HIGH ELECTRIC BILL

Posted by Freckles on January 28, 2006, 11:40 pm

Our electric bill just been increased to nearly double what it used to be.

The heating and cooling is what eats up most of the electricity.

Will thermal curtains or drapes help to reduce the heating and cooling
enough to make buying and hanging them worth the effort?

Thanks

Posted by RP on January 29, 2006, 12:10 am

Freckles wrote:

> Our electric bill just been increased to nearly double what it used to be.
>
> The heating and cooling is what eats up most of the electricity.
>
> Will thermal curtains or drapes help to reduce the heating and cooling
> enough to make buying and hanging them worth the effort?
>
> Thanks

Not enough info. It depends upon the number of windows that you have,
their sizes, their locations, how well they are sealed, what type, and
how much you plan on spending on the curtains. Even with that info the
only way to know is to try it, and even then you would have to keep
precise records of electric usage and average outdoor conditions both
previous to and after hanging the curtains, over a period of several
years. IOW your question isn't as simple as yes or no.

There are many ways to reduce electrical consumption. Here's a starting
point:

http://www.wbdg.org/ccb/DOE/TECH/doe_v2.pdf

Just one of infinite articles on the subject to be found on the web.
IMO it's probably a better option, if possible, to simply get a higher
paying job :)

Richard Perry

Posted by Jim Elbrecht on January 30, 2006, 7:21 am

>Freckles wrote:

>> Our electric bill just been increased to nearly double what it used to be.
>>
>> The heating and cooling is what eats up most of the electricity.
>>
>> Will thermal curtains or drapes help to reduce the heating and cooling
>> enough to make buying and hanging them worth the effort?
>>
>> Thanks

>Not enough info. It depends upon the number of windows that you have,
>their sizes, their locations, how well they are sealed, what type, and
>how much you plan on spending on the curtains. Even with that info the
>only way to know is to try it, and even then you would have to keep
>precise records of electric usage and average outdoor conditions both
>previous to and after hanging the curtains, over a period of several
>years. IOW your question isn't as simple as yes or no.

-snip-

It also depends on the cost of the window treatment- and the cost to
heat for a season.

If you can come up with;
1. the heating degree days for your area;
2. what type of windows you have now now[single pane, double hung, 100
yr old windows, or triple pane high-E 2 yr old windows];
and 3. the sizes and thermal efficiencies for the treatments you plan
to do.
then someone could tell you a ballpark of what you'd save per year.

If you ask where you intend to buy the treatments and they can't tell
you-- then go someplace else.

Jim

Posted by CJT on January 29, 2006, 1:36 am

Freckles wrote:

It depends on what they cost.

My guess (and it's only that -- a guess) is that they might make a
two or three percent difference.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.

Posted by buffalobill on January 29, 2006, 4:36 am

put your electricity on balanced billing and hire a hvac repairman and
an electrician.

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