This image needs to be clicked on to see all the fine print.
You'll see at first glance a few things:A "delivery charge" in this instance it is 330.06 The remainder of the bill is 744.10 That is the energy we actually used.
You'll also see a the bottom a breakdown of Kilowatt hours used.
Demand Charge:What is this "delivery charge"? The center of the bill breaks this down as a service charge (24.62) delivery service(59.70) then the
Demand Charge. That's the key here. The demand charge is based your largest power draw at any time. If for instance you decide first thing in the morning (during peak use hours) to turn on your annealer bring up the temp of your electric furnace, and run every piece of equipment simultaneously you will be drawing a lot of power at once. Our power company purchases power from
other companies : they don't produce it they are brokers. They need to know how much we might need at our highest demand to keep our supply steadily available.
Here's the rub: say for instance I turn the studio off for June to save money. I get a big order mid-june and decide to start up my studio June 30th. I turn the shop on, my tv and radio and computer are all on...my frig, and then decide to spend an hour running my cold shop equipment until the hot shop is ready...I've got everything on! I blow glass one day in that 30 day period. Because of the demand charge I will pay 300+ dollars
just for turning it all on that first hour on that day. Because of this my partner and I now run the studio meter reading to meter reading. If we are anticipating a slow month we make sure the furnace is empty and off by the end of the month. Once the 30 days are passed we wait for the meter reader to show up in his orange truck. The second he has pulled away we turn the shop back on.
Reading the meter:Our meter runs a series of numbers which can be very helpful in understanding your energy usage. There are different kinds of meters, and your company has you on a specific rate determined by your use. Ours is over 20KW so we are "light industry".
When I'm curious about a piece of equipment or our usage as a whole I go read the meter. Ours is a digital that scrolls a series of numbers. First we see our overall usage...The next number is the "on peak usage". Lets's just say our meter reader rolls in and we've had the hot shop off , our use will be 6KW....if it's been on its closer to 36 KW.
Another interesting aspect of the demand charge is really about a larger demand: the demand you create as a consumer. Energy production is harmful to our enviroment. If we can keep our demand lower by running our studio more efficiently our company Central Maine Power won't buy as much power for us "just in case" we might need it at any given moment, and we lower the demand for feul like oil, propane, and nuclear...This incremental conservation makes a
big difference when your running an energy hog like a hot glass studio....
It's not just about saving money, its about the enviroment: We have become interested in getting a contract with a green energy company. You don't have to buy your own solar panels or wind farm to be green. We have a choice of suppliers and can sign a contract with them to become your provider.
My friend Guy Marsden who warms himself in cold maine winters with his solar sub-floor heating (his back up when the sun is scarce is propane), negotiated a contract with a wind company for his electricity. At the time of our conversation he paid about 2-3 cent more per KWh, but his contract was for several years. His reasoning was that his conscious dictates a more enviromentally sound energy plan, and that as oil prices rise will actually end up paying less for green energy.
It's not just about the money: You can also buy "carbon credits" to offset your use. These credits support the companies that are turning into you locally available non-polluting energy supplier.
Sources do dictate cost and are relative given geopolitical and economic enviroments. Our most recent bill which you see above is about 1000.00 For that same energy use we have paid as much as 1400.00 I think that the drop of demand for oil and the subsequent drop in cost is what is responsible for that...
Below you'll see (again click on image to enlarge) a "uniform disclosure statement" that the state of Maine is required to share with us. It shows air emissions per megawatt hour and how what we receive compares with the New England avg.. On the left you'll see where our power comes from. We receive a minimum of 30% of our power from green sources. It this disclosure you'll see that exceed Maine's minimum requirement. These green source are mostly hydro, but also from municipal waste, Bio mass, "fossil fuel cogeneration" (?).... The remainder is not so friendly featuring: Nuclear at almost 30%, Gas at 34% Oil and coal at 9.3%...This is what is known as "standard offer".
We would love to switch over to enviromentally friendlier means of powering our shop. Over the next month I'll be looking into energy suppliers that will help us do that.
In the meantime our method stays the same: to try to be conservative with energy (the above method of having the shop on in monthly increments is one way we do this), and use the money saved to further invest in future efficiency.
On a personal note we recently had an energy audit done of our home and discovered that with upgrades we could easily cut our fuel consumption there in half. The energy audit was incredible testing not only how well our house held heat but also the efficiency of the furnace, the stove, the frig...all energy usage in the house. They also took a look at how moisture and CO2 were carried out of the house: air quality.
On another note: has anyone seen "Kilowatt Ours" ?
