what on earth does electricity cost near you?

[Smokeydog]

The last significant increase was the base rate. Getting expensive for low use or efficient buildings that have their own meter.

 

[MossRoad]

Only in office buildings….at least when i was still wiring commercial and residential. But the law did change a few years ago that required a neutral wire run to all switch locations in residential wirings…. In preparation for future occupancy sensor installs.

But those switches tend to shut down if someone is not moving too much or is slightly blocked from sensor. I have had lots of complaints about them over the years. I would not want them in my home office for instance……might tend to make me fall asleep.

Yeah, I'm very familiar with the sensors. They are in several of my current and past employers' buildings. I was just questioning if someone was having to do it in residential.

At my last employer, they had them, and like mentioned, if you're just sitting working on your computer, the lights would go out. Then everyone starts flapping like birds until it goes on again.

I was just in a building last week with 6 corridors and in two of them only the emergency lights were on. There was no indicator flashing for motion on any of the oc sensors in those two corridors. Main controller had to be reset.

Funny thing is, they sent us for training on the lighting systems in all of their buildings to bring down cost of calling electricians. Then they took us on a checklist walkthrough of a brand new building before turning over to us. The contractor opens the ceiling to show us the lighting controls and it's not the same manufacturer for what they sent us to training for. Everything was different.

 

[3930dave]

2025... (actually, long b4 now.....)...... instead of replacing a $3 light-switch (typically a really long life)...... you need a Controls Electrician to show up......

Truck-roll alone, is well over $1000 CAD up here, at least in the building I work in.....

That's Progress for Ya !

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

In residential?

To get some type of certification with the solar pv and heat pump hvac and hot water…

Commercial it’s been the rule for maybe 25 years for hallways and restrooms…

One of the hospital tenants paid electrician to remove from restrooms as if you lingered the lights would dim…

 

[grsthegreat]

I was working in a state of idaho building last summer, and the hallways all have motion sensors. While i was installing new exit and emergency lighting, the hallways were constantly switching on and off whenever a hall walker (employee) opened a door to move to another room. It was like a strobe light show.

 

[ultrarunner]

Funny observation about T8 4’ lamps…

In 1995 we were the first project using T8 in the city… 32W instead of 40W

20% reduction to power lighting in a big building is significant…

With our possible closing the move to LED has been on hold because of the upfront capital outlay…
I’ve just replaced the last of the 1995 Sylvania T8 bulbs which were basically locked on over 30 years ago.

That said the same bulbs would only last weeks or months in some of the busy office restrooms… the non stop lights on and lights off greatly affected longevity…

In 1996 I received free warranty replacement electronic ballasts for the handful that stopped working…

About 10 years ago I was replacing about 20 ballast each month.

The last few years maybe 1 a week.

Only had two go to melt down with black smoke pouring out… otherwise the ballast just stops or sometimes flickers…

The GE T8 last a long time and at one point it cost almost more to dispose of old ones than buying new… little more than a dollar a bulb under a special GE healthcare contract for a time…

 

[grsthegreat]

Installed many 1000’s of those over the years. Like you said lamps lasted long time, not the ballast.

2 years ago i swapped out a state of idaho building into LED non ballast lights. I replaced entire parking lot and exterior building mounted 400 watt wallpacks with LEDS. I pulled aprox 2,500 t8 lamps and a few hundred of the older 8 foot HO Florescent lamps and cut the wires on the ballast, but left them installed in fixture. No need to dump them. I pulled off the old incandescent emergency and exit lights.

Everything went to LED fixtures.

Best part was, Avista Utilities paid for nearly the entire job including most of the labor.

The buildings used to look like yellow dungeons. Now they’re bright white. People said they were less depressed at end of the day.

 

[NoTrespassing]

April 2025

537 kw = $88.35 = 16.5 cents per kw.

$50.50 delivery
$38.25 power or $.07122/kw
$9.60 tax

 

[DarkBlack]

I talked to one of my nephews recently, He lives in Peach Tree City, GA. He said all the utilities in his neighborhood are under ground, but he still has regular power outages during storms, who would have thought that!

Well, I’m sure there’s a logical explanation, and it’s not because of tree branches hitting pole wires, in areas without above ground pole wires

 

[ultrarunner]

PGE had a program with great incentives and I applied and was approved but then the bankruptcy from all the fire claims scuttled the program…

I’ve only converted the outside sodium lamps to LED… just cut the wires to the ballast and screwed in CREE household LED… it was very simple and cost almost nothing and was even recognized by management…

All of our old exit lighting was getting problematic so replaced in 2000 along with the emergency bug lights.

I’ve wondered why the bulbs and ballasts seem to lasting longer than ever now…? compared to how many I had been replacing each week.

Our big kW use is all the motors up to 20 hp that run 24/7

The original ballasts made in USA and then Mexico and now mostly China…

GE does a lot of China manufacturing including a lot of medical equipment..,