Edison installed a time of use meter yesterday at my home...

$150 a year? Whew you go you energy conserver!

 

Crap. My electrical bill is like double that a MONTH.

 

At ~$300/month I would think that there must be a number of conservation ideas that you could do that would pay off very quickly. I suggest you get a Kill-a-watt meter (~$20) and go around scouting your real loads. Heat/AC are big ones, but a little looking here and there can make a huge difference.

For example, if you use AC on a regular basis, a ground source heat pump, or a waste heat to hot water system can pay off very quickly. The hot water heat pump helps in two ways. It allows your AC to run more efficiently (saving energy) AND gives a bonus of hot water, also saving energy!

 

Got any more information on hot water heat pumps, icarus?

 

Drees,

Try here:
Free Hot Water from Air-conditioning Waste Heat
Trevor-Martin Corporation
Efficient Water Heating

I have no first hand knowledge, but in RE/Pv circles they are considerd the cat's meow IF you use AC for a lot of the year.

In short, instead of the waste heat generated by the AC being blown off into the air from the condenser, water is passed over the condenser coils, picking up the waste heat. This allows the AC to run more efficiently because water is a better transfer medium, and the side benefit is hot water. Sort of a double win. In cases where you only use AC seasonally the benefit is less, but still there.

Icarus

 

"Our data indicates that your highest electrical consumption is during the time that your next door neighbor's Christmas lights turn on."

 

We could realize large energy savings from simple devices like "time of day" electric meters, appliances individually metered, real time MPG gauges like the Prius.

First step in saving energy is knowing when, where and how much we are using. The mileage on my Ford Ranger improved because the real time MPG gauge on my Prius made me a better driver.

 

Back when I lived in Minnesota, my water heater was on a radio controlled circuit that the power company (a co-op) controlled. They would shut off my water heater twice a day, during the same hours that all the area dairy farms were in full milking swing.

Because of this, we had a free yard light. It worked out to that amount of savings (yard lights in rural Minnesota were either the blue high-pressure halogen, or the yellow low-pressure sodium lights, at about $5-$15 per month, depending on size/wattage. We had a blue light).

I think that these kinds of meters and circuits are an excellent idea.

I might be a little slow today... I don't understand Rybold's contribution to this discussion. Huh?

 

A clue...think: extension cord over the fence.

 

Fridges and freezers use a lot of juice. Some older, larger ones can use $20-30 a month in my area, which has has lower rates than most of CA. If you have an extra one in the garage or basement, you can save a lot of energy by downsizing your stored food and unplugging it. Weigh this against the savings from buying food in bulk (or hunting), of course, and factor in any losses during power outages.

 

Edison? I thought he was long dead?

 

Ah, see, it never occurred to me that the neighbor was stealing watts...

thanks!

 

Technically speaking, one can't steal watts, one can only steal watt/hours (or minutes or whatever!) as electrical power must include a time element to have any meaning.

 

You must be in one of the "lucky" electric utility areas ... where utility companys pay for surplus. It's not the norm. Good news is Ahhnold signed into legislation manditory payments requiring ALL CA electric utility companies to pay for yearly surpluss. So by the end of 2010, OUR utility company will have to Pony up for our surplus. Our 1st year PV aniversary is in about 2 weeks and I'm workinig HARD to blow through our surpluss ... even right now ... otherwise Edison would get it for Freeeee! No WAY baby. You should see all the Christmas lights we're burning ... driveway side ... lake side ... all over the boat ... 3 space heaters goinig in the garage right now.
:rockon:
In 2 month's time, we've taken down our 2,000Kwh surplus to a meager > 900Kwh surpluss ... and shrinking. Wish me luck!


.

 

And if you REALLY want more bang for your buck .. check out this white paper:

http://www.earthlinked.com/files/downloads/documents/White-Papers/WP-PhotovoltaicModuleCooling.pdf

In short, there's a couple companies retrofitting PV panels with cooling systems on the back side. Heat really robs PV panels of efficiency. This system captures that heat for hot water use because the black PV panels work great to grab heat. And by cooling the panels, you get more juice! It's supposed to be the latest & greatest.
sa-weet

.

 

Massachsuetts is one of the "lucky" areas that pay for your surplus.

"If you are a National Grid, NStar, Unitil, or Western Mass Electric customers, any electricity you generate will be credited on your bill at your full rate (energy charge plus delivery charge)."

 

Minnesota is also one of those 'lucky' areas.
I don't think it is all that rare for utilities to buy back surplus. Actually, it is probably more that anyone not in one of those areas is in the minority, rather than the other way around.

 

No offense to HILL personally, but how dumb is it that he is force to waste energy just so he doesn't "give it away" to the utility.
( Although one could argue that if the utility paid for part of the PV system through rebates, or if the government issued a tax credit for it then "giving something back" might be in order instead of just wasting it!)

It seems as a matter of public policy we need to encourage efficiency rather that waste. As I have always said, using Pv solar to power a hugely inefficient house doesn't make much sense. In the Pv world, we suggest conservation first, followed by a bit more conservation, and finally some more conservation, and then PV.