what on earth does electricity cost near you?

[mrmikey]

Here's my bill, average of 0.18kwh. That's bad enough but the $19 a month for the base sucks. It just went up 80% about 6-8 months ago. I think the kwh rate is going up 2.5% in April.

 

[jyoutz]

My bill always averages $200/month. We do not have an all electric house, but the power sucking culprits are the 2hp deep well pump, and the fact that there are more freezers than cars in the garage.

 

[jyoutz]

A fireplace will suck more heat out of your house than it will put in. Have you ever heated with wood? There's much work involved. Cutting, splitting, hauling, lifting several times.

A fireplace yes. An efficient wood stove, no.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

@MinnesotaEric that sounds great! Thanks for the tip on the seals. Can you elaborate a bit on the nitrogen / vacuum purge process as to why it is particularly important for the Hyper heat systems? (I thought dry was important for all HVAC...)

All the best, Peter

Most of these mini-split systems ship with the 410A refrigerant already in them for a given amount of line held within the condenser (the part that sits outside). The amount of refrigerant is normally enough for up to 25' of line (1/4" high side and 3/8" low side lines).

Anyway, once the system is set up, you set up your HVAC manifold and then pull vacuum. I use a 2-stage vacuum pump on building HVAC systems (single stage is fine for vehicles, but DO NOT MIX refrigerant types and tools). Once you've pulled vacuum, the system is then pressurized with nitrogen. Nitrogen does two things:

1) You're testing for leaks. With the sun and temperature changes you can expect some minor pressure variation, but you're looking for leaks either with soapy bubbles or an ultrasonic leak tester.
2) The nitrogen dries out any residual humidity left in the system. The super high efficiency systems want you to cycle three nitrogen cycles while pulling full vacuum in between to hit their efficiency ratings.

Once the system is checked for leaks, dried out, and vacuum pulled again, you close off your HVAC manifold and open up the condenser* to fill the system with the refrigerant using an Allen wrench.

In the photo below, I'm testing for leaks and I've got a ball valve on the vacuum side because my fancy-dancy manifold decided to leak at one of its shut-off valves so I used a back-up manifold.

This is what a good flare looks like, but again, they are "chinsey" compared to more robust flares, so I use those silicon washer gasket thingies to prevent leaks. Also, a guy can get lines that come with insolation on them which is a time saver. You'll still want to put the lines inside of a protective cover system and there are piles of different kinds as you can see from this link to Amazon.

* for the HVAC guys, I know the outside portion of the heat pump acts as a condenser when making chilly air, and acts as a evaporator when making warm air.

 

[ponytug]

@MinnesotaEric Thanks!

All the best, Peter

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

Residential: (200a panel or less)
- monthly fixed charge C$9.46 / U$6.62
- cost of power C$0.09587 per kWh / U$0.067109 per kWh


residential buildings on single phase over 200 amp, commercial single phase buildings and 3 phase pay higher fixed monthly but usage rates are lower the more you use.

 

[3930dave]

A fireplace yes. An efficient wood stove, no.

If I build another place, an outdoor wood-boiler is a serious consideration. They can work well, and I'd expect a lower insurance premium than burning wood indoors. A # of years back, I was impressed with the Portage and Main boiler I saw at a farm show - wasn't "blingey" compared to some others (my preference usually), and had very good build quality.

Nice post Eric, I like mini's too.....

Rgds, D.

 

[JJT]

$.21/kwhr, about equally split between delivery fees and electric cost.

 

[Axing]

0,07/kwh in USD But then I have to pay rent of the power line, it costs 227usd a month

Sir, may I ask, what is the rent of a power line?

 

[Axing]

The electricity bill in my hometown is 0.52 RMB per kilowatt hour