Electricity usage

[ultrarunner]

My usage was 34kwh per day in western NY. I was able to drop is to 7kwh per day. Those air conditioning units are hogs. Last bill was $366 highest I have ever saw it.

Impressive drop in usage.

 

[ultrarunner]

In the 3100SF house we average 14KWH a day in summer and 20KWH day in winter months and pay $.25KWH (elec dryer, gas stove, oil boiler for heat and DHW).

The garage has a 7.2KW solar system on its own service entrance, which generates 8100 KWH a year and they pay us same rate for over production as we pay for the house. So effectively we pay for 1500-2000 KWH a year or $500 plus the $30/month meters/connection fee.

The buyback for excess production has been cut way back for new installs.

The meter fee last I checked is around $15 month.

Yesterday, I was running numbers for a friend and figured out his koi pond with pump filtration, aerator and UV light on 24/7 is costing about $5 a day.

My only question is if it is possible to cut back and his opinion was no…

A 20% reduction in run time would save a dollar a day or $30 a month…

 

[Carl_NH]

Yes, I am grandfathered into net metering at the current "delivered" price per KWH and this went away in 2020. Now net metering you get the cost of electricity, not the delivered cost so around .09 cents per KWH.

I looked into expanding our array to 10KW from 7.2 - panels and inverter installed was like 12K for 9 more panels, and I would need to "reapply" and lose my grandfathered net metering. No go.

 

[ultrarunner]

I’m grandfathered also but it is for 20 years and the it resets…

Some neighbors have sweet deals on non owned systems.

One home had a grow operation with lots of solar and the place went foreclosure and bought by a lawyer.

The solar company did not protect its lien status at the foreclosure sale.

The solar company threatened to remove the panels and the lawyer said not happening as you lost your rights at foreclosure…

Lawyer did say he is willing to negotiate a new contract and they came to terms… and he really made out… at least for the contract term.

Home had so much excess production he went all electric and added a in-ground pool…

 

[grsthegreat]

My usage was 34kwh per day in western NY. I was able to drop is to 7kwh per day. Those air conditioning units are hogs. Last bill was $366 highest I have ever saw it.

Yeiks….thats like a few light bulbs. My problem is i have a 4000 sf home. Why, i dont know. Thees only 2 of us.

 

[MarkF48]

The 'Rate per KWH' is a the supply and distribution rate combined plus any added fees. Wife and myself, electric hot water, electric stove/oven, well water supply. Two window mounted AC's occasionally used in the Summer, dehumidifier in the cellar in the Summer. Laundry gets hung out when weather cooperates rather than using the clothes dryer.

 

[jk96]

Yeiks….thats like a few light bulbs. My problem is i have a 4000 sf home. Why, i dont know. Thees only 2 of us.

Same here. I see some of these numbers posted and wonder how that's even possible. But then again like you we are 4,400 sq ft. All electric, no gas. 2 water heaters. 2 refrigerators. 2 deep freezers. A washer and dryer that seems to run non stop. Solar was well worth the investment.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yeiks….thats like a few light bulbs. My problem is i have a 4000 sf home. Why, i dont know. Thees only 2 of us.

For the long winters it’s nice to have spacious inside space…

 

[ponytug]

Same here. I see some of these numbers posted and wonder how that's even possible. But then again like you we are 4,400 sq ft. All electric, no gas. 2 water heaters. 2 refrigerators. 2 deep freezers. A washer and dryer that seems to run non stop. Solar was well worth the investment.

Speaking from experience, high efficiency washers and dryers made a huge difference to our energy consumption. (Front loaders use less hot water, and high spin cycle gets more water out of the clothes, and a heat pump dryer uses a small fraction of the energy in a standard electric dryer. So less hot water gets used, less of it ends up in the dryer, so we save energy several ways. But then we have solar, but it is not unlimited, so energy use does matter, at least to us.

All the best,

Peter

 

[rontaki]

Speaking from experience, high efficiency washers and dryers made a huge difference to our energy consumption. (Front loaders use less hot water, and high spin cycle gets more water out of the clothes, and a heat pump dryer uses a small fraction of the energy in a standard electric dryer. So less hot water gets used, less of it ends up in the dryer, so we save energy several ways. But then we have solar, but it is not unlimited, so energy use does matter, at least to us.

All the best,

Peter

I consider my electric clothes dryer to be a solar dryer if being powered by the solar panels.

 

[ponytug]

I consider my electric clothes dryer to be a solar dryer if being powered by the solar panels.

So is ours, though perhaps without the fresh air smell.

I just prefer to use 0.7kW, instead of 5kW, freeing the solar power up for other uses.

 

[newbury]

Just looked at the bill today and 50 cents is baseline with 62 cents per kWh over base usage.

Add to that city taxes, etc…

I’m sure a dollar a kWH is in the future…

it’s already $80 a month for natural gas hot water and Saturday gas clothes dryer… at 2.46 base and 2.98 per therm natural gas not including city taxes and fees.

Dang, my place in Mississippi is on TVA, ~$20/month plus
As of August 1, 2025, $0.11853/KWH. Way up from when we moved in IIRC it was ~$10/mo and $0.10/KWH.

 

[JRH02]

It's interesting how many places are having this same conversation. The subject on rates and ever increasing fees, extra charges and taxes is getting a lot of grumbling. Gee, what will it be like when it gets bad?

 

[ultrarunner]

A few I know already living without utilities…

It happens when you have a balance that is not paid…

Number one is no water service and number 2 is no gas service or electric service.

I asked a 20 something couple how can they live without water… he said even with the water turned off enough water comes through to fill the toilet tank 3 of 4 times in 24 hours…

They both work as security guards but he had medical bills for ruptured appendix…

They showered at work and filled water bottles…

 

[dj1701]

I live alone with my dog now, so I can run or not run what I want. It takes a long time to fill the washer with dirty clothes when your single. Lights don't get left on for no reason, and air conditioning is not a necessity this time of year. I will have to service the coal stove soon, cause cold is coming, but it's still cheaper than air conditioning. Also, I keep small appliances unplugged when not in use.

Dave

 

[riptides]

I have/had four women on the farm.

Family members (they know better right?)... my electric company loves our property. Just a few minutes ago I turned off the heat in one building (heat?) and turned off some outside lights and a stairway light. Usually those things would normally be turned off after one progresses inside and up the stairs.

But see first sentence. LOL.

 

[Oaktree]

For the long winters it’s nice to have spacious inside space…

More inside space also = higher heating costs.
Our place is ~1600 sf, just right for the 2 of us.
Some of the newer houses with needlessly huge rooms seem just such a waste of space.

Speaking from experience, high efficiency washers and dryers made a huge difference to our energy consumption. (Front loaders use less hot water, and high spin cycle gets more water out of the clothes, and a heat pump dryer uses a small fraction of the energy in a standard electric dryer. So less hot water gets used, less of it ends up in the dryer, so we save energy several ways. But then we have solar, but it is not unlimited, so energy use does matter, at least to us.

We live in northern N.H. and use only cold water for laundry. Modern detergents don't need hot water...ours always come out clean.
Never had a dryer. Clothesline when possible, otherwise a clothesline on the porch or drying rack inside. Bonus; your clothes last longer.

 

[jk96]

It's interesting how many places are having this same conversation. The subject on rates and ever increasing fees, extra charges and taxes is getting a lot of grumbling. Gee, what will it be like when it gets bad?

Our co-op recently implemented monthly demand charges. They reduced kwh rates but added the monthly on and off peak demand service fees. In theory the bill should be about the same if your using any amount of electricity but I'm pretty sure this was all about getting money out of their 10% of customers on solar. Prior to the change we rarely paid more than the connection fee of $46. Now even if we are a net producer and sending more back to the grid than we use we still get hit with the demand charge. They take your highest 1 hour kwh usage of the month during on peak time and multiply it by $7.50 and highest 1 hour of usage during off peak by $1.50. There are times we are getting billed an extra $100 or more a month for demand charges even though we may send more to the grid than we use.

 

[ponytug]

Our co-op recently implemented monthly demand charges. They reduced kwh rates but added the monthly on and off peak demand service fees. In theory the bill should be about the same if your using any amount of electricity but I'm pretty sure this was all about getting money out of their 10% of customers on solar. Prior to the change we rarely paid more than the connection fee of $46. Now even if we are a net producer and sending more back to the grid than we use we still get hit with the demand charge. They take your highest 1 hour kwh usage of the month during on peak time and multiply it by $7.50 and highest 1 hour of usage during off peak by $1.50. There are times we are getting billed an extra $100 or more a month for demand charges even though we may send more to the grid than we use.

Ouch!

I understand the need to pay for wires and infrastructure, but the way that charge is created must be really hard on folks with no solar and AC or electric heat.

We have demand charges on our Ag power that works in a similar way, giving us $5/kWh power averaged out for the whole bill.

All the best,

Peter

 

[rontaki]

On the subject of energy costs - the link is to a British website, however the US is considered in the author's writing, and some of what he says is also true for us.

A return to coal

Only access to some new source of cheap energy can save the western states.

consciousnessofsheep.co.uk