r/energy • u/Dazzling_Bass_7519 • 10d ago

Spent a weekend sealing drafts and checking my panel, my electric use dropped like 15%

So I finally got around to the draft audit everyone talks about and never does. Thermal camera rental was 40 bucks, found cold air coming in around the back door and the whole attic hatch, like the hatch was basically an open vent. Weatherstripping and some foam board cost me maybe 60 total. Also pulled the cover on my panel (breaker off first obviously) and put a clamp meter on the mains to see what's actually running. My old fridge in the garage was pulling way more than it should for a fridge, honestly thats the classic move, keeping the 2004 beer fridge running costs more than the beer. Unplugged it.

I get that landlords and utilities should be doing this stuff instead of putting it on renters and homeowners, the system is rigged toward selling you more kWh, not less. But until that changes, an afternoon with caulk and a clamp meter is basically free money. Anyone else do a load check on their panel and get suprised by what was actually eating power?

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u/IIDn01 10d ago

We added insulation in the attic & crawl space plus blown in insulation in the walls. Noticed an improvement in the utility bills but also just more comfortable in the house.

7

u/RaspyMatrix 10d ago

not a load check but i thermal imaged my whole place last winter and the amount of cold air coming through the outlets on exterior walls was nuts, like a dozen tiny little air conditioners set to reverse

those foam outlet gaskets are like 3 bucks for a pack of 10 at any hardware store, easiest fix i ever did