Oct 4 - misc stuff

It was one of those days -- no bike ride but catching up on misc stuff:

-- moved several loads of gravel, building up the berm alongside the driveway as well as leveling other areas

-- finally used the three pieces of pipe insulation wrap that I had trailing around my workroom, on the intended hot water pipe in the ceiling of the games room

-- cleaned up the cardboard leftover from the dehumidifier

-- attempted to clean the air intake fins in the wine cellar cooler unit -- they are chuck full of drywall dust. I don't know whether I've solved the problem of this thing running a lot of the time due to inefficiency -- if not, I'll have to get a new unit. I won't be able to tell until the summer when it starts running again (not much need for cooling in the basement during the winter !)

-- vacuumed parts of the basement and the stairs

-- went into Mass, getting back just after Stef and Aaron arrived.

I'll be moving a lot of gravel, and not all of it this year. I hardly made a dent in the huge truckload piled at the end of the driveway.

The hydro (electricity) bill came in yesterday and our usage is way up from last year based on the actual meter reading. Since they only take a meter reading once per year the bill makes it look like all of the increase was in the last month -- which of course is not true -- but doesn't change the fact that our usage is up. I'm guessing that a number of things have contributed to the increase:

-- the wine cellar cooler running a lot of the time
-- the dehumidifier running ALL of the time during the summer, being one of the coolest/wettest on record
-- more people around, since Stef/Kylie/Lauren were here much of the summer
-- with more people around, the dishwasher was run a lot more and since the dishwasher ends up heating the water, it uses more power than you'd think
-- hmmm ... I'll have to think about other causes.

The only way that I can really monitor this is to take my own readings at regular intervals so that I can chart usage per day. If I made it a regular part of my routine to take a meter reading at a certain time of day I could chart usage.

Back to the dishwasher -- the on-demand hot water heater needs a certain level of water flow before it kicks in -- 2 gallons per minute, if I recall correctly. Below that and it just lets cold water flow. The dishwasher flow is less than 2 gpm so it gets cold water to wash dishes, then heats the water. We have the same dishwasher in Florida and it takes 30-something minutes to run the 'quick' cycle vs this dishwasher taking 40-something minutes for the same cycle. The only difference is the temperature of the water supply. Having said that, from a strict cost standpoint, electricity heating the water is no more expensive than propane heating the water. It just shows up on a different bill.

We have three components to our energy bill:

-- electricity which we pay monthly based on power company estimates of usage and an annual reading
-- propane which we pay annually based on delivery during December after I call them
-- firewood which is also an annual delivery

Of course this doesn't include any firewood that I cut myself ... which has amounted to zero so far this year. I usually cut up some dead-falls this time of year but have not yet.

Our biggest usages of electricity, I figure, are:

-- computers, which run constantly
-- dishwasher, mentioned already
-- A/C -- probably doesn't amount to much because it is only run a few days per year
-- dehumidifier -- probably a major item and hopefully this usage will drop with the new unit
-- lights would be minor, since most are energy efficient compact fluorescent
-- furnace blower, which runs 24/7 along with the HRV
-- other electronics -- TV / Stereo / Satellite etc. which are always on the way that these things work
-- pumps -- sewage/effluent/water/sump -- which probably don't amount to much total usage
-- heaters -- sewage and water line, gutter etc. which get turned on during the winter
-- refrigerators -- kitchen, darkroom, basement, wine cellar -- I suspect that these really add up
-- clothes washer and dryer -- the dryer was used much more this year due to the wet weather
-- three ceiling fans that are always on -- kitchen, great room, loft

I'll have to think about this list as I try and figure out where the 30-60 kwh per day are going

Changing topics completely ... for dinner we had Sandy's oven-cooked smashed potatoes and steak + cauliflower & broccoli on the barbie. All good as usual but I'm always full after steak because we do not eat very much beef. Perhaps I should eat less ? I hate simplistic solutions !

ps -- the stove and oven are propane so they do not contribute to electricity usage, in case you are wondering.

Today -- perhaps I'll get out for a bike ride. I really should. Sandy is going to the pottery place to pick up something that is waiting for her. Stef and Lauren might be going as well.

The leaves are at their peak, many red leaves on the ground already. They don't all turn at once. The reds and oranges (maple) seem to go first along with some yellow (birch / poplar). Soon it will be predominantly yellow. Many of the birch & poplar trees are still green and of course the pines / hemlocks are always green other than the needles that they are shedding for the year which are brown. The drive East to Port Loring has a lot of deciduous trees along the route and some of the best colours. The drive west has many more pines and is not as striking.

Jimmy -- Sheryl's husband -- send out an email yesterday that had some thoughts from George Carlin on aging. I particularly liked one point, that life is not measured in how many breaths that we take but in how many times it takes our breath away. The fall colours fits the latter vs the former. It's not to be missed and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Onward ... time to feed Mya, Abby and me. Mya must be getting older -- I was up this morning and quietly made coffee in the kitchen while she stood in her kennel and whined softly ... but then went back to sleep after I left.