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+--- Thread: HELCO Off Peak Hours (/showthread.php?tid=9287)
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HELCO Off Peak Hours - vmabry - 09-13-2011
Trying to reduce our HELCO billing, i.e. pool pump after 9 p.m. etc. What are the off peak hours for HELCO and will it reduce the cost of a KWH if we only run the high drawing appliances such as the pumps, dryer, etc. if we do so only in the off peak hours? Searched the forum and HELCO site to no avail other than HELCO's "specialized" residential program for off peak usage which doesn't really work for us.
RE: HELCO Off Peak Hours - james weatherford - 09-14-2011
Does HELCO have 'off-peak' charges for residential customers? I don't see it on my bill (as I did in another location years ago that in fact did have off peak rates for residential customers).
RE: HELCO Off Peak Hours - vmabry - 09-14-2011
Figured if I opened a topic I should follow through......Called HELCO, there is no off peak hour discounts unless you are enrolled in the "Time of Day Program" which requires a meter change and basically draw your power during the 9 pm to 7 am hours which is about a 5 cent savings a kwh over the standard rate. Should you use power during the peak hours while enrolled in the "Time of Day Program" your kwh rate would be increased 5 cents over the standard rate program. Sounds good for someone who is on Solar and may require a bump during the night time hours. This program has been available to 300 customers since Jan 2011 however, in speaking with the HELCO rep I sensed that the program still has room for someone wanting to take advantage of this program. Here's a link to the schedule I found at the HELCO site http://hawaiianelectriccompany.com/vcmcontent/FileScan/PDF/EnergyServices/Tarrifs/HELCO/HELCORatesRidM.pdf
It will not work for our household but, may work for others. I hope I have stated my findings correctly though the HELCO rep goes into more detail. Bottom line......no savings for less usage during off peak hours if you are a regular residential customer.
RE: HELCO Off Peak Hours - hawaiideborah - 09-14-2011
vmabry,
thank you much for posting the results of your findings. Really helps and saves me a phone call.
RE: HELCO Off Peak Hours - DTisme - 09-14-2011
Pool pumps suck electricity like nobody's business. We got a solar pool pump from Dave at Pacific Solar Products a few months back (and solar heat, too, bc I'm a wussy in cool water) and our electric bill went down from $400 a month to $300. So still way high (I just can't give up using the dryer), but that's 25% savings, so we're happy. Plus the pump goes longer throughout the day so we get more pump time. Thanks for the info on the time of day program. Too bad I can't do the laundry in my sleep!
RE: HELCO Off Peak Hours - hawaiideborah - 09-14-2011
We moved a year ago from rural Washington coast. We went from the nations cheapest electricity to the nations most expensive electricity.
We have virtually the same square footage that we did in Washington state. We don't use electric heat or an electric air conditioner here and we did in Washington. We had incandescent bulbs and watched a lot more TV, had older less efficient appliances and were indoors a lot more than here in Hawaii. Our monthly bill average in Washington was $45 in the summer months. Our most expensive summer month was $60. Our winter high bill was $95 month.
Here our bills are $200 - $250 and we don't use the dryer, have all new appliances, are outside all day, stopped watching tv, have all florescent lights and a solar water heater. Go figure.
BUT WE LIVE IN PARADISE and it is so worth it to be outside every day. We love it here, but hate the high cost of Hawaii electricity.
RE: HELCO Off Peak Hours - vmabry - 09-15-2011
DTisme, Thanks for the lead on the Solar Pump will call them tomorrow. With our daughter out of the house our e-bill is not nearly as high as others, about $240 a month using the water heater once a day, washer/dryer/oven/dishwasher twice a week. All appliances energy efficient with the higher efficiency ratings and less than 2 years old. Converting cfl lights to LED one by one. The AC unit in the Piano studio is used 10 + hours a week to make lessons comfortable and lower the humidity. Always looking for ways to curb energy use within our means.
RE: HELCO Off Peak Hours - rmelzig - 09-15-2011
We moved from the Santa Cruz mountains between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz (CA) about a year ago. TOD metering worked well for us as PG&E's expensive time is M-F noon - 6pm. Put timers on the spa heater and the domestic HW heater & tried to remember not to run wash, etc. before 6. HELCO - expensive time 7am - 9pm (weekends?) seems not so useful unless you have a kiln firing pottery or something that runs itself at night. With no DW, gas tank-less HW and gas dryer but a huge electronic vampire load, we do about $200/mo to HELCO and about one 40# (&40. fill) gas cylinder/mo. [biggest we can move about, unload from pickup, etc.] EXPENSIVE but, heck, it's Hawai'i.
Rick Melzig
RE: HELCO Off Peak Hours - Kelena - 09-15-2011
Somebody gives piano lessons?
RE: HELCO Off Peak Hours - rmelzig - 09-15-2011
Just read the link (above) and it doesn't appear to apply to residential service (Schedule R). Minimum load appears to be 100 KW which far exceeds most residences in the 5 - 10 kW vicinity for peak load. For comparison, the entire San Jose, CA, IBM plant, lab, development site load was quite steady at about 37 MW in its heyday in the 80s. A 50 kW AM radio station in San Jose of I which was co-chief engineer in that era pulled about 150 kW on a hot afternoon (AC fill tilt) and the rock and roll hanging the modulation meter > 95%.
Rick Melzig