Insane Electric Rate Increase $508.68/1522 kWh

[walterjay]

So much for saving money with an electric vehicle.

 

[Torrid]

My heat and water heater is my only gas in the house. Stove, oven, dryer, etc are all electric. Neither one have been cheap to operate. My last bill was $360 which is about $130 higher than I've ever had in this house. My gas and electric are from the same company so it's a combined bill.

I forgot to add rate is $0.13 per kWh. Which is about $10 to charge the car if it's really depleted.

 

[gathermewool]

So much for saving money with an electric vehicle.

I haven’t done the calculations for my electricity costs, mileage, current gas prices and PM. Have you done that for me?

 

[Rand]

1) While insulation is always important, remember a couple of points. Heating a house is always about creating a temperature differential. 0 outside and 70 inside is a large temp delta. It takes energy to create this, gobs of it. That differential also means it is difficult to maintain as heat transfers more readily. Also note that air exchange is a factor. The dryer exhanges air, as does a range hood and bathroom fans, opening a door, etc.

2) A hybrid water heater is of no benefit what so ever during heating season if inside a home. You pull heat from the air to heat the water, significantly cooling the surrounding air. Which then makes your heater work harder. Unfortunately, if located in cold air, like any heat pump, performance suffers and the heating elements run, just like a conventional water heater.

it would do some of the dehumidifying. you are right that with electric heat its not as good as with natural gas heat in cold season.

 

[gathermewool]

My heat and water heater is my only gas in the house. Stove, oven, dryer, etc are all electric. Neither one have been cheap to operate. My last bill was $360 which is about $130 higher than I've ever had in this house. My gas and electric are from the same company so it's a combined bill.

What kind of furnace do you have?

 

[Torrid]

What kind of furnace do you have?

It's gas.

 

[gathermewool]

it would do some of the dehumidifying. you are right that with electric heat its not as good as with natural gas heat in cold season.

Exactly right. I used to think that resistive being 100% efficient was somehow better. Gas is MUCH less efficient, but way cheaper. Heat pumps use expensive electricity, but are >100% efficient.

The only real benefit of my baseboard heat is that’s it’s reliable and not as prone to failure. No filters to clog, injectors to clog, tanks to go empty.

 

[Torrid]

I haven’t done the calculations for my electricity costs, mileage, current gas prices and PM. Have you done that for me?

It's still a lot cheaper for me at least and the GTI is a smaller car than the Model 3. Depending on gas prices the GTI costs 3-4x as much in fuel.

 

[gathermewool]

It's gas.

Lol. What kind? I updated my previous condo’s NG furnace from its crappy 60’s furnace to a super efficient furnace (95% IIRC) that exhausted heat via PVC at a temperature comparable to the clothes dryer.

 

[Torrid]

Lol. What kind? I updated my previous condo’s furnace from its crappy 60’s furnace to a super efficient furnace that exhausted heat via PVC at a temperature comparable to the clothes dryer.

Oh sorry I didn't realize you were looking for something more in depth. It's a newer Trane unit. I had it installed 4 years back. It uses a central air setup, but it's a 1925 home so I don't know how efficient the setup is by today's standards. I'd have to check for a model number, I don't remember it off the top of my head.

 

[gathermewool]

Oh sorry I didn't realize you were looking for something more in depth. It's a newer Trane unit. I had it installed 4 years back. It uses a central air setup, but it's a 1925 home so I don't know how efficient the setup is by today's standards. I'd have to check for a model number, I don't remember it off the top of my head.

Thanks. It’s amazing how much can be saved updating an ancient, low-cost gas furnace. I really don’t like that gas isn’t available here.

 

[Skippy722]

And here I was upset about my last $330 gas+electric bill and paying ~$0.18/kWh. I think gas was ~$0.65/therm? It fluctuates with the market every month, as does electricity because they have a bunch of riders on top of the base ~$0.12/kWh that change month to month

 

[Number_35]

Usually the issue in winter is too low humidity and not too much. Many people run a humidifier in the winter, perhaps you meant to say humidifier and not dehumidifier (?) but then why have one in the bathroom.

Agreed, old houses are usually way too dry.

However, we have to run a heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) here in the winter in our c. 1990 home. The house was so tightly sealed that the tripane windows were frosting up.

The HRV brings in cold dry air, and exhausts stale moist warm air. The HRV's core captures much of the heat from the warm outgoing air, and preheats the cold incoming air.

 

[Delta]

We always wash in cold water . Been doing that for years . I hang jeans and towels to dry since they take the longest in a dryer . Give them a 15 minute tumble in the dryer to soften them up . LED bulbs except for a couple of fluorescents .

I actually have an inside clothes line I seriously need to start using. I also have a couple poles in the yard that was once used as an outdoor clothes line. Debating putting new lines on it and using it during the warmer months. Makes me rethink taking them out to dig the new leach field. Guess I'll have to re-route.

 

[Number_35]

Someone may have mentioned this already, but have you replaced all of your incandescent and fluorescent lights with LEDs?

I know the waste heat from the incandescents is not wasted during heating season, but it does put an additional load on the AC in the summer.

 

[gathermewool]

Someone may have mentioned this already, but have you replaced all of your incandescent and fluorescent lights with LEDs?

I know the waste heat from the incandescents is not wasted during heating season, but it does put an additional load on the AC in the summer.

All LED, especially outside. I use incandescent only in the winter in A couple of fixtures with ceiling fans. It’s dumb, but it’s an easy swap for the LEDs for a few months.

 

[k1xv]

Sounds like a good time to install solar panels and a cold climate heat pump.

Here in Vermont, $500 will buy twice as much utility power on the Green Mountain Power system.

Vermont state government never opened the retail electric market to "competition". Thank God.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

WOW! And I thought my last months $65 electric bill was high.

 

[PimTac]

Since you have dehumidifiers running already here is a tip I have used in Japan. They dry their clothes in the bathroom where the bathtub is. A dehumidifier vent on the ceiling does the drying. It takes longer than a dryer but with planning it might be a idea you could use?

Electricity is not cheap in Japan either.

In a larger space an additional electric fan might need to be used.

This would be a good experiment.

 

[gathermewool]

WOW! And I thought my last months $65 electric bill was high.

YoI shush now, ya hear!?