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what is wrong with California??? Banning Plasma tvs??
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It goes well beyond banning types of TVs to reduce power consumption. Calif has approved passing along the cost for installing new "smart meters" on homes. Soon, every Calif home will have a meter that rats out how much power is used, and when. Two steps are known, a third step suspected -- first install the meters, second, charge a premium for power used during peak hours. The third step, the one that is suspected, is to ration power -- once a home reaches its daily ration of power use, the meter can be made by remote control to shut off the power to that house for the remainder of the day.
I posted about this a year or so ago. IBM is heavily vested in developing the networking technology. No one is talking about it yet but it goes beyond the power meter, includes the thermostat in the home. And yes, they too can be remotely controlled.
Fwiw, no more meter readers walking around recording readings. The smart meters record your energy use and send it to the billing department.
My question is if I am being made to pay for this meter "upgrade", do I own the meter?
And hey, it ain't only California -- it is coming to YOUR neighborhood, too. It is not an "if" -- it is a "when".
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IGNORE LIST CONTENTS: Hydro, nautiduck, Greaser, sdkid
Joe we had the smart meter install this past summer.....I'll post the upcharges later when the boss gets home and pulls the numbers.
What I get a kick out of, pretty much every year in the past 10 the power company complained there was power shortages, well this past summer they bitched about not making enough money because of the cool summer. IMO these smart meters are only a means to increase their profit margins big time!
Many commercial/industrial meters are "demand" meters, which measure the peak draw. The power company has to supply "peak" power to keep brownouts from occurring.
We once did a lumber handling facility. We test started every motor and light, ran everything, for 15 minutes or so, then turned everything off for the rest of the billing cycle. $160.00 bill..$155.00 demand, $5.00 for power actually used.
Many commercial/industrial meters are "demand" meters, which measure the peak draw. The power company has to supply "peak" power to keep brownouts from occurring.
We once did a lumber handling facility. We test started every motor and light, ran everything, for 15 minutes or so, then turned everything off for the rest of the billing cycle. $160.00 bill..$155.00 demand, $5.00 for power actually used.
Never did THAT again..........
Bill, I'm not laughing at you -- I'm laughing with you!
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IGNORE LIST CONTENTS: Hydro, nautiduck, Greaser, sdkid
Joe we had the smart meter install this past summer.....I'll post the upcharges later when the boss gets home and pulls the numbers.
What I get a kick out of, pretty much every year in the past 10 the power company complained there was power shortages, well this past summer they bitched about not making enough money because of the cool summer. IMO these smart meters are only a means to increase their profit margins big time!
Ever see "Smartest Guys in the Room" documentary? The rolling blackouts had nothing to do with shortages of power.
Back in the early 90's a grad student at a Hong Kong university did a study on global buying of electronics products and projected power consumption for those products. He concluded the US would not be able to support the demand for electricity by 2010, would be rationing power by 2012. Smart meter installations started in 2006 -- been wondering if it part of a solution for what that student concluded.
Oh, and most incandescent light bulbs are banned in Calif, too -- yeah, they draw too much power, are causing global warming.
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IGNORE LIST CONTENTS: Hydro, nautiduck, Greaser, sdkid
Good for them. Incandescent light bulbs are a tremendous waste, and yes - some TVs are as well. My average lighting usage in my home at night is probably ~150w - for the whole house. I do use incandescent bulbs in some places - but they are on a fraction of the time that the CFLs are. I do have a large plasma and I could make toast on top of it - something that nobody was talking about when I bought it.
I'm also in favor of power metering - bill on a demand based cycle, if you're smart enough to buy efficient appliances and/or use your power at off peak times, you should save money for it, both in your total kwh and price you pay for those watts.
Many commercial/industrial meters are "demand" meters, which measure the peak draw. The power company has to supply "peak" power to keep brownouts from occurring.
We once did a lumber handling facility. We test started every motor and light, ran everything, for 15 minutes or so, then turned everything off for the rest of the billing cycle. $160.00 bill..$155.00 demand, $5.00 for power actually used.
Never did THAT again..........
That's also a problem when there's a blackout or power failure. When the power comes back on, all the air handling and refrigeration equipment comes on at the same time and puts a large "demand" on the system which results in a higher bill for the entire billing cycle.
In some cases you can contact the power company and they will adjust the bill.
As far as California goes, the rest of the country would be better off if it fell into the ocean!
I'm also in favor of power metering - bill on a demand based cycle, if you're smart enough to buy efficient appliances and/or use your power at off peak times, you should save money for it, both in your total kwh and price you pay for those watts.
Do you really think the power company -- any power company, is going to sit still and take a cut in revenues because everyone got smart about their power useage?
Fwiw, electricity can NOT be saved. It's not like there is a big-assed battery at the power company that gets charged for later use. Once power is generated, it either goes down the line and gets used, or it gets dumped back into the ground.
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IGNORE LIST CONTENTS: Hydro, nautiduck, Greaser, sdkid
........ Fwiw, electricity can NOT be saved. It's not like there is a big-assed battery at the power company that gets charged for later use. Once power is generated, it either goes down the line and gets used, or it gets dumped back into the ground.
Actually, there are some installations where electricity generated at slack times is used to pump water uphill into a lake. At peak demands, the water runs back downhill into another lake, generating electricity.
Not the most efficient operation ever devised, but in a sense it is "saving" electricity.
Quote:
Cradled in Virginia's rugged Allegheny Mountains, the world's most powerful pumped storage generating station quietly balances the electricity needs of millions of homes and businesses across six states.
The Bath County Pumped Storage Station, which went into operation in 1985, is jointly owned by Dominion and the operating companies of the Allegheny Power System, and managed by Dominion Generation. This mammoth station was cited as one of the nation's most outstanding 1985 engineering achievements. The earth and rock fill moved to construct the dams and other project facilities, if piled up, would create a mountain 1,000 feet (305 meters) high. Enough concrete was poured to build 200 miles (322 kilometers) of interstate highway.
The station consists of two large reservoirs — one 1,262 feet (385 meters) higher than the other, a massive power house and the huge tunnels that connect them. When demand is low, water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper one.
When demand is high, valves permit water to run through the tunnels to the lower reservoir at a rate as high as 13.5 million gallons (852 cubic meters/second) per minute, turning six 462-megawatt turbine generators. The water level in the 265-acre upper reservoir can fluctuate as much as 106 feet when the unit is operated.
I'm looking into supplemental solar electric
for my house. I've got a good S SW exposure w/o trees.
Solar electric in the summer to run the A/Cs for FREE
and possibly sell juice back to the power co.!
In the winter I could use the limited free power to help heat
the house during the daytime. That would allow me to use less
oil. For much of the "peak" usage/higher rate time I'd be getting juice for free!
If I had the property I'd get a windmill tower too!
The big problem is startup costs! There are grants out there to help
defray costs and I may go for it! The thought of not having an electric bill
is very hot.
Good for them. Incandescent light bulbs are a tremendous waste, and yes - some TVs are as well. My average lighting usage in my home at night is probably ~150w - for the whole house. I do use incandescent bulbs in some places - but they are on a fraction of the time that the CFLs are. I do have a large plasma and I could make toast on top of it - something that nobody was talking about when I bought it.
I'm also in favor of power metering - bill on a demand based cycle, if you're smart enough to buy efficient appliances and/or use your power at off peak times, you should save money for it, both in your total kwh and price you pay for those watts.
Who determines "peak times"? Kinda like cell phone companies did for years right? They said off peak times were free and off peak is 1AM to 5AM...I am exaggerating but their off peak times were ridiculous.
So I get home during a peak time and need to cook food or take a shower or work on my computer...you want them to have the ability to just shut off all power? What if that power is for a medical device that keeps me alive?
God forbid, let us live our lives without intrusion and control into every aspect of it. So you know I have the right to be annoyed...I have CFL's in every light in the house and have had for 3 years. I have solar hot water and solar pool heat. My reward, although I have reduced energy consumption almost 60% from 3 years ago...my bills set new records every month. 3 years ago, my highest bill was right at $190. This year, my highest bill was right at $350...and that is after a huge decrease in power usage.
The third step, the one that is suspected, is to ration power -- once a home reaches its daily ration of power use, the meter can be made by remote control to shut off the power to that house for the remainder of the day.
I posted about this a year or so ago. IBM is heavily vested in developing the networking technology. No one is talking about it yet but it goes beyond the power meter, includes the thermostat in the home. And yes, they too can be remotely controlled.
Fwiw, no more meter readers walking around recording readings. The smart meters record your energy use and send it to the billing department.
My question is if I am being made to pay for this meter "upgrade", do I own the meter?
And hey, it ain't only California -- it is coming to YOUR neighborhood, too. It is not an "if" -- it is a "when".
So how are they going to drop you from getting power to power your new electric car?
What if you've got a family member or friend staying with you that needs access to a medical device?
Good for them. Incandescent light bulbs are a tremendous waste, and yes - some TVs are as well. My average lighting usage in my home at night is probably ~150w - for the whole house. I do use incandescent bulbs in some places - but they are on a fraction of the time that the CFLs are. I do have a large plasma and I could make toast on top of it - something that nobody was talking about when I bought it.
I'm also in favor of power metering - bill on a demand based cycle, if you're smart enough to buy efficient appliances and/or use your power at off peak times, you should save money for it, both in your total kwh and price you pay for those watts.
Won't be long before someone decides that nice boat in your sig uses fuel for non-essential purposes and rations or eliminates your boat fuel.
If I can afford to buy it and pay the energy bill for it its nobody else's business how much power it consumes. Tha applies to houses, tv's boats, cars, airplanes and anything elase I want.
Actually, there are some installations where electricity generated at slack times is used to pump water uphill into a lake. At peak demands, the water runs back downhill into another lake, generating electricity.
Not the most efficient operation ever devised, but in a sense it is "saving" electricity.
I like it -- a "poor man's" battery.
__________________
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IGNORE LIST CONTENTS: Hydro, nautiduck, Greaser, sdkid
what is wrong with California??? Banning Plasma tvs??
