<p>I think our HOA would take care of the bloody eyeball pretty quickly. But CA has rules on solar panels that protect them no matter how much of an eyesore they are. There are even questions about large solar panel groupings that may reflect onto roads and into driver’s eyes creating a road hazard. Not sure even those safety concerns can stop the solar panels placement.</p>
<p>OP here – my DH discovered this morning that the bathroom in the basement has radiant heat in the floor, and has been set to highest setting since we moved in . . . perhaps this explains some of the electric bill.</p>
<p>Sew…that is SOME of it, but probably not ALL of it. Basements are below grade and their ambiant temp tends to be more temperate than the upper floors. BUT good for you for finding that out. You might want to check ALL of your thermostats. We lowered ours to 66 in the winter (but we have NO drafts at all)…and it’s fine. It has saved us a bundle on heating oil. We have auto thermostats that turn the temp down to 55 at night and then automatically get the temp to 66 for the time we choose. I do think those have saved us some money too.</p>
<p>Sewhappy: yes, that will explain a lot of the electric bill, depending on the exact type of heating it uses. I do wonder if it’s on high because the previous owners used it to dry the basement? Another possible energy sink is recirculating hot water pumps, which many large houses have.</p>
<p>Sewhappy, it sounds like you are on the right track. :)</p>
<p>First, you need to do your own energy audit, which you are already doing. Then, in parallel, you need to make the power company agree to read your meter instead of using the previous homeowner’s usage to estimate your bill (it sounds like you are alredy on their case). Otherwise, no matter how many improvements you make, you will still be paying an arm and a leg. Thirdly, you need to get a professional audit as has been suggested. Then you have to consider energy-saving improvements based on the findings from the audits. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hold everything. A solution.
Why are you heating the bathroom floor? All you need is to heat the bathroom thing that normally touches the skin. Probably about a square foot, of course it depends. :)</p>
<p>^^Easy solution: send someone to the bathroom first to warm up the square foot, then go. :D</p>
<p>LongPrime: you heat the bathroom floor so that, when you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, your feet don’t cool to the temperature of icicles that are then used to wake up your spouse in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>[Iphone</a> Maker Foxconn?s Entry Into Solar May Cut Industry Margins - Bloomberg](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>
<p>More “charlatans” entering into the solar industry - that one that won’t take off.</p>
<p>dmd77, except it’s the basement bathroom. If someone’s using that in the middle of the night, I’m guessing that they’re not going to be allowed back into bed with anyone else, no matter the temperature of their feet. 
:)</p>
<p>Happy Holidays.
Santa, obviously didn’t bring you what you need. :(</p>
<p>My two favorite, fellow PNW marks, and SlitheytTove, took the bait. I am setting the hook-hard yank. 
</p>
<p>LongPrime: yes, you got me. Never difficult.</p>
<p>Hey, OP here. This house is a hoot. It was built by a builder in a small neighborhood in the eighties that he developed himself. Our house is the house he built for himself. It is full of interesting features – two different heating systems for the garage, for example. An attic with a stair case (not pull down). Three (count them! Three!) dishwashers: kitchen, laundry room, basement. Then all those radiant heat tile floors – a sun room, two bathrooms and what seems to be the “time out nook” off the master. </p>
<p>I could go on.</p>
<p>We actually love the house. It is really a great flow, terrific natural light, just a happy house. But the utility bills simply must get real. I think my DH figured out one of the heating systems in the garage has been on since move in.</p>
<p>Last night, walking home from neighbors a set of either cayotes or actual wolves bounded across our front yard and headed up the hill into the woods. Not kidding. I actually worry about black bear. Son encountered one last summer on our property. </p>
<p>Welcome to the wilds of NJ.</p>
<p>I can’t resist.
Dishwasher in the laundryroom? Makes perfect sense, The owner used to have a wife/girl friends that worked for Victoria’s Secret. They needed machine that could wash the bras. :)</p>
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<p>Hmmm, so much for my theory about why radiant heated floors in the basement. 
I love the detail of not one but two different heating systems for the garage. I’m also thinking back to the dream house of my youth–quick access to lower levels via a firehouse pole and a long looping slide, hidden passages galore, fully-stocked soda fountain, indoor/outdoor pool…</p>
<p>Actually, some of the features (three dishwashers, that “time out” nook near the master bedroom) sound like a home for an Orthodox Jewish family.</p>
<p>Two dishwashers is definitely not unsual in households keeping kosher. Warm tile floors are really nice! I’d say it’s one of the most popular upgrades for people redoing their bathrooms. Heating the garage is great if you do a lot of work out there. Not sure why it would be heated twice though. Most (older) houses around here have real stairs to the attic, but they have doors so you don’t need to heat the attic.</p>
<p>We have two dishwashers, one on each side of the sink. When we remodeled, a second dishwasher was cheaper than another cabinet with drawers in the same location. More useful, too. </p>
<p>My husband’s ideal garage would be heater and have hot and cold running water and a drain in the floor. We did put in a hot/cold outside tap outside the kitchen, with a French drain under a platform. Very useful for washing dog feet, boots, and bicycles.</p>
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<p>Actually having all these different “zone” heating systems can CUT utility costs if used properly. First…turn OFF the heat in the garage (your cars will be FINE without it). Second, make sure the temps are set appropriately for use in EACH of the other living spaces. Having three dishwashers doesn’t USE power…it’s USING them that does. Radiant heat can be VERY efficient heat (according to power/design engineer husband) as it creates a “comfort” level with a lower actual temp setting. </p>
<p>If there are areas of your house you are NOT using…shut them off and lower the heating temp to a mimimum.</p>
<p>And get that energy audit.</p>
<p>Our town was one of four selected by the state to participate in a solar energy program. Any homeowner interested in solar had to have an energy audit before the solar company came out to determine if solar panels would work on one’s property–all this was offered free of charge. I had the audit, but the solar panels wouldn’t work on my roof and there wasn’t really space on the property (unless I wanted to tear out landscape/gardens that I’d been working on for years!). Since I couldn’t do solar, I followed the advice from the audit and replaced all of my lights with LEDs. Also had to redo some of the dimmers to accommodate the LED lighting. It was very expensive ($5K). </p>
<p>Only other recommendation from the audit was to selectively heat, i.e., turn thermostats way down in rooms that we aren’t using. I have radiant heat–with gas backup. When H and I are alone, I turn the thermostats off in all of the rooms except the kitchen, bedroom, and family room and I keep those at 67 degrees. Considering using a wood-burning oven in the fireplace of the family room. With the new lighting and turning down the thermostats, I was able to reduce my energy bill (gas and electric) by about $300 dollars. In the winter and summer my bills were about $1000 a month–less in spring and fall. I have a large house, but also live in MA, which has very high energy costs.</p>
<p>Let me show how to save even more electricity and heat $.</p>
<p>That bathroom exhaust fan moves 200ft3 per minute. Your bathroom is being conservative-generous, 8x10x10≈800ft3. The fan will exhaust completely, all of the heated air, in 4 minutes. BUT to sure of air exchange, you leave the fan on for 10 minutes. A 2.5x exchange. or a room of 14x14x10ft ceiling (16x16x8ft. Ceiling) from outdoor temp to comfortable temp of 68, Do that 4 times a day, amounts to a lot of hot air wasted to remove the maloderous air. This would amount to just 4ft3-4x/day or just! 16ft3. Vs 1600ft3 with wasteful whole bath exhaust or 100x more energy efficient. </p>
<p>I challenge anyone to find another appliance that is more efficient. :)</p>
<p>SOLUTION: Point source the exhausting. The WASHLET BIDDY, with the exhausting/deodorizer and heated air dryer features. Just 1 minute would be enough to dry and to remove and filter the air 4x.</p>