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Archive of posts from January 2016

  • Smart water heater?

    Jan 9, 2016

    I’ve been toying with the idea of smartening our water heater. We take showers in the morning and the water heater cranks up right away to keep the water warm all day. If we were on a time of use power plan it seems like it would make more sense to heat the water when the sun is out and the PV is cranking out kilowatts. Or if there is little sun, wait till just before we get home.

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  • We're net positive again in 2015!

    Jan 3, 2016

    We used 7,141 kWh and generated 8,694 kWh for a net of 1,552 kWh for the year. This is our second highest net energy year after 2012. Here’s our progress for the first 4 years in the house.

    All values in kWh (except HDD which is base 65°F).
    Usage Solar PV Net usage or (surplus) Avg. daily usage HDD
    Total 28,056 34,473 (6,417) 19.1 26,530
    2012 5,601 8,856 (3,256) 15.3 5,885
    2013 7,206 8,575 (1,368) 19.7 6,810
    2014 8,108 8,348 (240) 22.2 7,063
    2015 7,141 8,694 (1,552) 19.6 6,772
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