Water In; Water Out

[skent]

We are running two 23 cu ft freezers (need this since we butcher and process all our own beef/pork/chicken), two 19 cu ft refrig., electric water heater, well pump, heat pump, electric dryer. We have time of use rates (wattmeter on house had a clock) and get billed differently for energy used off peak ($0.035 per Kwh) 11pm thru 7am, mid peak ($0.083) 7am to 11am and 8pm to 11pm, and peak rate ($0.165 per Kwh) 7 am to 8 pm. Occasionally BGE changes the times and seasonally from winter to summer the times and rates change.

The absolute lowest monthly bill I've EVER gotten was $85.00 (May96). (I know this from research I've been doing on switching to wood heat. . . but thats another thread.) Absolute highest was $266.00 (Jan98)

Steve

 

[Bird]

SHF, I'd like to figure out how he's doing that, too.

Cost per kilowatt? My last bill would figure out to $.07/kwh for the "energy charge". Then we have a "customer charge" of $7.50 a month just for having a meter, and $15.00 a month for a second meter (never could figure out why you pay more for the second one), plus tax, so the total was actually $.0815869/kwh. I guess it really isn't too bad for a total electric house (1,456 sq.ft.) with central heat/air, dishwasher, refrigerator w/ice maker, washing machine & dryer, TV, computer, lights, etc. and with another refrigerator and freezer in the shop in addition to lots of lights, fans, and air compressor.

Bird

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Bird,

With that much electrical, its probably not that bad. We get hit $5.00 whether we use a watt or not. My bill holds pretty much steady but jumps up a little when I get to use my shop. (Air compressor, welder, saws and other toys). I'm paying about $.08 per kilowatt plus the $5.00, so it sound like were running neck and neck on price. (I'm just happy it isn't California). I had a buddy that got his bill down to $13.00 years ago, but he had to give up his washer, dryer, fridge and use only lights and TV. I can't figure out how he's doing it, but the last 3 months in a row that bill has been about $16.00. (And I know its right, because his power company comes and reads the meter.)

SHF

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>his power company comes and reads the meter</font color=blue>

I thought maybe he was like us; we read our own meters./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Of course, the power company is "supposed" to check them every 6 months, but in reality it's less than once a year.

Bird

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Bird,

I gotta read mine too. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif But he's on the OTHER power company. And they're fancy pants. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif They're also about a penny cheaper per kilowatt. Still, not enough to justify $16.00. My company is now offering power cards and off site meter reading. A power card works like those long distance phone cards you can get at the supermarket. You apparently shove it into a box in your house and get the power to turn on. Off site metering has some kind of connection to the power company so their COMPUTER knows how much power you are using ALL THE TIME.

SHF

 

[Bird]

SHF, with all the "electronics" and gadgets we have today, who knows what the metering will be like in the future. I don't know about the electric metering, but I know some natural gas companies have a system whereby each meter has some kind of transmitting device and all they have to do is drive down the street with a computer in the truck and it records all the meter readings (and they don't necessarily have to even be on the street the meter's on).

Bird

 

[Alan L.]

The cloudiness in my water is not air (sometimes get that too), but at this point nothing settles out of it. When it used to get really bad, sand and mud would settle out. We still have mud in the bottom of our toilet tanks. If I draw up a glass of water and set it on the cabinet overnight it looks the same the next day with no settling. Right now the water is clear and has been most of the time for the past month, so I'm getting my hopes up that it won't be a problem.

I'm with Grayson-Collin Coop and my electricity is running about 7 cents per KWH, including fuel charges. Its about 10% lower than the rates I had in town with TXU Electric. I just got another bill and it was $182 ($139 last month).

My gas bill was ZERO and my water bill was ZERO. Trash bill was $18.

Alan L., TX

 

[jinman]

Yep, 100' minimum to the nearest spray head is the requirement. Also, it must be 50' from any stream or even a deep erosion ditch. The inspector stepped off the distance to an eroded area on my place. It was 65' /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

JimI

 

[Bird]

Alan, I sure wonder what it is in the water if it's not air, and it doesn't settle out.

<font color=blue>My gas bill was ZERO and my water bill was ZERO. Trash bill was $18.</font color=blue>

My gas bill was zero also, but my water bill averaged $44.50 a month last year, and our weekly garbage pickup is $12 a month.

Bird

 

[LarryT]

Bird, not that it will be the same next month, but this month here in San Diego County, I paid about 0.14/kWh. I guess we're lucky to have it at all! We also pay $1.49/gal for propane and $1.99/gal for regular (cheapest) gasoline. Nobody ever said it was cheap living in Calif. However, I'm here by choice and plan to remain here.



Larry...

 

[Bird]

Ouch, Larry, us poor folks couldn't afford to live in California, even if we wanted to./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

$1.49 for propane? Can I bring a tank truck? My January propane fill was at $2.29. Regular gasoline at the time was $1.60 or so. I could've heated with fuel oil cheaper. I taked with several people who are planning to change to electric water heaters because they say it is cheaper than using propane right now. Natural gas (City gas) is not available in most rural areas here. It has been considerably cheaper than propane, but there has been a price freeze on it for the last three years. That has expired as of last march and folks have been warned to expect the price to double next winter. Here, we can get metered propane, where the tank is filled regularly and you only get charged for what you use. We can also "pre-buy" our propane (pay for it in August at the August price), or sign a contract to "lock-in" the price. Since last winter, almost all propane companies are bending over backwards offering "lock-ins" and pre buys.

SHF

 

[jinman]

All this talk about utility bills reminds me of what my waterwell driller said when he finished my well. I asked him how long I could pump water steadily out of the well before it might run low or suck mud. His answer, "How much electricity can you pay for?" It's easy to think of the water from my well as free, but it's not. I just get billed for it on my electric bill./w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif


JimI

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

JimI

Your driller has a "dry" sense of humor! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

SHF

 

[Chillimau]

A few of the older homes in the area have a regular septic system, tank and leach field. I guess DEQ wasn't as strict or even around.

Already had a perc test and mine won't perc. A lagoon system has a septic tank for solids and then has a square pond instead of a leach field. Pond is seven foot deep, two of which is a berm around the pond to keep surface drainage from filling the pond so you have about a five foot deep working area. Ponds range from about 25x25 to 50x50 bottom depending on the size of house and the estimated evaporation rate in your part of the state. Berm is sloped 3:1 to the bottom. I would need about a 30x30 or 35x35. Also must fence to prevent easy access. I could put this thing downwind and maybe a 1000' foot from the future house. Our predominant winds are southerly during spring summer and fall. My wife's grandfather just cringes at the idea of a lagoon and suggests a sand filter or low pressure system. I really cringe at the thought of being dependent on electricity for the toilet to work properly. I have rural water access so a well pump is not an issue.

Parts of Ardmore have been without electric for over a week because of last week's storms. I would probably be low priority on getting service restored in storm damage, why restore one or two when you can restore ten or twenty in the city in the same time?

Yes, Moore was hit twice a couple of years ago by tornadoes. Both went within a couple of blocks of each other. The May 3rd storm was the big one and went about 2 miles west and a mile north of my house. The TV stations were saying to get below ground or leave because you would not survive above ground. We went to a friend's who had a storm shelter and it got within about a 1/4 mile of us in the cellar. Talk about running from the smoke into the fire!

 

[jinman]

Thanks for the info on the lagoon system. It sounds kind of like a high-tech cesspool with a politically correct name. It also seems that 1000' of line to get it away from the house is pretty expensive too. I'm not being critical, just "scratchin' my head thinking of alternatives." Hmmm....

JimI