Electricity usage??

[ozwinner]

Welcome back.
Hi boys and girls, I am wondering what your domestic power bill is like?
I would assume most power companys charge around the same.

We are a family of 3, and ours is usually around the $350 per quater mark.

We have neighbour who rekons his is only $150 with a family of 3.
I dont use power tools at home, or havent for a year or so.
So whats your like??

Al :)

[Iain]

Ours (family of 4) is about $300 and $400 when we run air, we also have a bloody huge side by side frost free fridge freezer, electric oven (not hotplates) dishwasher and all my toys.
Daughter also is a recluse in her dirt pit (bedroom) and often runs her little fan heater in winter.
Electric hot water, big bugger which daughter can run out in one shower (one hour) and wasj\hing machine is on twice a day.
$150, I wish, unless he lives next to me and is running an extension lead.

[Wood Borer]

With just the two of us Meg reckons between $200 and $250.

I run heaters for the snakes but that is BA plus our hot water is electric.

My thicknesser/planer doesn't use any electric power.;)

[ozwinner]

Ours (family of 4) is about $300 and $400 when we run air, we also have a bloody huge side by side frost free fridge freezer, electric oven (not hotplates) dishwasher and all my toys.
Daughter also is a recluse in her dirt pit (bedroom) and often runs her little fan heater in winter.
Electric hot water, big bugger which daughter can run out in one shower (one hour) and wasj\hing machine is on twice a day.
.

Your mob and life style sound exactly like ours.

Al :D

[Gumby]

Yeah same here Al, around $350 is typical.

[ozwinner]

With just the two of us Meg reckons between $200 and $250.

I run heaters for the snakes but that is BA plus our hot water is electric.

My thicknesser/planer doesn't use any electric power.;)

So it looks like $100 per person per quater on average so far.
Good!:)
I was begining to think I was doing something wrong..:o

Al :)

[macca2]

Just the 2 of us and ours averages out at $200 per 1/4, with reverse cycle air, but gas hot water and gas hot plates.
Plus around $80 per 1/4 for gas.

[Tikki]

2 people ... around $300 per quarter for electricity plus $200 average for gas, but the tumble dryer works overtime

[ozwinner]

I prolly should have mentioned we are all electric with solar hot water.

Al :)

[MajorPanic]

Ya gotta be ####ing me don't ya????????????

$350!!!!!!!!!!!.......for 3 people!!!!!!!!!!!:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: ....... I should be soooo lucky!

Ours is no less than $550 & often over $600. It freaked me out when we first moved in but 3 sparkies reckon it's about on the money for the size of house & shed :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:.......... oh & there is only 2 of us :confused:

[Auld Bassoon]

About $250/Qtr, allowing for a/c., and oven, etc., plus the shed leccy stuff - electric convection heaters for the winter, (T/S - 2.2Kw, Dusty - 1.5Kw, Jointer - 1.5Kw, thicknesser - 1.1Kw (?), B/S 0.7Kw, plus about 3Kw of halogen lighting (no wonder it gets hot in the shed in summer - today went up to about 40c, pant, pant!)

Hot water is gas, as is heating and stove hobs.

[Dan]

$120-$130, single person, no gas, aircon for day sleeps when working nights, ambulance cover of 25.356c/day included.:)

[Iain]

Forgot to mention, our heating is (flame out coming) WOOD and gas is in the torpedoes out the back. Only for cooktop and too expensive for anything else.
We have no gas service as yet but it is coming, the joys of having a local councillor 3km up the road:D

[ozwinner]

Ok, I should also mention we have wood heating in winter too.

Al :D

[macca2]

We probably should compare unit costs.
In WA we don't have a choice. Only one supplier of gas and one for electricity.
Electricy = 12.67 cents per unit + $13.48 "Supply Charge" every 2 months.
Gas = 7.30 cents per unit + 10.45 cents per day "SupplyCharge"

macca

[ozwinner]

14.82c per Kwh
$46 supply cost per 1/4.

Al

[echnidna]

Electric hot water, big bugger which daughter can run out in one shower (one hour) and wasj\hing machine is on twice a day.


Iain, some caravan parks use a shower head which limits the hotwater to about 5 minutes use. Put one of them on and it must be your old hot water unit wearing out when she runs out of hot water. :D
(I think the Tooradin Caravan Park uses them)

[craigb]

No idea. The missus pays the bill.

Anyway, does it matter?

Whatever it costs to be cool/warm and run your tools and appliances is what it costs, innit?

Are you planning on economising?

The cost of electricity and the cost of water, they both seem cheap to me.

[Termite]

2 people....all electric, including reverse cycle aircon, and shed tools......average $230.00/1/4 less $28.00 pensioner discount. :D

[Grunt]

2 people....all electric, including reverse cycle aircon, and shed tools......average $230.00/1/4 less $28.00 pensioner discount. :D

That is a lot of electricity for 2 termites.

[Barry_White]

My average is $180.00 a quarter except last quarter it jumped to $295 without any explanation. This is for two people.

Have solar hot water in the summer and slow combustion stove for cooking and water heating in the winter with back up electricity.

Wood heating in the winter with occasional<o =""></o> 2400 watt electric heater.


Rural Rates first 950 units @ 17.03 cents a unit
balance of units @ 18.45 cents a unit
Service availability charge @ 44.78 cents per day all including GST

So Macca at 12.67 cents a unit you are doing well.

[E. maculata]

$460-$500 per quarter, family of four, *all mod cons, *large residence, pool pumps, *air/con, *electric everything, often & well used "workshop"
* denotes, these will change in the new year:rolleyes:

Thanks Major for making me feel better, for years we have been seen as electrical extravagants' by all around us.

[Shedhand]

In Tassie my winter account was 435 bucks for the quarter. Two of us. 2 x 2.4kwh panel heaters. All electric home. Plus my shed but i have no big machines as yet. Summer is usually around 150 bucks. The difference would be the cost of firewood if we were so irresponsible as to burn wood.:mad: So I figure the power cost is pretty reasonable.

[Ian007]

around the $850 to $900 dollar mark in winter:eek: for the 3 months and just got my power bill yesterday for the last three months which was $389

family of seven, three phase air con unit used for heating in winter, which gets used a lot more in winter than in summer, plus a shed full of power tools:D

hope that makes you all feel better.:o

Cheers Ian:)

[journeyman Mick]

We have electric hot water (off peak) and electric everything else including a bore pump to draw water from 30+M and a booster pump to run it to the taps. A couple of 3 phase machines and a shed full of machines, tools and about 600W of lights which run for about 2 days full time per week. Usual power bill is about $145 per 1/4 but last one jumped to $360+ :eek: However ther's been an increase in the tarriffs, SWMBO has been crook and in the bedroom with the AC on pretty much full time and the increase also coincides with the installation and usage of the two 3 phase machines (panel saw-6kw and edgebander 5kw).

Like Craig says, there's not much you can really do about it anyway. I've got a 2ndhand solar HWS I'll get around to fitting one of these days but it won't make much difference as we on;y pay about $35 per 1/4 for hot water. If anything I'd like to minimise our usage to lessen our environmental impact.

Mick

[ozwinner]

Like Craig says, there's not much you can really do about it anyway.


I wasnt trying to be a scrooge about power useage, I think electricity i way too cheep, thats why ppl leave lights on all day.




If anything I'd like to minimise our usage to lessen our environmental impact.


Now thats a good idea, when/if we move I might fit some solar panels just for lighting.

You can also get solar bore pumps (http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=solar+bore+pump&btnG=Google+Search&meta=cr%3DcountryAU)Mick


It still looks like $100 per person per 1/4

Al :)

[Grunt]

If you want solar power, you need big bright balls.

Sunball (http://www.greenandgoldenergy.com.au/)

[bitingmidge]

No pool, no air con, no heating (house is designed properly and insulated :rolleyes: )

Squllions of lights, all on dimmers.

Electric off peak HW.

Two people mostly, up to 14 on a big weekend.

Machinery never used, but nice to know that it's there.

Average $220 per quarter.

I reckon if we got really tight about turning off lights we could save a third without even noticing the difference.

Cheers,

P:D

[ozwinner]

Here is a good book to get hold of if you are at all concerned about you enviroument impact to the planet.

Its put out by the Federal gov, I got a copy of it 2 years ago at a trade show.
But the entire volume is available here.
http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/

OK, so Im a closet greenie.

Al :)

[Harry72]

Mines about $120-150!(2 people)
Gas water/cooking/heating... what confuses me is my bill only went up about 10 bucks when I started using all my machinery!(up to 6hp Tsaw & dusty together)

[fxst]

I wasnt trying to be a scrooge about power useage, I think electricity i way too cheep, thats why ppl leave lights on all day.

Now thats a good idea, when/if we move I might fit some solar panels just for lighting.

It still looks like $100 per person per 1/4

Al :)

Al we are going bush too and have done the sums. For us (2) its to be solar as to connect to power its gunna set us back about 40-50k so its a hybrid sys we will be using, solar wind and gen set for the heavy duty stuff like tools :) the house will be wired for 12v and a 240v inverted circut for the washing machine and a/c the fridge and freezer will be waeco uprights (12v compressor) cooking will be gas and solar hw with gas b/up. Heating will be slow comb stove. Trouble is me mate arther is here at the mo so cant do a lot of building work so things are a bit slow :(

[Grunt]

Who did you end up going through to get your solar/wind package?

The Grunts are going bush soon.

[Clinton1]

$130 to $150 per quarter for two people, depending on the season.

We've got gas ducted heating that only goes on 6pm till 10 pm in winter, and 6am to 10pm on weekends. Gas stove, everything else is electrical. 1 aircon in the north facing lounge that gets a little use from about 4pm till 6 pm when it is over 40 degrees.
The back extension is a massive cold store, and we use that to hold and release cold air in summer. It does the same thing in winter, so we mainly close it off then. ;)

We dropped the electrickery bill down @$20 per quarter by using fluro bulbs in all light sockets, and I'd like to swap the halogen down lights around the eaves with the LED ones. We leave at least one light on all night.

[ozwinner]

Trouble is me mate arther is here at the mo so cant do a lot of building work so things are a bit slow :(

I take it you are taking glucosamine (sp).
I thought my brickie days were over 7 years ago from pains in the joints until I started taking it.
Took about 6 months for the benefits to be felt.

How much is your RAPS going to cost?

Al :)

[Grunt]

Not all glucosamine are equal.

http://www.glucosamine-arthritis.org/glucosamine/glucosamine-product-guide.html

Also, swiped from the Choice website.

<!-- Article content 250px wide --> <table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td>
</td> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="top">
</td> <td colspan="3" bgcolor="#f2f2f2" valign="top">Glucosamine sulphate or glucosamine hydrochloride per tablet or capsule (mg)</td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="top">
</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="bottom">Brand¹ (in alphabetical order within groups)</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="top">Tablets or capsules?</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="top">Manuf-
acturer’s recomm
-ended daily dose</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="top">Claimed² </td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="top">Measured³</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="top"><nobr>% difference⁴
(measured
vs claimed)</nobr></td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="top">Cost per max daily recomm
-ended dose⁵ (cents)</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#e1e1e1"><td colspan="7">Maximum daily dose more than 1500 mg
(based on the measured amount of glucosamine sulphate/hydrochloride)</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffdda8"> <td>BIOGLAN (A)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">Tablets</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1 to 2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1000</td> <td align="center" valign="top">780</td> <td align="center" valign="top">–22</td> <td align="center" valign="top">52</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>BLACKMORES (B)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">Capsules</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1 to 2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1000</td> <td align="center" valign="top">780</td> <td align="center" valign="top">–22</td> <td align="center" valign="top">42</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffdda8"> <td>HERRON (B)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">Tablets</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1 to 2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1000</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1020</td> <td align="center" valign="top">2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">51</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>NATURE’S WAY (C)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">Tablets</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1 to 2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1000</td> <td align="center" valign="top">940</td> <td align="center" valign="top">–6</td> <td align="center" valign="top">64</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffdda8"> <td>PRETORIUS (A)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">Tablets</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1 to 2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1000</td> <td align="center" valign="top">840</td> <td align="center" valign="top">–16</td> <td align="center" valign="top">66</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#e1e1e1"> <td colspan="7">Maximum daily dose less than 1500 mg
(based on the measured amount of glucosamine sulphate/hydrochloride)</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>BIO-ORGANICS (C)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">Capsules</td> <td align="center" valign="top">2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">750</td> <td align="center" valign="top">640</td> <td align="center" valign="top">–15</td> <td align="center" valign="top">70</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffdda8"> <td>HERBS OF GOLD (C)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">Tablets</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1125</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1000</td> <td align="center" valign="top">–11</td> <td align="center" valign="top">52</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>NATURE’S OWN (C)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">Capsules</td> <td align="center" valign="top">2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">750</td> <td align="center" valign="top">720</td> <td align="center" valign="top">–4</td> <td align="center" valign="top">36</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffdda8"> <td>NUTRA-LIFE (C)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">Capsules</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1 to 2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">750</td> <td align="center" valign="top">660</td> <td align="center" valign="top">–12</td> <td align="center" valign="top">66</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>WAGNER PRO-BIOTICS (C)</td> <td align="center" valign="top">Capsules</td> <td align="center" valign="top">1 to 2</td> <td align="center" valign="top">750</td> <td align="center" valign="top">540</td> <td align="center" valign="top">–28</td> <td align="center" valign="top">49</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#f2f2f2"> <td colspan="7"> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Table notes

(A) Glucosamine sulphate.
(B) Gucosamine hydrochloride.
(C) Glucosamine sulphate/potassium chloride complex. Claimed and measured figures in the table are for glucosamine sulphate/hydrochloride, which we calculated when it wasn’t given on the label.
1 Brand
For better comparability, we restricted the test to products that contain glucosamine only. You should be able to easily find these brands in supermarkets, pharmacies and the major healthfood stores. There are also many products on the market that contain glucosamine in combination with other substances, particularly chondroitin — see Alternative alternatives (http://www.choice.com.au/goArticle.aspx?ID=104838&p=03), for more on this.
2 Claimed
The amount of glucosamine sulphate or glucosamine hydrochloride per tablet or capsule claimed on the label. Where the amount stated is for glucosamine sulphate/potassium chloride complex only, we calculated the amount of glucosamine sulphate this contains.
3 Measured
Clinical trials have been done with both the sulphate and hydrochloride forms and they’re approximately equivalent. We measured one sample from one batch of each brand; there may be batch-to-batch variations. The results are rounded to the nearest 20 mg.
4 Percentage difference (measured vs claimed)
The difference between the measured amount of glucosamine sulphate/ hydrochloride per tablet or capsule and the amount claimed on the label.
5 Cost per maximum daily recommended dose
This is based on prices we paid in April 2005 and the maximum daily dosage recommended by the manufacturer.
<small>This article last reviewed August 2005
</small>
<small></small>

[ozwinner]

I take the powdered form.
I teaspoon in a glass of water with 1 Berroca just for the fizz and the wakenupeness of it.
Taken every morning.
With a dash of lime juice.


Al :)

[echnidna]

Why not just take gelatine, lots cheaper than the fancy packaging

[ozwinner]

Your not supposed to eat the packaging, thats why it aint working..

Al :D

[ozwinner]

Heating will be slow comb stove. :(

Same here.

With a wet back for hot water ( along with the solar, which I may make myself ), only we will get one of the wizzbang BBQ's that can cook a roast.
That way we can still cook on the hottest days, even if we have to wheel the BBQ inside. ( we are going to have evap air ).

Al :)

[Ian007]

Al, I wonder how much money I can save you for an evap system from a different state? are you going to put it in yourself? Breezair evaps are the best units but also cost the most, and I think polyaire ductwork is the best duct I have used. I get great discounts from polyaire, Im sure we could work it out.

Cheers Ian:)

[ozwinner]

We have a Breezeair at the mo, cost bugger all to run.
I did a water meter check today, it was 35 degrees or some thing.
The AC was just ticking over, on low energy save.
Water consumption 30 litres per hour.

Al :)

[fxst]

My raps system is being put together a bit at the time (old speak as I can afford it :D ) but mostly here....http://www.tasmanenergy.com.au/ ....I got the wind gen ( AirX 12v 400w output) there for $1200 free freight.
All up with inverter for some 240 stuff I'm looking at $15-$20K with a decent battery bank exide 2v1800amphr x 6 should keep me running.
A swampy will keep me cool most times or else in the spa (by genset use :( )
There are other suppliers but this guy is my choice because h is good to deal with and helpful as well plus a 1800 number.
For the Waceo I will go thru www.fridge-and-solar.net though if his panels are better priced .................(better priced not cheaper ie same brand) but this guy I know so cannot say I'm unbiased there but he is honest and knowledgable also so location to you etc comes into it.

Re Arthur I use use glucosomine as well as herbs etc. I have a certificate in natural therapies and am hoping to soon be studying homeopathy as well to round this out as most presciption meds for arthur tends to make me crook.
Pete

[ozwinner]

Pete here is a link Grunt sent to me, it looks the goods for PV's.
http://www.greenandgoldenergy.com.au/

Al :)

[fxst]

Ta Al I'll check it out later
Pete