Time-of-Use electric metering - anyone using it?

[THCV]

So my utility has two residential rate plans. One is around 11 cents per kwh across the board. The other is Time-of-Use dependent. From 8pm-9:59am it is just 4 cents a kwh! This is when most of my power is drawn, so it would pretty much cut my power bill to almost 1/3. Then 10am-12:59pm its 9 cents, 1pm-4 is 14 cents.

But! They would have to come to my house and install a time-of-use meter outside. Too risky? Anyone done it? And would it be crazy suspicious if they could specifically see on the new meter that i draw tens of thousands of watts at night??? Should i just pay and avoid the attention?

 

[Grat3fulh3ad]

I had the same thought... for a second.... I'd stay as normal as possible... The value of the smoke far outweighs a few cents/KW...

 

[hogwild]

thats a very delicate decision. I hope someone here has made a switch to time use so they can help you. I would say if the option is there, you should take it. But you had better have some sort of excuse for that much power use, buy an electric sauna or something.

 

[Guest]

smart meters will be a part of all power grids within a few years. it is inevitable.
i personally, will be looking foward to it.
the power company already knows what kind of usage you have, they bill you for it every month.
the whole point of the smart meters and rate differences is to encourage more people to use their power off peak.
this will help the power companies from stressing their systems, which most are overloaded to begin with, and it will only get worse with population increases.
so this can only help us imho.

 

[imnotcrazy]

Yeah, and if you have multi KW grows reinvest in solar or something

 

[Guest]

I'd leave it alone...the savings is not worth the added risk. just be happy that you're not paying .35 - .40 cents

 

[Guest]

you already take that risk by doing what you do to begin with.
you will still use the same amount of power, you will just get different rates for peak and off peak.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter
http://amr.byramlabs.com/?gclid=CLj-4KPrhIwCFSMKGgodxGODzQ

 

[THCV]

you already take that risk by doing what you do to begin with.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter
http://amr.byramlabs.com/?gclid=CLj-4KPrhIwCFSMKGgodxGODzQ

not sure i agree. as the wiki entry says:

"Of all smart meter technologies the critical technological problem is communication. Each meter must be able to reliably and securely communicate the information collected to some central location."

my current meter is analog and i don't think it does any communication--rather, the meter is checked manually. I am not positive, but it's just the good-ole spinning dial jammy.

It is possible that having a more detailed analysis of power usage on an hourly basis might reveal more than you want. Imagine there is a database of hourly info going back a year or two for your house at the power co. Now imagine the feds use patriot act to just get into that db. You will look a lot more obvious when 12/12 lighting etc is easily discerned from the data using simple data mining techniques (if that is ever something they do, ie feds looking for growers at the utility. might never happen). That's the super paranoid scenario.

I know they can check your hourly usage if they specifically want to even with analog. But with a smart meter, you have a guarantee that all that info is in a database. It isn't clear whether my utility uses smart meters, or older time-of-use meters that might not do the detailed hourly communication.

So that's one issue. The other is the installation guy. I agree that financially, it isn't worth the risk. But I am also trying to decide whether to sign up for green energy (or will that needlessly raise my profile as well) because i use so much electricity i would really like to do the right thing.

Solar! hahaha! I wish. Man, the roof acreage I would need for 10,000 watts...not possible where i am. Hence the thought of simply "reinvesting" in the green energy option from my utility.

Decisions, decisions...

 

[THCV]

ok i dug a bit deeper. It doesn't look like they have smart meters that communicate back, just TOU meters.

--
Your New Time-of-Use Meter
Your meter will be replaced with a new one which can record consumption during the three pricing periods. The new meter will have an electronic display.


The electronic display shows the
time of day, the day of the week
and the usage for each period.

[and the pitch]

What's In This For Me?

First of all, if you can use 65% or more of your electricity during the base hours (8p-10a), your monthly bill may be lower. Also, if enough people, and businesses too, shift their energy use to base periods, we can put off building new generating plants. This can represent tremendous savings that will help keep every one's bill down.
--

quite appealing from a do-the-right-thing perspective.

Since it isn't a real smart meter, it might not be so risky. someone already comes regularly to check the meter; this time i would just meet him, he'd kill the power, and replace the meter outside. Probably pretty low risk, since he comes there regularly anyway, and i would have all my gear off when he arrived. Hmm. I really would save money too...I hope someone on here has tried this, i'd love to hear about it.

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Someone may wonder why you use 10x as much power during the middle of the night than the daytime though. I guess being at work during the day could explain it? I think if you run A TON of lights and/or have a really high rate (like Cali) there is a cost savings but theres also the problem with giving them too much info on your use. Tough call. Id stick with the normal meter unless you can justify the added "info" you are giving away compared to the cost benefit. The usage itself wont trigger any reviews but if could hurt you if you come under investigation.

 

[Guest]

you don't have to tell em shit!
tell him every thing in your house runs off electric.
you run all your stuff at night to save money, that should be enough.
most residential customers are off working during the day and not consuming alot of power.
it wouldn't be much different.
besides, the power company just wants your money anyway.
they dont care how much energy you use, as long as you pay for it.

 

[Guest]

Boy you folks are to paranoid about elec usages,in years and years I've only seen one instance where elec usage was used as a means for suspicion.Some lady in Cali was using a lot of power,you can bet there was more to it than that.Her ex hubby is probably leo lol.Seriously listen to Thorodee,my elec company has known for several years how much power I use,and they love me for it.They love me more than my neighbors,I can tell you that.Its a for profit business plain and simple.If I had the oppurtunity to cut my bill and the desire to be a nightperson,I'd do it in a heartbeat

 

[Guest]

I had the same thought... for a second.... I'd stay as normal as possible... The value of the smoke far outweighs a few cents/KW...

I gotta agree with this. I did quite a bit of research into an alternative energy project a few years back and the power companies need to keep their systems fired up at night but they basically sit idle at that time. How many consumers care about their evening rates cause almost everyone is sleeping, the lights are off and in the Summer you got the AC going but it's running low cause it's cooler out. Only incentive I see is for people who use alot of electricity at night which is who that you know? I agree that smart meters are only a matter of time. Sure they know my elec useage but don't know my pattern. Sure they are not using electrical useage information now BUT just a little change in the law a few years down the road and uh oh for quite a few people.

 

[THCV]

Only incentive I see is for people who use alot of electricity at night which is who that you know? Sure they know my elec useage but don't know my pattern. Sure they are not using electrical useage information now BUT just a little change in the law a few years down the road and uh oh for quite a few people.

man, i am fucking conviced! thanks AR, that crystallized it for us growers perfectly. Fuck that until fed laws change...

So then, any issue with using the Green Power program? I doubt it, no additional tracking, but it does cost more. And, maybe they will look closer at your account, ie better to stay lo-pro.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

Would your usage in itself cause an issue? probably not. but who knows what this country is coming too. your civil rights are disappearing faster than you can say WTF. with all that Data, some politicain will say, lets troll for people who use 80% of their power in 12 hour shifts at night. 2 weeks 18/6, 6 weeks 1/12 repeated a few times would be a clear little pattern

Would I want a record that I ran 70% of my usage in 12 hour shifts in the middle of the night? Hell no

if growing for profit, the cost is minor compared to the profit. if growing for personal use, just think how much you are ALREADY saving

 

[Guest]

haha,some little bespeckled guy is sittin in an office going over peoples electric bills lol,you people are going to limit yourselves over bullshit lol.I've used over 5K for over 5 years in a very small house,you folks need to readjust your concerns to reality.There are many concerns,if you dont steal electrical then its not a concern.

 

[Guest]

Would your usage in itself cause an issue? probably not.

You are correct. Currently usage in and of itself is not an issue. I knew a guy who's electrin bills in the Winter were like $1,000 but he was running like 7,000 watts 24 hours a day.

 

[Guest]

Electrical usage is like a narcotics habit,everyone starts small but eventually uses more and more lol.I'm strung out like a research monkey on the shit lol!Of course at a dime a KWH I can afford a habit,you guys out west have to sell your boody for some good amps.

 

[Guvnor]

While I'm not 100% sure how things work over the pond, do some of you believe that, dependant on your electrical usuage, your electric company can/will contact the police?

Do you think these multi-billion dollar compainies give two fucks how much power you use? You understand their aim as a business is to make as much money as possible, and the more you use and pay for, the happier they are?

Not having a go, just trying to understand some people's mind-frame where electircal use is concerned- people seem to make a huge deal about it, just wonder why?

If you didnt grow with high amount's of wattage, and say, installed a hot tub, or had a computer server room in your home using masses of power daily, you wouldnt think anything of it. It's people mind-set because their growing, they take paranoia too far imo.

All The Best, and I'd love to hear some people's opinions
Guv'nor

 

[Guest]

Do you think these multi-billion dollar compainies give two fucks how much power you use? You understand their aim as a business is to make as much money as possible, and the more you use and pay for, the happier they are?

Guv'nor

very well put guvnor! k+ to you.
this is exactly how this works, my point exactly.
i use about 5k in power, pay my bill on time and have been put on the preferred customer list at my local power company.
they fucking love me down there!
does your power company send you a card on your birthday?
mine does.