Electric bills

[sixpkrt]

When paying some shop/office bills a few weeks ago, I was looking closely at my electric bill. I couldn't understand why it was so high, as I haven't even turned on the AC yet, and I haven't been using a lot of electricity in the shop lately. With my electric bill at the shop being more than twice as high as my home, this needed further investigating.

When I called our service provider, ComEd, all they could do over the phone was tell me the amount of electricity that had been used (same as on my statement). They told me I could schedule a service call with a technician to find out if the meter is faulty or if some other anomaly was behind the reason for the high charges.
After making an appointment, they came out a couple days later and found no problems, and even noted the meter had been replaced within the last year. The tech suggested I contact ComEd business services to schedule an evaluation of my electric usage, and if I qualified, they may be able to do some upgrades at no cost.
After another call to ComEd, they put me in touch with one of their energy consultants who was able to come out to the business and do their evaluation on the premises.
Besides the electric heat unit in the office area (which hasn't been on) the only other usage was coming from computers/phones, tv, copier, a refrigerator and the lights. I had already changed out the office lights to LED last year, but the shop still had florescent lighting.

The energy consulting firm contacted me this morning to inform me that they had completed their evaluation for my business, and ComEd had approved the changes suggested by the energy consultant to convert the shop lighting to LED at no cost. They also mentioned I should see a reduced electric bill after the installation is complete. The expense would have been over $1200.00 for the upgrade to LED.
Their company will come out and replace all the lighting in the shop sometime in early July. All I'll need to do is move all the cars outside, and they'll do the rest. The shop will be much brighter when they're done.

Had it not been for the ComEd service tech who initially came out to check the meter who told me about the evaluation service, I would have never known this service was available to businesses.
I suppose the moral of the story is, converting to more efficient, lower cost form of electricity is not always a bad thing.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

Yeah but what is the quality of the LED's? As we all know by now the LED light bulbs that are so prevalent as the replacement for 'Spaghetti' bulbs aren't worth a **** and expensive to replace. (has anyone done a warranty replacement on one of these bulbs) Also what I have learned is that if the LED don't burn out is that they just get dimmer over time, how long depends on the quality of each LED I take it.

If you have the new meter that sends a signal to the power company either OTA or to a passing vehicle here in Florida those types have been known to give errant readings. The city to the south of me used them for the water meters and had big problems (lowest bidder) and had to issue rebates and replace all the meters.
You may want to have a calibration check of your meter if that is available to contest a higher than normal bill.


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[LocuMob]

Yeah but what is the quality of the LED's?

I bought four cheap 4500 lumens shop lights from walshart close to eight years ago, and another four cheapos from Menards the next year. Those things are still going strong and are bright as all get out in my garage. I figured the first set would have been cramping a few years, but they have proved me wrong. I couldn't imagine using incandescent bulbs to get the same results.

All we have around here are meters they read from vehicles, never had any anomaly's from the meter. The meter showed me I had a leaky toilet, took forever for it to be noticeably audible.

 

[sixpkrt]

The company that will be doing the installation will provide bulbs on an ongoing basis, and will also leave a half dozen extra at time of install.
I should be set for a while.
At least until I leave Illinoise.

 

['66 Fury I]

I'll offer two observations. First, a "new" meter does not necessarly mean an "accurate" meter.
Second, I have known of accurate meters giving false readings due to "faults", even in rare cases outside the metered building. In one case the meter on a friend's house continued to run with the main switch open!
It is probably worth investigation. Do you know a good electrician who might check it out? FWIM Lindsay

 

[Big_John]

We had a deal where we got a substantial discount on our electrical bill at work because we were in a New York State "economic development zone". Also, being an owner, I got a personal break on state income tax that was pretty sweet. I don't think I paid NYS income tax at all for 3 or 4 years. It was all a New York State deal that subsidized the electric and we had to jump through some hoops, but it was well worth it.

It lasted a few years, and if we hired anyone the lived in an "economic zone" we'd get an even better deal. We had a couple guys that qualified. One guy lived in a rural area with high unemployement and the other lived around the corner from our shop.

 

[furious70]

The solar panels on the shop in Iowa produce far more power than mom uses 'on the farm'.
Alternative energy stuff isn't all bad

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

The solar panels on the shop in Iowa produce far more power than mom uses 'on the farm'.
Alternative energy stuff isn't all bad

Big pitch down here in Floriduh for solar panels, I haven't gotten a telemarketer solar panel call in awhile (thank gawd) guess they got wise to this retire'ee with nothing better to do wasting they're time. Nobody in their right mind that owns a house in Florida would have some slipshod sub-contractor install those onto their roof, one little leak equals mold which can lead to a unwanted residence. Heck most house's have a roof that can barely stay on during a hurricane let alone with wind catching solar panels, then there is the Insurance shingle problem. Now if you had plenty of spare land to build a grid array... but then again there has been studies where in the 20 year lifespan of the panels as to if they actually pay for themselves. (snakeoil) At least we don't have the plague of 'Wind Farms' down here...



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[LocuMob]

Now if you had plenty of spare land to build a grid array... but then again there has been studies where in the 20 year lifespan of the panels as to if they actually pay for themselves. (snakeoil)

I know someone who is willing to let someone else put solar panels on his land that he doesn't use, for the paycheck. It's waiting for approval.

I know twenty years ago they didn't pay for themselves before they needed replacing.

At least we don't have the plague of 'Wind Farms' down here...

You're lucky.

 

[furious70]

Pay off was 10yrs, that was 7 years ago.
Not a single part has needed to be replaced. They just work.
No leaks.
Only problem is the grid is bigger than needed and her utility doesn't pay her for the energy, just banks it. She'll never use up the bank because even in the winter she doesn't dip into it much.
Ymmv but they work good for us.

 

[Rustyrodknocker]

I have not heard of any of these installations paying back within the lifespan of the original system. Additionally they were all heavily subsidized with tax dollars. Now that they are all Chinese the price is much lower. I worked at a site for 3 years converting a semiconductor plant to build panels. The job was heavily subsididized by the state under the agreement that the added production jobs would pay at least twice the minimum wage. Well as soon as it was done the Chinese panels hit and retailed for less than they could be built here. The place went under and flipped a couple times before being converted to a data center.
The public got fleeced on that one and a couple others in the state.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

I was considering putting a "A" frame rack of them out in the yard to help with electric bill. I would not expect to rely solely on solar, but a break would not be unwelcome.
I also thought about putting them on the shop roof because I'm not concerned about esthetics.

 

[LocuMob]

I was considering putting a "A" frame rack of them out in the yard to help with electric bill. I would not expect to rely solely on solar, but a break would not be unwelcome.
I also thought about putting them on the shop roof because I'm not concerned about esthetics.

My friend in Oregon has a solar set up for his garden, he loves it, said it saves him a bunch. House and shop are still old fashioned utility powered.