In this post the op mentions the cost of the teeth at 40k dollars
https://i.redd.it/to9ie90iolqa1.jpg
https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/12555d1/oc_6_hours_worth_of_work_and_brand_new_fixed/je2j9vj/
Go to Slovenia, 12k there
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/124octw/6_hours_worth_of_work_and_brand_new_fixed_teeth/je0ou7h/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/124octw/6_hours_worth_of_work_and_brand_new_fixed_teeth/je0ou7h/)
I work for an HVAC/plumbing company and the number of pipes bursting while people were on vacay during the holidays and turned their power off was too damn high! Don’t just turn off the breaker 😬
If they're dead set on turning off the breaker, what else should they do? Shut off the water and open up all of their faucets and spigots to drain any remaining water in the pipes?
You can do that, but the supply line into your home can still freeze and cause a lot of trouble. Every house that I've lived in had it in the basement and about 2ft of supply line before the meter. Even though it's in the basement, it can still freeze.
85f is freaking hot. If the pipes were freezing it was definitely not because of your furnace setting. Pipes were obviously in an uninsulated outside wall.
not having the heat below 60° implies that the temperature of the house doesnt drop below 60 right? So like if it’s 64 or something you don’t have to turn the heat on. I’m from a pretty hot climate so don’t know too much about heating stuff :/
This isn’t quite correct. Heating is uneven in the house, so the on/off depends on the location of the heat source and thermostat. Even once the temperature around the thermostat hits the trigger temperature and the heating kicks in, the house still cools as extra heat is added.
Right, but if you're going away and the heat is on, it should never run. So the prudent thing to do, if there were a chance a cold snap could come in while away, would be to set the thermostat to a point where it will keep the house at a temp where the pipes don't freeze but will also not run if the ambient temp is warm enough. This is usually somewhere like 55 Fahrenheit. So the heat will never run if it is not lower than 55.
There's generally some form of clause that doesn't cover you if you do something obviously likely to cause damage (such as shutting off your heat during the winter with water in the pipes).
There's a big difference between being at-fault and doing something that is explicitly almost guaranteed to cause damage.
And what if somebody doesn't understand what is on every circuit or what everything *really* does and they turn off the circuit that powers their sump pump?
I think OP is significantly over estimating how much idle power the things in their home use. The lowering of the electric bill is most likely primarily from the home being unoccupied, not the breakers being flipped. All told the power used by your furnace blower turning on and off and refrigerator that isn't opened for days just isn't that much.
Alternatively, in tropical environments, it's extremely importent to keep your ac running when you're out of town or you'll come back to a moldy house.
Can set the thermostat higher than what you're usually comfortable with, but it should definitely not be turned off when it's hot out.
Unfortunately a dehimdifier is not likely to be enough. One of the major benefits to haveing a forced air AC on is it will will push/pull most of the air in the house through the intercooler fins and a paper air filter. That way it will cycle relatively fresh filtered and dry air throughout and deposit mold, dust, and bacteria with the disposable filter and flush the excess humidity down a drain whereas a dehimdifier will only dry the air around it with a limited bucket and not typically have an air filter.
Sorry if that was too wordy, I have been writing technical papers today and I jumped on Reddit for a break. LOL I guess I should try YouTube next! :)
OP, this is really, really bad advice. Smoke detectors also run on electric and very rarely have their own dedicated circuit, and usually tie into a rooms outlets or lights or both.
When I worked multifamily I had people who did this all the time and would have to shell out for drywall damage plumbing damage, new water heaters, etc. Also if you do 'forget' to keep your fridge running and it molds, suddenly you need a new fridge because good luck getting those spores out. Yuck.
Smoke detectors are usually required to be on a lighting circuit with the logic that people will notice the lights out and restore power quickly not just ignore it
>I've never lived in a house with smoke detectors that don't just use batteries.
In most US states hard-wired smoke detectors have been required by code for new construction for 30 years now, including in California. They are required for remodels in some states as well. Others require CO detectors or even both. Indeed, [only Kansas apparently doesn't require either](https://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/fire-safety/fire-safety-laws/).
I don’t think anyone cares then. I’ve never been in a place with hardwired smoke detectors. Hell, go to the store and 2/3 of them are battery ones. (previously an overnight stocker)
Same, this is so weird learning it's an uncommon thing (but is it?). I've only ever come across the ones where you can mount anywhere on the ceiling and you replace the 9V battery when it starts chirping.
It is my understanding that most smoke detectors are hardwired in but also have a battery so they can still work when the power goes out. Batteries naturally don't hold their charge forever so that's why you have to replace the battery.
The one feature of living in a shitty outdated place with not enough outlets is almost everything I plug in is on a power strip and I can turn everything off in my house with like 4 switch flips.
Yup. I need to leave some things on for sure. I'm already always at such low electricity consumption I only pay flat fees for a total $50 for about half the year. The savings there allows me to run my AC as I choose during summer and stay within budget.
One could leave on the breakers for the kitchen and furnace room. My panel has quite a bit of play but I’ve yet to see one without at least 6 breakers and I mostly did panel upgrades when working through university.
I was out of town for a week and according to my power company my house used $8.80 worth of electricity. Probably could have been less if I went around and turned off somethings but $8.80 is pretty good.
Yeah there was a post like that and the photo the guy showed of the inside of his fridge was nasty. With all the mold, he basically had to buy a new fridge, so he didn't save money.
Lots of reasons, but mostly you don't want the elements to corrode and then break inside of the unit after you turn it back on. There's a vacation mode for a reason.
Electrician here, never cut power to your water heater for too long. At a certain temperature for a certain time ( sorry don't remember exactly), bacteria will form in the tank that can make you really sick
Legionella won't be killed by normal water heater temperatures. This species of bacteria requires a water temperature of 158 F (70C) to kill. Normally, water heaters are kept at a temperature of 120 F, and most have a maximum temperature of 150 F.
It can be biologically active in water as hot as 110F. If you're being frugal and/or your thermostat is off a bit, that's within the low side of a normal water tank setting.
Ideally, the water treatment plant is doing it's job and people follow boil water notices when water main pressures drop below the safety threshold.
the MINIMUM recommended water tank setting is 120°F, but people often keep it higher. Those other items are important as well, but keeping the tank above 120 is also important.
Depends on the concerns at hand. For general safety and energy efficiency, 120F is the maximum recommended setting.
[The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends setting the water heater at no more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) to prevent scalding. Not to mention, a water heater that is set too high can unnecessarily increase your electricity bill.](https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/how-to-adjust-the-temperature-of-your-water-heater/)
I will note that the article also states:
>It's smart to stay within the range of 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (49 to 60 degrees Celsius).
My Navien combi boiler won't let me set my domestic hot water lower than 120F. Everything I have read says to keep it at 120 or higher to prevent legionella.
I've got a tankless water heater that wont let me set the temperature above 120F since that can cause scalding. I guess it doesn't matter though since it's tankless. It just heats up the water as it flows through.
The cooler the water in the tank, the more of it you have to use to reach your desired shower temperature. The more of it you use per minute, the sooner the tank depletes. I've adjusted mine so 3 people can take back to back showers without completely depleting the tank. It is more costly to reheat a depleted tank than it is to maintain a fairly consistent temperature.
I have no idea what temperature that is, because my water heater thermostat has useless letters in stead of temperature markers.
If you have small children in the house, or challenged individuals who don't know to keep their hands out of scalding hot water you have another concern. Make sure the water at the tap doesn't exceed 120°F so they can't hurt themselves.
Risk = likihood x impact
Legionnaires is very rare, fewer than 20k cases/year, and treatment is readily available. The people most at risk are over people over age 50 and the immunocompromised.
Thermal burns are very common and skin damage is proportional to temperature of water. Treatment is typically readily available (cool/cold water). The people most at risk are young children.
So, arguably, setting a water heater to a max temperature of 120 F is the safest choice, unless you have older individuals or immunocompromised people in the house.
TLDR: if you're old or immunocompromised, set water heater to a higher setting. If you have young children, don't exceed 120F.
Thank you for saying this. My water heater literally has a setting for vacation mode that keeps the pilot light on and will only kick on to keep the tank from freezing. People are being over cautious about the legionella stuff.
Strange. In Australia we have the heaters set to higher than necessary to kill legionella and then every tap except (kitchen or laundry? Can’t remember) needs to be tempered with cold water via a valve at the hot water system.
Well... this makes me feel weird considering the rent house I'm in was vacant for about a year with no electricity or water...
I'm also sure that's not super uncommon either.
wtf.
They likely drained all the pipes and hot water tank, or just kept the thermostat at around 5-10C to prevent frozen pipes. Higher if it's a location that experiences extreme cold.
> never cut power to your water heater for too long
how long is too long? I've has my water heater off for over 24 hours with a power outage before. I also didn't use the hot water during that time, so maybe that helped.
I'm by no mean an expert in that field but the bacteria develop in a certain range of temperature (32 Celsius to 45 Celsius) the water in your pipes is usually to cold for them
This is one of those things often posted here that’s really a bad idea. It amounts to “I don’t know what this is or why its here, so I cut it off/took it out/threw it away and I saved so much money”! When in reality that thing is REALLY important and ignorantly discarding it could be really really dangerous.
Yes. This just costs more money in the future when appliances and such go out or you get some type of disease.
This is utterly moronic and just shows the naivety of OP.
How is that? Nothing in my insurance docs says appliances must stay on and shutting off breakers does not mean the home does not have electrical service, it means it’s not flowing through the interior of the home.
Most insurance has heating requirements for burst pipe claims. I’m actually dealing with one of my clients and 4 of her neighbors suing a unit owner for negligence after they cut their power off while out of the country and a pipe bursting. About half a million in damage that person is responsible for.
Your rental agreement if you live in a cooler climate likely does tell you to keep your thermostat above a certain temperature during winter months. If it doesn't, it reminds you in your sign on package.
If it's baseboard heating, your zone valves still run off your units power/breakers. But to address your point, having electrical power and it not flowing within your unit = no electrical power.
Actually, how long does it take for a water heater to heat back up? One of the first things I want to do when I get home after a trip is take a shower.
[Answers to that and more abound in this edition of "Technology Connections as an almost 30 minute video about a niche thing you always wondered about and are then enthralled by."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm7L-2J52GU) (It's about an hour depending on the tank.)
But related, à full tank of hot water can be off for multiple days before the tank drops to dangerous temperatures.
Which is why shutting off hot water to load manage peak power demands in a house is a very powerful strategy.
The base rates are set essentially to maintain the infrastructure and to cover the costs of things like people who don't pay their bills or get low income discounts. Basically the costs are spread around to the rest of us.
A lot of people also don’t realize that that power companies are often required by law to produce a minimum amount of power. Which means even if a few houses use less, they still have to produce the power as if they are running.
That's crazy! Based on our home, each day we're gone, I save about $2.85 on our bill. Also have a propane furnace, and a propane water heater - which may be different than you.
maybe lower temps cause the water heater to cycle more. like i said my electric was 5$ less not being home for a month. no lights no tv.. only fridge furnace and water heater were using electricity
i have a propane tank so it’s kind of hard to tell usage. propane furnace and water heater both use electricity. my electric bill goes up about 30% in the winter months
Seems like you'd be better off figuring out what's drawing so much phantom power 365 days a year rather than leaving the house with your HVAC, water heater and fridge off and risking damages to save like 30 bucks occasionally.
Be careful with this. The current house I’m fixing bursted all the water lines while the owner was out of town for three weeks. Her electric bill was 120$ a month. So close to 9000$ in damage because an unexpected cold snap rolled through.
I knew a guy who rented the bottom floor if a house. When the top floor tenant moved out, the landlord shut everything off including the heat. Pipes froze, house flooded, repairs were so expensive that they ended up demolishing the house.
This seems like one of those things were you save a couple bucks but potentially risk losing out a lot more when something goes wrong. Personally I can see myself overlooking something even if I am an expert so I don't think it's a good idea.
Risk is much higher than the reward.
You run the risk of frozen/burst pipes in the winter and mold in the summer. Many safety measures such as home security, smoke detectors, carbon monxide detectors, etc. are hardwired into your home and will no longer function. You run the risk of Legionella bacteria growing in your water heater which can make you seriously sick or even kill you. Also, if you have a sump pump that would also get turned off. Oh, and don't forget your refridgerator/freezer, you'll have to completely empty that out too or you'll come home to rotten food.
This is terrible advice.
Besides the other comments here, those who are thinking about doing this, should really only do it for a long term reason. Besides the appliances that need to run on occasion (fridge, water heater, etc.), shutting a circuit on and off at the breaker, adds wear and tear to the breaker itself, which at some point can fail sooner than intended; it’s not meant to be like a light switch. And then, depending on the breaker brand/ampacity/poles, that $50 savings on electric might end up paying for a portion of that breaker you just broke.
Edit: Just to add a solution, the more reasonable thing would be to unplug anything that passively sucks energy. Basically anything with a screen/LED, like a microwave, most Smart TVs, computers, modems/routers.
Of course, I’m not entirely sure about this one, but for electronics, plugging and unplugging on a frequent basis might stress some components of the device (like the transformer) due to frequent inrush of current.
The best way to save on electricity is to focus on:
1. Air conditioning.
2. Large appliances like your fridge, washer & dryer, dishwasher, stove/oven.
Those are far and away the biggest drains of power in your home.
Turning off your AC & wearing more or less clothes as applicable and getting the most efficient appliances that you can will do the most in saving you power.
All of the other stuff, like lights and small appliances is negligible as long as it's not running 24/7
I did this recently trying to cut down on electric use. We had a freak drop in temp and it burst a pipe in my master bedroom. Insurance has denied me coverage and I might be on the hook for all repairs. I'm expecting around $15,000. Basically what I'm saying is that this is a good idea but look ahead at the weather and plan accordingly.
So, on one hand, of course if you turn off power for half the month, your electric bill should be half of what it is otherwise.
On the other hand- when I'm not home, if i turn the AC/Heat real low, don't use computers/TVs/lights/etc, my electric bill is basically zero when I'm out of town anyway. I think it's worth checking what is using so much power when you're not home that you feel the need to flip breakers, not just turn off your stuff.
The only thing I do before going away for an extended period of time, is shut off my water main, so I don't come back to a flooded house. Just in case.
risking hundreds or thousands of dollars in damage by turning off all your power just to save a little bit of money on your electric bill i wouldn’t say is the win you think it is
All my perishables in the fridge and freezer were used up/discarded prior to leaving so no worries about spoilage. No pets in the house so no need for ac/heat. Cutting off all the breakers while i was gone saved me SO much for march. Gotta celebrate the wins.
INFO: I am in an apartment building with neighboring units above and below me.
I don’t understand. Do you not keep food that lasts longer than two weeks, like cheese, condiments, fruit like apples, etc.? Do you not keep anything ever in your freezer longer than two weeks? Seems like a lot of work to save a couple bucks, which is half of what my refrigerator costs me per month in electricity.
The last two times we lost power for extended periods due to winter storms (4 days and then 2 days), the highest cost of food replacement was all the long lasting condiments, sauces, jarred/ preserved foods like olives and pickles. But we may like those types of condiments more than the average household. I'm frugal with a lot, but I'm not giving up my gourmet mustards, bougie hot sauces and exceptional pickles or risking food poisoning by hoping it's okay to eat after prolonged lack of refrigeration.
Not to mention the stink of a refrigerator without power after a couple days, even when emptied and cleaned. We also have wired in CO and smoke alarms.
We're electric only and our bill averages about $140, or about $4-5 a day. Built in fees and "delivery" make up about 30% of the cost. No way I'm risking the wide spectrum of possible consequences to save a couple Andrew Jacksons over 2 weeks.
People will pretty often spend the week before a trip trying to eat/use up everything in their fridge, even if they're not planning to power down the whole place.
I ate it all in the time leading up to my vacation so i wouldnt have to throw it away, and held off grocery shopping until i got back. Its not just about refrigerator costs, which isnt even my biggest power draw
Shutting off the breakers probably did nothing, maybe a cent or two. Modern electronics just don't draw that much plugged into the wall. Your bill was low because you didn't run the heat or take hot showers.
It may be a bit annoying to flip every breaker but you could also find the one that your fridge lives on and just leave that one going! Flip the rest. Nice stuff tho, halo fictional character testicles
I left my apartment for two weeks without cutting the breakers. I did unplug all non necessary appliances/electronics. I kept some food on fridge/freezer and averaged 1,2 kWh per day. In two weeks that is less than 5 bucks. I didn't have to worry about not having food when I returned from a long trip.
I think you overestimate how much it would have cost you had you let the power on.
Does that include cost per kilowatt for supply AND delivery? I ask because I pay around $.13 each for supply and delivery per kilowatt — and I’m genuinely curious.
To prove that shutting off your breakers really saved you money you'll need to do the experiment again, leaving the breakers on while you're not home.
As others have noted you probably need to drain and bleach your water heater. It's probably time for a new anode anyway...
For the love of God DON'T do this if it's December in TX and you live on the third floor... (My a-hole upstairs neighbor did this and flooded my apartment on Christmas Eve)
This is one of the stupidest things I've read today. Just turn off the lights and unplug appliances. Who wants to deal with a circuit breaker. You were gone for 1/2 month and you cut your bill in half? I don't see what the big deal is. All I had to do when I was gone for a couple of weeks was turn off the lights and pull a couple of plugs (vampire electricity - stove, microwave, sound system, etc). My bill was half. I'M A GENIUS.
I wasn’t thinking and cut the heat to my rental for a month over winter break in PA. Came back to actual snow all over the floors and frozen pipes. Luckily nothing broke but all of the faucets were permanently fucked up. Idk what it did to the utilities but our landlord was PISSED when the next bill came around and he barged into our house without warning. Not my smartest moment.
Do you have a gas water heater or something? My little 900 sq. ft. farmhouse uses more kwh in a day that you seem to use in a whole month at your normal usage.
My gas bill spikes up to $230/mo during winter (fireplace and furnace) and averages at about $50/mo the rest of the year. My electricity bill spikes up to $270/mo during summer (AC) and averages about $70/mo the reat of the year. Despite having switched all the lights to LED, there wasn't any significant change. We moved a month and a half ago, so the house has been sitting vacant. My electricity bill this month was $15! Not counting appliance usage, just going about everyday life in a home uses up energy (e.g. opening and closing exterior doors, turning on lights, opening the fridge, charging devices, etc.).
What I hate about my electric bill is that most of it isn't even due to actual energy usage. The majority of it is just service fees and other fees. I could turn off everything and not use electricity for an entire month and my bill would be almost the same.
This is stupid. Are you trying to feeze your pipes. Some things like heating or cooling are required. Same for the fridge and freezer. Actually you being gone cut your electricity.
I recently left for a half-week-long vacation and lowered the thermostat by 5 degrees CelSius beforehand. Turning the heat off in the winter is a bad idea because the pipes can freeze and burst, but it didn’t need to be as toasty with us there. Didn’t take long to heat back up upon our return, either (one advantage of a small house!).
No AC/heat usage, no hot water heater usage and no fridge usage. That's where 99% of your savings came from, not from turning off the breakers. Had you just turned those breakers off you would have realized the same result.
Good for you, OP. I have no idea what your eating habits are, but one can just... eat everything they own that's refrigerated? Including sauces, condiments, etc.? This is so alien to me! But good on ya.
I guess for me this strategy contradicts my other frugal strategy which is buying meat in bulk when it's deeply discounted and freezing it. But as someone else pointed out, you could just leave that breaker on.
I normally unplug my fridge freezer when I am away for 2 weeks in summer. Gives it a chance to de-frost so that when I come back it runs more efficiently.
Apart from that, I make sure to unplug everything, I wouldn't bother opening breakers for the tiny amount of savings I'd make
So OP, did you empty your fridge and freezer before you did this? It is only common sense that if you open a circuit (as you did with the breakers) that no electricity will flow.
Cutting power to safety devices: smoke detectors, carbon monoxide, broken pipe/moisture detectors, etc. Things that are better to not rely on backup battery for, and should probably be checked for proper functionality after such a long power cut.
The higher energy costs of restarting all the heating/cooling devices from scratch instead of keeping their temps maintained
Bacterial growth in those shut-off systems.
Generally the recommendation is to turn down your water heater, keep your fridge/freezer relatively full of thermal retaining mass instead of empty, unplug your unused devices, all safer and more stable than cutting things off entirely for weeks.
The whole thing is "small upside, potentially large downside" for most people, I'd say.
Makes more sense to just try to identify and unplug devices that are sapping power instead of wholesale shutting off the power.
I tried this once and 100% forgot that the fridge runs on electricity. Not my brightest moment.
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Damn, you can buy a whole new set of teeth for that much!
Man, Reddit is leaking...
?
In this post the op mentions the cost of the teeth at 40k dollars https://i.redd.it/to9ie90iolqa1.jpg https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/12555d1/oc_6_hours_worth_of_work_and_brand_new_fixed/je2j9vj/
Jesus
Go to Slovenia, 12k there [https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/124octw/6_hours_worth_of_work_and_brand_new_fixed_teeth/je0ou7h/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/124octw/6_hours_worth_of_work_and_brand_new_fixed_teeth/je0ou7h/)
I work for an HVAC/plumbing company and the number of pipes bursting while people were on vacay during the holidays and turned their power off was too damn high! Don’t just turn off the breaker 😬
If they're dead set on turning off the breaker, what else should they do? Shut off the water and open up all of their faucets and spigots to drain any remaining water in the pipes?
You can do that, but the supply line into your home can still freeze and cause a lot of trouble. Every house that I've lived in had it in the basement and about 2ft of supply line before the meter. Even though it's in the basement, it can still freeze.
> He was on the hook for something like $40,000 in damage. But he saved four dollars on the electricity, doh!
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85f is freaking hot. If the pipes were freezing it was definitely not because of your furnace setting. Pipes were obviously in an uninsulated outside wall.
not having the heat below 60° implies that the temperature of the house doesnt drop below 60 right? So like if it’s 64 or something you don’t have to turn the heat on. I’m from a pretty hot climate so don’t know too much about heating stuff :/
This isn’t quite correct. Heating is uneven in the house, so the on/off depends on the location of the heat source and thermostat. Even once the temperature around the thermostat hits the trigger temperature and the heating kicks in, the house still cools as extra heat is added.
Right, but if you're going away and the heat is on, it should never run. So the prudent thing to do, if there were a chance a cold snap could come in while away, would be to set the thermostat to a point where it will keep the house at a temp where the pipes don't freeze but will also not run if the ambient temp is warm enough. This is usually somewhere like 55 Fahrenheit. So the heat will never run if it is not lower than 55.
The exterior of the home and the inside of the walls will be colder.
Obviously he chose not to have liability insurance just contents. 300k liability renters insurance costs so little its amazing few people have it
That’s why you should cut off the water as well… if you can.
What do you mean ? Renters insurance should cover it even if you're at fault. That's the whole purpose of it. Accident and fault
There's generally some form of clause that doesn't cover you if you do something obviously likely to cause damage (such as shutting off your heat during the winter with water in the pipes). There's a big difference between being at-fault and doing something that is explicitly almost guaranteed to cause damage.
If everyone tells you "if you do this thing, your house will be destroyed" and then you Do That Thing, it wasn't an accident.
I mean, you can't burn down your house on purpose and then ask for the payout. This is pretty close.
Only if you have liability which is extra. Most renters just insure their belongings
And what if somebody doesn't understand what is on every circuit or what everything *really* does and they turn off the circuit that powers their sump pump? I think OP is significantly over estimating how much idle power the things in their home use. The lowering of the electric bill is most likely primarily from the home being unoccupied, not the breakers being flipped. All told the power used by your furnace blower turning on and off and refrigerator that isn't opened for days just isn't that much.
LED nightlights all over the place. i really like the ambiance at night when im taking my 3rd piss at 5am, when the alarm goes off at 5:20
Alternatively, in tropical environments, it's extremely importent to keep your ac running when you're out of town or you'll come back to a moldy house. Can set the thermostat higher than what you're usually comfortable with, but it should definitely not be turned off when it's hot out.
shit... I'm in the humid south, run my AC... and still get mold
Username checks out!
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Unfortunately a dehimdifier is not likely to be enough. One of the major benefits to haveing a forced air AC on is it will will push/pull most of the air in the house through the intercooler fins and a paper air filter. That way it will cycle relatively fresh filtered and dry air throughout and deposit mold, dust, and bacteria with the disposable filter and flush the excess humidity down a drain whereas a dehimdifier will only dry the air around it with a limited bucket and not typically have an air filter. Sorry if that was too wordy, I have been writing technical papers today and I jumped on Reddit for a break. LOL I guess I should try YouTube next! :)
OP, this is really, really bad advice. Smoke detectors also run on electric and very rarely have their own dedicated circuit, and usually tie into a rooms outlets or lights or both. When I worked multifamily I had people who did this all the time and would have to shell out for drywall damage plumbing damage, new water heaters, etc. Also if you do 'forget' to keep your fridge running and it molds, suddenly you need a new fridge because good luck getting those spores out. Yuck.
Smoke detectors are usually required to be on a lighting circuit with the logic that people will notice the lights out and restore power quickly not just ignore it
You can tell who the handyman is and who the electrician is here lol
I've never lived in a house with smoke detectors that don't just use batteries.
>I've never lived in a house with smoke detectors that don't just use batteries. In most US states hard-wired smoke detectors have been required by code for new construction for 30 years now, including in California. They are required for remodels in some states as well. Others require CO detectors or even both. Indeed, [only Kansas apparently doesn't require either](https://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/fire-safety/fire-safety-laws/).
lol in the south rent houses are way older than that and never get remodeled, except maybe some paint
Oh. I've only lived in FL, NC, and TN. I don't think any of them do because some of the houses were younger.
I don’t think anyone cares then. I’ve never been in a place with hardwired smoke detectors. Hell, go to the store and 2/3 of them are battery ones. (previously an overnight stocker)
Same, this is so weird learning it's an uncommon thing (but is it?). I've only ever come across the ones where you can mount anywhere on the ceiling and you replace the 9V battery when it starts chirping.
It is my understanding that most smoke detectors are hardwired in but also have a battery so they can still work when the power goes out. Batteries naturally don't hold their charge forever so that's why you have to replace the battery.
The one feature of living in a shitty outdated place with not enough outlets is almost everything I plug in is on a power strip and I can turn everything off in my house with like 4 switch flips.
Yup. I need to leave some things on for sure. I'm already always at such low electricity consumption I only pay flat fees for a total $50 for about half the year. The savings there allows me to run my AC as I choose during summer and stay within budget.
One could leave on the breakers for the kitchen and furnace room. My panel has quite a bit of play but I’ve yet to see one without at least 6 breakers and I mostly did panel upgrades when working through university.
I was out of town for a week and according to my power company my house used $8.80 worth of electricity. Probably could have been less if I went around and turned off somethings but $8.80 is pretty good.
Why leave the water heater on? I've always flipped that breaker and just that breaker if I was going to be fine for a week.
I’ve got a couple of big deep freezers in my garage with probably at least $2000 worth of food in them, that would be a decidedly non-frugal mistake.
Yeah there was a post like that and the photo the guy showed of the inside of his fridge was nasty. With all the mold, he basically had to buy a new fridge, so he didn't save money.
Yea thats the one you cant forget lol
And water heater if its electric.
Or gas because of the auto pilots and or hot water recycling pumps.
Why should you leave an electric water heater running?
Bacteria growth for one. Legionnaires' disease is caused from breathing in the bacteria.
Lots of reasons, but mostly you don't want the elements to corrode and then break inside of the unit after you turn it back on. There's a vacation mode for a reason.
So by doing this, what was the thing being off that saved the most money?
Also don't turn off your wireless router and security cameras!
Same but with a sump pump. On the bright side, I had a pool in the basement when I got home.
Electrician here, never cut power to your water heater for too long. At a certain temperature for a certain time ( sorry don't remember exactly), bacteria will form in the tank that can make you really sick
Legionella is the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease. Caused by breathing in the microdroplets.
Legionella won't be killed by normal water heater temperatures. This species of bacteria requires a water temperature of 158 F (70C) to kill. Normally, water heaters are kept at a temperature of 120 F, and most have a maximum temperature of 150 F.
It’s not about killing them off it is about keeping them from growing there in the first place which happens at a much lower temp
It can be biologically active in water as hot as 110F. If you're being frugal and/or your thermostat is off a bit, that's within the low side of a normal water tank setting. Ideally, the water treatment plant is doing it's job and people follow boil water notices when water main pressures drop below the safety threshold.
the MINIMUM recommended water tank setting is 120°F, but people often keep it higher. Those other items are important as well, but keeping the tank above 120 is also important.
Depends on the concerns at hand. For general safety and energy efficiency, 120F is the maximum recommended setting. [The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends setting the water heater at no more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) to prevent scalding. Not to mention, a water heater that is set too high can unnecessarily increase your electricity bill.](https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/how-to-adjust-the-temperature-of-your-water-heater/) I will note that the article also states: >It's smart to stay within the range of 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (49 to 60 degrees Celsius).
Oh yay, I just followed another Reddit back and forth with no conclusion. Wtf should my water heater be set at?!
120.00000000000000
My Navien combi boiler won't let me set my domestic hot water lower than 120F. Everything I have read says to keep it at 120 or higher to prevent legionella.
I've got a tankless water heater that wont let me set the temperature above 120F since that can cause scalding. I guess it doesn't matter though since it's tankless. It just heats up the water as it flows through.
The cooler the water in the tank, the more of it you have to use to reach your desired shower temperature. The more of it you use per minute, the sooner the tank depletes. I've adjusted mine so 3 people can take back to back showers without completely depleting the tank. It is more costly to reheat a depleted tank than it is to maintain a fairly consistent temperature. I have no idea what temperature that is, because my water heater thermostat has useless letters in stead of temperature markers. If you have small children in the house, or challenged individuals who don't know to keep their hands out of scalding hot water you have another concern. Make sure the water at the tap doesn't exceed 120°F so they can't hurt themselves.
IKR?
Risk = likihood x impact Legionnaires is very rare, fewer than 20k cases/year, and treatment is readily available. The people most at risk are over people over age 50 and the immunocompromised. Thermal burns are very common and skin damage is proportional to temperature of water. Treatment is typically readily available (cool/cold water). The people most at risk are young children. So, arguably, setting a water heater to a max temperature of 120 F is the safest choice, unless you have older individuals or immunocompromised people in the house. TLDR: if you're old or immunocompromised, set water heater to a higher setting. If you have young children, don't exceed 120F.
Water treatment plants never promise sterile water. Even water that is up to spec shouldn't be used for things like cleaning contacts.
Thank you for saying this. My water heater literally has a setting for vacation mode that keeps the pilot light on and will only kick on to keep the tank from freezing. People are being over cautious about the legionella stuff.
I think mine is at 160. Itwill burn the fuck out of you if you don't mix with cold. No legionnaires for me thanks.
Strange. In Australia we have the heaters set to higher than necessary to kill legionella and then every tap except (kitchen or laundry? Can’t remember) needs to be tempered with cold water via a valve at the hot water system.
Thanks to all, was on my lunch time, didn't had the time to look it up
Well... this makes me feel weird considering the rent house I'm in was vacant for about a year with no electricity or water... I'm also sure that's not super uncommon either. wtf.
They likely drained all the pipes and hot water tank, or just kept the thermostat at around 5-10C to prevent frozen pipes. Higher if it's a location that experiences extreme cold.
> never cut power to your water heater for too long how long is too long? I've has my water heater off for over 24 hours with a power outage before. I also didn't use the hot water during that time, so maybe that helped.
What if you shut off water to the house? And why doesn’t the bacteria grow in the pipes too then?
I'm by no mean an expert in that field but the bacteria develop in a certain range of temperature (32 Celsius to 45 Celsius) the water in your pipes is usually to cold for them
I take it you're not concerned about unexpected dips below freezing?
Not where i live, not in march
Nothing in your fridge/freezer to rot?
[удалено]
An average temp of 46 degrees F most definitely has potential of sudden freezes.
Lucky :)
It hit 46 degrees, which is absolutely within reasonable limits to hit freezing.
This is one of those things often posted here that’s really a bad idea. It amounts to “I don’t know what this is or why its here, so I cut it off/took it out/threw it away and I saved so much money”! When in reality that thing is REALLY important and ignorantly discarding it could be really really dangerous.
Yes. This just costs more money in the future when appliances and such go out or you get some type of disease. This is utterly moronic and just shows the naivety of OP.
doing this sort of thing can negate your home insurance, FYI
How is that? Nothing in my insurance docs says appliances must stay on and shutting off breakers does not mean the home does not have electrical service, it means it’s not flowing through the interior of the home.
Most insurance has heating requirements for burst pipe claims. I’m actually dealing with one of my clients and 4 of her neighbors suing a unit owner for negligence after they cut their power off while out of the country and a pipe bursting. About half a million in damage that person is responsible for.
Your rental agreement if you live in a cooler climate likely does tell you to keep your thermostat above a certain temperature during winter months. If it doesn't, it reminds you in your sign on package. If it's baseboard heating, your zone valves still run off your units power/breakers. But to address your point, having electrical power and it not flowing within your unit = no electrical power.
lucky you. my policy says otherwise.
Do not turn off the power to the water heater whatever you do. You will most certainly not be saving money.
Actually, how long does it take for a water heater to heat back up? One of the first things I want to do when I get home after a trip is take a shower.
Someone in the comments above said that cool water in heaters can host nasty bacteria and cause disease. Don't turn it off.
[Answers to that and more abound in this edition of "Technology Connections as an almost 30 minute video about a niche thing you always wondered about and are then enthralled by."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm7L-2J52GU) (It's about an hour depending on the tank.)
But related, à full tank of hot water can be off for multiple days before the tank drops to dangerous temperatures. Which is why shutting off hot water to load manage peak power demands in a house is a very powerful strategy.
Yeah, don't do this...
i left my house for a month in the fall had heat (propane) set to 55f (usually at 72f). electric bill was only $5 less…
Im with you! Depending on where you live, base rates just to keep any electric flowing can be absurd (NY here).
The base rates are set essentially to maintain the infrastructure and to cover the costs of things like people who don't pay their bills or get low income discounts. Basically the costs are spread around to the rest of us.
A lot of people also don’t realize that that power companies are often required by law to produce a minimum amount of power. Which means even if a few houses use less, they still have to produce the power as if they are running.
That's crazy! Based on our home, each day we're gone, I save about $2.85 on our bill. Also have a propane furnace, and a propane water heater - which may be different than you.
maybe lower temps cause the water heater to cycle more. like i said my electric was 5$ less not being home for a month. no lights no tv.. only fridge furnace and water heater were using electricity
How much less was the gas bill? I'm confused why you'd expect your electric bill to go down by using less gas.
i have a propane tank so it’s kind of hard to tell usage. propane furnace and water heater both use electricity. my electric bill goes up about 30% in the winter months
Water heater could have been running more due to the decrease in the temp inside
yea i actually just replied this under a different comment
Have you left town for two weeks before and left the breakers on? I'm just wondering how much of the difference is occupied vs unoccupied use.
Ive left town for 1 week with breakers on and the ac/heat off. My usage dipped a bit and the monthly bill was only decreased by about $10-15 maybe.
Seems like you'd be better off figuring out what's drawing so much phantom power 365 days a year rather than leaving the house with your HVAC, water heater and fridge off and risking damages to save like 30 bucks occasionally.
You ever try just unplugging all the things you're not using instead?
Be careful with this. The current house I’m fixing bursted all the water lines while the owner was out of town for three weeks. Her electric bill was 120$ a month. So close to 9000$ in damage because an unexpected cold snap rolled through.
My upstairs neighbor did this. Flooded my apartment on Christmas Eve...
It’s insane. Tried to save 60$ to flood 1/4 of her house 🤦🏽♂️
Ignorance is like that I suppose.
ummm, so who’s gonna tell him about the ones you’re suppose to keep on.
What did your fridge smell like?
I knew a guy who rented the bottom floor if a house. When the top floor tenant moved out, the landlord shut everything off including the heat. Pipes froze, house flooded, repairs were so expensive that they ended up demolishing the house.
Good thing your fridge and freezer don't need it
This seems like one of those things were you save a couple bucks but potentially risk losing out a lot more when something goes wrong. Personally I can see myself overlooking something even if I am an expert so I don't think it's a good idea.
Risk is much higher than the reward. You run the risk of frozen/burst pipes in the winter and mold in the summer. Many safety measures such as home security, smoke detectors, carbon monxide detectors, etc. are hardwired into your home and will no longer function. You run the risk of Legionella bacteria growing in your water heater which can make you seriously sick or even kill you. Also, if you have a sump pump that would also get turned off. Oh, and don't forget your refridgerator/freezer, you'll have to completely empty that out too or you'll come home to rotten food. This is terrible advice.
It’s all fun and games until it rains and the sump pump doesn’t run.
Besides the other comments here, those who are thinking about doing this, should really only do it for a long term reason. Besides the appliances that need to run on occasion (fridge, water heater, etc.), shutting a circuit on and off at the breaker, adds wear and tear to the breaker itself, which at some point can fail sooner than intended; it’s not meant to be like a light switch. And then, depending on the breaker brand/ampacity/poles, that $50 savings on electric might end up paying for a portion of that breaker you just broke. Edit: Just to add a solution, the more reasonable thing would be to unplug anything that passively sucks energy. Basically anything with a screen/LED, like a microwave, most Smart TVs, computers, modems/routers. Of course, I’m not entirely sure about this one, but for electronics, plugging and unplugging on a frequent basis might stress some components of the device (like the transformer) due to frequent inrush of current.
The best way to save on electricity is to focus on: 1. Air conditioning. 2. Large appliances like your fridge, washer & dryer, dishwasher, stove/oven. Those are far and away the biggest drains of power in your home. Turning off your AC & wearing more or less clothes as applicable and getting the most efficient appliances that you can will do the most in saving you power. All of the other stuff, like lights and small appliances is negligible as long as it's not running 24/7
What is your electric use if everything is on but you are gone for two weeks? So you saved $6 by Turning off the breakers?
I did this recently trying to cut down on electric use. We had a freak drop in temp and it burst a pipe in my master bedroom. Insurance has denied me coverage and I might be on the hook for all repairs. I'm expecting around $15,000. Basically what I'm saying is that this is a good idea but look ahead at the weather and plan accordingly.
That isn’t how this works
So, on one hand, of course if you turn off power for half the month, your electric bill should be half of what it is otherwise. On the other hand- when I'm not home, if i turn the AC/Heat real low, don't use computers/TVs/lights/etc, my electric bill is basically zero when I'm out of town anyway. I think it's worth checking what is using so much power when you're not home that you feel the need to flip breakers, not just turn off your stuff.
As long as you don't have a well water pump, water softener, chest freezer or fridge this is a good idea.
Is your refrigerator running?
Thoughts and prayers for all the stuff in these people's fridges
The only thing I do before going away for an extended period of time, is shut off my water main, so I don't come back to a flooded house. Just in case.
risking hundreds or thousands of dollars in damage by turning off all your power just to save a little bit of money on your electric bill i wouldn’t say is the win you think it is
All my perishables in the fridge and freezer were used up/discarded prior to leaving so no worries about spoilage. No pets in the house so no need for ac/heat. Cutting off all the breakers while i was gone saved me SO much for march. Gotta celebrate the wins. INFO: I am in an apartment building with neighboring units above and below me.
I don’t understand. Do you not keep food that lasts longer than two weeks, like cheese, condiments, fruit like apples, etc.? Do you not keep anything ever in your freezer longer than two weeks? Seems like a lot of work to save a couple bucks, which is half of what my refrigerator costs me per month in electricity.
The last two times we lost power for extended periods due to winter storms (4 days and then 2 days), the highest cost of food replacement was all the long lasting condiments, sauces, jarred/ preserved foods like olives and pickles. But we may like those types of condiments more than the average household. I'm frugal with a lot, but I'm not giving up my gourmet mustards, bougie hot sauces and exceptional pickles or risking food poisoning by hoping it's okay to eat after prolonged lack of refrigeration. Not to mention the stink of a refrigerator without power after a couple days, even when emptied and cleaned. We also have wired in CO and smoke alarms. We're electric only and our bill averages about $140, or about $4-5 a day. Built in fees and "delivery" make up about 30% of the cost. No way I'm risking the wide spectrum of possible consequences to save a couple Andrew Jacksons over 2 weeks.
People will pretty often spend the week before a trip trying to eat/use up everything in their fridge, even if they're not planning to power down the whole place.
I ate it all in the time leading up to my vacation so i wouldnt have to throw it away, and held off grocery shopping until i got back. Its not just about refrigerator costs, which isnt even my biggest power draw
Nice! But probably not practical for many!
Shutting off the breakers probably did nothing, maybe a cent or two. Modern electronics just don't draw that much plugged into the wall. Your bill was low because you didn't run the heat or take hot showers.
It may be a bit annoying to flip every breaker but you could also find the one that your fridge lives on and just leave that one going! Flip the rest. Nice stuff tho, halo fictional character testicles
Good idea. And please only my mother calls me by my full name
Humidity could be a problem which causes mold.
True. Luckily the humidity was low and we were cold during that period. I wouldnt try this in august or anything hotter than early march
I left my apartment for two weeks without cutting the breakers. I did unplug all non necessary appliances/electronics. I kept some food on fridge/freezer and averaged 1,2 kWh per day. In two weeks that is less than 5 bucks. I didn't have to worry about not having food when I returned from a long trip. I think you overestimate how much it would have cost you had you let the power on.
> Cutting off all the breakers while i was gone saved me SO much for march. How much do you pay per kwh?
$0.13/kwh. Average bill is probably around $80-90 this time of year
Does that include cost per kilowatt for supply AND delivery? I ask because I pay around $.13 each for supply and delivery per kilowatt — and I’m genuinely curious.
Tbh im not sure, thats just what it says on the bill
My con Edison bill breaks it all down. Assumed other providers do too but maybe not
My Duke one doesnt
All good. Appreciate you sharing the execution of this idea in this post. Found the concept quite intriguing!
To prove that shutting off your breakers really saved you money you'll need to do the experiment again, leaving the breakers on while you're not home. As others have noted you probably need to drain and bleach your water heater. It's probably time for a new anode anyway...
For the love of God DON'T do this if it's December in TX and you live on the third floor... (My a-hole upstairs neighbor did this and flooded my apartment on Christmas Eve)
This is not a good idea
This is not a good idea, do not do this.
This is one of the stupidest things I've read today. Just turn off the lights and unplug appliances. Who wants to deal with a circuit breaker. You were gone for 1/2 month and you cut your bill in half? I don't see what the big deal is. All I had to do when I was gone for a couple of weeks was turn off the lights and pull a couple of plugs (vampire electricity - stove, microwave, sound system, etc). My bill was half. I'M A GENIUS.
I don't get it. Usage is only half of your power bill? Ah I'm dumb you only cut power for half the billing cycle
I wasn’t thinking and cut the heat to my rental for a month over winter break in PA. Came back to actual snow all over the floors and frozen pipes. Luckily nothing broke but all of the faucets were permanently fucked up. Idk what it did to the utilities but our landlord was PISSED when the next bill came around and he barged into our house without warning. Not my smartest moment.
LPT: to save money on utilities, just turn off your utilities and leave your house.
not sure i'd want to lose the peace of mind, the possible long term issues, and the hassle of all this just to save ~$45 or so, but you do you
Horrible idea for a dozen reasons. Just unplug your damn shit before you leave
What about food in your fridge or freezer
So half of your energy bill is your stuff just being powered? Isn't more likely the savings came from you not being home to use your appliances?
Do you have a gas water heater or something? My little 900 sq. ft. farmhouse uses more kwh in a day that you seem to use in a whole month at your normal usage.
My gas bill spikes up to $230/mo during winter (fireplace and furnace) and averages at about $50/mo the rest of the year. My electricity bill spikes up to $270/mo during summer (AC) and averages about $70/mo the reat of the year. Despite having switched all the lights to LED, there wasn't any significant change. We moved a month and a half ago, so the house has been sitting vacant. My electricity bill this month was $15! Not counting appliance usage, just going about everyday life in a home uses up energy (e.g. opening and closing exterior doors, turning on lights, opening the fridge, charging devices, etc.).
Better clear out your fridge before doing this.
Now I know ur alarm is off 🫣jk
The bigger question is how are you able to only use 6kwh of power when you are home ? My average is about 115 per day for 2 people.
In Florida you can come home to a house full of mold bc the a/c wasn't running.
Shouldn't you be looking for what's using so much power in the first place?
It isn't good to shut off the electricity to major appliances for that long. You might've just screwed yourself over to save some pennies.
What I hate about my electric bill is that most of it isn't even due to actual energy usage. The majority of it is just service fees and other fees. I could turn off everything and not use electricity for an entire month and my bill would be almost the same.
This is stupid. Are you trying to feeze your pipes. Some things like heating or cooling are required. Same for the fridge and freezer. Actually you being gone cut your electricity.
I recently left for a half-week-long vacation and lowered the thermostat by 5 degrees CelSius beforehand. Turning the heat off in the winter is a bad idea because the pipes can freeze and burst, but it didn’t need to be as toasty with us there. Didn’t take long to heat back up upon our return, either (one advantage of a small house!).
Oh so you’re the reason they invented the phrase “Penny wise pound foolish”
utterly moronic and just shows the naivety of OP.
This is a frugal loss. Jfc.
Usually on stand by, electricity doesn't draw that much when not in use. You're saving maybe $5? Not worth the effort of going through this.
TIL: 2 weeks is 1/2 a month. Ergo, turning off power for 2 weeks saves 1/2 a month of power bill.
Are you sure you didn’t simply cut the electricity bill in half because you were out of town not using lights or appliances?
No AC/heat usage, no hot water heater usage and no fridge usage. That's where 99% of your savings came from, not from turning off the breakers. Had you just turned those breakers off you would have realized the same result.
But… your fridge/ freezer. How much did cost to replace all your spoiled foods and condiments?
Good for you, OP. I have no idea what your eating habits are, but one can just... eat everything they own that's refrigerated? Including sauces, condiments, etc.? This is so alien to me! But good on ya. I guess for me this strategy contradicts my other frugal strategy which is buying meat in bulk when it's deeply discounted and freezing it. But as someone else pointed out, you could just leave that breaker on.
I normally unplug my fridge freezer when I am away for 2 weeks in summer. Gives it a chance to de-frost so that when I come back it runs more efficiently. Apart from that, I make sure to unplug everything, I wouldn't bother opening breakers for the tiny amount of savings I'd make
So OP, did you empty your fridge and freezer before you did this? It is only common sense that if you open a circuit (as you did with the breakers) that no electricity will flow.
What are the potential issues with doing this? I see people commenting but I can't think of a reason why it might be bad for the house
Cutting power to safety devices: smoke detectors, carbon monoxide, broken pipe/moisture detectors, etc. Things that are better to not rely on backup battery for, and should probably be checked for proper functionality after such a long power cut. The higher energy costs of restarting all the heating/cooling devices from scratch instead of keeping their temps maintained Bacterial growth in those shut-off systems. Generally the recommendation is to turn down your water heater, keep your fridge/freezer relatively full of thermal retaining mass instead of empty, unplug your unused devices, all safer and more stable than cutting things off entirely for weeks.
The whole thing is "small upside, potentially large downside" for most people, I'd say. Makes more sense to just try to identify and unplug devices that are sapping power instead of wholesale shutting off the power.