Electricity Price Increases

[kenmbz]

I don't understand, since he has a tree farm and tractors I think he certainly belongs.
Are you a bot?

 

[MossRoad]

Well... that's enough of that. Please continue with the original discussion. Thanks.

 

[JRH02]

What's with the personal attack? Those seem to be pretty wild, and unsupported statements, at least to me.

Some folks accumulate slowly over time by just being frugal, and careful. Personally, I think @ultrarunner is one of those.

How about reading a few more of his posts on the forum, and then changing this one?

Yours,

Peter

I apologize. I like @ultrarunner but I stirred the pot in a mean way.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I'm sure most have heard the idiom, "You can't keep a good man down".

Unfortunately, my idiom is, " You can't keep a good thread open".

 

[ultrarunner]

I apologize. I like @ultrarunner but I stirred the pot in a mean way.

All is good…

 

[Larry Caldwell]

How do you make coffee in the warm months when the woodstove isn’t running?
No refrigerator, freezers, modem, microwaves, lights, computer, vacuum cleaners?

No hair dryer for a woman, dishwasher, washing machine?
Blender, stereo system , TV, battery charger, security camera?

You mention no well pump, so no pump to move water within your house? No AC, obviously, but not even a ceiling fan?

You don’t have battery devices that need to be charged? No garage door openers? Soldering iron? Table saw,drill press, welder,….Nothing?

I'm sorry if I gave you the impression I am off grid. That is my neighbor, not me. I paid the electric company for 711 kwh last month. That's heat pump AC, water pump, hot water, including cooking and laundry. I water bath canned 11 quarts of dills today, which meant boiling the brine and boiling the canner. The kitchen uses as much electricity as the shop. Probably more, most days. I have a 400 amp service, 200 to the shop and 200 to the house. I now have a propane house generator on a transfer switch and the shop boasts a brand new 1957 10 hp. Dayton/Winco generator. The point is that lack of electricity is an inconvenience, not the end of the world.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Let me guess...you're single? Not many women would put up with that spartan of a lifestyle.

My wife is the classic city girl. Her father was a successful attorney and she grew up in an elite neighborhood. She relishes our 19th century infrastructure, as long as I split the firewood and the kindling. We both particularly love the silence. The only human caused sounds here are the occasional airplane overhead or car on the road. It gets even better during a winter power outage, with snow muffling everything. It's at the root of my generator aversion. I don't bother to start a generator until the second day of an outage, and even then I try to limit run time to under 2 hours.

As for energy conservation, I am a big fan of our front loading washer, mostly because it doesn't dump huge amounts of water into the septic tank. Our dishwasher is energy star, and our heat pump is one of the high efficiency units that is great AC but only a wood stove backup in the winter. We leave the thermostat set at 60 degrees in the winter, so we don't have to cold start the house if we are away for a day or two. The rest of the time, if you are cold, light a fire.

I don't go nuts on conserving electricity. My wife and I both enjoy long showers. I have 85 watts of LED can lights in the kitchen, on a dimmer, but when I want to see the mushrooms I am cleaning I can really light up the area. My shop is just as bright, since my old eyes need light to read my antique Vernier scale micrometers. My sound system subwoofer can rattle the walls. I leave my computer and monitor on.

 

[ultrarunner]

Cities are coming up with creative ways to limit energy choice to only electric…

They would not have to be so creative if electricity was cheap and reliable… it would be a no brainer.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Cities are coming up with creative ways to limit energy choice to only electric…

They would not have to be so creative if electricity was cheap and reliable… it would be a no brainer.

No thanks, I prefer cooking with gas.

 

[ultrarunner]

You might have to bring in small grill size LP bottles if city denied permit for natural gas service or propane…

It’s already happened for solid fuel…

 

[NoTrespassing]

You might have to bring in small grill size LP bottles if city denied permit for natural gas service or propane…

It’s already happened for solid fuel…

I'll be dead by the time that happens where I live. I use propane.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've always preferred propane. Yet I'm at my mother's house using her electric stove and I must say it's a lot better than it used to be.

 

[Oaktree]

It's at the root of my generator aversion. I don't bother to start a generator until the second day of an outage, and even then I try to limit run time to under 2 hours.

My generator's pretty much only to keep the refrigerator & freezer cold (especially in summer). During an outage I'll run it a couple days for an hour or so with only those 2 appliances plugged in. Our new water heater is a power-vent model, so it needs power too, but it's 40 gallon so we only need to let it run once a day or so.
Neither of us feel any need to run a generator just so we can watch tv. We'll just read books while wearing a headlamp.

It’s already happened for solid fuel…

Isn't topography a concern where you are? I've seen places here that were sort of a "bowl" that the air got kind of "thick" in winter during an inversion with all the woodstoves going.

I've always preferred propane. Yet I'm at my mother's house using her electric stove and I must say it's a lot better than it used to be.

Same here. Current stove isn't very good at keeping a low temperature burner so it doesn't simmer well. Generally limit cooking that requires that to winter when I can put it on the woodstove.

 

[kenmbz]

We need the genny to run the water, that's our main concern.
Summer water is heated by solar.
Winter we are stuck with oil, but a more on demand type that used about 25% oil last year.

Every time we do solar calculations, it shows > 10 years to make back.
Was thinking maybe the pool on solar, but that's about $30/month, but that's for only 6 months and we hardly ever run the propane to heat it.

 

[ponytug]

I've always preferred propane. Yet I'm at my mother's house using her electric stove and I must say it's a lot better than it used to be.

Me, too. I used to prefer gas by a lot. Then we bought an induction stove, and I only miss gas for the ability easily sear a pepper, or toss a tortilla on an open flame. Otherwise, it is induction, hands down. I think that induction is perhaps even better than the commercial ranges that I used to cook on, when I was a cook, with their 100,000BTU burners (and massive exhaust hoods that are an enormous energy hog just for all of the air that gets exhausted).

All the best, Peter

 

[ultrarunner]

Me, too. I used to prefer gas by a lot. Then we bought an induction stove, and I only miss gas for the ability easily sear a pepper, or toss a tortilla on an open flame. Otherwise, it is induction, hands down. I think that induction is perhaps even better than the commercial ranges that I used to cook on, when I was a cook, with their 100,000BTU burners (and massive exhaust hoods that are an enormous energy hog just for all of the air that gets exhausted).

All the best, Peter

I’ve never tried induction but I did remove one for a friend that bought a home with one… this was years ago and she wanted no part off it.

Aside from specific cookware nothing bad that I have heard.

My home came with a six burner commercial gas range with standing pilots… first thing I did was turn off the supply valve.

I still have electric double wall oven and a hot plate… might as well use the electric I’m making.

 

[ultrarunner]

My generator's pretty much only to keep the refrigerator & freezer cold (especially in summer). During an outage I'll run it a couple days for an hour or so with only those 2 appliances plugged in. Our new water heater is a power-vent model, so it needs power too, but it's 40 gallon so we only need to let it run once a day or so.
Neither of us feel any need to run a generator just so we can watch tv. We'll just read books while wearing a headlamp.

Isn't topography a concern where you are? I've seen places here that were sort of a "bowl" that the air got kind of "thick" in winter during an inversion with all the woodstoves going.

Same here. Current stove isn't very good at keeping a low temperature burner so it doesn't simmer well. Generally limit cooking that requires that to winter when I can put it on the woodstove.

The argument is prevailing on shore wind drives particulates to the Sierra where they are trapped… so not so much a problem for the coastal areas.

 

[mrmikey]

Otherwise, it is induction, hands down

I live by myself so not being a cook by any stretch all I have is a small countertop stove and a good size induction hotplate. I wouldn't use anything but, fast, convenient and takes up no space. Gas of anytype in a house makes me nervous other than outside for a bbq.

 

[walhondingMF]

DOE Releases New Report Evaluating Increase in Electricity Demand from Data Centers

Domestic Energy Usage from Data Centers Expected to Double or Triple by 2028, DOE Continues to Accelerate Development and Deployment of Solutions to Meet Growing Demand

www.energy.gov

https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/ai-to-drive-165-increase-in-data-center-power-demand-by-2030

And rural locations are becoming hot spots to build data centers on because land/energy are cheaper there. If you noticed a law that was proposed in North Carolina, data centers would take energy priority in times of potential black outs and the public was going to be responsible for the increase in energy costs.

 

[jyoutz]

Just saw this. For context: