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I might spend $480 on electricity per year. I can't see this thing having an ROI within its lifespan. I also don't have solar panels, and have a very reliable p

I might spend $480 on electricity per year. I can't see this thing having an ROI within its lifespan. I also don't have solar panels, and have a very reliable power grid. Any reason I should consider buying one?

fowkswe 11y ago
I know people who spend $480 per month.
- MichaelGG 11y ago
  Yep. I had electric water heater (60A @ 120v) and still use a small electric AC unit (12A). And I still can't find anything that matches incandescent or halogen lights (I'd pay a lot for real, bright, warm lights, not the ugly yellowish fluorescent, or the weird off-white LED stuff - some LEDs are getting close, but not good enough for residential). Electricity costs were over $480 some months. This is Guatemala, where I don't trust the grid much. I ended up buying ~$1000 worth of portable battery backups (UPS) and plug them in wherever I need it, but they need replacing every couple of years. It'd be much simpler to have a simple battery pack, although I'm not sure this would handle the load.
- ericd 11y ago
  Yeah, anyone in the northeast US with electric heat.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  Electric bills in Hawaii can top $1000/month.
  - danans 11y ago
    IIRC, that's because of the silly way (given Hawaii's abundant solar and geothermal resources) in which most electricity is generated in Hawaii: burning imported fossil fuels. If the local renewables were fully exploited, I can't think of a reason for costs to be so high.
    - _delirium 11y ago
      The island layout doesn't help either. The geothermal resources are all on the Big Island, and that's also where it would be easier to install large-scale solar facilities. But the main energy usage is on Oahu, and there isn't an inter-island power grid.
    - toomuchtodo 11y ago
      You're right! Hawaii's utility is fighting against solar installations, and I see Tesla's energy solution coming in to push the uptake of solar installs in Hawaii. You don't have to wait on the utility for their approval if you're not connected to them.
josephagoss 11y ago
We spend over $2,000 per year and it's just me and my girlfriend. From the sounds of it you have either very good rates or perhaps a frugal lifestyle? Either way it's impressive.
- pkaye 11y ago
  I think it depends on local weather. We spend about $600 on electricity and $600 is gas per year for 4 people in the Bay Area. And this is with an older water heater and furnace in an old house with moderate insulation. We would replace the heater, furnace and improve the insulation before even considering solar ourselves.
  - danans 11y ago
    +1 to first upgrading your home. I live in the Bay Area but in a tightly sealed late 90's 1600 sqft house. No A/C. Recently upgraded our furnace and water heater to high efficiency models, and now spend about $400/year electricity, $400/yr for gas. Even accounting for the warmer winter this year, the gas savings was about 14%. There are pretty good incentives in the Bay Area for home energy upgrades if you do multiple at once: https://www.bayareaenergyupgrade.org/program-overview https://www.bayareaenergyupgrade.org/program-overview
- bzbarsky 11y ago
  We spend less than that for a family of 5. But that's not impressive at all; all these numbers really depend on what that electricity is being used for. Our heat and hot water are not electric. AC doesn't get used much, since we're far enough north (Massachusetts) that it's not a big deal. So that leaves lights, electronics, and the stove/microwave/vacuum... My parents, on the other hand, are in the DC area, electric AC, heat, hot water. They're spending probably triple what you are on electricity. Anyway, point is counting just electricity spending is typically comparing apples and oranges. You want to include the natural gas or oil or whatever else people are using for heat if you want to get numbers that are even remotely comparable.
- r00fus 11y ago
  I think it depends on your house size and whether you have a pool, etc. When we lived in an apartment, we spent $40-50/mo on utilities total. I have a family of 5 in a small home and we spend $1200/yr in pricey CA (rates start at 16c/kWh going up to 35c). We don't run AC (whole house fans/attic fans), and use room heaters in winter.

fowkswe 11y ago

I know people who spend $480 per month.

MichaelGG 11y ago
Yep. I had electric water heater (60A @ 120v) and still use a small electric AC unit (12A). And I still can't find anything that matches incandescent or halogen lights (I'd pay a lot for real, bright, warm lights, not the ugly yellowish fluorescent, or the weird off-white LED stuff - some LEDs are getting close, but not good enough for residential). Electricity costs were over $480 some months. This is Guatemala, where I don't trust the grid much. I ended up buying ~$1000 worth of portable battery backups (UPS) and plug them in wherever I need it, but they need replacing every couple of years. It'd be much simpler to have a simple battery pack, although I'm not sure this would handle the load.
ericd 11y ago
Yeah, anyone in the northeast US with electric heat.
toomuchtodo 11y ago
Electric bills in Hawaii can top $1000/month.
- danans 11y ago
  IIRC, that's because of the silly way (given Hawaii's abundant solar and geothermal resources) in which most electricity is generated in Hawaii: burning imported fossil fuels. If the local renewables were fully exploited, I can't think of a reason for costs to be so high.
  - _delirium 11y ago
    The island layout doesn't help either. The geothermal resources are all on the Big Island, and that's also where it would be easier to install large-scale solar facilities. But the main energy usage is on Oahu, and there isn't an inter-island power grid.
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    You're right! Hawaii's utility is fighting against solar installations, and I see Tesla's energy solution coming in to push the uptake of solar installs in Hawaii. You don't have to wait on the utility for their approval if you're not connected to them.

josephagoss 11y ago

We spend over $2,000 per year and it's just me and my girlfriend. From the sounds of it you have either very good rates or perhaps a frugal lifestyle? Either way it's impressive.

pkaye 11y ago
I think it depends on local weather. We spend about $600 on electricity and $600 is gas per year for 4 people in the Bay Area. And this is with an older water heater and furnace in an old house with moderate insulation. We would replace the heater, furnace and improve the insulation before even considering solar ourselves.
- danans 11y ago
  +1 to first upgrading your home. I live in the Bay Area but in a tightly sealed late 90's 1600 sqft house. No A/C. Recently upgraded our furnace and water heater to high efficiency models, and now spend about $400/year electricity, $400/yr for gas. Even accounting for the warmer winter this year, the gas savings was about 14%. There are pretty good incentives in the Bay Area for home energy upgrades if you do multiple at once: https://www.bayareaenergyupgrade.org/program-overview https://www.bayareaenergyupgrade.org/program-overview
bzbarsky 11y ago
We spend less than that for a family of 5. But that's not impressive at all; all these numbers really depend on what that electricity is being used for. Our heat and hot water are not electric. AC doesn't get used much, since we're far enough north (Massachusetts) that it's not a big deal. So that leaves lights, electronics, and the stove/microwave/vacuum... My parents, on the other hand, are in the DC area, electric AC, heat, hot water. They're spending probably triple what you are on electricity. Anyway, point is counting just electricity spending is typically comparing apples and oranges. You want to include the natural gas or oil or whatever else people are using for heat if you want to get numbers that are even remotely comparable.
r00fus 11y ago
I think it depends on your house size and whether you have a pool, etc. When we lived in an apartment, we spent $40-50/mo on utilities total. I have a family of 5 in a small home and we spend $1200/yr in pricey CA (rates start at 16c/kWh going up to 35c). We don't run AC (whole house fans/attic fans), and use room heaters in winter.