Al Gores House

culthero · Post by **culthero** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:31 pm

Since taking steps to make his home more environmentally-friendly last June, Gore devours an average of 17,768 kWh per month –1,638 kWh more energy per month than before the renovations – at a cost of $16,533. By comparison, the average American household consumes 11,040 kWh in an entire year, according to the Energy Information Administration.

I got a wild and crazy idea - what if Gore has a fusion lab in his own house?

Tom Ligon · Post by **Tom Ligon** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:51 am

Where did that come from? There's a huge amount of data at the eia website, but that's not in the press releases, and it does not seem to be the sort of statistic they would have.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/

Tom Ligon · Post by **Tom Ligon** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:41 pm

Hmm, made the TV news last night! I'm having some difficulty locating a story on my usual web news sources. I didn't catch the name of the organization making the report, but it was not directly from EIA.

The number quoted on the air last night was phenomenal, something like a $16k electric bill a month. That number must be wrong, unless he has an electric steel furnace on the grounds somewhere. There has to be some serious misinformation involved, but they did supposedly have a quote from Gore saying, yes, the home does use a lot of energy, but he has done some things to drop it.

I'd get a kick if documented proof is found that he lives in an energy hog. At the cabin, I'm installing solar heat (including solar-powered pumps). The electric bill is about $2 a month. At home, I'm doing this by a circlight, and use CF bulbs extensively, with other energy-saving tricks.

Tom Ligon · Post by **Tom Ligon** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:43 pm

Ah!

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... /806180403

Wittgenstein · Post by **Wittgenstein** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:29 pm

I think the kwh figure must be monthly, but the cost annual. That would work out to 7.75 cents/kwh. I don't know electric rates in TN -- that would be pretty low where I live -- but sounds plausible.

Scupperer · Post by **Scupperer** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:04 pm

"When they do use power, it's green power," she said, adding that 33 solar panels also supply about 4 percent of the household's power needs.

33 panels only provide 4%? That's gotta be an investment of over $50,000, and it should be providing at least 750kwh/month.

According to that rough guess, he's using 18,000 kwh/month.

I think the kwh figure must be monthly, but the cost annual. That would work out to 7.75 cents/kwh. I don't know electric rates in TN -- that would be pretty low where I live -- but sounds plausible.

I'm in North Alabama and on TVA power, and it's 7.5 cents/kwh here, so that's probably right.

I seriously doubt he's using 220,000 kwh/month. 17,700kwh/month is a nice double check to the solar guess. Maybe the article meant 16,000 kwh/month?

I don't know the size of his house, but that's still a really high consumption.

Sounds like what he really needs to do is insulate his roof properly. Most contractors in the south insulate the attic floor, and that's the wrong way to do it. Putting up R30 insulation in the attic joists, and adding conditioning the attic, can reduce A/C use by up to 50%, especially in older houses without proper wall insulation, or if it's historic and you don't want to change out old windows with insulated windows, etc.

Tom Ligon · Post by **Tom Ligon** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:03 pm

Sounds as if he is an energy hog, which I find hilarious, but the reports are so butchered by reporters who can't tell a kwh from dollar, or a month from a year, that we would need to see the original figures.

Solar panels vary greatly in capacity. My Solex is relatively small at 48W, and I have a couple of 12 W panels for charge-keeping on vehicles. But only 4% of his needs from that number? That's pathetic!

JohnP · Post by **JohnP** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:04 pm

Since taking steps to make his home more environmentally-friendly last June, Gore devours an average of 17,768 kWh per month –1,638 kWh more energy per month than before the renovations – at a cost of $16,533.

Err... so he spent $16K on renovations to make his house conserve energy, and now his house consumes 1638kWh more/month? Maybe he should have a frank discussion with his contractor?

Roger · Post by **Roger** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:26 am

Dont forget offices, for him his wife, and quarters and offices for Secret Service personnel. Dont forget local regulations that dont allow PV panels in most situations. Like roofs facing the street.

And dont forget to ask who funds that Tennessee group, always follow the money. Thats where the fun is.

Tom Ligon · Post by **Tom Ligon** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:55 am

Here's the original article by: "The Tennessee Center for Policy Research is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy solutions."

(This may be politician-speak for bought-and-paid-for front group for a special interests group. Groups with names like this are always pushing for us to call our congressman to support/oppose some piece of legislation on the grounds of apple pie and motherhood and anything but their real reasons. Or it might be somebody independent and non-partisan, who did their homework and found out the puffed-up hippocrit is an energy-guzzler. It will be fun watching him squirm, one way or another)

http://www.tennesseepolicy.org/main/art ... cle_id=367

culthero · Post by **culthero** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:57 am

Gores house is merely 2500 square feet