Do you take advantage of your utility’s Time-of-Use, TOU, Peak Demand, Demand TOU, similar plans?

[The Phantom]

As the title says, I’m wondering if anyone takes advantages of these pricing plans most electric utilities provide? Specifically those of you running less efficient light or “lights on” during the night.

For those of you that don’t know these pricing plans are designed to shift customers power usage away from peak demand times, in an attempt to even out the power usage of grid. This is usually done by offering lower rates during off peak times and/or charging more for power during peak times, not based on usage tiers the basic price plans follow.

It’s something I’ve looked into and I really don’t benefit much from it, if at all due to my low power consumption and high efficiency appliances in my home. I’m more curious about those that run their lights at night that are taking advantage of this or maybe this that don’t even know about it.

 

[Grassmaster]

I run the lights from 11:00 pm to 11:00 am. Just to keep the heat down. I'm zoned for residential use so the electricity costs the same day or night. I'm growing 4 high CBD low THC photo plants. This is my first photo grow. I'm liking photo's because when vegging you have the power turned down. Then when you flower the lights are off half the time.

 

[MochaBud]

I have solar panels ...so my electric bill is only around $180 a month for 3200 sq ft home...not to mention my grow room has it's own dedicated 100 amp breaker box

Once I finish my solar power and have a tesla capacitor...I'll be off the grid

 

[CADBOY]

As the title says, I’m wondering if anyone takes advantages of these pricing plans most electric utilities provide? Specifically those of you running less efficient light or “lights on” during the night.

For those of you that don’t know these pricing plans are designed to shift customers power usage away from peak demand times, in an attempt to even out the power usage of grid. This is usually done by offering lower rates during off peak times and/or charging more for power during peak times, not based on usage tiers the basic price plans follow.

It’s something I’ve looked into and I really don’t benefit much from it, if at all due to my low power consumption and high efficiency appliances in my home. I’m more curious about those that run their lights at night that are taking advantage of this or maybe this that don’t even know about it.

I went to my local utilities providers website, found the On peak and Off peak pricing and times...
Built my own leds and run the tent at the cheapest possible times.
Cost me about $60 per grow in Utilitys consumed.
Only have 1 3x3 tent, so that's probably helpful.

 

[multiVortex]

We get hosed. Ours is by tiers, without any peak/off-peak stuff. Like 7¢/kwh for the first 300kwh, then up to 10¢ until 750kwh, then 14¢ until at 2000kwh, then 16¢ from 2000kwh and beyond.

It sucks, but is what it is.

 

[732002]

Rates for me up to 1,000 kWh, off peak 4.12c, mid peak 16.85c, peak 22.22c
Growing autos so hope to be more flexible in light schedule, peak rates are in morning and evening.
Schedule 8 on off peak, 6 off, 4 on mid peak, 6 off, There are only 8 hours of off peak available 2200-0600.
125watts in 2x2/ cost $46/year or 12 cents/day
I have not tried this yet. New crop planned for January.

Thoughts?

 

[Mike Wright]

I run off peak as much as possible. It is a significant savings, I don't know how much exactly.

 

[Keffka]

I run off peak as much as possible. It is a significant savings, I don't know how much exactly.

I do the same however I have to pay attention to the seasons otherwise I use up my savings running heaters.

The savings are significant, to the tune of hundreds of dollars per year.

Some of the major benefits of running at night however are, I don’t feel the need to check in on my plants as much. My plants grow much better when I only check them occasionally versus fiddling with them all day long. My family feels like I ignore them less because I’m not spending all day in the garden .

Unfortunately I live in an old drafty house in Michigan, with a teenager and a 9 year old so my electric bills are already high lol

 

[Phytoplankton]

Wow, you all have cheap electricity! Mine's some of the highest in the country 33 cents/KWH on average. Using a 1000W of light for 16 hrs/day in veg. it bumps up my utility bill by about $150-200/month. It would be significantly more if I ran it during peak time. So my lights go off at 4 PM and come back on around midnight (4-9PM is peak pricing).

 

[Icemud]

Yes I do run my lights in the "off peak" hours for 2 reasons.. the electricity is cheaper, and in the summers running at night makes the temps easier to control.

Usually my lights turn on slightly after 9pm and flowering off at 9am, veg off at noon. Hottest and most expensive parts of the day only the fans run.

 

[Keffka]

Wow, you all have cheap electricity! Mine's some of the highest in the country 33 cents/KWH on average. Using a 1000W of light for 16 hrs/day in veg. it bumps up my utility bill by about $150-200/month. It would be significantly more if I ran it during peak time. So my lights go off at 4 PM and come back on around midnight (4-9PM is peak pricing).

Jeez.. where is this? Even when I’m on the utilities renewable energy transition program my rates aren’t that high

 

[Phytoplankton]

Jeez.. where is this? Even when I’m on the utilities renewable energy transition program my rates aren’t that high

Northern Ca., Pacific Gas and Electric. We pay more than twice the national average.

 

[bluter]

Northern Ca., Pacific Gas and Electric. We pay more than twice the national average.

they gotta raise money to pay for the fire damages.

 

[Phytoplankton]

they gotta raise money to pay for the fire damages.

Oh yeah, but even before the fires we paid more than any state, except Hawaii.

 

[bluter]

Oh yeah, but even before the fires we paid more than any state, except Hawaii.

my understanding is they've added more to their charges recently to make the citizens pay for their incompetence.

 

[Keffka]

Northern Ca., Pacific Gas and Electric. We pay more than twice the national average.

Living near the east, west, and south coasts all sound fucked to me

I live down the street from the border of Detroit though so wtf do I know

 

[Phytoplankton]

my understanding is they've added more to their charges recently to make the citizens pay for their incompetence.

Yes, they have, although the stock owners paid the biggest price (I know, I have stock, haven't seen a dividend check in about 6 years). Additionally they ended up paying for fires that were started by private lines. It's a weird deal, if the did all the tree cutting that needs to be done to reduce the fire danger, the homeowners would scream "they're cutting down my trees", but when the trees are the reason the fire got out of control, then it's the power companies fault. As an example for the last few years they've been doing accelerated tree trimming on their easements, and the homeowners are screaming because they don't like the way the trees are being trimmed, kinda a no-win for the power Co. Now they are undegrounding the most at risk lines, but it's expensive!

 

[Keffka]

Yes, they have, although the stock owners paid the biggest price (I know, I have stock, haven't seen a dividend check in about 6 years). Additionally they ended up paying for fires that were started by private lines. It's a weird deal, if the did all the tree cutting that needs to be done to reduce the fire danger, the homeowners would scream "they're cutting down my trees", but when the trees are the reason the fire got out of control, then it's the power companies fault. As an example for the last few years they've been doing accelerated tree trimming on their easements, and the homeowners are screaming because they don't like the way the trees are being trimmed, kinda a no-win for the power Co. Now they are undegrounding the most at risk lines, but it's expensive!

Oh the stockholders made tons of money. Then the shorts made tons of money. Now you’re holding the bag and they’re likely hoping you dump your shares shit cheap to start it all over again.

 

[Phytoplankton]

Oh the stockholders made tons of money. Then the shorts made tons of money. Now you’re holding the bag and they’re likely hoping you dump your shares shit cheap to start it all over again.

Nope, I'm in for the long haul, considering I've had the stocks for over 60 years, the capital gains tax would kill me, even at the current price. While PGE is cash poor right now, they own HUGE tracts of very valuable land. Basically, they don't generate much power anymore, except hydroelectric (dams), they make their money by charging the power generators to use their transmission lines.

 

[Trump]

In SoCal I got to run mid sized warehouse grows(between 40 and 80 lights) in both City of L.A. and in San Diego County. City of L.A. has their own generation. SDC uses Edison. SDC was way more expensive. IIRC, in L.A. I was paying .11/kwh and in SDC I was paying .23/kwh.

In both I would set lights on to when the base rates were active but I also would do soft starts. In the tiered systems they would base their charges on your highest demand so if one day, in that month, I turned everything on at once it would shoot the demand way up high and that would be the rate applied to the kw usage. I set it up so that banks of lights would turn on with a minute or two of time lag between the start-ups. Doing it that way wasn't spiking the demand charge.

At one of the warehouses they were doing lights on at 11 a.m. all at once. After I made the changes they were saving around $2,000 a month on power.