energy saving tips

If you have a swimming pool, the old single speed pool pump is probably going to be the single largest source of energy consumption in your house overall. Sure, your AC may consume more, but you probably don't run your AC 10 continuous hours a day in the summer or 4 continuous hours a day in the winter time like your pool pump. A 3 hp motor can easily consume 30kwh a day if you run the pump 10 hours.

Switch over to a variable speed pump and turn down your pump speed for the most part can save you a lot of energy. You can probably recoup your investment cost on the upgrade in only a few short years. Your utility company may give you a rebate incentive to upgrade.

I have never come across a 3 HP residential pool pump.
Most people filter for way too long
A timer and set it so it turns over the pool once a day is usually sufficient.
Keep cutting back on filtering till clarity drops.

Yeah, they put a 3 HP residential pool pump on my 17K gallon pool because I have the CareTaker in-floor cleaning system and a water fall so you need enough pressure for all those pop-up heads to work properly. Back then they only made single speed pumps so if you have lots of pool features then you need a strong enough pump to drive all of them at once to cover the worst case scenario.

Regarding the pump run time, here in Phoenix, the rule of thumb is you want to pump an hour for every 10 degrees of water temperature. So naturally in the summer, you're looking at 8-10 hours run time. When the pool water temperature gets warm like bath water due to the summer heat, it's not just about turning the pool over at least once a day. It's also about keeping the water flowing and not stagnate for too long to prevent algae from developing. Also, if you have a salt water system, you will need to run long enough to give it time to generate enough chlorine in your pool.

At any rate, the variable speed pump addresses most of those issues. The Pentair VS pump is actually still at 3HP max so you can run a cleaning cycle at high speed as necessary, but for only as long as needed (maybe a few hours), then switch to lower rpm's for longer run-time for water circulation and salt system chlorine generation.

Hello. Sorry for bumping this thread but as you're talking about energy saving ideas, I want to ask if any of you know if blinds that claim to have insulation properties are any good. I have to install some in house and I'm asking if you agree with the next statement I found online about this kind of window treatment: The slim 20mm pleats make the blind neatly fit into any size window. The blinds are particularly suitable for conservatories, orangeries and sunrooms. There are two types of pleated blinds, freehanging for windows and conservatory walls, skylight blinds for square and rectangular glass and conservatory ceilings. Our pleated blinds manufactured with ASC fabrics with their solar reflective backing will keep your conservatory cool in summer and save money on heating costs in winter. Our translucent fabrics gently filter and soften the light whilst still giving your room privacy.
Do you have any experience with these, and if yes would you recommend them to me? Any advice would be appreciated as I want to know what I'm buying. Thank you in advance and have a lovely day!

Pleated blinds can be motorized.

Great advice! I spent time educating my family on how to be economical (they still forget from time to time) before I installed solar power.
Last Christmas I received a rebate from Synergy (our local energy provider) for $750 for the excess power I produced over 2013, if you add that to my average monthly bill x 12 if works out to (approximately) 12 x $125 + $750 = $2250 per year.
Just two more years and my solar system will have paid for itself totally.
Admittedly I do work away for large parts of the year and the house has only one occupant in it for most of the year, but it's better than when I used to rely entirely on our energy provider .

if you had your contact info in your profile (not in posts or .sig) someone in your neighborhood might find their way to you.

I am also curious what this has to do with solar.

More Tips

These are very nice tips. Everyone should follow these steps.

You can also read some common tips below:

#1 Draw Curtains and Blinds
#2 Switch Off All Electrical Appliances
#3 Turn Off Lights
#4 Turn Down Your Thermostat

More tips and everything can be get read on below link:


Mod note - link deleted

Thanks for sharing your ideas they are much usable.

Energy Saving Tips

Preserving power in the home is becoming an incredibly crucial aspect in modern residing. With improving fuel costs and the wider environmental issues everyone should do their part to protect power where possible.

I think you mean conserving power..... and increasing fuel costs.
Sometimes a dictionary or online translator just does not do the job well enough to make the result understandable.

inetdog - I think you got it wrong - maybe he meant preserving such as in making a jam or jelly?

Preservative

This list gets more entertaining every month.

Is that what they put into a GEL battery?
I always wondered about that!

Naw, it's just that highland brogue.