kpk@gitpyr.UUCP (Kevin P. Kleinfelter) (12/15/85)
> [discussion of setting back heat pumps and hot water heaters]
Near the end of my undergraduate studies I was very poor, and needed to
keep utility expenses to a minimum. I was living in a 2 BR apt., and my
roommate was out of town for the summer. This summer my electric bill hit
a low of $8 (and this was in an all electric apartment in 1981!)
To accomplish this feat I did the following:
1) Turned the hot water heater on while eating breakfast
2) Showered and washed dishes after breakfast
3) MANUALLY controlled the hot water heater at the breaker box.
The heater probably ran a total of 45 min to an hour a day.
With regards to the setting back of the thermostat on a heat pump, my
parents have come up with a remarkably sensible method:
If the auxilliary heat coils come on with greater than 4 degrees of
heating required, then set the thermostat back 3.9 degrees at night
or during the day when no one is around.