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My hydro bill

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  • Dec 15th, 2014 6:56 pm
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Member
Mar 5, 2005
435 posts
78 upvotes
At least you are saving on your water charges. In Alberta for about 1 cubic metre a day, I'm paying $133.00 per MONTH for water/waste-water & drainage...looks to be around $50.00 a month more than you. Pricey!
Deal Addict
Nov 21, 2007
3433 posts
1386 upvotes
Scarborough
OP, I hope you come back and post your results after taking steps in changing, investigating....
Deal Addict
User avatar
Mar 8, 2002
4235 posts
880 upvotes
Ottawa
Chuttt wrote: Yeah I know about the lighting thing. I have quite some of those 50w halogen gu10 and also plenty of lighting are the old style. I also have those stand up light that use those 300w tube..

Anyone know where to buy LED at low price. This at Home Depot seems quite ridiculously expensive.
Home Depot is still accepting the saveONenergy printed coupons in my area. They are good until the end of 2014.
Get rid of the 300W halogen torchiere lamps and replace them with something else. They cannot be retrofitted to LED, and they are extremely inefficient and fire hazards because they run so hot.

GU10 halogens should be outlawed, they are cheap, the builders and buyers love them, but they are better heaters than light sources. Change them all to LED. Right now you can get a case of four from Home Depot for $70 taxes in, less the rebate. That might seem expensive, but consider going from a 50W halogen to 6W LED saves you 44W. 44W * 8h/day * 365 days/yr = 128 kWh/year, @ avg price of $0.16/kWh that equals $20.55 saved per year. You just paid for the LED lamp in less than one year. You will also cut down on your air conditioning bill, but require more natural gas to offset the waste heat. Usually these even out more or less. Plus you will save even more because you won't be replacing the halogens constantly anymore.

Don't bother with CFL's in GU10 format, I have tried them and ended up recyling them all and installing LEDs instead.
Member
Dec 8, 2010
387 posts
390 upvotes
Toronto
Hi all thanks for the response so far.

Here's what I plan too do for the lighting.

I'll change to CFL as much as I can.

The LED GU10. I saw on amazon.ca you can get 10 for like $60 which is not bad. Anyway tried those?

Finally I have 3 standing light and they use those 300W T3 linear halogen Quartz tube shape thing. I don't know of any energy saving alternative for that. They're very bright so we were keeping them on quite often.
Sr. Member
Sep 10, 2014
533 posts
89 upvotes
Dartmouth, NS
RoadRunner wrote: At least you are saving on your water charges. In Alberta for about 1 cubic metre a day, I'm paying $133.00 per MONTH for water/waste-water & drainage...looks to be around $50.00 a month more than you. Pricey!
How are you using a cubic meter of water a day? That's 9000 litres per day.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Jun 9, 2003
25310 posts
2536 upvotes
Markham, ON
get the coupon at saveonenergy (ontario use only...other provinces have diff programs)

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/muqYnNi.png[/IMG]


note that the Rona Bazz GU10 are very bright and is equivalent to 50W GU10!

The specs are 475 lumens, 3000K....which is accurate on the 6 i have tested out.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Aug 6, 2009
3309 posts
761 upvotes
Aurora, ON
I am able to log into powerstream and see my usage on an hour by hour basis. Perhaps your utility has the same info if you sign up? It also shows me how my usage compares with nearby homes so I can see how I'm doing.
Member
User avatar
Aug 25, 2007
460 posts
109 upvotes
Toronto
I am getting the same billing on my Hydro bill, and taken some steps to reduce my baseline load and will see over the next few months if I make a dent. I do have a Hot Tub on the outside deck that is used quite a lot, three or four times a week in the winter and that is fairly substantial seeing it is heated electrically through I believe a 3KW heater load and some pumps on top.

I have very recently changed all my appliances throughout the house to high efficiency units, might make some inroads there. I have also changed 95% of my lights to LED, they are super energy efficient and should lower my base load considerably next few months will tell. The remaining 5% of lights are staying incandescent as even the best LED review and units that I have tested just don't meet our needs for light reproduction, but changing out 95% is an extremely good conversion for our energy consumption.

In changing to LED I sould suggest not buying the most inexpensive units available, light (color) reproduction varies extremely from manufacturer to manufacturer, and even within a single manufacturer line. A great deal of families want the best color as we are all accustomed to incandescent and investing in an LED that has terrible output will only turn you off to LED regardless of price. Read some reviews and test a single bulb first to see if their particular LED fits your needs. If price is your only criteria then there are some very low cost options, for others that premium hurts but seeing the bulbs last upwards to 25 years a little higher investment will be justified over the potential long life.
Member
Dec 8, 2010
387 posts
390 upvotes
Toronto
thelefteyeguy wrote: get the coupon at saveonenergy (ontario use only...other provinces have diff programs)

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/muqYnNi.png[/IMG]


note that the Rona Bazz GU10 are very bright and is equivalent to 50W GU10!

The specs are 475 lumens, 3000K....which is accurate on the 6 i have tested out.
Thanks. So counting up I'll need like 20. I never used the coupon before will I be allowed to use that many? Or I need to go buy a few everyday?
Deal Fanatic
Apr 20, 2011
7747 posts
2750 upvotes
ON
Chuttt wrote: Thanks. So counting up I'll need like 20. I never used the coupon before will I be allowed to use that many? Or I need to go buy a few everyday?
Read the fine print of the coupon image you quoted...
Member
Mar 5, 2005
435 posts
78 upvotes
cappuccinosf wrote: How are you using a cubic meter of water a day? That's 9000 litres per day.
By turning on the dishwasher, wash machine, using the bathroom, and a shower for 4 people?? The OP's usage was about the same. How is it that you are not using that amount?
Member
Jan 17, 2013
459 posts
81 upvotes
Sarnia
and get rid of those 3 300 watt halogen floor lamps you have turned on all day.. That's a huge amount of wasted power.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Jun 9, 2003
25310 posts
2536 upvotes
Markham, ON
aqnd wrote: Read the fine print of the coupon image you quoted...
as per aqnd...you'll need to make multiple purchases...most cashiers know the drill...they will just do 5 bulbs per transaction...
Member
Dec 8, 2010
387 posts
390 upvotes
Toronto
jackie999 wrote: I am able to log into powerstream and see my usage on an hour by hour basis. Perhaps your utility has the same info if you sign up? It also shows me how my usage compares with nearby homes so I can see how I'm doing.
Thank you. I'm with powerstream too. Their site is quite complex. Do you just sign up with your account and they have some tools ? I'm gonna try that tonight .
Sr. Member
Sep 10, 2014
533 posts
89 upvotes
Dartmouth, NS
James_TheVirus wrote: Not quite. 1m^3 is 1000 litres.
I screwed up that math pretty bad. Still 1000L per day is crazy, I used 35 cubic meter last year.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Aug 6, 2009
3309 posts
761 upvotes
Aurora, ON
Chuttt wrote: Thank you. I'm with powerstream too. Their site is quite complex. Do you just sign up with your account and they have some tools ? I'm gonna try that tonight .
Yes, you'll need one of your bills (or just your a/c number) and sign in and set up your own password. The tools available are really quite interesting..for instance, I can really see a spike when the dryer starts up or when a hair blower is used. Hopefully this will give you an idea of where you can make some savings. I'm happy to say I use the least of the houses around me - but then again I'm a true RFD'er and am very careful :)
Deal Addict
Nov 21, 2007
3433 posts
1386 upvotes
Scarborough
jackie999 wrote: Yes, you'll need one of your bills (or just your a/c number) and sign in and set up your own password. The tools available are really quite interesting..for instance, I can really see a spike when the dryer starts up or when a hair blower is used. Hopefully this will give you an idea of where you can make some savings. I'm happy to say I use the least of the houses around me - but then again I'm a true RFD'er and am very careful :)
With that note, RFD should charge you for membership...

I just came back from Rona with one gu10 led bulb....attempting to change the gu5.3 base to gu10....

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