Asko, the owner of the monitoring site mentioned earlier in our blog, wanted to share how he coped with the cold temperatures and high electricity prices during the first week of January. Below is his story.
"The electricity prices during the first week of January have caused some concern and worry for those who have chosen this pricing method or at least brought electricity prices and their costs to the forefront. When choosing market-based electricity pricing, it is impossible to know in advance the cost-effectiveness of individual days or months compared to other pricing methods, but it is possible to have more control over the costs incurred from electricity prices. On the other hand, the existing heating systems and heating needs of the heated building also affect the possibilities to influence the heating. And if investments are needed, such as the purchase of an air-source heat pump, they often have a cost but also benefits that improve living comfort.
In this case, we are talking about a 25-year-old log villa. The house has been very well founded, but due to the large number of two-story windows, heat loss occurs excessively through them, which is why heating is needed. The property is available for year-round use. In practice, it is used less frequently in late autumn and winter months, which is why a window renovation would be too expensive in terms of use and savings. So, the most important heating need is to keep the temperature at a level where freezing damage does not occur, and the property can be made habitable in about a day.
Heat can be obtained in the building through an air-source heat pump, as well as through stone and wood floor heating and the electric resistor in the fireplace. In terms of heat storage, it has been advantageous that the stone floor and fireplace are made of soapstone, and the resistors have a high power relative to the size of the house. Good foundation construction also helps in heat storage.
So, how did heating work during the cold week? All the above-mentioned heat sources in the house have been remotely and automatically adjusted for a year now. Since the cold was much colder than usual for the entire week (an average of about -27 degrees Celsius), and electricity prices were high, temperature monitoring and heating adjustment were now also done manually remotely.
The total electricity consumption for the week was 351.4 kilowatt-hours, and the average electricity price was 11.36 cents per kWh, resulting in a cost of €39.92. During the week, the average electricity price on the market was 30.08 cents per kWh, so the savings on electricity usage compared to the average price were 65.78 euros. And even during this expensive week, the cost of electricity used did not exceed other pricing methods.
Because during the week, the temperature in the building could be kept low as needed, perhaps the more significant savings came from reducing the amount of electricity needed. I found it particularly important that there was no worry about damage caused by exceptionally cold weather, as the condition of the building could be monitored and adjusted in real-time."
Best regards,
Asko
The above readings were collected from the eWatt customer application.