Understanding my water bill?

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Hristo Botev
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Hristo Botev »

Just looked up on YouTube how to do it. Yet more adulting--I didn't even know you could adjust the temp on the water heater.

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Alphaville
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Alphaville »

Hristo Botev wrote:
Fri Dec 04, 2020 4:16 pm
Just looked up on YouTube how to do it. Yet more adulting--I didn't even know you could adjust the temp on the water heater.
you cant on some electrics

but anyway check this

https://www.treehugger.com/is-it-safe-t ... re-4858623

Hristo Botev
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Hristo Botev »

When I got home:
Image
Now:
Image
Shhhh, don't tell anyone.

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Alphaville
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Alphaville »

don't kill grandpa

(i think setting "a" might suffice, osha sez "b")

good luck

CS
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by CS »

Slightly off topic, but make sure you know when you're getting an actual read, and when it is being estimated. Also, take a picture of the physical meter reading before a meter is changed out. A nice meter repair guy saved me near a thousand dollar by 'suggesting' I might want a photo before he took the faulty meter away. (It did involved some protracted fighting with the company about what constitutes fair behavior, but I never would have had the evidence without him.)

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Ego
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Ego »

I would test it to see if you've gone too far. Best not to give yourself away on the first day. Tiny Increments, like the anti-frogs-in-a-pot.

basuragomi
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by basuragomi »

My coworker got Legionnaire's from (presumably) an improperly set hot water heater and it damn near killed him. A few days in the ICU and very serious antibiotics. Still needs a cane to walk around over a year later. Be careful.

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Alphaville
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Alphaville »

legionnaires + covid = solid gold

take2
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by take2 »

Your hot water heater needs to run cycles above 60C (140F) regularly in order to kill legionella bacteria. I think most should have this pre-set in a way you can’t change? Best to verify and ensure your “tweaking” doesn’t override this. It is not something you want to deal with, nor risk passing onto your family.

Have you managed to look into the sewer charge? That’s really what seems to be killing your bill. I presume it’s municipal, with no other options?

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Alphaville
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Alphaville »

here's a great argument for tankless

https://plumbingperspective.com/does-yo ... es-disease

especially if committed to staying put & retrofitting the place for efficiencies/economies.

i checked the home depot website and some very basic models start at under $200 with whole house ones around $600. fancy stuff above $1k. this for the gas powered models anyway.

* * *

ETA: the devil in the details: https://www.consumerreports.org/water-h ... r-heaters/

white belt
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by white belt »

Another option we haven’t mentioned to reduce water consumption is a bidet. I use a Luxe Bidet toilet seat attachment that was like $30 from Amazon (Jacob does as well I believe). Although a bidet might use 1/8th gallon to clean you, keep in mind that it takes 37 gallons of water to create one roll of toilet paper. I still use a couple sheets of TP to verify and dry off, but a roll of TP lasts me months and you really can’t compare the cleanliness of a bidet to anything else. It might be the thing I miss most when I’m traveling.

@Alphaville

I know tankless is the most common option in RVs and tiny houses, so I was starting to wonder if we will see them in conventional homes as well.

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Alphaville
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Alphaville »

white belt wrote:
Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:05 pm

@Alphaville

I know tankless is the most common option in RVs and tiny houses, so I was starting to wonder if we will see them in conventional homes as well.
hah, i almost missed this.

yeah i first saw them on breaking bad :lol:

(first purchase walter makes with his drug money)

Hristo Botev
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Hristo Botev »

white belt wrote:
Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:05 pm
Another option we haven’t mentioned to reduce water consumption is a bidet. I use a Luxe Bidet toilet seat attachment that was like $30 from Amazon (Jacob does as well I believe).
Wouldn’t you know, I installed one this morning. The same one Jacob linked to awhile back. It was an early Christmas gift for DW.

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Ego
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Ego »

Hristo Botev wrote:
Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:28 pm
It was an early Christmas gift for DW.
We need a thread titled "M-ERE-ry Christmas".

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unemployable
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by unemployable »

piss in the shower

Hristo Botev
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Hristo Botev »

Ego wrote:
Sun Dec 06, 2020 5:17 pm
We need a thread titled "M-ERE-ry Christmas".
Look hon, a 25-lb bag of lentils!

bostonimproper
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by bostonimproper »

+1 to concerns of Legionnaire's

Start simple with the low-flow shower head (we use Niagara, I've found 1.5-1.75 GPM to be my sweet spot in terms of a still being able to wash my hair and not feel deprived), low-flow toilet, and sink aerators. Those alone should get you substantial reduction. For the tank, if you want to conserve heat, throw a hot water tank blanket over it and insulate exposed pipe with these.

I'm a fan of rainwater harvesting, but if you don't really have a lawn/garden, I'm not really sure how you plan to use it. It's obviously more work to actually incorporate a system as a water source to your home. Ditto greywater system (great for people with lawns, kind of meh for those in more cramped spaces).

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Alphaville
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Alphaville »

bostonimproper wrote:
Mon Dec 07, 2020 9:50 am
I'm a fan of rainwater harvesting, but if you don't really have a lawn/garden, I'm not really sure how you plan to use it.
i brought up brad lancaster as an example of advanced kung fu, or as folks around here like to call it, "wheaton 9"

he brushes his teeth, cooks and drinks rainwater, showers and who knows what else with rainwater. and the colorado brewery i saw in a documentary i can't remember the name but i'll find it when i get a bit of time. not every roof water is drinkable though.

anyway i offered both as a horizon not as a solution for everyone. but you can flush toilets with it. for a long time in my cabin i had septic but no water hookup so i flushed the biowaste with small buckets from a barrel under a rain gutter. nowadays i live in an apartment though. nevertheless in my state which is a desert with pricey water i start to see more rain collectors in large buildings for whatever purpose. so it's the future.

anyway just keeping it in view as a horizon for successive iterations towards an ideal rather than a universal implementation for today.

also the brad lancaster books offer ideas for home and urban design by controlling water flows rather than simply diverting. this is important for anyone pursuing permaculture or suburban retrofitting or maybe even just renovation/landscaping projects: learn to read and engineer your water flows.

e.g. a well-placed rain-fed tree can serve as a thermal regulator for your building.

i realize this seems farfetched but we're already moving towards it as a way to cope with climate change.

ertyu
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by ertyu »

Alphaville wrote:
Mon Dec 07, 2020 10:12 am


e.g. a well-placed rain-fed tree can serve as a thermal regulator for your building.

This is the situation at my parents' apartment. They have a south-facing apartment on the second floor. There are trees on the sidewalk in front of their building. During the winter, when the trees are bare, the apartment gets a lot of direct sunlight. During the summer, the leafy crowns of the trees keep it shaded. This is why once spring arrives I'll see if I can't plant runner beans in front of my panoramic, west-facing windows (in pots, place on balcony floor in front of window, use existing hooks for clothesline to rig them something to climb). Shade and beans in the summer, direct sunlight in winter. Or at least that's the plan as of now.

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Alphaville
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Re: Understanding my water bill?

Post by Alphaville »

yup. and evergreens on the north side protect you from winter winds (in the northern hemisphere anyway).

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