what size is your HP heat strip?

what is the KW rating on your electric space heater?

that's your starting point....

Here's a simple example, and you can plug your own numbers in.
Supposed you have 15kw of heat strips and they run 10h/day. That equals 15*10 = 150kwh. At $0.10/kwh, that's $15 to run it for one day. That adds up fast!

Say that's at 68F and it's 8F outside (to make computations easier). That's 60F temperature difference.
Now, say you set the stat back to 58F, so now you have a 50F temperature difference. It takes, roughly, 10/60 less energy to keep the house at the lower temperature. So, instead of 10 hours, it would be 10 * 5/6 = 50/6 = 8.33 hours of heat strip time. 8.33 * 15 = 125 kwh, a savings of 25kwh or $2.50 at the 10 cents/kwh.
Then, you heat your bedroom, say with 1000w space heater, running 10 hours a day. That adds back 10kwh, bringing the total to 135kwh, saving you 15kwh from the original 150kwh, or $1.50/day.

That should give you enough to compute the differences for any size heat strips, temperature setback, etc.

THANKS! I knew it was a lot. Hell, if you suck it up for those 3 - 5 extremely colds days a month you could knock $40+ off your bill I guess.

Of course she'd agree $15 a day was high BUT she might also suggest that for $2.5 more a day she'd prefer 68 degrees over 58 OR argue that for $1.50 more than using the bedroom heater she can have a warmer entire house rather than just a warmer bedroom.

But...
with regards to the bedroom heater. It would only be run from 5 am to 8am or so and maybe from 6pm to 9pm. I also notice that once our bedroom is heated up with the little oil filled heater the unit cysles off for rather long periods of time, sometimes we even shut it down...and we have never run it on the HIGH setting...usually the low or medium. My point being that it may be used 6 hours+ but that does not mean its running 6+ as is the emergency heat.

So.....I still think my combo idea is cheaper and provides the most comfort...assuming you do not leave the bedroom! Hell, so we bring the microwave and mini fridge up for a few days....no need to leave!!!

I'll look into the strip size to. It might be a 10 because I know in our replacement estimate the guy reccomemnded a 15 saying that the 10 would just barely keep the home warm in extreme weather and the 15 would somehow be cheaper to run.

You definitely get to win the logic of your argument, but good luck convincing your wife she should shiver to save a few bucks!

Of course, heating as smaller area with electric heat is cheaper than heating a larger area with electric heat. However, when you run your numbers you are going to see a pretty small difference per day moving from 68 to 65 degrees. The temperature difference of 3 degrees when you are trying to maintain a 55+degree difference from inside to outside is only 5%. 5% off a yearly heating bill can add up to serious money, so turning the heat down a couple degrees may make economic sense. 5% off a couple of days of a heating bill is going to be a pretty small number. If you are just looking for savings, you would be better off letting your wife "win" on the 5 cold days and giving up 1 degree on the other 360 days of heating or cooling.

and if your wife leaves you because you are trying to force her to live in a 58 degree house and save 2 bucks? how much do divorces cost today?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx24WZ8Cf78

It's also easy to read your electric meter at, say, 9 a.m., and then 24 hours later read it again.

That will tell you how many Kwhr you used in that time frame.

You then multiply that number by the cost of electric in your area and that gives you the daily cost of running your home for that day. Of course your water heater, stove, fridge, etc., will add to that.

To get the cost of your power per Kwhr, simply look at a recent bill.

It will tell you what you pay per Kwhr.

But, to get the TRUE cost of each Kwhr, take the total bill (including taxes, transmission fees, etc.), subtract any additional costs not associated with the power (I have water line insurance through my power company, as there have been a number of breaks between the box and the home, which is the owner's responsibility to repair), and then divide the price by the number of Kwhr used during the billing period.

My power in Virginia costs 0.0685 cents per Kwhr.

But, by the time I add in the additional fees and taxes, the TRUE cost per Kwhr is just a shade over ten cents per Kwhr.

Square the Temperature difference to compare heat loss. e.g. 50 or 60 degree difference is 25:36 heat lost through your walls and insulation.

I live in a colder climate than you do. For a matter of days or weeks, just seal the house up better. Seal air leaks with masking tape. Everything except the front door. You can even seal the bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans shut. Air moves fast but you cannot feel it. Barometric pressure, wind pressure, convection currents, etc and you have lost a huge amount of warmth and pulled in a huge amount of outside air. You can almost never feel it as a draft but it is real and significant.

In addition to having a slightly warmer house, you get two other advantages: 1. lower heating costs, and 2. your subjective impression of cold will be Far far less because there are fewer cold corners and cold window ledges. Remove the masking tape when you feel ready to let cold air slide in again.

David

Andre:

You need a new heat pump. You've needed one for more than a year now.

Santa will take care of you.

Merry Christmas.

I have to agree garyg, I would replace that old heat pump and get some new iron. If you figure what you would save upgrading and updating your HP and furnace in KW and gas I think the difference in bills might pay or almost pay for the HVAC update. I think it would at least be worth looking into.

Before I take sides with either you or your wife can you describe what she looks like first? LOL

kframe- I am jealous- our co-op electric is 18 cents/kw/hour!