Huge Utility Savings! Experimentation in "Small House" living inside a "Big House". + Space heater usage

[startbyserving]

So in my window plastic insulation post I mentioned I would be moving into a (Smaller) spare bedroom to save on utilities. (viewtopic.php?f=14&t=6007)

• The results are biased due to this year being 9 degrees warmer over the last 2 months.
• First month: 50% reduction in Utility Usage. (Change was made half way through billing cycle.
• Second month: 70%+ Reduction in Utility Usage.

- Numbers are compared to last year, which was 9 degrees warmer in both months.


This has been a fun experiment thus far. People have been moving to smaller living situations for centuries, likely as long as 'winter' has existed. However modern technology allows us to be wasteful and HVAC systems are designed to heat / cool entire houses. (Ask just about any HVAC contractor whether they think you should close vents in an unused room.)

My Action:

First I started with a bare room and closet. - More specifically, I went through all the junk that had been there and emptied it.
Second I installed commonly used items such as bed and TV. Next I moved in clothing as used. I.e. in a couple months the master bedroom closet will be primarily be unused clothing minus seasonal considerations (Swim Trunks).
It has definitely been amazing to see first how sparsely either of us has needed to enter the Master Bedroom for anything. (What is in there and why? We must have 30-40 drawers packed with stuff in there!)

Kitchen and living area, and other two bedrooms are unheated at this point. Minimum amount of heat will be required to keep pipes from freezing. (May also leave water dripping when extreme cold arrives.) If we use the oven it will be 'free' heat into the house. (Although 'free' may not be the best word for areas that are otherwise unheated) We may heat the house up enough to do do some serious cooking if applicable. So far we have managed short runs into the Kitchen and cooking late in the afternoon has been warm enough in recent weather.

I will eventually end up with some good months for comparison and see exact percentages. Because of uses like "Fridge, Water Heater, Clothes Dryer, Etc. I feel the 70% Reduction shows a drastic change despite the warmer season.

- Will update with new results in another month!

********

Note: 1300 SF. isn't what most people would call a 'big house' but I'm certain at least a few folks here will consider it to be. Going from 1300 SF. to about 300 SF heated would be considered extreme by the majority of the population 'today'. Conversely I would expect the 'small house' experts to consider this nowhere close to 'small house living' since I still have all my stuff and mortgage payment.
I first considered insulation to solve my problem, as that is at the core of the problem. I quickly learned that vaulted ceilings can be VERY difficult to insulate well. - Mine is vaulted AND have skylights. In fact we began looking for another house 4 months ago, but gave up for now due to how picky we are. (No Vaulted Ceilings! Greatly prefer fireplace, hardwood floors, brick, good price / value, and something in good enough condition that we are not construction workers as our second job. On top of that we want a house that accommodates our cats, and littler box setup. Laundry room leading into garage or having an unfinished basement is ideal and strongly preferred. - Spending years/decades paying is also becoming less appealing.)
- Regardless, challenges have resulted in the opportunity for an 'adventure' and learning experience.

[startbyserving]

Electric space heater usage and safety. - This deserves its own post. I'll start with some general basics. ( Most of these will be listed in owner manual.)


* Only use 1 space heater per circuit / breaker.
*Do not use on circuits with microwaves, fridges, or other high usage devices.
* Avoid use of extension cords.**
* Don't cover, drop in water, or place where it could be knocked over.
* Keep area around them clear.
* Don't use unattended.
*Don't use in bathrooms.
* For long heating sessions, use on low or medium setting only.
* Limit usage on high to 30 minutes at one time.

I'll admit I don't follow that list entirely, but it is definitely a great starting point. Out of electric space heaters I prefer the "Oil Filled" ones as they are less dangerous in my opinion. I do use them on timers, but only on 'low' setting which is about 600 watts. (Timer is rated 1000-1200 watts). ***
I do use in the bathroom, but only where it will not get wet, and showers are with exhaust fan on to keep humidity low.***

**When I first used a space heater: I melted the plug to an orange outdoor rated extension cord! The suggestions after the *'s above and other recommendations by the manufacture are there for good reason!
SPACE HEATERS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS! THEY ARE A/THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATHS IN HOME FIRES!
*** These are my experiences, Please follow all safety instructions and warnings!

Other tips:

-At night: (While sleeping) Don't intentionally use a space heater thermostat to decrease or increase room temperature. Space heater thermostats tend to be inaccurate. - You will end up freezing or burning up. Use space heater to warm room to the temperature you would like. Then make best guess of setting thermostat to maintain that temperature. (You may want to consider the temperature outside when making the estimates.) It's nearly impossible to get perfect, but a better job can be done when starting at the desired temperature.

I have a HUGE amount of experience using space heaters. I went a number of years using them exclusively as heat. They can save you money, or increase your costs depending on how you use them.

[Riggerjack]

Let me suggest, in your new home search, that you drop the fireplace. Don't get me wrong, I love fireplaces, and installed 2 in my current home. But you clearly are concerned about energy efficiency. Fireplaces are a net negative heater. They warn the area directly in front of them, and send a vast amount of heated air up the chimney. Since the house isn't perfectly airtight, that air is replaced by cold air from outside.
If you want wood heat, go for an airtight wood stove. But Best to avoid wood heat in most situations.

[startbyserving]

Thanks for suggestion. Forgoing the fireplace will certainly be a consideration. I'd compromise on that before having vaulted ceilings.

- I have no intention of using a fireplace by itself. I haven't checked the exact efficiency comparison, but I would use a good insert in a fireplace.
- I might consider adding a wood burning stove to a house with no fireplace. - Will have to weigh cost savings + value of emergency backup compared to installation cost. It would take a many years to break even, if at all. But a wood stove could certainly provide emergency value.

- Also looked at outdoor boilers. I am not convinced those are more efficient than a wood stove but keeping all wood and smoke outside could be a benefit.

- May consider other ideas for backup heat. (Natural gas, Kerosene etc.)

[enigmaT120]

I have a wood stove on my huge fireplace hearth, with a double-walled stainless steel chimney going up the inside of the brick chimney. It will cook us out of there. We almost always have to crack open a window or two.

I think outdoor wood heaters use way more firewood than a stove like mine, but they can also provide household hot water. Well, some wood stoves can too, but not mine.

[SimpleLife]

My rental house was nice in that it had a wood stove and a fire place. You could cook on the wood stove easily, and there were French doors to close off the area so that you only had to heat that little area where we spent most of our time anyways. It was great. Also that second living area and master bedroom both had built in wall heaters separate from the HVAC. The guy had the addition added on for his parents. Luckily it was all permitted.