Tag Archives: electricity rates

electric water heater pros and cons

Pros and cons of electric water heaters

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

Heating water in your house requires a lot of electricity. In fact, roughly 12 percent of an average home’s energy consumption is spent heating water.  How much energy your own water heater consumes depends not only on how much hot water you use but also on the type of water heater you install. As such, when it’s time to install a new water heater in your home, it’s important to compare multiple options before making a final purchasing decision.

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PG&E rate schedule increase and solar

Which PG&E rate schedule is best for solar? Understanding peak hours

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

PG&E’s new rate schedule affects utility’s entire coverage area in 2019. Whether you have solar panels on your roof, are considering solar, or don’t have any plans to generate your own electricity, the time-of-use (TOU) rates will have an impact on your monthly electricity costs. Currently, all PG&E customers have the option of switching to TOU rates or remaining on their existing rate schedule. However, if you are a new PG&E customer or move to a new address, you’ll have to choose a new TOU plan. The best option for your home depends on your electricity use habits.

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feed in tariff

Feed-in tariffs: a primer on feed-in tariffs for solar

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

There are a number of financial incentives offered to property owners going solar. From rebates to tax incentives and net metering policies, there are many policies that bring down the cost of installing solar panels on your house. One such policy is the feed-in tariff, which, when designed properly, can provide substantial financial benefits to solar customers.

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time of use rates

Understanding time-of-use rates

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

Across the country, utilities are beginning to introduce innovative rate structures for residential energy consumers. These rate structures–from time-of-use rates to demand charges to real-time-pricing–all have a common goal: to incentivize customers to consume energy during times when the cost of generating electricity is cheap, and to disincentive energy consumption when the cost of generating electricity is high. As a result, understanding the ins and outs of a time-of-use rate can help you reduce your monthly cost of energy.

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demand charges plus solar

How do demand charges work?

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

In the past few years, utilities across the country — from Indiana to Massachusetts to Arizona — proposed mandatory or voluntary demand charges for residential customers. With the right resources and knowledge, it is definitely possible to reduce your monthly bill on a demand charge rate. But in many situations, including often for people with solar on their roof, demand charges can lead to more expensive bills overall.

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cheapest time of day to use electricity to save money

What’s the cheapest time of day to use electricity with time-of-use rates?

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

It is becoming increasingly popular for utilities to offer time-of-use (TOU) plans to their residential customers. In a standard electricity plan, you pay the same rate for your electricity regardless of the time of day. TOU plans are different: the cost of electricity in a TOU plan depends on the time the energy is drawn from the grid.

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