What can I do with Duke real-time electric usage?

[EbS-P]

Hi,

Duke power is sending out for free (I got mine already ) smart hubs that interface with their smart electric meters that provide real-time (1 second intervals) power usage. (I suspect Duke is getting this data too via my high speed Internet but I can’t confirm. )

Other than a neat graph and plugging in and unplugging appliances to see how much power is changing (I have a killawatt too). What else can I do. The data seems pretty walled off in the app.

It was free and neat for the first 10 minutes. Now is just another always on power consumer.

Is this thing good for anything else?

Evan

 

[fire_man]

This would be great to take a baseline reading for a normal day's activities and compare it later in time. It can help locate problem areas, like when a bad well pump draws too much current.

It would have helped me explain a huge unexpected spike in my Electric bill a few years ago in October. I am pretty sure it was due to running the central ac more during a very unusually hot October but it was a nasty surprise when I got the bill which was double the normal.

 

[begreen]

Our smart meter is independent of our home internet. There is a micro receiver with antenna on a nearby power pole that it communicates with .

Does Duke offer lower rates at night? If so, look at activities like laundry, drying clothes and taking showers that can be done later. If you have an EV then charge overnight at the lower rate.

 

[peakbagger]

My guess is they are getting ready to implement options for shifting or peak shaving. They start out as incentive programs and then slowly drift into penalties.

I do not like services like these as the data is giving the utility a fairly fine glimpse into what is going on in your home. In some cases they can sell that data to third parties. Sadly few states offer opt out on these programs. Some folks have figured out how to hack the signals between the meters and the pole.

TIme to wrap the meter in tin foil.

 

[begreen]

My guess is they are getting ready to implement options for shifting or peak shaving. They start out as incentive programs and then slowly drift into penalties.

I do not like services like these as the data is giving the utility a fairly fine glimpse into what is going on in your home. In some cases they can sell that data to third parties. Sadly few states offer opt out on these programs. Some folks have figured out how to hack the signals between the meters and the pole.

TIme to wrap the meter in tin foil.

Our utility is now pushing Nest thermostats for like $26. More listening devices that gather data on your habits.

 

[EbS-P]

Our smart meter is independent of our home internet. There is a micro receiver with antenna on a nearby power pole that it communicates with .

Does Duke offer lower rates at night? If so, look at activities like laundry, drying clothes and taking showers that can be done later. If you have an EV then charge overnight at the lower rate.

You can I think. I could never see how it would save me money with a family. Peak summer is 10 am-10pm and then in the winter it switches 10pm-10am.

In August we used 1180 KWH (that’s my highest usage in the past year … 4 kids and basically working from home) last January it was about 900. Electric usage just is not high enough for add inconvenience of the peak demand billing. It didn’t save much as I recall and price difference peak rates were much larger increase from standard that the off peak.

The whole EV thing could change things some as we drive 400-500 miles a month around town. It’s possible we could end up getting one around the first of the year. But even adding 200 KWh a month my power bill isn’t that much.

They can’t bill me for what I don’t use . ( well other than the 14$ connection fee).

 

[EbS-P]

Our utility is now pushing Nest thermostats

My HVAC tech said those are a big reason for fallouts now and the batteries are not replaceable. Really didn’t want me getting one.

I have not run my thermostat program in 4 years. I keep it just cold/warm enough that is almost uncomfortable.

 

[EbS-P]

This would be great to take a baseline reading for a normal day's activities and compare it later in time. It can help locate problem areas, like when a bad well pump draws too much current.

It would have helped me explain a huge unexpected spike in my Electric bill a few years ago in October. I am pretty sure it was due to running the central ac more during a very unusually hot October but it was a nasty surprise when I got the bill which was double the normal.

The regular smart meter I could get hourly usage for the previous day. Now I get real time.

 

[begreen]

My HVAC tech said those are a big reason for fallouts now and the batteries are not replaceable. Really didn’t want me getting one.

I have not run my thermostat program in 4 years. I keep it just cold/warm enough that is almost uncomfortable.

We've had programmable thermostat since we moved in to the house. I put one on the propane furnace and then on the pellet stove. I like sleeping cooler, but waking up to a warm house. They are both gone now, but there is one on the heat pump. These are simple thermostats, not talking to anything but the appliance.

 

[EbS-P]

My guess is they are getting ready to implement options for shifting or peak shaving. They start out as incentive programs and then slowly drift into penalties.

I do not like services like these as the data is giving the utility a fairly fine glimpse into what is going on in your home. In some cases they can sell that data to third parties. Sadly few states offer opt out on these programs. Some folks have figured out how to hack the signals between the meters and the pole.

TIme to wrap the meter in tin foil.

I didn’t read the fine print. Who does. I have a load control device on my AC compressor so the power company can cut it off as they see fit.

 

[fire_man]

We have a flat rate in our area. Lots of solar has sprung up all over and I hear it's like a 4-7 year payback on the system.

Just for comparision, my August Electric was 1149 Kwh and January was 500 kWh. Hot summers kill us with the Central AC but winters are cheap.

I agree with begreen that incentives have a way of turning into penalties. I've heard that happen with company health care plans that start out rewarding weight loss followed by a penalty for being overweight.

 

[EbS-P]

We have a flat rate in our area. Lots of solar has sprung up all over and I hear it's like a 4-7 year payback on the system.

Just for comparision, my August Electric was 1149 Kwh and January was 500 kWh. Hot summers kill us with the Central AC but winters are cheap.

I agree with begreen that incentives have a way of turning into penalties. I've heard that happen with company health care plans that start out rewarding weight loss followed by a penalty for being overweight.

We pay $0.13 KWh. Pushed out the payback time frame. I looked in to solar. To many trees.

 

[fire_man]

If it were me and I was a long termer in my house I would take down some trees and go with the solar. We pay an insane $0.25/kWh which would give a quicker payback.

 

[EbS-P]

If it were me and I was a long termer in my house I would take down some trees and go with the solar. We pay an insane $0.25/kWh which would give a quicker payback.

Some aren’t mine. The one that mine is shades the house very nicely during the afternoon. And shades the some of the back patio. And at its growth rate and direction it’s growing shades about 3 more ft each year.

I have no evidence but I have a feeling that new residential installs are being incentivized by the utility so they dont have incur the install and maintenance cost and here in nc we get net metering but duke pays wholesale price on what you send to the grid. So to get a zero $ electric bill I need to have a 8-10kw or install (so I was told my the solar salesman that could not find north and wanted panels on the north facing 12-2 roof).

as a money investment it’s probably better to invest an index fund (for me) And as an environmental investment insulation, electric cars, and conservation would be better. About half our power is nuclear and I’m quite ok with that and would support new nuclear as long as it’s not on the coast. ( we are in the 25 mile zone of Brunswick nuclear and it basically a few feet above sea level.)

I did epa carbon footprint calculator and my vehicles are larger co2 emitters than my electric consumption. I am optimistic ( probably overly so) that climate change regulations will result in cleaner grid power soon (10 years or less). so I’m still not ready to commit to my own solar install. I drive by neighbors 12kw install and (and their big suvs and tuck) and silently thank them. They had a great roof and location for it.

 

[Poindexter]

I can't see much of a use for that to a homeowner unless, as previously discussed, there is a peak rate and an off peak rate.

I do look at my monthly usage off the meter reads pretty carefully, but my kwh cost the same 24/7/365.

FWIW the wife an I used 453 kwh last month. We get most of our heat from the wood stove, with oil boiler for DWH and backup heat. 14 odd kwh per day over the billing cycle, I think is pretty good. Some months we can get down to 12 kwh per day, half a kilowatt per hour sustained.

The main things we have done since the last of the four kids has moved out is only do full loads of laundry, only do full loads in the dishwasher, and we make a point to keep both refrigerators and the chest freezer pretty full up so they are on low duty cycles.

We will be running head bolt heaters for the vehicles in colder weather pretty soon. Each vehicle draws about a kilowatt for the headbolt heater (and battery warmer and transmission pan heater) when energized, but on a timer I can cut that down to about 4 kwh per day by having the timer kick on an hour before I leave and kick back off about the trime my wife is leaving the house. When I am on night call I unplug my truck from the timer and plug it straight into a receptacle so the truck is ready to go anytime. The cost of the electricity to do that is roughly 1/16 of what I get paid (before taxes) to be on call, so no worries there. Last January we used 18 kwh per day, so there is the headbolt heaters on the power bill.

With kids home, trying to manage electric consumption is HARD. I encouraged all of mine to get the cheaper first apartment and their own electric bill ASAP out of my house. I just haven't found another better way to explain energy conservation to kids of any age.