Question:
Can anyone give me advice on carrying out a home energy audit ?
Response:
> Can anyone give me advice on carrying out a home energy audit ?
Obtain a killa-watt meter, or something similar. Plug all your electrical devices in one by one, ideally for at least a day to get an idea of how much energy each uses in a typical day. Sort the resultant list by energy use. Repeat with other sources of energy. — Two parrots sitting on a perch. One asks the other, "Can you smell fish?"
Response:
Try this link as a good starting point http://www.hydroonenetworks.com/en/efficiency/appliance_calculator/
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Can anyone give me advice on carrying out a home energy audit ?
Response:
> Can anyone give me advice on carrying out a home energy audit ?
Others have posted some ideas, I’ll add my $0.02 If you’re looking to power your home from non traditional sources, a good first step is as others have suggested. Buy a portable watt-meter and take some measurements. If you’re looking to reduce your heating bill this winter, try contacting your utility. Many have FREE energy audit programs where they will come in and do a few basic tests. How clean your furnace is burning, how leaky your doors/windows are, that sort of thing. Much of the information they will provide you is available elsewhere, but the price is right and it is relevant for the average homeowner in your area. Then with their information you can devise a ‘plan of attack’. They will usually help you figure out where you can get ‘the most bang for your buck’. Some of the cheaper things people can do turn out to have really big savings (like chaulking/weatherstripping). daestrom
Response:
>> Can anyone give me advice on carrying out a home energy audit ? >Obtain a killa-watt meter, or something similar. >Plug all your electrical devices in one by one, ideally for at least a day >to get an idea of how much energy each uses in a typical day.
im in the UK . will the kill a watt work over here ?
Response:
>>> Can anyone give me advice on carrying out a home energy audit ? >Obtain a killa-watt meter, or something similar. >Plug all your electrical devices in one by one, ideally for at least a day >to get an idea of how much energy each uses in a typical day.
I have a cheaper version but this is the closest I found on a search for a replacement. <http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/module.asp?CartID=031019122629459&mo…> AJH
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>> Can anyone give me advice on carrying out a home energy audit ? >>Obtain a killa-watt meter, or something similar. >>Plug all your electrical devices in one by one, ideally for at least a day >>to get an idea of how much energy each uses in a typical day. >I have a cheaper version but this is the closest I found on a search >for a replacement. ><http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/module.asp?CartID=031019122629459&mo…> >AJH
thanks. just what i need.
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>>> Can anyone give me advice on carrying out a home energy audit ? >>>Obtain a killa-watt meter, or something similar. >>>Plug all your electrical devices in one by one, ideally for at least a day >>>to get an idea of how much energy each uses in a typical day. >I have a cheaper version but this is the closest I found on a search >for a replacement. ><http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/module.asp?CartID=031019122629459&mo…> > thanks. just what i need.
If the same one I have, then it works OK for most loads. It misreads quite a lot on my PC power supply, reading high by 100%. — <Squawk> Pieces of eight! <Squawk> Pieces of eight! <Squawk> Pieces of eight! <Squawk> Pieces of eight! <Squawk> Pieces of eight! <Squawk> Pieces of nine! <SYSTEM HALTED: parroty error!>
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>>>> Can anyone give me advice on carrying out a home energy audit ? >>>>Obtain a killa-watt meter, or something similar. >>>>Plug all your electrical devices in one by one, ideally for at least a day >>>>to get an idea of how much energy each uses in a typical day. >>I have a cheaper version but this is the closest I found on a search >>for a replacement. >><http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/module.asp?CartID=031019122629459&mo…> > thanks. just what i need. >If the same one I have, then it works OK for most loads. >It misreads quite a lot on my PC power supply, reading high by >100%.
shit. why is that ? and how much does your pc use ?
Response:
> >If the same one I have, then it works OK for most loads. >It misreads quite a lot on my PC power supply, reading high by >100%. > shit. why is that ? and how much does your pc use ?
As to why, probably the PC’s switching power supply has a very strange power factor, i.e. the current waveform throws the meter off. %mod%
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>> >If the same one I have, then it works OK for most loads. > >It misreads quite a lot on my PC power supply, reading high by > >100%. > shit. why is that ? and how much does your pc use ? > As to why, probably the PC’s switching power supply has a very strange > power factor, i.e. the current waveform throws the meter off.
It’s not the power factor. Power factor is a measure of how much the alternating current and voltage is in step. The PSU in question has a power factor of 1. However, the current is very spiky, not smooth, and the meter can’t keep up with it, and miscalculates the power. (the PSU was around $10(us) and has now failed. I’m about to open it up and investigate the circuit.) — Windows 2000, software for next millenia. <latin pun alert> - Ian Stirling.
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> >If the same one I have, then it works OK for most loads. >> >It misreads quite a lot on my PC power supply, reading high by >> >100%. >> shit. why is that ? and how much does your pc use ? > As to why, probably the PC’s switching power supply has a very strange > power factor, i.e. the current waveform throws the meter off. >It’s not the power factor. >Power factor is a measure of how much the alternating current and voltage >is in step. >The PSU in question has a power factor of 1. >However, the current is very spiky, not smooth, and the meter can’t >keep up with it, and miscalculates the power. >(the PSU was around $10(us) and has now failed. I’m about to open it up >and investigate the circuit.)
be careful ! i read those capacitors inside carry quite a charge.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> …probably the PC’s switching power supply has a very strange >> power factor, i.e. the current waveform throws the meter off. >It’s not the power factor. Power factor is a measure of how much >the alternating current and voltage is in step. >The PSU in question has a power factor of 1. >However, the current is very spiky, not smooth, and the meter can’t >keep up with it, and miscalculates the power. >The power factor is the ratio of real power in watts to apparent power in >volt-amperes, regardless of waveform. Brand Electronics meters do well >with these spikey waveforms. >Please keep discussions like these OUT of alt.solar.thermal, >which is only for "practical uses of the sun’s heat."
do you own alt.solar.thermal ?
Response:
> > As to why, probably the PC’s switching power supply has a very strange > power factor, i.e. the current waveform throws the meter off. > It’s not the power factor. > Power factor is a measure of how much the alternating current and voltage > is in step. > The PSU in question has a power factor of 1. > However, the current is very spiky, not smooth, and the meter can’t > keep up with it, and miscalculates the power. > (the PSU was around $10(us) and has now failed. I’m about to open it up > and investigate the circuit.)
If "the current is very spiky, not smooth," then I’d say that the alternating current and voltage are not very much in step (presumably the voltage waveform is smooth as normal) and thus "a measure of how much the alternating current and voltage is in step" would point this out as a PF<>1. Thanks for the confirmation that the current waveform throws the meter off. A spiky current waveform is often the case for switchmode power supplies that rectify the mains AC to DC. %mod%
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