Summer Peak Savings

EnergizeCT, the energy saving arm of Eversource, has an interesting web page devoted to reducing peak demand: CT Power Update: Demand / Air Quality - with a tool that maps forecasted and actual demand.

My suspicion is that, as smart metering rolls out, utilities such as Eversource will begin to pro-rate energy based on time of use (peak / off-peak) and perhaps even ding consumers for peak demand and/or low power factor, as they do commercial and industrial clients.

On the same page, they are also promoting a "Wait Until 8" program to encourage consumers from running major appliances during peak demand hours (12 noon - 8 pm). Things like dishwashers, clothes dryers, swimming pool pumps, etc. that could be run more consciously.  

Tesla Energy: Powerwall Home Battery

The internet (and public radio, for that matter) is abuzz with the launch of the Powerwall Home Battery, by Tesla Energy. 

Link through to read the details, but here are some highlights:

• Applications include load shifting, decreasing need to sell solar power back to utility, and back-up power. 
• Two primary capacity ratings, 7 kWh (daily use applications, $3000) and 10 kWh (back-up applications, $3500)
• Does not include inverter. 
• Ten year warranty.

Sorry, Elon Musk, but I need to rain on your parade. As the owner of a small condo (1200 square feet, including the basement, which is finished as my office) that has electric everything (heat, hot water, dryer, stove and oven), and as an electrical engineer concerned with energy efficiency, I happen to monitor my home energy use. I'm not a spendthrift - I've converted all the thermostats to digital / timer, all my lights are CF or LED, I keep the heat at 65F when I'm around and 58F overnight or when I'm out.

In February this year (admittedly brutally cold), I used an average of 175 kW-Hr per day.

 April (not quite warmed up, but more typical of a regular month), it fell to 60 kW-Hr per day.

So tell me just how useful your 7 or 10 kW-Hr worth of battery is going to be for me?

Yes, if one is burning fossil fuel for heat, cooking, clothes drying, hot water, has a modern energy efficient home, then I imagine 10kW-Hr could give you close to a days worth of power, if you don't dry your hair, turn on the A/C, or switch on a space heater. And it seems to be that if the bulk of home energy use is still coming from fossil fuels (to run a home for 12 hours on 10 kW-Hr, that seems to be a prerequisite) we're not really that revolutionary.

Edit: And because this has been sticking in my craw for a day or so, I did some additional digging.  According to the US Energy Information Administration:

In 2013, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,908 kilowatthours (kWh), an average of 909 kWh per month. Louisiana had the highest annual consumption at 15,270 kWh, and Hawaii had the lowest at 6,176 kWh.

909 kW / month = 30 kWh / day. And with most of the USA averaging 4-5 hours of peak solar production, (let's call it 8 hours of solar power), our "back-up" is going to need to supply at least 16 hours, or 20 kWh of demand. Twice the Tesla device capacity.

This is not rocket science (oops, bad analogy, I'm a big fan of Space-X). Folks have been using battery back-up in UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies) for decades for critical applications (computers, networks, patient care, etc.) - in much higher power ratings. But truth be told, it's really not all that cost-effective, most applications switch to some other form of energy storage for extended outages. Perhaps there's a mechanical solution (magnetic bearing flywheel? compressed fluid?), a thermal one (some form of heat engine), a chemical one (fuel cell), or something else. 

I like what you are trying to do. But it's sad that in all the interviews I've heard and stories I've read today, nobody has really done the math. 10 kW-Hr is not nearly enough capacity to take a typical home off the grid, even on a sunny day.

Follow-up: Bait and Switch - Electric Supplier Edition

Lawmakers Seek To Ban Variable Rate Electricity Contracts

Lawmakers signaled Tuesday they would revisit the controversial third-party electricity supplier market and seek to ban variable rates in residential electricity contracts.

It will be the second consecutive year the legislature aims to address consumer complaints about third-party suppliers, who they say attract customers with deceptively low teaser rates that quickly expire and leave consumers open to paying variable rates well above the standard rate available from a utility company.

Hugh McQuaid | Feb 24, 2015 3:44pm

Thanks to CT News Junkie for keeping on top of this!

Space Heaters = Power Quality Headaches

It's the time of year when space heaters begin appearing under desks, in alcoves, and in cold corners of offices in homes and commercial spaces.

"Looking for the space heater" is often my first check during a power quality audit in the winter - because electric space heaters are often the culprits in many power problems. 

• Fuse blowing or circuit breaker tripping
• Voltage drop problems
• Overheated connections or receptacles
• Neutral-ground voltage issues

A typical space heater will draw 10 - 12 amps at highest setting, and sometimes higher. This is close to the maximum rated for a 120 VAC, 15 Amp receptacle or circuit - which often also feeds lighting, office equipment, computers, etc. So a circuit or receptacle that has been perfectly adequate all year long is suddenly a problem. Coupled with laser printers (another power quality culprit) and it's a wonder anything works in the office this time of year.

If you need a space heater, check to see if you can get a dedicated outlet or circuit to power it - so that its current draw (and resultant voltage drop) do not affect your sensitive equipment. Remember that receptacles are often daisy-chained, so the empty outlet you find to plug your heater in may still be on the same circuit. And that same "daisy chain" may also be the point of failure - connections or splices in an upstream box or receptacle may be the place where the space heater added load causes a failure.

Here at the PowerLines home office, we've installed a dedicated 15A circuit - to run the space heater in the winter, and the air conditioner in the summer.

Bait and Switch: Electric Supplier Edition

I received a letter this afternoon from Verde Energy, my electrical supplier.

 

The big news: 

• Your current generation rate is 0.0999/kWh. You are currently under a fixed plan, which means your generation rate will remain fixed until 12/14/2014.
• Your generation rate will be 0.2099/kWh in your next billing cycle. 

Yes, you are reading that right, my energy rate is going to more than DOUBLE next month. The letter is dated 12/31/14 and arrived 1/5/15.

Needless to say, I hopped right on this, and procured a different supplier with a much more reasonable rate (the CL&P standard rate is, at present, 0.12629/kWh) - but I'm still pissed off that, from 12/14 through whenever the new supplier kicks in,. I'll be paying 21 cents / kWh.

And for what it's worth CL&P is damn useless here. I visited the Electrical Supplier website at www.energizect.com and was directed to the CL&P phone line to return to standard generation rate. The "electrical supplier" option was a simple pre-recorded message, and when I punched through to get an operator, it was a 30 minute wait. I hung up, and went to sign up with a different supplier.

Imagine how many people would ignore this letter or not notice until the next billing cycle. I'm planning to put the expiration date of the next contract period into my phone to get a reminder next year BEFORE the rate expires.

Electrical deregulation is, as far as I am concerned, a big freaking boondoggle in line with consumer credit - with all these independent energy producers playing fast and loose with "come on" rates and then, after the honeymoon period, lowering the boom, and hoping they get a few people who miss the transition to a "screw you" rate.

Winter Heating: Humidity and Apparent Temperature

Having problems getting and staying warm this winter? Finding yourself pushing the thermostat up past your usual comfort range?

The problem might be related to low relative humidity. The colder the outdoor temperature, the more heat must be added indoors for body comfort. However, the heat that is added will cause a drying effect and lower the indoor relative humidity, unless an indoor moisture source is present.

As an example, a comfort level of 70°F at 50% RH feels more like 65°F at 20% RH, a very typical humidity for a home without humidification.

Apparent Temperature for Values of Room Temperature and Relative Humidity

Many central heating systems incorporate automatic humidity controls; however there are often non-functioning or in need of service. Alternately, you can purchase a warm-mist or cool-mist humidifier.

Finally, there are solid (and cost-effective / green) tips to be found here: 6 Ways to Humidify Your House (Without a Humidifier)

See also: 

• Tips for Maximum Efficiency and Comfort  (ACCA Ohio) 
• Winter Indoor Comfort and Relative Humidity (infoplease)
• Cool Mist Vs. Warm Mist Humidifiers (Sylvane)

Standard Time and Resetting the Clocks

Daylight Savings Time ended this morning at 2:00 am. and like most of us, I've spent the morning checking, and resetting as needed, the household clocks and devices with timers.

Some things auto-reset:

• Windows based PC and laptop
• iPad
• iPhone
• Roku video player

Some "clocks" had to be manually reset:

• Bedroom alarm clock (digital)
• Yoga room clock (digital)
• Car stereo clock
• Television clock 
• Analog living room clock
• Kitchen clock (one of those Sieko "catch the GPS wave" clocks that never seems to be right)

I rarely if ever wear a watch, so if there are a few hanging out, it's a coin toss whether it's set to standard time or daylight savings time, depending upon when I last wore it. 

Clocks associated with energy savings and monitoring:

• Digital thermostats (four devices) 
• Mechanical timer for the basement dehumidifier
• Front porch timer
• Efergy power / demand monitor 

Clocks arbitrarily integrated into appliances:

• Microwave oven

I've gotten lucky on that one, most modern kitchens have a host of clocks - stove/oven, coffee maker, refrigerator, crock pot - but I've got older / lower cost appliances. That being said, I am sure I will come upon some clock in the next few days that has escaped notice.

Most have been pretty easy / intuitive to change, although the front porch timer (integrated into a standard wall switch) is tiny.  Occasionally I'll come across a clock that seems inscrutably resistant to adjustment, but not this time.

Someday, all of these devices will be connected to the internet, and all this stuff will happen automatically. But not today....