April 2012

April Utility Consumption

 

Well! Electric usage is up …a lot this month compared to last month but not as high as last year in the same month. (Total consumption is 60% above last month and 12% below last year).

Why? Chickens! There are four chicks (baby Araucana chickens) living in a box in the kitchen – they need it to be warm warm warm so a red heat lamp has been burning round the clock since April 7th. The billing period runs through the 19th so 12 days of the heat lamp.  The lamp is 250 watts – that demand calculates out as:  250 watts * 24 hours * 19 days = 114,000watts or 114kwh.  The metered difference between this month and last month is 79kWh.  Given that it was warmer this month and that there was a reduction in fan power required for heat, I would say that the entire reason for the increase in consumption is raising chicks.  Next year’s eggs are getting more expensive by the minute….or kWh….

Very exciting…again this month… is the performance of the Photovoltaic system.  Production was 4% higher than last month and 76% higher than last April – wow wow wow.

Year-to-date gas consumption is down 26% from last month.  The temperature was 2 degrees warmer so less heat.

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