Regarding Danbo usage and electricity bill.

9 comments

1. Energy usage depends on the temperature difference between outside and inside.

   Although theoretically, heating should use less electricity than cooling for the same temperature difference, I. E. Cooling the room to 20C when outside is 25C should use more electricity vs heating a room to 30C when outside is 25C.

2. How big is your space? It’s a bit difficult to figure out how much your heating bill will be without that context.

3. Winter is a lot easier to save money on since you can just get a used kotatsu for really cheap and just sit in there all day. You can even sleep in one fine. Get one that has a ceramic heater so you can touch it and be fine. Electricity cost for a kotatsu will be like 20-30 yen a day.

4. I have yet to turn mine on since it started getting colder since I remember seeing the highest electricity bills in all my years of living in Japan. Doesn’t help that I moved to an older apartment 2 years ago. Electricity bills were higher than usual last winter though I recall.

   Had the a/c on all summer set to 26-28c and the electricity bill never got as high as it did during winter.

   Not sure how much difference it’ll make but I rarely leave appliances like the microwave and kettle plugged in.

5. As a base line – I’d imagine you would use your heater for the same amount of time per day as you did your A/C. I’m impressed you only used the A/C 4-5 hours a day, we had 4 A/Cs going 24/7 for the entire summer…

   It will be easier to not use your heater tho, since you can bundle up, use a kotatsu, etc.

6. I’ve found the quickest and most effective stop-gap measure, would be to cover your windows with a layer of bubble wrap (it’s even better if you can do two…)

   [How to bubble wrap windows](https://dengarden.com/home-improvement/How-to-Bubble-Wrap-Windows)

   I picked up a large roll from a hardware shop, and just used double-sided tap.

   Another thing you can do to reduce power usage for heating/cooling, is to try and partition off parts of your room; a light blanket can do wonders, or even just a sheet would help too.

   A [kotatsu](https://www.google.com/search?q=kotatsu) is pretty energy efficient as well – but be warned, it’s a trap that could hold you in for hours (days?) on end.

7. > According to the manual of my AC, The danbo uses 2.2 (0.9 – 3.9) KW And 465 (160 – 1,175)W With 5.5 (13.5) A

   That’s the max power usage and unrelated to the actual usage.
   Turn it off when you don’t need it (ex when you are not in the room)
   Set the theremostat to the lowest temperature you can support

   I don’t expect your bill to be much higher than the summer time.

8. I tend to find my electricity bills lower in the winter than the summer. As others have said, bubble wrap windows. If you can tolerate it, use a lower temperature setting on your AC unit. Wear thicker clothing at home. Set a general rule for turning on/off the AC. Etc.
   I typically turn mine on when it hits 10°C or below with the setting at 20°C.

9. Better to heat yourself rather than the space. Get a cheap used kotatsu. Use a hot water bottle. Wear layers.

   It also doesn’t hurt to invest in some insulation like bubble wrap on windows or towels jammed into crevices to block drafts.

   Using a heater also means you’ll likely need a humidifier to keep the air comfy. So that’s more electricity used.