLY SOLUTIONS IF YOU DON'T HAVE ALOT OF FUNDS:

Don't change the HW tank, Drain it flush it and install new elements, check the rod in the top that collects the minerals if it has one.

Put a insulation jacket on it, you can get a kit.

Install a manual breaker just for the tank where it is convenient and easy to reach, we did this and only turn it on when we need hot water, then turn it off. We only turn it on every other day or every third day, or on during day, off at night.

With a jacket on the tank it will stay warm for a while til you use the water in the tank.

Hot water on demand without the spendy instant water heater. You can use cold water for alot of things in the summer.

BATHING AND LAUNDRY:
Save gray water for re-use.
Take baths instead of showers, you can bath two people or children with the same water, Take turns on who goes first. , and transfer the bath water to the washing machine for the wash cycle.
Wash clothes in cold water.
Use the short cycle.
Hang your clothes to dry.

COOKING AND DISHES:

All cooking water that you boil pasta, hot dogs, whatever... save water for animals or plants outdoors.
Use two plastic dish pans, one for wash, one for rinse, when finished, re-use water for garden. (use Ivory or some other plain or homemade soap, it is ok for the plants and pigs, dogs.)

WINDOWS:

Fix, clean and calk the windows all around replace weather stripping.
Install insulated drapes or window quilts with velcro.
Install inexpensive shrink plastic in the winter.

For a trailer pull the air thru with one window fan at each end. Make sure the fan drawing in is on the shade side.

Just remember I did say HILLBILLY. Don't get all rolly eyes. These are time tested methods for hard times, , also provides chores to do as a family.

 

[elijahboy]

hey old sewnsew

Take baths instead of showers, you can bath two people or children with the same water, Take turns on who goes first. , and transfer the bath water to the washing machine for the wash cycle.

i cant do the kids in the same bath tub as they get filthy dirty but.....

besides the obvious....a bucket.... have you found an easy way to get the water from the bathtub to the washing machine cause that sounds doable

one more question about your ideas

the grey water thing

if i were to have a hose coming from the washing mashine, tub, sinks wont the borax (homemade detergent) kill the plants. Also if there is no water going back into whereever it goes will the well go dry or the septic tank not work right. I have no clue where water goes to once it leaves the house when you dont have city water.