MadModder

Well speak of the devil.... our power just went out.

Started up the old Indian Lister clone generator. Hand cranked to start. Two 24" flywheels.

Lights back, cooking dinner, router powered up, back online.

Soothing sound, putt, putt at 600 rpm in the distance instead of a 3600 rpm racket maker.

After thinking it over I think I get the unusually high peaks in the early spring and late summer months this year. I realized the gray bars are the prior year levels, and the orange this year's.

In fact we did borrow a compact window air conditioner last year for a couple months from my wife's parents -- we don 't normally. That would explain July August.

And, gulp, this year I did spend a lot of time out in the shop from january through spring with an electric heater working on the Stirling engine. and I might have also forgotten to turn it off overnight a few times.  .

It's good to see graphically the effects of one's actions.

I'm going to concentrate on the shop, I guess as a priority. It's kind of essential to be able to use it in winter here, or cabin fever will get me. It could be a lot better.

Oh, what about October? Well my daughter went away to college in September. That must certainly be the explanation......

Joules, I'm glad you weathered that and came back to where you are now. it certainly does make one appreciative of being as close to independent as possible. And to simplification in living. Not that there aren't pleasures in doing those things beyond just feeling more secure. Of course life on a boat can be interesting in itself. But maybe not because it seems the only alternative. One doesn't want to be forced onto the water, when land is the preference!

I got ahold of our power usage statement and I don't mind sharing it here, if it's of interest. Our usage is better than I wrote earlier, by about half, so I don't feel quite as bad. Still it could be improved. Actual cost/kWh is now $0.20, with 22% additional in various fees added on.

I'm really surprised at what the peak months and minimum months are. Wow, April is our worst month??? October the best???  And the range is very pronounced 260 kWh to 660 kWh. There's probably a lot to learn here!

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I like your philosophy Joules. I actually subscribe to it myself, though obviously with much less success! I want to look at our actual usage bills to get a more accurate picture. I was going from memory above.

Be interesting to hear what other peoples monthly consumption is.

We run/ran a max of about 160kW a month during winter and now around 40kW average during summer.  We shall see what the tracker contributes this winter. 

We have a daily standing charge of £0.50 and about £0.28 per kW, the standing charge often more than the power we use.   No dual fuel discount as our gas supply was capped years ago, saving us the daily gas standing charge.   We are not expecting electricity cost to drop realistically  The air con unit we run really needs to be grid powered for longevity of its compressor.   Happy to accept that as we make good savings elsewhere.   Our way of life is more demanding physically and both heating and power require far more interaction than the average push button household.  It quickly became a normal daily chore, no different from our grandparents.

Just wait a few years when we look back at this thread, how cheap electricity was 😆