July Energy Bill

Hi Folks...yes, I realize it's been a while, but to be honest, I don't have any energy efficiency projects in the que. Well..proejcts that I can install myself anyway.   Maybe that's a good thing, right?  I get to enjoy my days after spending countless hours plunging myself into fixing things.  And now I'm enjoy the fruits of my work. 

Speaking of the 'fruits of my work'...below is the latest Energy bill results...

July 2012 Bill 
Total Energy Consumption = 663 kWh
Total number of days = 29
Average Daily Energy Consumption = 22.86 kWh/day
Bill Total = $76.00
Cooling Degree Days = 300
Avg Consumption per CDD = 2.21 kWh/CDD

July 2013 Bill  (Jun 4 - Jul 2)
Total Energy Consumption = 462 kWh
Total number of days = 28
Average Daily Energy Consumption = 16.50 kWh/day (27.8% Reduction from 2012)
Bill Total = $54.62 ($18.72 savings compared to 2012)
Cooling Degree Days = 313
Avg Consumption per CDD = 1.48 kWh/CDD (33.2% Reduction from 2012)

Overall...I'm still averaging about a 22% reduction in energy since installing the new GE Geospring ASHP water heater.  Not bad, eh? I know its still early in the season, but since I've started running my A/C, I've seen about a 35% reduction in energy usage.  This would be the result of the water heater work (RE:  Using the two tanks in series) in addition to the Ecobee thermostat allowing me to only run Stage 1 only which is significantly (30%) more efficeint than allowing Stage 2 to operate even when you factor in Stage 1's longer run time.  Cool stuff, huh?

So what's new on the horizon?  Well, not much to be honest.  I'm still very interested in installing solar panels.  But I need to refill the ole' piggy bank as we just bought my wife a new car for the soon-to-arrive twins.  And once they arrive, I'll expect my energy bill to go up as: (1) My wife + kids will be home for the next 3 motnhs, (2) My mother and father-in-law will be visiting and (3) I can't allow my house temperature to fluxuate as much.  The kiddos will need 75-78F (summer) and 68-70F (winter). Not to mention the extra hot water I'll need for clothes washing\drying, baths, dishwashing, etc.

I won't be too disappointed though...because I know I've worked my butt off to make sure I had everything as efficient as feasibly possible before the kids arrived.

Until next month...