On electricity bill savings

[BriPink]

GoGo, that's an incredible power savings. I'm curious what kinds of techniques you've employed to get your power consumption down.

I simplest things I can think of are attainable without automation simply by changing habits: turning off the lights when leaving a room, setting the mechanical dimmer at the typically-used level, or making sure to turn down the thermostats before leaving for the weekend.

How has the automation helped you to get from 900/mo to 300/mo?

[spugh]

Hey Ryan,

Control4 doesn't make and ELV versions of the outlet dimmer, right? I have a lot of desk lamps, beside lamps, curios/display cases, etc. that I leave on all evening until bedtime. I've replaced most of the bulbs with CFLs (and will try LEDs if I can ever find ones with decent warm white color temperatures) mainly due to longer bulb life, but also for some energy savings. It would be great if I could use Control4 to dim these and switch them off at the end of the night with a "Goodnight" lighting scene. Any idea if there is an ELV version of the outlet dimmers in the pipeline? I don't imagine it would take a lot of engineering, since I assume the outlet dimmers reuse the same internal boards from the switch form factor versions (of course I could be wrong on that).

Steve

[CFUG]

...(and will try LEDs if I can ever find ones with decent warm white color temperatures)

Steve

You mean 3200 kelvin is not like an IC to your eyes? I've got some right next to LV IC bulbs and I cannot tell the difference.

[spugh]

I've had a really hard time finding even CFLs that are warm enough to my eye. I like very, very warm lighting, and even use some Soft Pink ICs in my house. That's probably because my decor is all rick wood tones, and jewel tone fabrics, very European Traditional. Those bulbs would look awful in a room furnished with very modern furniture.

The mainstream manufacturers have finally gotten a lot better and I have a lot of GE soft white CFLs around the house. In the smaller form factor (candelabra-base chandelier/torpedo bulbs) sizes, I have only found one brand that is equivalent to IC. Those are n:vision bulbs from Home Depot.

The only somewhat affordable LED bulbs I have come across have been at Wal-Mart (first problem, right there) and even though they claimed to be Warm White, they were very, very blue/cool white. They went back to the store immediately. I have seen some LED bulbs for recessed cans that claim to be in the Warm White range, but at $20-25/bulb I haven't seen a reason to replace my dimmable CFLs. If I came across the intermediate base mini spots that my display cases, curios, and china cabinet use, I would probably buy them. I'm tired of replacing those bulbs, since they stay on at a very dimmed level constantly.

Which LEDs have you found in the 3200K range that are not obscenely expensive?

Steve

[RyanE]

Steve,

I haven't heard anything in the pipeline to redo the outlet switch / outlet dimmer.

They are a completely separate product from the in-wall, and don't re-use boards and/or design.

The outlet products are 2 dimmers in 1, with a single power supply and ZigBee board, so it'd be difficult to just jam 2 dimmers in there and call it a day.

RyanE

[GoGo Delicious]

GoGo, that's an incredible power savings. I'm curious what kinds of techniques you've employed to get your power consumption down.

I simplest things I can think of are attainable without automation simply by changing habits: turning off the lights when leaving a room, setting the mechanical dimmer at the typically-used level, or making sure to turn down the thermostats before leaving for the weekend.

How has the automation helped you to get from 900/mo to 300/mo?

First off, and I have stated this many times, I'm a Crestron dealer and thus I have Crestron in my home. I state that because some of the solutions I present you may or may not be able to integrate with Control4.

So how did we go from ~$900 to ~$300 per mo. in our electricity bill? Well, here are a few examples of what I did.

Before I start I want to say that we maintain a constant indoor temperature between 70 and 73 degrees. When the indoor temp. gets to 73 degrees certain automation features kick in. Below are a few things that I have done to reduce energy costs.

1) Structure - All windows are double paned windows using Low E glass. I won't go into the specifics of Low E, you can Google it and read up on it if your interested, but in short in the summer time it keeps your home cooler, thus reducing your AC use and in the winter keeps your house warmer, reducing your Heating use. This is the start.

2) Automated Shades - We have automated shades throughout the house. The shades add to the energy savings of the windows. The shades, which are dual shades (they are not black out shades except in the media room), incorporates a reflecting surface on the window side that reflects all sunlight away when the shades are closed.

3) Automated Thermostat - That is self explanitory

4) Dimmer Switches - All lights, except kitchen, are on dimmers.

5) Automated Power Switch - Automates power on/off to all equipment outlets (except Control Processor & ethernet switch).

6) Apple Mac's - Make use of the automated shut down/start up function

What the above stated here is an example of how I reduced our power bill.

First - Environment - As I have mentioned we maintain a indoor temp. between 70 & 73 degrees. In every room we have temp. sensors. The temp sensors have a order of importance. From most important to least, Living areas (Living room, Family room, Dinning Room, Kitchen), Master BR, Office, Guest Room, Media Room. The temperature sensors will monitor the room temperature and will close the shades when the room gets to 73 degrees. We also keep the doors to the rooms, Master BR, Office, Guest Room, Media Room, closed in order to keep the heat, if any, in and not seep into the living areas.

Once the thermostat reaches 73 degrees the fan, not the AC, comes on and all the shades close. Between November and early July this will usually cool the house back down to 70 within an 15-20 min.

During the Summer, between mid to late July & October when the outdoor temperature hits 80 degrees all the shades in the house will close. When the thermostat reaches 73 degrees the fan, not the AC, comes on just as above if the thermostat hits 74 degrees the AC will then kick in, this rarely happens. The combination of the insulated windows, shades and fans can usually keep the house between 70 & 73 degrees during the summer.

So far, since March, the house has never been above 72. Currently it's 72 degrees indoors. Outside it's 62 degrees. If I open a window it will cool down to 70 within 5-10 min.

Second - Lighting - With the exception of the kitchen, none of the lights every reach 100%, the exception is when the security system is tripped then they all go to 100%, and we never use any lights during the day, there is never any need to. In the evening the lights never go above 50% even in the "Entertain Mode". At Sunset our lights will start to ramp up to 50% over 30 min. At 8pm they will dim down to 25% and between 9 and 10pm the lights will start to shut off, depending on the room. By 10pm all lights are off. Note there are exception to the 10pm rule, but in general all lights are off at 10pm.

Third - Automated Power Switch - We have a automated power switch that controls the power to all AV gear, switches, Controller, etc. At 10pm the processor takes a poll to see whats being used (receivers, amps, Kaleidescape, AppleTV etc). The power to any AV gear not in use will be shut off at the outlet and will remain off until the first use. If it not used the next day then the power to the outlet remains off. This applies to everything except the control processor and ethernet switch those two are always on. In "Away/Vacation/Travel mode" all equipment will remain off with the exception of the control processor and ethernet switch.

Fourth - Apple Computer Systems - Apple computers have the ability to automatically shut themselves off and turn themselves back on. We have them scheduled to turn off at 10pm and back on at 6am. At 10:15pm the processor takes a poll to see if the Apple computers are being used. Those that are not being used the power to the outlet will be shut off and turned back on at 5:45am. If a system is still in use the processor will check again every 15min until it system is not in use. In "Away/Vacation/Travel mode" all but one server will remain off. To prevent an "in rush" the outlets have a delay in supplying power to any of the equipment.

These are just a few things I have done. There are a lot, and I stress A LOT, of other things I did but I am not going to go into detail for obvious reason, length and I do not have the time to write it up.

[ELECTRICDON]

Going GREEN always comes at a cost. Solar is fad today just as it was in the 70's - the ROI is still horrible, but their is lots of incentive money to be had. The current administration has given many states alot of money for solar technology. As far as Lighting, say bye bye to the incandescent lamp, the CFL is horrible for the environment, doesn't have the lifespan as advertised, can't be dimmed easily, not to mention the horrible power factor. Say hello to LED, buy your reverse phase dimmers now so when the price comes down on the LED lamps your ready. P.S. alway buy CREE led's

[CFUG]

^Cree here. I am glad you offset your comment about solar with the incentives. My final cost was way lower than quoted cost. Fad? No. Harnessing energy pre-dates modern man.

[CFUG]

GoGo' date=' that's an incredible power savings. I'm curious what kinds of techniques you've employed to get your power consumption down.

I simplest things I can think of are attainable without automation simply by changing habits: turning off the lights when leaving a room, setting the mechanical dimmer at the typically-used level, or making sure to turn down the thermostats before leaving for the weekend.

How has the automation helped you to get from 900/mo to 300/mo?[/quote']

First off, and I have stated this many times, I'm a Crestron dealer and thus I have Crestron in my home. I state that because some of the solutions I present you may or may not be able to integrate with Control4.

So how did we go from ~$900 to ~$300 per mo. in our electricity bill? Well, here are a few examples of what I did.

Before I start I want to say that we maintain a constant indoor temperature between 70 and 73 degrees. When the indoor temp. gets to 73 degrees certain automation features kick in. Below are a few things that I have done to reduce energy costs.

1) Structure - All windows are double paned windows using Low E glass. I won't go into the specifics of Low E, you can Google it and read up on it if your interested, but in short in the summer time it keeps your home cooler, thus reducing your AC use and in the winter keeps your house warmer, reducing your Heating use. This is the start.

2) Automated Shades - We have automated shades throughout the house. The shades add to the energy savings of the windows. The shades, which are dual shades (they are not black out shades except in the media room), incorporates a reflecting surface on the window side that reflects all sunlight away when the shades are closed.

3) Automated Thermostat - That is self explanitory

4) Dimmer Switches - All lights, except kitchen, are on dimmers.

5) Automated Power Switch - Automates power on/off to all equipment outlets (except Control Processor & ethernet switch).

6) Apple Mac's - Make use of the automated shut down/start up function

What the above stated here is an example of how I reduced our power bill.

First - Environment - As I have mentioned we maintain a indoor temp. between 70 & 73 degrees. In every room we have temp. sensors. The temp sensors have a order of importance. From most important to least, Living areas (Living room, Family room, Dinning Room, Kitchen), Master BR, Office, Guest Room, Media Room. The temperature sensors will monitor the room temperature and will close the shades when the room gets to 73 degrees. We also keep the doors to the rooms, Master BR, Office, Guest Room, Media Room, closed in order to keep the heat, if any, in and not seep into the living areas.

Once the thermostat reaches 73 degrees the fan, not the AC, comes on and all the shades close. Between November and early July this will usually cool the house back down to 70 within an 15-20 min.

During the Summer, between mid to late July & October when the outdoor temperature hits 80 degrees all the shades in the house will close. When the thermostat reaches 73 degrees the fan, not the AC, comes on just as above if the thermostat hits 74 degrees the AC will then kick in, this rarely happens. The combination of the insulated windows, shades and fans can usually keep the house between 70 & 73 degrees during the summer.

So far, since March, the house has never been above 72. Currently it's 72 degrees indoors. Outside it's 62 degrees. If I open a window it will cool down to 70 within 5-10 min.

Second - Lighting - With the exception of the kitchen, none of the lights every reach 100%, the exception is when the security system is tripped then they all go to 100%, and we never use any lights during the day, there is never any need to. In the evening the lights never go above 50% even in the "Entertain Mode". At Sunset our lights will start to ramp up to 50% over 30 min. At 8pm they will dim down to 25% and between 9 and 10pm the lights will start to shut off, depending on the room. By 10pm all lights are off. Note there are exception to the 10pm rule, but in general all lights are off at 10pm.

Third - Automated Power Switch - We have a automated power switch that controls the power to all AV gear, switches, Controller, etc. At 10pm the processor takes a poll to see whats being used (receivers, amps, Kaleidescape, AppleTV etc). The power to any AV gear not in use will be shut off at the outlet and will remain off until the first use. If it not used the next day then the power to the outlet remains off. This applies to everything except the control processor and ethernet switch those two are always on. In "Away/Vacation/Travel mode" all equipment will remain off with the exception of the control processor and ethernet switch.

Fourth - Apple Computer Systems - Apple computers have the ability to automatically shut themselves off and turn themselves back on. We have them scheduled to turn off at 10pm and back on at 6am. At 10:15pm the processor takes a poll to see if the Apple computers are being used. Those that are not being used the power to the outlet will be shut off and turned back on at 5:45am. If a system is still in use the processor will check again every 15min until it system is not in use. In "Away/Vacation/Travel mode" all but one server will remain off. To prevent an "in rush" the outlets have a delay in supplying power to any of the equipment.

These are just a few things I have done. There are a lot, and I stress A LOT, of other things I did but I am not going to go into detail for obvious reason, length and I do not have the time to write it up.

I'm still not seeing 2/3 savings by all this stuff. Sorry.

[GoGo Delicious]

I'm still not seeing 2/3 savings by all this stuff. Sorry.

You need to read a little bit closer

These are just a few things I have done. There are a lot, and I stress A LOT, of other things I did but I am not going to go into detail for obvious reason, length and I do not have the time to write it up.

[RyanE]

These are just a few things I have done. There are a lot, and I stress A LOT, of other things I did but I am not going to go into detail for obvious reason, length and I do not have the time to write it up.

Yeah, he forgot to mention that he stopped using the Carbon Arc spotlight to signal Batman for 8 hours every night.

That, and he turned the temperature down on 1/2 of the hot tubs from 'Rolling Boil' to 'Simmer'.

RyanE

[ELECTRICDON]

^Cree here. I am glad you offset your comment about solar with the incentives. My final cost was way lower than quoted cost. Fad? No. Harnessing energy pre-dates modern man.

What I meant by fad is that it has a bandwagon effect, Yes the concept is a no-brainer, but the implementation is not ready for prime time. Hope you got your Govt. money cause I would hate to know your ROI

[CFUG]

^It's not an ideal situation but it's easier to do along with house construction than to come in after the fact and add. ROI was 7 years at time of quote.

[CFUG]

I'm still not seeing 2/3 savings by all this stuff. Sorry.

You need to read a little bit closer

These are just a few things I have done. There are a lot' date=' and I stress A LOT, of other things I did but I am not going to go into detail for obvious reason, length and I do not have the time to write it up.[/quote']

Got it.

[tebery]

GE's LED light bulbs look cool, last forever, cost a lot:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/13/ges-led-light-bulbs-look-cool-last-forever-cost-a-lot/

[CFUG]

Has anyone recently installed a Peak EM-SERVER-C4? Is Peak delivering the product now?