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We have three months of energy data on the books now! I must say it is much, much easier to be efficient with energy when you can measure it. Just as it is a lot easier to lose weight, or control your blood sugar (if you are diabetic) if you measure your weight or blood sugar. The tool we use for most of our measurements is called EGauge. We have it set up to measure many aspects of our house's electricity use, and I have learned a lot over the last three months watching how different components in the house use power.  Over the last couple of weeks we have switched the house from summer cooling mode to winter heating mode.
I was going to avoid switching the heating system on as long as I could. It occurred to me though, that I am more interested in measuring the energy our house uses to keep a comfortable environment (for me, Kate and our guests) than seeing how cold I can bear it. It also took us a bit of time to get the hang of the new system. Many loose ends have been wrapped up, although not all. One that has we have been struggling with for a few months now is one of our inverters cycling on sunny days (which is the last time you want an inverter not working properly). Below is an example of behavior we are seeing on our energy monitoring tool, eGauge:   We have been in our house a bit over six weeks now. Most of the details have been wrapped up, although a couple are yet to be completed.
While it is difficult to pick one thing to focus on, I have to admit, the power monitoring system has been fascinating. The tour is done! It was a ton of fun, and we talked with a whole bunch of people.
I want to thank everyone that took the time to visit on that day, and especially those that asked questions! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed sharing what we have, and continue, to learn. I also wanted to share some of the phenomenal work LiLu Interiors did for us in selecting a variety of items, designing the spaces, and organizing the delivery and installation of the products. The research is was only a small piece of what they did, but incredibly detailed and done in depth. I NEVER could have done this on my own, so many thanks to them! |