Pellet stove and electric usage?
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boomhour
Burning Hunk
Power consumption running 120 volts works out to min of .25 amps to a max of .65 amps. Running on 12 volt is 1.8 amps to a max of 4.5 amps, standby power is 0.10 amps. Not much of a concern considering we started heating on and off Sept 7/13 maybe $50 dollars for the year, give or take a few bucks.
My electric bill has gone up by $150 a month since running the pellet stove. Electric usage right now is the same as it is in the Summer when I am running a pool and four window shaker A/C units. Not very impressed. Running a EP-25 stove.
Something's wrong with your stove, maybe the igniter doesn't turn off. Check with a kill-a-watt device. My stove runs 24/7 and it adds $21 to my monthly bill, based upon a 14 cent/kwh rate.
CaptSpiff
Minister of Fire
Lets run the numbers again: most pellet stoves run at 180 to 220 watts per hour. The 300 watt igniter only runs for 10-15 minutes, so lets assume worst case it comes on every hour for 15 minutes (thats 75 watts per hour). So your stove uses 275 w/hr or 0.275 kw/hr, or about 6.6 kwhrs per day, or 198 kwhrs in a 30 day month.
BORING
OK, so lets talk $$$. I hate the fact that I live in the region with the highest electric rates in the US: 23 cents per kwhr
, but even here running the stove 24/7 for a month would only be US$45.54. Total.
So the problem is not the Pellet Stove.
Wanna know a secret?
Women adjust the thermostat when we aren't looking.
So women are the problem!
But as men we already knew that,... now pay the damn electric bill.
BORING
OK, so lets talk $$$. I hate the fact that I live in the region with the highest electric rates in the US: 23 cents per kwhr
, but even here running the stove 24/7 for a month would only be US$45.54. Total.So the problem is not the Pellet Stove.
Wanna know a secret?
Women adjust the thermostat when we aren't looking.
So women are the problem!
But as men we already knew that,... now pay the damn electric bill.
IHATEPROPANE
Minister of Fire
Seems like there is a lot of weird electric bill numbers, everyone I talk to has a high bill. Mine was 198. I have a gas direct water heater, all energy efficient lights, a new fridge. My kwh usage was 1298 last month. Have no idea why so high. My stove is on a ups so I can see the usage. Less than 200. I checked my meter and for the first three days since the bill it's only at 69 kwh. That is on pace for about half of last month, but why? I am going to monitor my meter closely this month.
Pellet-King
Minister of Fire
My stove uses 45 watt's running, checked it with a killowatt, thats a light bulb running, dont think it really makes my bill go up, but 2 kids, computer's, xbox's,big screen tv's, hot tub, hybrid water heater lot's of blu-ray/cable boxes plugged in everywere do...
CLP here raised there rates 2 cents per kwh beggining the new year
CLP here raised there rates 2 cents per kwh beggining the new year
urkiddin
Member
I think every utility in the country wants to get in on the shortage act. My electric bill just about doubled last month. The part that hurts is our KWH actually went down slightly but the cost per KWH went up.
Lfdp13RET
New Member
This fall son moved out electric bill dropped. Stove in on January 3rd, march electric bill even lower! The oil burner and power vent suck up the juice and despite being so cold are hardly running!
Former Farmer
Minister of Fire
Very good point. Everybody needs to look at actual usage versus costs. Compare this January usage to last January usage. Check your electric bills to see if they are estimates or actual readings. Read your electric meter yourself. Write it down and see how much you are using. I read my meter every week, Sunday mornings. This way I know what I have used and what my solar has produced.
Winter months are higher usage months for me. Shorter days equals more lights usage. We use the stove more versus the grill, furnace fan running, and the list goes on.
Harvey Schneider
Minister of Fire
You can't compare energy consumption by looking at monthly cost!
The only way you can compare energy consumption is by looking at actual average kWh consumed for equivalent time periods.
Even variations of month length can skew the comparison; February has 28 days, January has 31. That's a 10% variance
Use average actual daily kWh consumed.
It is really simple, but you have to do the numbers.
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wsar10
Burning Hunk
I cant comment on the backing of NG as a bridge fuel, I would be speaking out of place. BUT he could spend a little time on the Keystone Pipeline !
I agree about education, problem is it seems most people educate themselves from CNN and therer favorite artist !
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
Even with the igniter running full time at $.20/kwh, it would only be $40 more. We are having a rash of people not thinking about what they are saying. A PELLET STOVE CANNOT USE THAT MUCH ELECTRICITY! Look at all the other suggestions and do some actual investigation into possible reasons for the increase such as water heater problems, mother-in-laws turning your normal heating system up while you are gone or doing extra loads of wash or cooking, estimated vs actual bills, extra guests in the house taking more showers than normal.
IT AIN'T THE PELLET STOVE
!
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
The Keystone pipeline will be delayed as long as Warren Buffet has the marionette strings and keeps protecting his rail lines that are presently carrying the oil that WOULD HAVE been traveling down the pipeline.
As for NG, this week it was announced that there are big plans to liquefy much more of it for shipment to other countries. Just like coal, we are sending our natural resources overseas so that all that's left are the non-existent green energies, hence the spike in electrical costs.
wsar10
Burning Hunk
Another option is the "dip tube" in the water heater.........
especially if you have well water.
especially if you have well water.
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tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
Yes, they have a habit of falling off. They run the cold water to the bottom of the tank and push the hot water up to the outlet. When they fall off, the cold water is introduced into the hot water, cools it off and turns on the heater's 4500 watt (usually) element.
I have a whole house electrical monitoring system that it appears several people here could benefit from. It's called The Energy Detective (TED). I certainly don't endorse it because it has given me the fits over the years and I am banned from their forum because I questioned their support and design
but it IS very accurate to within a dollar or two of my actual bill. You can see the occasional spikes as my water heater comes on. The other ones are my stove and heat pump (not running the pellet stoves). 
wsar10
Burning Hunk
I figured if the anointed one was talking NG it was something like this. ^^.........
"don't look behind the curtain folks", just keep watching straight ahead !
wsar10
Burning Hunk
Yes, they have a habit of falling off. They run the cold water to the bottom of the tank and push the hot water up to the outlet. When they fall off, the cold water is introduced into the hot water, cools it off and turns on the heater's 4500 watt (usually) element.
I have a whole house electrical monitoring system that it appears several people here could benefit from. It's called The Energy Detective (TED). I certainly don't endorse it because it has given me the fits over the years and I am banned from their forum because I questioned their support and design
View attachment 128316
Is this something that is open source ?
What hardware is involved ?
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
http://www.theenergydetective.com/
Yes, it's hardware driven. You put current transformers around the two main input lines in your breaker box, hook up a transmitter to an open breaker, and plug a communication unit into an open outlet and run a wire back to your router. What I didn't like about the system is that they use house wiring for communicating with the main unit, which is super antiquated technology that lays itself open to all kinds of interference. I had a dimmer switch that caused interference and frustration until I found it. Why they don't use a wireless technology was beyond me, hence the banning when others agreed with me.
Yes, it's hardware driven. You put current transformers around the two main input lines in your breaker box, hook up a transmitter to an open breaker, and plug a communication unit into an open outlet and run a wire back to your router. What I didn't like about the system is that they use house wiring for communicating with the main unit, which is super antiquated technology that lays itself open to all kinds of interference. I had a dimmer switch that caused interference and frustration until I found it. Why they don't use a wireless technology was beyond me, hence the banning when others agreed with me.
wsar10
Burning Hunk
Ill check that out.
I'm unfamiliar with the product, but I would think you could capture whatever logic the software is looking for somehow and use something like an Arduino (engineering development board) and a Wi-Fi shield to make it wireless.........
Just a stab in the dark.
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
A man after my own heart! Have you looked at the CUBLOC system? Very inexpensive and, what I like, you can program in BOTH Basic AND ladder logic at the same time, using Basic subroutines within the ladder. I worked with ladder logic for a good part of my career so I like the logic step sequence.
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
This from Pennsylvania:
Some Pennsylvanians are getting sticker shock when opening their energy bills this month.
Acting Pennsylvania Consumer Advocate Tanya McCloskey says the very cold weather in January did more than make people run their furnaces longer. It caused price spikes on the wholesale electrictity market. Those higher costs were passed on to people who did not lock in a guaranteed price for buying power, sparking many complaints.
"These are the people that were not on default service with their local utility or not on a fixed rate option with an alternative electric generation supplier," McCloskey said. "These are customers who were on a variable rate option with the electric generation supplier."
McCloskey says for some, the price per kilowatt hour tripled or quadrupled. Ben Armstrong of PECO says the utility changes its supply charges every three months.
"We believe that the rates our customers pay today will be about the same that they will be paying on March 1 and we would provide advance communication through bills of any changes that do occur," he said.
Armstrong says if you have a question and even if you use an alternative supplier, PECO has a phone number on your bill to call for assistance.
Some Pennsylvanians are getting sticker shock when opening their energy bills this month.
Acting Pennsylvania Consumer Advocate Tanya McCloskey says the very cold weather in January did more than make people run their furnaces longer. It caused price spikes on the wholesale electrictity market. Those higher costs were passed on to people who did not lock in a guaranteed price for buying power, sparking many complaints.
"These are the people that were not on default service with their local utility or not on a fixed rate option with an alternative electric generation supplier," McCloskey said. "These are customers who were on a variable rate option with the electric generation supplier."
McCloskey says for some, the price per kilowatt hour tripled or quadrupled. Ben Armstrong of PECO says the utility changes its supply charges every three months.
"We believe that the rates our customers pay today will be about the same that they will be paying on March 1 and we would provide advance communication through bills of any changes that do occur," he said.
Armstrong says if you have a question and even if you use an alternative supplier, PECO has a phone number on your bill to call for assistance.
In the southern half of Maine where CMP operates, they now use digital meters, so no need for them to estimate. You can look at your own energy use down to the hour.
It's really easy for me to see that I was using 25.5kwh a day up until I installed my pellet stove, and from that point on, I was using around 30 to 31kwh a day. That works out to $20 to $23 a month more for my pellet stove based upon 14.5 cents /kwh. That's exactly what I was expecting based upon the energy use of my stove. As many people are getting their bills for January usage, I wonder if there was a rate hike between December and January?
In years past, I was only 19kwh a day, but now I run in the Winter, 2 humidifiers, an underfloor electric radiant mat in the bathroom, and my heat pump water heater has been running in electric mode since the heat pump failed. Hopefully the repairman will fix the heat pump tomorrow!
It's really easy for me to see that I was using 25.5kwh a day up until I installed my pellet stove, and from that point on, I was using around 30 to 31kwh a day. That works out to $20 to $23 a month more for my pellet stove based upon 14.5 cents /kwh. That's exactly what I was expecting based upon the energy use of my stove. As many people are getting their bills for January usage, I wonder if there was a rate hike between December and January?
In years past, I was only 19kwh a day, but now I run in the Winter, 2 humidifiers, an underfloor electric radiant mat in the bathroom, and my heat pump water heater has been running in electric mode since the heat pump failed. Hopefully the repairman will fix the heat pump tomorrow!
wsar10
Burning Hunk
They want to impose smart meters here (big brother in all walks of life), We as a consumers continue to fight it and have been successful for the last 5 years, but they will ultimately win at some point and force us to all use smart meters. They passed legislation in PA to force it but we have kept it in appeals for the last few years. Like I posted before (maybe not in this thread) we use a time of day meter, we pay on peak and off peak rates, which saves us money since our schedules leave the house pretty much empty all day.
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