thankyou for your amazing very well informed research.

The headline talks about the impact on solar hot water, but I don’t see that mentioned in either the blog or the article in the Star.

I don’t see that it would really change the solar hot water payback in any uniform way. Solar heated water will be plenty hot in the evening up till 9 pm when we are still on prime time rates. The second tank that is typical of a solar hot water system could even be used for additional electrically heated storage, topped up at night when rates are cheap, adding to the heat that might already be there from solar.

As Tom points out most solar hot water systems (all to my knowledge) store the heat in a tank that can be drawn from for several days. So, time of use and solar hot water are congruent (or indifferent to each other). In fact the system that we manufacture only loses about 1 deg C per day in its storage tank. On the other hand, your comment on smart meters I think is very relevant and maybe not too late for most consumers as few know about smart meters.

Ian

MrCannuckistan: I’m sure it will amount to a rate increase. We should accept it and move on, I think. What is the alternative? To fight a rate increase? If the costs of electricity are going up then where does that get us? I think that these changes will encourage changes in products that will help us deal with them. Also, it’s expensive to subsidize bad habits simply because there’s no will to sustain hardship for a few weeks in order to form new ones.

Jay is onto something, too… if you handwash your dishes then you may find yourself making fewer dirty dishes or cooking with fewer pots (I know because I do). And what is wrong with cold water washing? It is not quite as good as getting deep stains out of clothes, but for general washing it’s fine. Not everyone comes home with blood- and/or wine-soaked clothes at the end of the day and those that do may find it worth the money to wash in hot water

Also, regarding laundry (but does not help for the dishwasher): if you do it on the weekend then you have all weekend to benefit from the lower rate. If you are willing to go as far as installing alternative energy sources, I’m sure you can organize your life so that the laundry is done on the weekend.

Using Tom’s comments in combination with the above, if it makes sense to use your washing machine in the morning — before a sunny period — then this is also the ideal time from another point-of-view because it gives you the whole day to air-dry your laundry outside, which also requires an extended sunny period.

I can see these TOU rates also causing other unintended consequences. Parents with kids are not going to stay up late to do laundry after 9pm to save money. Especially if that means they will sacrifice sleep due to the need to be up early to wake children, make meals and generally get the kids ready for school in the morning. This sacrifices ‘quality time’ for couples that spend hectic days and are in need of kid-free relaxation in the evenings. This will, in then end, move chores to the weekend when rates are cheaper or force another rate increase upon the family wallet. If the chores are moved to the weekend, family fun may be sacrificed or family relations will be strained.

Jay? Are you some kind of troglodyte that enjoys masochism? I have worked hard to provide myself the modern conveniences of life. It affords me the time to enjoy life as it passes by. Let’s not take a step backward, shall we.

MrC

This is a brilliant article about the often-overlooked problem of electricity v. heat. It happens with efficiency programs, too. The best energy audit looks at the whole house system, perhaps finding that significant insulation improvements would cut both heating a cooling bills. But if it’s only the electric utility doing the audit, they aren’t interested in insulation because the savings (in northern climates) are minimal for electricity.

Thanks very much for the piece!

-John