Electric company and being green got me all nervous.

[firsttimeARE]

So where my grow op is they send around a letter letting you know how much energy your house uses in comparison with your neighbors. At the bottom is a number to opt out of these every 3 month comparisons, so seems not too serious.

This scares me because they tell you all these ways to save electricity and give you status updates and objectives(like save 3% for next year). Right now the house is using average for the neighborhood. But they were on the high-end.

Right now I have (1) 600w doing 18's and then 12's once flower.

But with everything going i'm estimating 752KWh per month usage(its like $94 dollars for what we pay) for just the grow. Increasing gradually over the months with more equipment. Now they pay about 90 a month already, they used to pay like 150, 160 when more people lived there.

I did a comparison and with winter coming up that's like having a 1500watt space heater going for 18 hours a day.

Do these comparison studies that the electric company does mean they care more about your usage than other companies? Anyone elses electric company do things like this?

 

[watchhowIdoit]

Oh hell ya. I bet it wont be long before they stop by and install a 'smart' meter. It registers power surge use and the time of day it happens. Wont be long before they put 2 and 2 together and have the cops come a knockin.......


edit:guess nobody gets sarcasm anymore......

 

[firsttimeARE]

Well I have it so the lights shut off when people aren't there. And turn on when they are.

How do you know if you have these smart meters already?

According to the company it's just so they can let customers be aware of their usage. It gives tips on things you can do to save, so I don't doubt thats it's intent. Just makes me nervous. Originally they told me it was from a third-party study group.

 

[massah]

you guys are paranoid...fact: Electric Companies don't want you to save power...they lose money this way...plain and simple...your electricity records are only pulled if police suspect something to begin with and get a warrant to get your records...even then its still not cut and dry...

 

[watchhowIdoit]

I was only joking around. Your worried about nothing. And if you meter has a digital readout rather then the little row of dials then its a smart meter. They are actually becoming very common these days. Its becoming a digital world......

 

[Chiceh]

I am in Ontario Canada and we are on "time of use billing" which means there are off peak, mid peak and on peak times of day. You pay more in the "on peak" time. It was an adjustment but now I run my lights during the off time and mid peak. I have a smart meter so they can do this. They just changed the pricing here too effective November 1st, you'll pay 6.2 cents/kWh during off-peak times, 9.2 cents/kWh during mid-peak, and 10.8 cents/kWh during on-peak periods. It does get pricey for me but I just pay the bill and keep my mouth shut. I live in rural area so my consumption is not out of the ordinary.

 

[massah]

I was only joking around. Your worried about nothing. And if you meter has a digital readout rather then the little row of dials then its a smart meter. They are actually becoming very common these days. Its becoming a digital world......

My meter is one with the row of dials and moving platter...yet I can look up my daily usage on their website the day after the usage

 

[firsttimeARE]

I was only joking around. Your worried about nothing. And if you meter has a digital readout rather then the little row of dials then its a smart meter. They are actually becoming very common these days. Its becoming a digital world......

I figured you were being tongue-in-cheek.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[firsttimeARE]

you guys are paranoid...fact: Electric Companies don't want you to save power...they lose money this way...plain and simple...your electricity records are only pulled if police suspect something to begin with and get a warrant to get your records...even then its still not cut and dry...

Yeah if they wanted that they would of had solar programs and subsidies years ago.

A user on here was explaining this same thing cause they work for an electric company(must be nice) and that the police need to get a warrant to search your records and then they need a warrant to go to your house with whatever they find for your electrical records.

I'm thinking if their electricity goes up the electric company could just think the people moved back home that were there before since it'd up it to those levels.

 

[massah]

Yeah if they wanted that they would of had solar programs and subsidies years ago.

A user on here was explaining this same thing cause they work for an electric company(must be nice) and that the police need to get a warrant to search your records and then they need a warrant to go to your house with whatever they find for your electrical records.

I'm thinking if their electricity goes up the electric company could just think the people moved back home that were there before since it'd up it to those levels.

I spiked my electricity usage last winter one month to over 3000kwh we didn't have any heating oil ...when its normally only about 1000kwh...

 

[Chiceh]

Yeah if they wanted that they would of had solar programs and subsidies years ago.

A user on here was explaining this same thing cause they work for an electric company(must be nice) and that the police need to get a warrant to search your records and then they need a warrant to go to your house with whatever they find for your electrical records.

I'm thinking if their electricity goes up the electric company could just think the people moved back home that were there before since it'd up it to those levels.

They had those programs here for a few years. You could get subsidy for solar, geo thermal and wind. You would need to sign a contract with the government and sell your access back to them. They fucked a ton of people over when they changed the pricing a couple years into the contracts though. Personally I would not get into bed with the government for anything.

 

[firsttimeARE]

I am in Ontario Canada and we are on "time of use billing" which means there are off peak, mid peak and on peak times of day. You pay more in the "on peak" time. It was an adjustment but now I run my lights during the off time and mid peak. I have a smart meter so they can do this. They just changed the pricing here too effective November 1st, you'll pay 6.2 cents/kWh during off-peak times, 9.2 cents/kWh during mid-peak, and 10.8 cents/kWh during on-peak periods. It does get pricey for me but I just pay the bill and keep my mouth shut. I live in rural area so my consumption is not out of the ordinary.

yeah they don't have that here. its like 12.5 cents/KWH one flat rate no matter the time of day, so thats probably a good indication im not on a smart grid. Thats what they call em around here. The electric company has pilot programs in some neighborhoods in cities about a 2 hour drive away. doesn't seem like its happening fast.

 

[massah]

They had those programs here for a few years. You could get subsidy for solar, geo thermal and wind. You would need to sign a contract with the government and sell your access back to them. The fucked a ton of people over when they changed the pricing a couple years into the contracts though. Personally I would not get into bed with the government for anything.

Here you don't sign a contract...if your meter shows negative usage they have to pay you the same as they would pay other suppliers

 

[firsttimeARE]

I spiked my electricity usage last winter one month to over 3000kwh we didn't have any heating oil ...when its normally only about 1000kwh...

Yeah the bill would be about 1200-1400kwh per month

 

[Chiceh]

Here you don't sign a contract...if your meter shows negative usage they have to pay you the same as they would pay other suppliers

I never really looked that far into in. I am planning on doing some conversions myself to get off the grid. I want to install small wind turbines and solar panels on my roof.

 

[Chiceh]

Yeah the bill would be about 1200-1400kwh per month

I heat with oil, very expensive eh? I also use a woodstove and that kicks out some wicked heat. My house is an old double school house converted but a bitch to heat.

 

[firsttimeARE]

I never really looked that far into in. I am planning on doing some conversions myself to get off the grid. I want to install small wind turbines and solar panels on my roof.

It's expensive and you need to load your house up with batteries to store all the energy for use. Another good area of free electricity is the tides.

About 7 years ago for my senior project I did it on green building and a key component of photovoltaic cells are platinum, platinum is expensive. But I was reading an article recently about some professor in isreal making ones with less platinum by about 40%. I'm sure theres a lot more that can be done to make costs cheaper.

Coal, just like other natural resources will not be around forever and its up to our generation to get alternative energy running and become independent from other nations. Much unlike the greedy generation before us that was too busy making money off of our growing need for these resources and put all these ideas to the side so they can roll in the cash for longer and now its a mad dash to start all these programs now that a definite time is given to these production declines.

 

[firsttimeARE]

I heat with oil, very expensive eh? I also use a woodstove and that kicks out some wicked heat. My house is an old double school house converted but a bitch to heat.

The house has gas heat, but they never turn it on until it gets to the negative temperatures. Instead they also rely on woodstoves for heat. Be nifty if the heat was electric. But if it keeps the gas bill down thats more of a reason for the electric company to think we're supplementing electric heat.

 

[firsttimeARE]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I feel better now about the program they're running.

 

[wayno30]

i might be way off but it seems to me the people that get turned in by the electric company are the ones stealing power???