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Rank 51 out of all states (and DC) for affordable energy.
Rank 51 out of all states for electricity.
Rank 41 out of all states for Natural Gas? (propane?)
Rank 12 out of all states for fuel; that is the surprise. Is it because Hawaiians drive less than most?
Rank 41 out of all states for Natural Gas? (propane?)
Truth be told, I think that's probably too high. We have no natural gas resources, so most of the gas supplied by the Gas Company in Hawai'i is syngas or propane, created as a byproduct of gasoline refining. They're experimenting with shipping in Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and adding it to the pipelines, but so far it's just an experiment. What most people don't realize is that syngas or propane, only delivers about half the heat energy that natural gas does for any given volume of gas. That means that the volume of gas used in Hawai'i should be factored in half to compare usage with states using natural gas. And mostly this gas is used for water heaters and cooking, so per capita it's used much less than in areas where gas is used for central heating during cold weather.
Of course tiki torches are not as popular in Nebraska, so that balances things out a little...
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,176,097 times
Reputation: 1652
I just received my first full-month electric bill after moving to the Big Island.
I was surprised, pleasantly surprised. 30 days, $107.81. Coming from Northern California, where in winter I average $180 and summer $140; I am not at all displeased.
House is 1500 sq ft. There are three of us (myself, wife and 12 year old daughter). Daughter is home for summer vacation, wife currently not working. So, pretty much as much electricity use as we can expect to have in any given month of the year.
Now, when I first got here, after reading all the warnings about high rates on City Data, I made an extra effort towards efficiency.
All lights were replaced from incandescent or CFL to LED and an on-demand hot water heater was installed. So if you factor those costs in, it probably means my first year savings will be a wash.
But, the fact that I have no HVAC system is the big winner. And those $140 summer utility bills I used to have? That was a fairly efficient house with a woodstove, evaporative cooling and was actually much better than the house I had before that with central heating/air, where my summer utility bills were normally around $250.
So yes, the rate is higher but my usage is much, much lower.
To be honest though, I had no idea that would be the case before I received my first bill.
And, with the rains we have been having, no water bill yet either (which would run $150 every two months in California).
I will eventually have to factor in my propane usage. But with my tank still being almost full, I don't yet have a read on our monthly usage and what the additional cost will be.
I just received my first full-month electric bill after moving to the Big Island.
I was surprised, pleasantly surprised. 30 days, $107.81. Coming from Northern California, where in winter I average $180 and summer $140; I am not at all displeased.
House is 1500 sq ft. There are three of us (myself, wife and 12 year old daughter). Daughter is home for summer vacation, wife currently not working. So, pretty much as much electricity use as we can expect to have in any given month of the year.
Now, when I first got here, after reading all the warnings about high rates on City Data, I made an extra effort towards efficiency.
All lights were replaced from incandescent or CFL to LED and an on-demand hot water heater was installed. So if you factor those costs in, it probably means my first year savings will be a wash.
But, the fact that I have no HVAC system is the big winner. And those $140 summer utility bills I used to have? That was a fairly efficient house with a woodstove, evaporative cooling and was actually much better than the house I had before that with central heating/air, where my summer utility bills were normally around $250.
So yes, the rate is higher but my usage is much, much lower.
To be honest though, I had no idea that would be the case before I received my first bill.
And, with the rains we have been having, no water bill yet either (which would run $150 every two months in California).
I will eventually have to factor in my propane usage. But with my tank still being almost full, I don't yet have a read on our monthly usage and what the additional cost will be.
Of course, everyone's experiences will vary.
The article mentioned appears to only be looking at the cost of an energy unit, and not considering the amount of energy a household needs, and therefore spends. I know people who live in bitterly cold states like Minnesota (ha! you thought I was going to say Alaska, didn't you?) and spend a fortune on heating oil. Not to mention their hot water heating... not only do they have to heat their water using oil or electricity from 33 degrees to 120... and heat their pipes along the way so they don't freeze... big difference from Hawaii where solar systems heat from 70ish to bath temp for nearly free... Line drying your clothes in winter in most of USA? Never going to happen. In Hawaii? Year round! Hawaii doesn't have the highest energy cost, just the highest cost per unit of energy.
As part of my research I looked into energy costs to see what I could expect. A lot what has been said above factors into your true energy cost and can be hard to estimate. Just looking at one piece of the energy pie I looked up HELCO $/kHw vs the $/kWh I'm paying now.
Schedule R
Base charge
HELCO = $10.50 for single phase service
Mine = $14.00
$/kWh
HELCO = non-fuel $11.20 $/kWh, base fuel $16.24 (these are for the 1st tier and go up with increased usage)
Mine = $.095 $/kWh, increases to $.177 $/kWh with increased usage.
I'm still not sure I'm reading HELCO's rate sheet correctly. That would be something like 117 times more per kilowatt hour. Crickey!
I think HELCO/HECO's rates are around forty four cents a kilowatt hour or so. It adds up pretty quickly. So, basically, take your electric bill times four to get a rough bill if you were paying Hawaii's rate for electricity. But, as previous posters have mentioned, we don't have as many requirements for heating and cooling as many other places do.
Is your on-demand water heater gas or electric, Grassyknoll? We had similar electric rates for our house when we first moved in since we had solar hot water. Heating water is terribly expensive if you use electricity. When we plugged in a hot tub, the electric bill went up to $225 - $250 a month. Now, there's a big photovoltaic system on the roof so the electric bill is now $20 a month, even with that hot tub plugged in. Hmm, come to think of it, that would be pleasant right now! See ya!
I must be reading it incorrectly. $11.20 just seems wrong but I don't know what I'm missing. Maybe the wrong schedule. I think your figure of $.40 is more accurate. This is cut/paste from HELCO website:
Availability:
SCHEDULE "R"
Residential Service
Applicable to residential lighting, heating, cooking, air
conditioning and power in a single family dwelling unit metered and
billed separately by the Company. This schedule does not apply
where a residence and business are combined.
Service will be delivered at secondary voltages as specified by
the Company.
RATE:
CUSTOMER CHARGE:
Single phase service - per month $10.50
Three phase service - per month $15.00
NON-FUEL ENERGY CHARGE (To be added to Customer Charge) First 300 kWhr per month - per kWhr 11.2019 ¢ Next 700 kWhr per month - per kWhr 14.5537 ¢ AllkWhrover1,000kWhrpermonth–perkWhr 15.6529¢
BASE FUEL ENERGY CHARGE (To be added to Customer Charge
and Non-Fuel Energy Charge)
All kWhr per month - per kWhr 16.2487 ¢
EDIT: ok, after some more poking around HELCO website I found another rate quote that states 42.17 cents per kWh. Not sure how that meshes with the other rate I found. Anyway, here is the .42 rate location:
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,176,097 times
Reputation: 1652
Quote:
I think HELCO/HECO's rates are around forty four cents a kilowatt hour or so.
It adds up pretty quickly. So, basically, take your electric bill times four
to get a rough bill if you were paying Hawaii's rate for electricity. But,
as previous posters have mentioned, we don't have as many requirements for heating
and cooling as many other places do.
Is your on-demand water heater gas or electric, Grassyknoll?
Producer gas derived from coal is a mixture of Carbon monoxide CO and Methane CH4. It provides less heat than methane when burned. The CO is also much more dangerous than methane.
Natural Gas is a mixture of methane CH4 and some Butane C2H5.
Propane is C3H7 and has the highest heating value of the three but costs far more than Methane per unit.
Question: Given the proximity to the volcanoes and lots of relatively shallow hot rock why is there so little use of geothermal energy on Hawaii?
Producer gas derived from coal is a mixture of Carbon monoxide CO and Methane CH4. It provides less heat than methane when burned. The CO is also much more dangerous than methane.
Natural Gas is a mixture of methane CH4 and some Butane C2H5.
Propane is C3H7 and has the highest heating value of the three but costs far more than Methane per unit.
Question: Given the proximity to the volcanoes and lots of relatively shallow hot rock why is there so little use of geothermal energy on Hawaii?
Geothermal - there are a bunch of anti-science paranoid types that scream loudly about geothermal energy and how it is making people sick with the emissions that the closed-loop plant doesn't even emit.... You don't even want to go there...
ps - propane right now on this island is just over $4 a gallon
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