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Old 02-02-2012, 09:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Reef Pilot View Post
We have A/C for our house, and the biggest draw on that is in the evening in the summer. The back (kitchen and family room, and master bedroom upstairs) faces the northwest, so worst possible scenario if they bring this in. However, if we can see our electricity draw over a day, or better yet in real time, on our computers, then we still have a chance to manage it, and minimize those costs. Our house is fairly large, so retains its heat (and coolness) for quite some time. Maybe we can cool it a few degrees extra, just before the higher cost time kicks in.

We also have a hot tub that runs all winter, and we could set a timer to shut that off at peak times (unless we are using it).

In the end we all have to pay for whatever BC Hydro costs are (since they aren't allow to make a profit). So if this allows them to lower their costs, and reduce the amounts of electricity they have to buy at peak times from Alberta (yes, BC is a net importer of electricity), then I am all for it.
There's lots of systems that automatically do that. In Europe they pay $0.35kW/h and up, it is very common there to have appliances with delayed starts, like washer/dryer/dishwasher. They also have electric water heaters that will let the water cool off a few degrees during peak pay periods, same with furnaces, fridges, etc. Over here it would probably cost more to implement those things than you would save, but there are options for it.
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