From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "Scottish Scientist"  wrote in message   
   news:f6f692c8-09ce-48ba-8392-166ca3136470@googlegroups.com...   
   > On Sunday, 7 July 2019 15:26:01 UTC+1, Jim Wilkins  wrote:   
   > -----------------------   
   >>   
   >> For decades I've averaged 120 KWH per month, 4 KWH per day, unless   
   >> the   
   >> weather is very hot or I have a large machining and arc welding   
   >> project like building the sawmill in progress. I pay attention to   
   >> electricity consumption but I don't suffer for it.   
   >>   
   >> So far this summer my A/C has cost $1.93 according to a Kill-A-Watt   
   >> P4460. The compact Magic Chef refrigerator's P4460 reports $2.09 a   
   >> month.   
   >>   
   >> "So it takes a lot more investment than you might think to go   
   >> off-grid   
   >> and still enjoy the same electricity as someone on the grid."   
   >>   
   >> When I decided to try solar that calculation prompted me to monitor   
   >> my   
   >> consumption and see how much was really necessary. The electric   
   >> clothes dryer jumped out as a large waste easily replaced with a   
   >> clothesline. I replaced >200W desktops with 35W laptops, mainly to   
   >> reduce UPS cost. A smaller fridge and no separate freezer saved   
   >> over   
   >> $20 a month.  A weather station that shows indoor and outdoor   
   >> temperature and humidity tells when to open the windows at night   
   >> instead of running the A/C. I use 3% = 1F to mentally estimate if   
   >> blowing in cooler but higher RH outside air will help or hurt   
   >> indoor   
   >> comfort. It's not exact but easy and close enough over the narrow   
   >> range where the answer isn't obvious.   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   > So, on the one hand you say -   
   >> I pay USD $0.18 per KWH for grid power.   
   > - which suggests you are on the grid.   
   >   
   > On the other hand, you say -   
   >   
   >> emergency power outages which can   
   >> last a week here in summer hurricane and winter ice storm country.   
   > and   
   >> stand-alone systems like I built   
   >   
   > - which suggest that occasionally you are forced to go off-grid, but   
   > mostly are on the grid.   
   >   
   > Then you tell me you are only using an average of 4KWh a day, which   
   > is a tiny amount of juice for someone on the grid.   
   >   
   > I live very modestly in the inner city and consume 15KWh a day.   
   >   
   > Cutting usage down to 4KWh a day while you are forced off-grid   
   > because of power outages is understandable. Why invest in a huge   
   > off-grid generation capacity if it is only going to be used for a   
   > few weeks a year?   
   >   
   > But why would anyone want to cut their usage down to 4KWh a day   
   > while they are ON the grid and could have 40KWh a day no problem?   
   >   
   > Are you on a very low income Jim - you seem like a smart guy who   
   > could earn a good wage - or do you just have a bit of a fetish for   
   > low energy usage?   
   >   
   > Tell me to mind my own business if you like.   
   >   
      
   You make using less than you do sound like such a sacrifice. Some   
   friends were Native Americans who lived happily without electricity or   
   running water, as I had learned to do in the Army. I helped them as I   
   could but they didn't ask for much beyond filling their water jugs,   
   and let me cut firewood on their undeveloped land. I've never seen   
   anyone else so immune to cold weather.   
      
   I'm a degreed scientist and custom equipment designer/builder who   
   spent a career carefully analyzing customer requirements and creating   
   a minimum-cost solution that satisfied them.   
      
   When I applied that analysis to my own life I found a lot I didn't   
   need and ways to cut the cost of things I did, such as improving the   
   insulation in my house. Trying to invent something new and useful for   
   the energy market isn't a fetish, it's a business plan.   
      
   It helps that I can design and build electronic and mechanical items I   
   want but can't buy, for instance I've turned old laptops into portable   
   TVs that receive and record over-the-air broadcasts through a largely   
   home made 50' high antenna system while everyone else around here   
   relies on expensive cable. The laptops can connect to a larger high   
   def display for the few programs that are worth it   
      
   Scotland question: What did the "Picts" (Latin for Painted) call   
   themselves, and what happened to them?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)