I see a ton of great ideas on how to become more efficient in building or updating our homes. The amount of thought, time and money people put into this is amazing! Thats a good thing. I would like to add one more idea that in most cases doesn't cost a penny to do. Depending on your state, you can switch your electric supplier. Be forewarned though, read the fine print. Some suppliers require contracts and have early termination fees. Others do not. Yes, there are savings to be had. These companies compete for your business. I hope this helps.

How does switching electric suppliers improve efficiency, unless you are talking about just saving money per kWh?

There is a trend toward paying more for energy by supporting "Green Energy" or power from renewable sources, but I suppose even that is debatable in terms of whether it is more efficient or not.

Are there resources for determining which electric grid can deliver power to your home with the greatest efficiency?

Posted By ICFHybrid on 13 Feb 2011 09:10 AM
How does switching electric suppliers improve efficiency, unless you are talking about just saving money per kWh?

There is a trend toward paying more for energy by supporting "Green Energy" or power from renewable sources, but I suppose even that is debatable in terms of whether it is more efficient or not.

Are there resources for determining which electric grid can deliver power to your home with the greatest efficiency?

Hell, half of my electric bill is for 'fees', 'charges', etc. etc. and only the other half is for electricity!  Same with the gas bill.  If I didn't use any power, my bill would only be cut in half!!

Posted By ICFHybrid on 13 Feb 2011 09:10 AM
How does switching electric suppliers improve efficiency, unless you are talking about just saving money per kWh?

There is a trend toward paying more for energy by supporting "Green Energy" or power from renewable sources, but I suppose even that is debatable in terms of whether it is more efficient or not.

Are there resources for determining which electric grid can deliver power to your home with the greatest efficiency?

You're pretty much stuck with the grid your hooked up to, independent of the supplier.  From a grid-efficiency point of view distance to the generator is less important than the number of transformers between source & load, but unless you have a cogenerator in the basement you tend to have about the same number of transformers, independent of the source. 

Generator efficiency is a far greater factor than grid losses.  Typical fossil-fired or nuke units tend to run ~ 30-35% thermal efficiency at the source (from which grid losses get subtracted), but combined-cycle generators can reap averages in excess of 50%.  Hydro is typically north of 60% (and low carb).  There are usually third party assessments of issues like carbon footprint per delivered kwh, etc for the various options.  Wind power is typically more expensive than the average mix offered by the utilities, but many will opt for it despite the up-charge due to the perceived greenliness and low carbon footprint.

Out here in Washington we have some counties that literally own their own hydroelectric dams "right down the road". It's hard to see how power generation can get much more efficient or "green" than that. Yet, the residential rates still hover around the nickel per kWh mark.

When you see some of the other rates across the US (which can be comparably low) and that some utilities give discounts for all-electric homes or even big residential users, you begin to wonder where the disconnect is. I'm sure that most other electric generation has fairly substantial environmental or other burdens, not to mention the distribution inefficiencies and you just begin to wonder if the system doesn't need to be ironed out or readjusted in some way.

It's not as if hydro is completely low-impact- damming rivers & streams has environmental consequences, even if it's very low-carb. Whole towns disappeared under the lakes behind the BPA dams, and the impact those and other PNW hydro project on migratory river-spawning fish populations such as salmon & steelhead are still being felt, despite improvements in fish-ladders and large hatchery projects, etc.

But compared to strip-mining or mountaintop removal of coal to reintroduce that carbon into the biosphere at a paltry 25-30% net thermal efficiency it's pretty good, eh? ;-)

Done right, large scale wind is lower impact than even local smaller scale hydro (if a bit harder to control without other, more flexible grid sources to stabilize it.) The BPA still has training wheels on for a high wind content mix, and has been too long relying on 1930s-vintage control schemes & equipment, but the mix of Columbia Basin new-wind & established-hydro has a lot of potential going forward. Distribution inefficiencies are still a factor getting it to the larger markets from Puget sound down the Willamette corridor, but like I said, if it's the same number of transformers the extra length of the wire is only a secondary factor, and overall efficiency is comparable to the hydro or wind project right down the road. (The quality of the turbine technology would trump the marginal difference in transmission losses.)

ICFHybrid - I live at the opposite extreme - a small island off the NE coast with diesel generated power for the whole island. One million gallons a year and we pay $0.48/kWh - even when the voltage and frequency are bouncing all over and ruining electronics and motors!! But we're hoping to shortly have the first US offshore windfarm - a pilot program of 5-6 turbines about 2 1/2 miles offshore. It'll be pretty cool for the smallast town in the smallest state to lead the charge on US Offshore Wind. If/when it happens we may just be the first town in the US to have 100% of it's annual electric load be wind generated. Of course, that won't be the case every minute - the farm will provide a cable from the farm to the island and from the island to the mainland. As the electrons go by on their way to the mainland we'll syphon off what we need and when there's no wind we'll draw from the grid - but overall the farm will produce about 4 -5 times the island's annual consumption. Predicted rate for us once the farm is in - about $0.28/kWh - sounds like a bargain doesn't it?

Posted By Birdman on 16 Feb 2011 12:37 AM
sounds like a bargain doesn't it?

Progress - sometimes, ya just can't stop it. 

What do y'all use for heat - oil?

Oil is the only real choice for heat - now just under $4.00/ gal. One gas station on the island - $3.95. We were "energy conscious" long before other folks - I remember CFL's back when the ballast was a transformer that plugged in the wall and sent high voltage through the lamp's wiring to a fluorescent screwed into the socket - talk about fire hazards! We're one of those towns where everyone has seen everyone else's underwear - at least on the clothes line..... Seriously, folks here believe in conservation in lots of ways (48% of the island's land has some sort of conservation protection) but I think that having high prices for energy really "sharpens the focus". Bring on the carbon tax!

Bring on the carbon tax!

Well, maybe after the wind turbines go in service, right?

Hey,

You can DIY install solar for less than $5 a watt. With a net meter you can easily justify it with your costs for power. Using the grid in a situation like yours is crazy.

Brian

Posted By glenfotre on 13 Feb 2011 09:47 AM

Posted By ICFHybrid on 13 Feb 2011 09:10 AM
How does switching electric suppliers improve efficiency, unless you are talking about just saving money per kWh?

There is a trend toward paying more for energy by supporting "Green Energy" or power from renewable sources, but I suppose even that is debatable in terms of whether it is more efficient or not.

Are there resources for determining which electric grid can deliver power to your home with the greatest efficiency?

Hell, half of my electric bill is for 'fees', 'charges', etc. etc. and only the other half is for electricity!  Same with the gas bill.  If I didn't use any power, my bill would only be cut in half!!

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