Most recent electric bill (SMECO)

[NorthBeachPerso]

From my daughter's website she did for a school project at:
Ecology
==============

There is about 1 million hectares of forest remaining in Maryland (about 2.4 acres make a hectare). So the trees in our state can easily provide oxygen for the 6 million people that live in Maryland. But that is just to breath. The majority of the oxygen we use is actually by our cars and fossil fuel burning electrical power plants. Here is a list of approximate per-person oxygen use:


•3,000 pounds a year for breathing
•7,000 pounds a year driving around (10,000 vehicle-miles per person, 3 BILLION(!) gallons of gas, just in Maryland - the tax man keeps VERY detailed records of this )
•12,000 pounds burning coal, oil, and natural gas for electricity


The Chemistry:
...It takes about 4/5ths of a pound of coal to make 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity, and there are months when my family almost uses 1,500 kilowatt hours (check your SMECO bill). Can you imagine that means that the power plant south of the 301 bridge or the Chalk Point power plant just north of the 231 bridge to Calvert County burns 1,200 pounds of coal, just for my family for one month?! And because coal is over 95% carbon, that in just July of 2013, it took almost 6,000 pounds of oxygen to burn it? That is enough oxygen for two people to breath for a whole year!

You forgot to demonize nuclear and natural gas while extolling the virtues of solar, wind and hydro. None of which can supply our current needs.

 

[Chasey_Lane]

Bought 3 tons of pellets which cost me around $750.

How long will this last you? I don't have a pellet stove so I'm uneducated about this.

 

[FISHTAIL]

Last month was the highest bill for us in a while. 399, dual zone heat pumps 3500sqft + finished basement.

I'm guessing this month may be worse since it's been so cold the last couple of weeks. Looking at adding Solar Panels to the roof now.

 

[gaoptimize]

You forgot to demonize nuclear and natural gas while extolling the virtues of solar, wind and hydro. None of which can supply our current needs.

She was absolutely not demonizing any form of energy, just stating facts. I for one, for a variety of reasons, would prefer returning to a pre-ice age, pre-Pleistocene level of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

She is too young for me to explain to her the incestuous relationship between DOE and GE/Westinghouse that has stuck US nuclear power in an unproductive (no net energy) and not improving safety situation since the 1970s, when we could be rapidly embracing safe and cheaper new thorium breeder designs.

 

[GWguy]

How long will this last you? I don't have a pellet stove so I'm uneducated about this.

I bought 4 tons, and like OHG, I run it 24/7 unless I'm away. Last year 3 tons just about got me thru, ran out about 2 weeks before I didn't need it anymore. I'm hoping the 4 tons will take me all the way thru the season.

Running 24/7, I use 2 bags a day, each bag is 40 pounds, 50 bags to a ton.

This is 4 tons. 3 stacked in the back, one ton still wrapped on the pallet.

 

[ArkRescue]

My bill that I received the first week of January was $458. This is $200 more than it was for the same period last year and the highest bill we have ever received, by far. We have a new (installed October 2012), high efficiency heat pump downstairs and a so/so one upstairs. I'm actually concerned that my auxiliary heat is not working on the unit downstairs because it cannot even keep up when the outside temps are in the low teens or single digits, even when auxiliary heat is supposed to be kicking on and off. The upstairs, however, holds the temperature nicely even though the unit isn't great.

I paid around $400 a month to heat a 900sf poorly insulated house that had a tiny heat pump. It never got above 65 degrees in there if it was under 40 degrees outside.

 

[Blister]

It is a little more informative to login to your SMECO account and look at your KWH usage, rather than bill total. Mine was roughly 20% higher this JAN bill compared to last JAN. The cost is what it is. When we have extreme weather surrounding areas do also. The purchased power cost goes up, and not in a linear fashion, because there is only so much cheap power. When the cheaper generation is used up they bring on the peaking units which are generally less efficient, higher cost fuels that bring raise the cost per kw up dramatically.

 

[acommondisaster]

From my daughter's website she did for a school project at:
Ecology
==============

There is about 1 million hectares of forest remaining in Maryland (about 2.4 acres make a hectare). So the trees in our state can easily provide oxygen for the 6 million people that live in Maryland. But that is just to breath. The majority of the oxygen we use is actually by our cars and fossil fuel burning electrical power plants. Here is a list of approximate per-person oxygen use:


•3,000 pounds a year for breathing
•7,000 pounds a year driving around (10,000 vehicle-miles per person, 3 BILLION(!) gallons of gas, just in Maryland - the tax man keeps VERY detailed records of this )
•12,000 pounds burning coal, oil, and natural gas for electricity


The Chemistry:
...It takes about 4/5ths of a pound of coal to make 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity, and there are months when my family almost uses 1,500 kilowatt hours (check your SMECO bill). Can you imagine that means that the power plant south of the 301 bridge or the Chalk Point power plant just north of the 231 bridge to Calvert County burns 1,200 pounds of coal, just for my family for one month?! And because coal is over 95% carbon, that in just July of 2013, it took almost 6,000 pounds of oxygen to burn it? That is enough oxygen for two people to breath for a whole year!

How much coal and oxygen is used to charge up the batteries on a Volt?

 

[acommondisaster]

She was absolutely not demonizing any form of energy, just stating facts. I for one, for a variety of reasons, would prefer returning to a pre-ice age, pre-Pleistocene level of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

She is too young for me to explain to her the incestuous relationship between DOE and GE/Westinghouse that has stuck US nuclear power in an unproductive (no net energy) and not improving safety situation since the 1970s, when we could be rapidly embracing safe and cheaper new thorium breeder designs.

But by only presenting one sided statistics, it does indeed indoctrinate.

 

[OldHillcrestGuy]

How long will this last you? I don't have a pellet stove so I'm uneducated about this.

I started burning my stove probably sometime in early November, but at that time it wasnt 24/7 cause it wasnt that cold out during the days. I had 11 bags left from last year, and once December rolls around, again if its not so cold out during the day and the sunshines, and temps get around the low 50s, I shut the stove off till evening.
GW explained it pretty good about pellet consumption. Since we have had this really cold spell this month, I use maybe a bag and half a day. LIke he explained a ton is 50 bags. I started with 3 tons, 150 bags plus the 11 left from last year and Im guessing Im down to maybe 45 bags or so, Im going to count them today, I figure its going to be the around the 1st week in March, I will run out and have to get more, maybe 1/2 ton (25) bags.

 

[gaoptimize]

How much coal and oxygen is used to charge up the batteries on a Volt?

A quick search yields this:
How many joules or kilowatt hours do you need to charge up Chevy Volt battery? - Yahoo Answers

With transmission losses, about 15 KW-hours (12 pounds of coal to go only 38 miles per charge), which is a little more CO2 than an equivalently sized standard fuel automobile. But like I said, I think the Earth's atmosphere could use about 3X the current amount to support life more comfortably and densely.

 

[Chasey_Lane]

I bought 4 tons, and like OHG, I run it 24/7 unless I'm away. Last year 3 tons just about got me thru, ran out about 2 weeks before I didn't need it anymore. I'm hoping the 4 tons will take me all the way thru the season.

Running 24/7, I use 2 bags a day, each bag is 40 pounds, 50 bags to a ton.

This is 4 tons. 3 stacked in the back, one ton still wrapped on the pallet.

Between the pellets and electric, is there really any cost savings? It seems to average about the same as those paying ~$200 per month for electric for heating.

 

[MarieB]

It is apparently cheaper than the oil and the electricity required to run the furnace. We have used so much oil already, and our electric bill has also been high - double whammie

 

[getbent]

It is apparently cheaper than the oil and the electricity required to run the furnace. We have used so much oil already, and our electric bill has also been high - double whammie

Our fan on our furnace runs with the wood stove furnace. I believe our next bill is about $300, just under 1700 sq. ft. We are looking into getting an new furnace, was recommended a heat pump. I hate having a high electric bill even when we are using the wood stove for the majority of our heat.

 

[GWguy]

Between the pellets and electric, is there really any cost savings? It seems to average about the same as those paying ~$200 per month for electric for heating.

Pellet stove uses very little electricity, far far less than the furnace.

As far as cost savings, I see a big savings over using fuel oil for the furnace. If I use the furnace alone, I could expect to refill the tank (200-300 gallons) 2-3 times a season, depending on temps. On the low end, that's 400 gallons @ $3.75/g = $1500. One the high end, 600 gallons @ 3.75 = $2250. I spent about $1000 in pellets.

But one big advantage is that there is always a nice warm air current moving where you sit, not a cold draft.

 

[kwillia]

Pellet stove uses very little electricity, far far less than the furnace.

As far as cost savings, I see a big savings over using fuel oil for the furnace. If I use the furnace alone, I could expect to refill the tank (200-300 gallons) 2-3 times a season, depending on temps. On the low end, that's 400 gallons @ $3.75/g = $1500. One the high end, 600 gallons @ 3.75 = $2250. I spent about $1000 in pellets.

But one big advantage is that there is always a nice warm air current moving where you sit, not a cold draft.

There is no way I could leave a pellet stove burning when I left the house. I would treat it no different than a woodstove which I would never leave one burning without someone home.

Heck the idea of falling asleep with a woodstove burning freaks me out.

 

[desertrat]

Our fan on our furnace runs with the wood stove furnace. I believe our next bill is about $300, just under 1700 sq. ft. We are looking into getting an new furnace, was recommended a heat pump. I hate having a high electric bill even when we are using the wood stove for the majority of our heat.

Heat pump will save you a lot until it gets below 40. Then use the other sources

 

[SEABREEZE 1957]

Our electric bill was $191.00 for a 2,400 sq. ft home. We also have an oil furnace & our last oil bill from SMO was $540.00 for 141 gallons. I expect the oil to last until March.

We keep the temperature at 68 degrees.

 

[GWguy]

There is no way I could leave a pellet stove burning when I left the house. I would treat it no different than a woodstove which I would never leave one burning without someone home.

Heck the idea of falling asleep with a woodstove burning freaks me out.

Wood stove, I agree. Pellet stove, no issue. It has more safety built in than the oil burner.

 

[RPMDAD]

Used to burn my woodstove at our first house 24 x 7, never had a problem with it. Would burn it for 4 - 5 days at a time before letting it burn out and clean out the firebox, and relight it. Always made sure the chimney was clean. Would burn it lower during the day, while at work and stoke it back up a bit when i got home from work.