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I was looking over my electric bill and noticed this graph. It breaks down your electrical usage by category. I’m curious how that works???
My house is total electric, meaning there are LOTS of appliances with heating elements. How can the electric company determine that the heating element in use is for the stove, verses the one in the water heater, dryer, or any of the baseboard heaters?? For that matter, how can they determine the usage of lighting verses television, or stereos, or anything else? What category does my air compressor, welder, or spray wash cabinet far into??? Just curious how they determine what percentage of usage is what.
I've been getting this information yearly for >5 years. I pay absolutely zero attention to those percentages - i.e. they're useless. What I do find noteworthy, is the monthly/yearly comparison of my usage compared to what they "infer" is an average home, an efficient home & my home. Still, nothing more than inferences w/ little solid data. I'll note you need to pay attention whether they're comparing you to all electric homes versus gas HVAC, etc. The first couple years I wasn't paying much attention & they were comparing my home to dissimilar homes. Oh well. I will say they "group" my home with other homes of similar construction i.e. wood frame, year built, etc. I'd say overall it's a modestly fair comparison, certainly not of significant statistical merit.
Other than the amount, I don’t really pay attention to the bill. I’m just curious if there is anything scientific to the calculations, or if they are guessing.
Other than the amount, I don’t really pay attention to the bill. I’m just curious if there is anything scientific to the calculations, or if they are guessing.
They (Duke Energy) did install a smart meter on my home when I upgraded the main service panel some years ago. It's an excellent meter. None-the-less, to take absolutely full advantage of such a device (smart meter), every single device in your home would be required to be a smart appliance/device. As such, each smart appliance is able/capable of talking w/ a SMART meter - the communication gets better if your home has a dedicated smart panel, as well - i.e. like a network capable of reading load/resistance on each circuit as well as reading each smart device itself. In doing so, the data becomes FAR more useful & reliable for comparison purposes. But, here again, they'd have to compare you to another/other homes w/ similar smart meters, smart panels & smart appliances. Without a fully networked assemblage of smart devices they're guessing, but they try to guess in a modestly significant manner. Most smart meters can read load/resistance 24hrs/day. So, even if you don't have smart devices connected to a smart service panel meter, they guess based upon historical usage patterns in corroboration w/ time-of-day usage patterns. Electrical resistance/load at dinner time hours (stove, oven, range), early morning/evening hours (water heaters for shower), television, lighting, electronics, laundry, etc. Guesses/Inferences for the most part.
I imagine they get that data based on the amount of current each circuit draws. It wouldn't take a very complex computer/circuit to monitor each circuit breaker in a home separately.
I imagine they get that data based on the amount of current each circuit draws. It wouldn't take a very complex computer/circuit to monitor each circuit breaker in a home separately.
Correct. But it would require a smart meter to be of any true benefit. Your basic every day analog main service panel meter is not going to read load/resistance on any circuit. Tons of various main service panel meters out there with concomitant prices in wide swooping price ranges. In the GRAND scheme of things, I'm a believer in smart meters and where utility companies elect/choose (by ordinance or otherwise) to install them. I live in the boonies, but even so, having this data provides useful benefits to electric utility management at substations and anywhere along the "grid".
Secondly, they can take transients, both in terms of amplitude and duration, and determine what does what. Your drier pulls X. The stove pulls Y. The furnace pulls Z. It can extrapolate, but again, it's mostly bullshit.
I run an all electric house. In the winter, my power bill is a couple hundred bucks. In the summer it's about 100, and in the fall and spring it's about 80. I apparently pull about 30% of my neighbors.
Ha! You don’t want to see my summer electric bill. It takes a lot to keep the interior of a house cool when the daytime temps are 115+ and the overnight lows are in the mid-90s.
I imagine they get that data based on the amount of current each circuit draws. It wouldn't take a very complex computer/circuit to monitor each circuit breaker in a home separately.
There is a control box on the outside A/C unit that allows the utility company to deactivate the A/C for about 20 minutes on peak usage days. Since that is part of the heat pump, I suppose they could use that to calculate power usage.
My house was built in 1966. I upgraded the breaker box 20 years ago when we moved in. I know for a fact there is nothing inside the house that could be used to calculate power usage on the appliances.
None of my appliances have Bluetooth or any of that stupid crap.
Ha! You don’t want to see my summer electric bill. It takes a lot to keep the interior of a house cool when the daytime temps are 115+ and the overnight lows are in the mid-90s.
I despise the heat pump/electric baseboard heat in our house. If I had known then what I know know I would have put a gas furnace in. When it gets REALLY cold like it was a few weeks ago the electric bill is ridiculous.
There is a control box on the outside A/C unit that allows the utility company to deactivate the A/C for about 20 minutes on peak usage days. Since that is part of the heat pump, I suppose they could use that to calculate power usage.
My house was built in 1966. I upgraded the breaker box 20 years ago when we moved in. I know for a fact there is nothing inside the house that could be used to calculate power usage on the appliances.
None of my appliances have Bluetooth or any of that stupid crap.
The utility company can sod right off with that crap. I don't run my AC hard, but, what I want, I want. This is why wind, solar, and tidal are dumb power generation forms. The most important part of power gen is the ability to meet the load reliably.
There is a control box on the outside A/C unit that allows the utility company to deactivate the A/C for about 20 minutes on peak usage days.
Is that part of your heat pump system? Momma and I installed a new furnace and AC less than 10 years ago and all we have in OK is a smart meter. Apparently the power company will shut off your electricity if you don't pay the bill.
I despise the heat pump/electric baseboard heat in our house. If I had known then what I know know I would have put a gas furnace in. When it gets REALLY cold like it was a few weeks ago the electric bill is ridiculous.
Our first house here in Phoenix had gas heat. I talked with a rep from the local company that manufactured/installed the system and he said they were a member of the heat pump coalition and were supposed to advocate for heat pumps, but he told me as I already had a gas system to stay with it as it was so much more efficient and I would like it over a heat pump. Our current house has a heat pump and I completely agree with him.
When I move to the house I want to retire in, I intend to run dual fuel with a heat pump and a furnace. The heat pump can run until it gets cold, then sweet Lady Propane and I will dance, because this man is not hooking up to a natural gas provider other than a burrito ever again.
If I were building a new house (or building) I'd install hydronic radiant heating.
x2
I believe heating the structure from the slab up, with insulation under the slab so it it not a heat sink makes any boiler-hydronic system the most cents.
I would add Insulate and proper air exchange to the equation.
The power company is in the revenue generation business. In my opinion computer generated programs looking at historic data for any particular service it provides at best can add up the considered variables multiply by two, carry the one, and in the end it all has something to do with the square root of 3.... then throw a dart and give the customers a pretty chart.
It seems like a speculation of what we are actually operating for our needs and wants.
Keep in mind anything with a power transformer by make up is consuming energy while connected in a circuit. Even without any load on it, the exciting current needed for the magnetic induction consumes power, maybe not a lot but they all add up. Chargers, Tv's, etc. 120/240v transformed to DC for battery storage, small single phase motors for AC unit motors, bath fans, are all power suckers. Light continuous loads running 24/7 add up in a hurry. If you are not using it unplug it or leave it off. Many base board heat t-stats do not have a defined Off/Open and if they operate when you would not think they are calling for heat at approx 250w per foot a 4footer will cost .16 to .20cents an hour or 4bucks for the 24hr day that adds up to bunch.
As a consumer looking to conserve, investigate the draw on all your circuits and see which are keeping the meter spinning...then slow them down by being aware when they are drawing load if not really needed.
Is that part of your heat pump system? Momma and I installed a new furnace and AC less than 10 years ago and all we have in OK is a smart meter. Apparently the power company will shut off your electricity if you don't pay the bill.
The control box was on the house when we moved in. It never affects the A/C that I have noticed so I never messed with it.
I suppose if I don’t pay my electric bill they could shut off my A/C,
You may want to call the automated voice device system and... keep pressing 0...0...0...until you get an under trained customer service person and ask them, his, he, her, she, or theirs, to ask a middle trained customer service person with several more weeks of service on the job, to ask a senior adviser trainee assistant junior level trained advisor to inquire ... " Being I have a load controlled devise in my electric metering system... am I on a discounted rate? If not...Please remove this disconnection devise or I will have a licensed electrician do it for you Monday at the end of the business day. That device will be sitting on the curb.
