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SRP in Phoenix Arizona has a form of this, I’m currently switching to it. They have peak/off-peak rates with an additional monthly fee based off your maximum k
by r3trohack3r 4y ago
SRP in Phoenix Arizona has a form of this, I’m currently switching to it.
They have peak/off-peak rates with an additional monthly fee based off your maximum kilowatt usage in any 30minute on-peak interval. They also integrate with an ecobee thermostat (and give a $100 credit for buying them - just got two for $50 a piece) and will automatically adjust your thermostat up by at most 4 degrees during on-peak conservation events where demand is spiking in the valley. They can even pre-cool your house by 2 degrees prior to the event on off-peak rates to try and comfortably get you through the conservation event.
I’ve configured my pool pump to turn off during peak hours and will avoid doing dishes and laundry during peak. I imported last years hourly usage into spreadsheet and ran the numbers. If my math is right, I should save on average between $100 and $200 per month on electric (I’ve had winter bills as low as $150 and summer bills as high as $750!).
- toiletfuneral 4y agoI can't imagine wasting that much water by having a pool in Phoenix, insane
- Scoundreller 4y agoDepends how well they cover it (temporarily with a cover or permanently with a gable/roof or completely indoor pool). Transpiration from lawn grass will evaporate a similar amount of water as an outdoor uncovered pool. At least they don't have to worry about heating it in AZ. Ideally their air conditioner would dump heat into the pool for any heating (no idea if pool heaters are a thing in AZ).
- r3trohack3r 4y agoNo cover due to its odd shape. During summer months I use evaporative cooling to keep the pool cool enough to swim. To do this, we intentionally run the water feature to increase the evaporation rate - evaporating water takes the higher energy water molecules and ejects them from the pool reducing the temp. We also use a pool heater about 3 months out of the year. Never considered the A/C condenser as a heater. Initial thought is that the time of year you need to heat the pool is the time of year you aren’t running your A/C.
- r3trohack3r 4y agoI don’t (currently) think water is wasted in any meaningful way by my swimming pool. When it evaporates it turns to water vapor. Then it comes back down as liquid water when it rains. There is an argument that we put extra work into this water to transport it and make it potable - but PHX’s water is positive sum. Water demand in the valley is accounted for during construction and sourcing it is part of the project cost. I’m also prepared to pay the cost of continued sourcing of water over time as the valley grows - including projects like desalination.
- AtlasBarfed 4y agoWhen the Colorado river starts to reach the ocean again, then maybe this attitude can be tolerated. Right now, your comments are shockingly ignorant. Voodoo accounting is all over the west. You can tell by the water levels, which is the "final accounting".
- r3trohack3r 4y agoArizona takes a very practical approach to water management which is part of why I chose to live here. We take a true positive sum approach that I believe in, humans can do this. We find water where it exists and transport it into a desert. We’ve built a human settlement in a space where very little life has chosen to live - distancing ourselves from the biosphere seems like a solid play. Our approach to water is part of why we are able to give up so much from our pull on Lake Mead during this drought. Nevada is giving up 21k acre-feet, Mexico 80k af, and AZ is giving up a whopping 512k af. Nothing as far as I know for cutbacks from CA's draw. If it doesn’t work out, I dont understand a worst case scenario less than “move closer to water”
- nerdponx 4y agoI'm not an AZ resident but this seems the exact opposite of sustainable. It sounds like mining: yes, technically the metal or whatever is still somewhere out there in the world, but no longer usable or accessible to humans after it has been used the first time.
- bumby 4y agoWhat is your $/kwh rate? I've also been a resident of the desert southwest, but that bill seems insane, about 5x what my bills were. At the time, I think we were paying around $0.13/kwh peak and $0.09/kwh off-peak. You may just have a much nicer/bigger spread, though
- r3trohack3r 4y agoI’m currently on the Basic Plan: https://www.srpnet.com/prices/home/basic.aspx https://www.srpnet.com/prices/home/basic.aspx Between $0.0829 and $0.1299 depending on peak/off-peak and seasonal. 3k sq ft house built in 2004. Switching to their Time Of Use Demand plan, which it doesn’t seem like they have a public page for. It’s substantially cheaper per kwh than TOU - as low as $0.03 - but they have a fee for your peak demand in the month as high as $17 per excess kw.