Alexander's Horse, Thank you...:)

[Alexander's Horse]

I'd like to know if the consumption and mileage is comparable, also the effect on engine parts like the fuel system, which is currently designed to suit petroleum products. Also power and engine performance. Is if the same? Better? Worse? So let us know how it goes.

I believe that petroleum won out not so much because of some sort of conspiracy but because it is highly combustible, much better than other possible fuels.

[Velociryx]

I'll certainly do so! I would imagine that I'll be experimenting extensively as my little project moves from the planning stages and into actual practice....finding my way, and what works better/more efficiently than others.

My sense of it is though, that even if WVO is less efficient in terms of MPG, if it's a free source, then it wins, hands down...of course, things will change. If BioD gets more than a cult following in the US, then the free sources of waste oil will dry up as companies come to the awareness that they have a saleable product....which could totally alter the equation....

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

Room-by-room Survey of Electrical Appliances
Upstairs
Office
* Two PC's (400W power supply)
* Two Monitors (75W + 120W)
* Two mini speaker systems (one for each system) (est. 12W each)
* Westell Wirespeed Modem (?)
* Linksys Router (?)
* HP Photosmart Printer (?)
* Cannon Flatbed Scanner (?)
* Overhead Light (75w)
* Ceiling Fan (?)
* Auxillery Lighting (75w)

Equipment not in use in the office
* Desktop Mini-Stereo System (NA)
* Two additional PC's (unplugged and not in use, may be added later)(NA for now)
* Surround Sound System (400w) (not in use)

Upstairs Bath
* Lighting (75w * 3)
* Vent fan (?)
* Independent (redundant) Water Heater (?)
* The upstairs is heated and cooled by the house's secondary (redundant) AC (? power consumption)

Little H's Art Room
* Primary Lighting (75w)
* Ceiling Fan (?)
* Auxillary Lighting (75w)
* 27" Flatscreen TV (?)
* Surround Sound System (400W)
* DVD Player (?)
* VCR (?)

Connecting Hallway and Stairwell
* 75w x2 (one each, stairwell and hallway)
* Cordless Phone Upstairs (?)

Survey of upstairs electrical equipment complete

1544W used if everything I have numbers for is on...plus, there are several items I don't have power consumption figures for yet. Will need to also estimate how many hours per day, on average, this stuff is actually on, to arrive at a good estimate. Number is meaningless and incomplete at this point.

Downstairs survey will take a good bit longer....

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

Downstairs
Living Room
* Emergency Lighting (40w)
* OH Lighting (3x40w)
* Ceiling Fan (?)
* 3 Floor Lamps (75w * 3)
* 32" TV (?)
* VCR (?)
* DVD (?)
* Surround Sound System (400w)
* Cordless Phone (?)
* Game Cube (?)

Dining Room
* OH Lighting (5x 40w)

Kitchen
* OH Lighting (1x75w)
* OH LIghting (4x40w)
* Ceiling Fan (?)
* Range (?)
* Refridgerator (?)
* Microwave (?)
* Tea Maker (?)
* Coffee Pot (?)
* Toaster (?)
* Toaster Oven (?)
* George Foreman Grill (lg) (wedding present) (?)
* Griddle (wedding present) (?)
* Crock Pot (?)
* Veggie Steamer (?)
* Waffle Iron (?)
* Electric Wok (?)
* Range Light (40w)
* Range Vent Fan (?)
* Light over Sink (20W Flourescent)

Connecting Hallway
* OH Lighting (75w)

Guest Bath
* OH Lighting (3x75w)
* Laundry Area Lighting (60w)

Master Bedroom
* OH Lighting (75w)
* Ceiling Fan (?)
* Table Lamp (60w)
* Clock Radio (?)
* Cordless Phone (?)
* 19" TV (?)
* DVD (?)
* VCR (?)

Master Bath
* OH Lighting (2x75w)
* Shower Light (60w)
* Small Fan (?)
* Hair Dryer (?)
* Curling Iron (?)

Other Equipment that uses electricity
* The downstairs is heated and cooled by the house's primary AC unit (?)
* Hot water for the downstairs is courtesy of the house's primary water heating unit (?)
* Two Vaccuums (one up, one down) (??)
* Shop Vac (wet dry vac) (?)
* Two electric fans in reserve (not plugged in or in use at present) (?)
* Iron (?)
* Electric Blanket (?)
* Two Heating Pads (?)

Whew....dang but there's a lot of electrical stuff in this house! I didn't realize it until I went room to room....sheesh...and a lot of this stuff we just plain don't need.

Wow. That was insightful, and I'm not near done yet!

-=Vel=-

Next up: continue to get numbers for the items missing numbers and start coming up with total consumption figures to see if I can get a match, or close match to what the power company says I'm using....tedious and time consuming...UGH

EDIT:
Switching from the incandescent bulbs in the 60 and 75w category tho, and putting in flourecents, should give me comparable lighting with approximately half the wattage used. That should be pretty significant. Not sure if I'll like the quality of light, but will definitely play with it, and this would be a good, inexpensive first step. See what this does to the overall power consumption....my guess would be 10-15% drop in overall consumption. Given that my target was a 25% reduction, if that's on the money, then that's an easy fix indeed!

Hot water heaters...not really negotiable...expensive to replace and we're not going without hot water, so they're just what they are. AC...we can nudge the thermostat down a couple degrees and see what that does, on top of the lighting.

Looks like a trip to Sears might be in my future....hmmm....

[Spiffor]

Vel, are you sure there are many diesel retailers in your area? If not, you might end up being dependent on a few specific retailers for your fuel.

[Velociryx]

Yep...several. Almost every gas station in town has at least a couple of Diesel pumps...we're good on that front!

-=Vel=-

[Spiffor]

Well, then don't hesitate

IIUC, one needs very little quantity of diesel in comparison to other fuels. This means that you could possibly stockpile a significant quantity of diesel at home, if you want to be cautious.

On the hippie front: diesel is not less polluting than regular oil. A diesel car burns fewer fuel than other kinds, but it drops quite nasty things in the environment. If you're sensitive to environment issues, I'd suggest you take a car that burns vegetal fuels, or a car that burns regular fuel, but with a much better mileage than American cars.

[Velociryx]

And this little guy might prove handy too:

http://www.energybuddy.com

Not terribly expensive...after the wedding has come and gone, this might be worth a look. If it doesn't work, nothing lost, really...if it helps...so much the better! Either way, I'll keep posting the numbers, so we'll have a record of what works and what doesn't, and I'll do one thing at a time so we can see the impact.

So...it looks like my first three steps are mapped out then. Not very glamerous, and quite some ways from actually beginning experiments with BioD, but....

* Step One (turn the dang thermostat down) (free) (see what impact it has) 4 degrees upstairs, 2 degrees downstairs and hold.

* Step Two (replace all 60 & 75w incandescent lights with flourescent bulbs) (see what impact that has)

* Step Three...grab one of these little energybuddy things and see if it does anything.

Humble beginning, to be sure, but, until we get some cash flow freed up, it will be slow goings....

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

An excellent point, Master Spiff! And re: stockpiling, I have been thinking along those lines....I've seen/heard mentioned that one type of cheaply available, yet high quality "storage tank" are the tanks that are used in septic systems. Available in quantity, strong and sturdy, high capacity....might be just the ticket!

-=Vel=-

[Spiffor]

I don't know how it is in the US, but in Europe we have energy-saving bulbs. They are more costly than a regular bulb when you buy them, but they are less costly in the long run:
- they eat up about 5 times less electricity, and provide as much light.
- they have an extended life expectancy

Another thing we do to save energy is investing in thermic isolation of the house. A well isolated house can dramatically reduce the costs of both heating and air conditioning. Again, I have no idea whether the isolation is on the same par in the US, or not.

[Spiffor]

More details about energy-saving bulbs (Britain)

[Velociryx]

I'll definitely look into all the lighting options when I go down to the local store....either flourescent or some low wattage solution like you suggessted...whichever seems to offer the better deal.

I'm definitely not afraid of spending a bit upfront to see savings down the road. Of course, all this will have to be AFTER the wedding!

Insulation: House is pretty well insulated, but the two AC units themselves are 15 years old...would probably, at some point, be in my best interest to look at replacing them with newer, more efficient models. they are mechanically sound, but I'm sure that the efficiency has advanced in the last fifteen years, and the savings, especially in the hot southlands, could be significant.

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

YES! Those are the exact bulbs I had in mind! That's what I'll be looking for when I go to replace all the ones here in the house! On the same page!

-=Vel=-

[Spiffor]

I'm a cheapstake, and I also do another thing to reduce my energy consumption: in my flat, tap water is warmed by an electrical water tank right below the sink. It's easy to turn the tank on and off (it's about as complex as using the faucet), but many people let the tank always on. As I use warm water only a few minutes a day, I let the thing almost always off. It saved quite a bit too

[CerberusIV]

The energy saving bulbs are definitely the way to go. We did this several years ago, replacing around around 10 conventional bulbs with them. The results were pretty impressive with a reduction of around £10-£15 per month during the first winter (Yorkshire was very gloomy). Also they last ages. We lived in that house for a further 18 months and then 6 years in the next one. We took all the bulbs with us and over the whole period had to replace no more than 3 or 4 of them.

Be careful about storing fuel. There is a limit in the UK about how much petrol can be stored at home so you might want to check whether there is a restriction on storing diesel in your area.

As for hauling stuff can't you get a towbar fitted and buy a trailer. That way you only have the extra carrying capacity when you need it rather than dragging extra metal around all the time.