[...] FrugalTrader05:00 amAdd comment So you did all your tenant due diligence, everything checked out, but now your tenant is 2 months behind in paying the rent. You've [...]

[...] try to save energy around the house with CFL's, programmable thermostats and proper [...]

[...] Saving Energy Around the House (30 [...]

Hydro bill for everything else (no A/C) worked out to roughly $350 per year.

As well, in all of the renos that we’ve done, I’ve made every effort to increase efficiency when it made monetary sense. I even lucked into a top end window (Energy star, argon filled) for the kitchen that I picked up for half price

Saving Energy Around the House…

Article explaining different methods to save energy around the house. Especially useful for homes in colder climates. Here is a snippet:
“As our new house is nearing completion, a lot of my brain space is spent on various ways to save money around t…

[...] Saving Energy Around the House [...]

[...] Saving Energy Around the House [...]

Instead, you can go to your local Canadian Tire/IKEA to pick up a pair of drying rack and dry your clothing that way. It has 2 big advantages: your clothes will last longer and the best reason is your hydro bills will decrease significantly.

Electric dryer and stove are two of the biggest hydro hogs out there. You can also do your part to help the environment as well.

I realize this is not for everyone (i.e. family with 3 or 4 kids) but if you only have a couple of people in your house, give this some consideration. I could not believe my eyes when I see the hydro bills after I start using the drying racks. It just blows my mind away.

On tankless water heaters, I could see parts being an issue if sub-part components were installed. They’re not as simple as tanks, and I could see parts going bad.

I’ve installed/used them, and am a particular fan of the Bosch 125HX*, although this was a while back. It did have some issues when running at minimal GPM, but it was rarely an issue.

As for it not scaling down, actually, that’s what these were made for, in a lot of ways. They’ve been deployed for a very long time in Europe, and other places where the energy inefficiency of a tank is just not worth the convenience.

They’re actually even better suited for small spaces like apartments where they save the space usually needed for a tank that gets heated 24/7. I’ve had them in about half of the apartments I’ve lived in, and they’ve always been nice – especially when there are visitors. No cold showers for the last in line!

* I like the impeller ignition mechanism – water in, gas in, hot water out. No electrical lines needed!

the Wealthy Canadian – how far along the pipe did you run the insulation? Was it that black rubbery/spongy stuff?

Gates VP – don’t know if this is the same thing, but we blocked off our floor vents and a furnace guy came in to show us in our unfinished basement that the builder had placed shut off ‘valves’ in the duct work just before it went to the floor. These were simple wing nuts attached to circular dampers – we tend to close off both the floor vent and the damper (kind of like wearing a belt with suspenders).

Rod Payne – does your gas bill include heating your hot water tank and/or gas dryer or stove/oven?

Jonathan Buck – I believe that we will start seeing provincial hydro companies incent and then mandate the use of smart meters in order to charge more for electricity use during peak times. This would be attached at the ‘mainline’ into the house.

Some people are buying individual units to see what any particular device uses up in terms of electricity. I think it would be interesting to see what all of the electronic devices that sit there in ’suspend’ mode draw – all of the TVs, cable boxes, clock radios, stereos, computer monitors, etc., etc., etc. would probably consume an alarming amount of electricity for doing nothing. In Ontario, when I factor in the cost of electricity, including transportation and debt retirement (don’t ask) I believe it comes out to about 11 cents/kWh for the first tier and it goes up to about 14 cents/kWh once your consumption goes beyond that. This is all off the top of my head so the numbers may be off and I forget where Tier 1 and Tier 2 start/end.

1) Too long to get hot water…must have a good flow to get any. Water temperature variable.

2) Some problems with components failing. Costs are significantly higher even when you figure in your modest energy savings.

Concept is good, especially for industrial applications. Doesn’t scale down very well to houses.

1) Don’t use the plastic clothes dryer ducting. Go for the metal piping. when I inspected ours, I discovered it had broken and was venting into the void between the floors.

2) Make sure all your ductwork sections are screwed and taped to ensure most efficient air flow. We’re replacing the drywall ceiling in the basement with pine strips. When I removed the drywall, the ductwork came down on my head. This does not make for good efficiency.

3) Burn wood if you can. Our gas bill averaged $100 / month last year. but, I can buy a cord of split larch/pine mix for $180. that cord should last me for the whole winter (OK, so winter is only 4 months here).

4) If you’ve got the option to plant evergreen trees on your property, do so. They’ll cut the winter wind chill. As well, deciduous trees outside your south-facing wall will cut the heat coming in during the summer while allowing more light through in the winter.

Another one I’ve discussed with my father (also an engineer) was to be able to control venting of hot/cold air at the outgoing level.

In most places you can “close the vent” in the room, but this only stops a small chunk. What he’d like to have are controls for venting air to a specific location right at the “pipe level”.

i.e.: we know that cold air tends to drop, so when he fires up the A/C he wants to be able to “kill” cold air flow to the basement. All of the cold air just goes directly to the top floor and we let physics do the rest. Keeps the top floor cool and helps to level out the temperature.

As I understand it, such systems exist, they’re just a pain to install post-construction. But they’re obviously a nice efficiency measure. Anyone else know more than I do on this one?

I’ve also found that insulating my hot water pipes has made a big difference. I don’t need to let the water run for as long until I have warm water.

DAvid

.. or am I..