Map Shows Electricity Use Across Charlotte (home, schools, to live)
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I discovered a few years ago that it's cheaper to use electric space heaters than run the furnace this time of year. I live alone, so all I need is some heat where *I* am. Even in the winter, I leave the thermostat around 62 degrees, and then space heat where needed.
We uSe our wood stove from late Nov -ish to around end Feb.
It will burn non-stop for around 4 days. It keeps most of the house (1800 sqft) at about 74 degrees but our bedroom at one end of the house can be a little chilly (for me)sometimes so we have an electric oil filled radiator to use at shower times etc.
The stove isn't that efficient as it's older and doesn't have that much thermal mass or a fan that blows hot air going up the flue back into the room.
If we ever get to remodel the house I want a stove in a masonry chimney, whole house ventialtion and some solar power, at least for hot water.
In the Spring this year a HUGE limb came off the oak tree in the neighbors garden and that will keep us going in firewood for maybe 2 months this winter.
Funnily enough I was looking at a website for a company in Asheville that build hemp houses. Sounds like brilliant stuff to use -very efficient for insulation and when used on walls is breatichable,Also non-toxic and non-allergenic!
These types of informational programs are really effective and were initally designed by a company called O-power. They encourage people to become more aware of their energy consumption by comparing your energy usage with neighbors (on average), frequent reminders to unplug power supplies, turn off lights, etc.
Thanks for the background on these.
Question for you though: Say I'm Duke Energy. Don't I want my customers to be mindless energy hogs for my bottom line? If I'm saving money, how does it benefit the power company? I'm impressed by and interested in the notices, and I use them to compare how we're using energy, but how does Duke make a profit off of that?
Question for you though: Say I'm Duke Energy. Don't I want my customers to be mindless energy hogs for my bottom line? If I'm saving money, how does it benefit the power company? I'm impressed by and interested in the notices, and I use them to compare how we're using energy, but how does Duke make a profit off of that?
I can shed light on duke incentives. Duke will pay companies a rebate for switching to energy efficient lighting. The pot of money does not come from duke. It comes from all companies who pay an additional "rider" in their power bill. So basically duke is not paying out of the goodness of their heart. Anyone who works in acctg and has access to their companys power bill, you should check the breakouts...very interesting.
Question for you though: Say I'm Duke Energy. Don't I want my customers to be mindless energy hogs for my bottom line? If I'm saving money, how does it benefit the power company? I'm impressed by and interested in the notices, and I use them to compare how we're using energy, but how does Duke make a profit off of that?
Absolutely, but (always a but) they want the energy hogging to occur at a certain time of the day. The utility companies perform a balancing act everyday to match supply with demand. Again, flattening the load or usage curve at peak times avoids having to fire up those costly reserve units or purchasing energy from the wholesale market.
Also, it cost millions of bucks to build a new so-called "clean coal" plant, billions of dollars to build a nuclear plant...so the goal is to defer capital intense investment facilities via lowering energy consumpton (during certain times of the day). Renewable energy (especially solar) is becoming a major player in the mix coupled with a movement from centralized generation to decentralized generation as the newer technology evolves (energy storage, electric vehicles, etc)...their business models will also have to evolve.
Question for you though: Say I'm Duke Energy. Don't I want my customers to be mindless energy hogs for my bottom line? If I'm saving money, how does it benefit the power company? I'm impressed by and interested in the notices, and I use them to compare how we're using energy, but how does Duke make a profit off of that?
not necessarily. Duke isn't losing money, I assure you. If people use power inefficiently they can't serve as many customers with the infrastructure they already have in place. It's all about serving as many customers as possible without having to invest in capital infrastructure.
They are also under heavy federal regulation, and the federal government is responsible for making sure that these large monopoly-like companies aren't fleecing their customers just because they can. Again, Duke Energy isn't paying me to metabolize their pollutants so they can turn a higher profit. As much belly-aching as goes on about "gubmint", they serve a valuable role in civilized society. If it weren't for environmental regulations companies would pollute like crazy so they could turn a higher profit for their shareholders or owners. There has to be protections for the people who are just completely uninformed about the dangers of the pollutants out there, and the very real economic impact they have. When companies pollute, we ALL pay the price... but only the company gets the profits.
As much belly-aching as goes on about "gubmint", they serve a valuable role in civilized society. If it weren't for environmental regulations companies would pollute like crazy so they could turn a higher profit for their shareholders or owners. There has to be protections for the people who are just completely uninformed about the dangers of the pollutants out there, and the very real economic impact they have. When companies pollute, we ALL pay the price... but only the company gets the profits.
Actually the three coal power plants in the Charlotte area operated by Duke Energy were on the list of the 25 dirtiest in the USA for much of the 20th century. They managed to get waivers at will for any "regulations" placed on them. The point being is that reliance on government to solve problems leads to a bunch of unintended results. Government doesn't solve problems, it creates dependence. Dependence that people, businesses and companies learn to exploit over and over.
Just this week, it's come out this week that the massive amount of money given to Solyndra, in another misguided attempt by the government to favor one business over another, has resulted in failure, bankruptcy to the tune of 1/2 billion dollars, and for all that money spent, there is nothing to show for it.
I'm not buying these as some sort of excuse, like affinity grocery store cards, that government has to dictate how we us power in our homes.
Actually the three coal power plants in the Charlotte area operated by Duke Energy were on the list of the 25 dirtiest in the USA for much of the 20th century. They managed to get waivers at will for any "regulations" placed on them. The point being is that reliance on government to solve problems leads to a bunch of unintended results. Government doesn't solve problems, it creates dependence. Dependence that people, businesses and companies learn to exploit over and over.
Just this week, it's come out this week that the massive amount of money given to Solyndra, in another misguided attempt by the government to favor one business over another, has resulted in failure, bankruptcy to the tune of 1/2 billion dollars, and for all that money spent, there is nothing to show for it.
I'm not buying these as some sort of excuse, like affinity grocery store cards, that government has to dictate how we us power in our homes.
Do you have to use a grocery store card to shop at a store? I don't think so...
as far as Solyndra goes... well, why else would a person donate millions of dollars to a campaign and why would a guy like Romney with tons of money run for a position that pays 250K a year?
Do you have to use a grocery store card to shop at a store? I don't think so.
Why wouldn't I carry then? It's irrelevant to the point made. If you want to know why Romney wants to run for president then I recommend you ask him. It's also irrelevant to the point made. This isn't about Presidential politics. It's about government intruding, at every angle, into people's lives with the misguided notion they are going to make people have better lives.
It's really sad that you argue that such notions are perfectly fine.
No one says you have to have a grocery store loyalty card. You can get most of the discounts by asking to borrow the cashier's.
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