Cost of Power?

[jghrist]

May I make sure I have this correct. If I use 1000 watts for 1hr. it will cost me $.10? Is this correct. If so, why does is seem like when I get my elect. bill it seems more like $5.00 for that same 1kwatt for 1hr.? Can someone get me in the right direction so I am sure? $100. mth. Have the min. basics. Sincerely

The billing is not as simple as $0.10 per kWh. There will be a fixed customer charge and a different rate for different tiers of usage. You can probably find the details on the utility website. The kWh used monthly will be on your bill.

 

[Rampage_Rick]

Just stick a lineshaft pump in there.

Pro: you'll be pumped out in, say, 7 seconds. Plus, the neighbor's meter will spin like a table saw.

Con: You'll need one heck of an extension cord.

 

[Mr. Bill]

Well your $100 monthly bill probably has at least $10 that are a flat fee every month. So let's say $90 is energy usage at $0.10 per kWh. That would be 900 kWh per month. And an average month has (30 days * 24 hours) 720 hours.

So you're averaging 1250 W every hour of every day for your entire house. Yes there's a lot of stuff off while you're gone at work or sleeping at night but while you're home and awake things add up quick.

Aquarium = 50?1210 Watts
Clock radio = 10
Coffee maker = 900?1200
Clothes washer = 350?500
Clothes dryer = 1800?5000
Dishwasher = 1200?2400 (using the drying feature greatly increases energy consumption)
Dehumidifier = 785
Electric blanket- Single/Double = 60 / 100
Fans
Ceiling = 65?175
Window = 55?250
Furnace = 750
Whole house = 240?750
Hair dryer = 1200?1875
Heater (portable) = 750?1500
Clothes iron = 1000?1800
Microwave oven = 750?1100
Personal computer
CPU - awake / asleep = 120 / 30 or less
Monitor - awake / asleep = 150 / 30 or less
Laptop = 50
Radio (stereo) = 70?400
Refrigerator (frost-free, 16 cubic feet) = 725
Televisions (color)
19" = 65?110
27" = 113
36" = 133
53"-61" Projection = 170
Flat screen = 120
Toaster = 800?1400
Toaster oven = 1225
VCR/DVD = 17?21 / 20?25
Vacuum cleaner = 1000?1440
Water heater (40 gallon) = 4500?5500
Water pump (deep well) = 250?1100
Water bed (with heater, no cover) = 120?380

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/appliances/index.cfm/mytopic=10040

 

[mivey]

And an average month has (30 days * 24 hours) 720 hours.

730 hours is the average month. The are a lot of good responses here but they all are just guessing around at your rate. The average residential customer for BG&E uses about 1,062 kWh/month and in 2005 paid about 7.75 cents on average. Based on what I have found at BG&E, PSC, and the newspaper, I would think your current rate may be closer to 13-14 cents/kWh.

You may have gathered from the posts that the electricity is a small amount. Your neighbor may charge you more for renting his pump than he will for the actual electricity use.

I agree with some of the other post that this seems like a small pump, unless you have a very small amount of water to pump. This may be OK for something like a puddle, or very shallow flooding, but not for a completely flooded basement many inches deep (unless you have a lot of time). A utility pump is fairly cheap from Lowe's or Home Depot if you think you may need it for future flooding...it is a handy device to have on hand anyway...plus it adds to your tool collection!

 

[Jraef]

The billing is not as simple as $0.10 per kWh. There will be a fixed customer charge and a different rate for different tiers of usage. You can probably find the details on the utility website. The kWh used monthly will be on your bill.

But his neighbor's fixed costs are the same if he lets him borrow some juice for the pump or not, so it really is just the kWh costs involved in this transaction. It's not like the horse's patoot neighbor is having power installed for the first time just to allow Lester615 to pump out his basement.

Lester615,
I originally didn't see where you said you were borrowing the pump itself, I thought it was just the electricity. I suggest you rent your own pump from a rental yard and ask to just be able to plug it in. If you rent one and it breaks, it's their problem. If you borrow it from a guy like him and it breaks, it will cost you a lot more than that rental, both in dollars and animosity.

Then be generous; print out the formula I showed earlier and tape a quarter to the paper to give to him. The magnanimous gesture on your part to pay over twice what the electricity is worth will either ingratiate him to you, or point out to him how incredibly petty and silly his demand was.

 

[mivey]

Rif

Rif

...I originally didn't see where you said you were borrowing the pump itself, I thought it was just the electricity...

You are correct. I read the OP at least twice before and read that he was borrowing the neighbor's pump ("elect pump to pump". Now I read "elect to pump".

I'm going to blame it all on Marc :

I'd probably let my neighbor use my electric and my pump...

 

[gar]

080612-1942 EST

Detroit Edison rates for residential are as follows:

First 476 KWH are $0.04531 /KWH
Balance are $0.05941 /KWH
Surcharge is $0.0124 /KWH

Distribution is $0.04284 /KWH
Surcharge is $0.00579 /KWH
Michigan sales tax 4% calculated from total charges.

My last bill was for 1191 KWH total and $142.23 or on average $0.1194 /KWH. Average useage per day is about 41 KWH or 1.71 KW average load. If we assume an active day of 16 hours, then my average load is 2.56 KW. Much of this is computers and lights.

.

 

[mivey]

080612-1942 EST

Detroit Edison rates for residential are as follows:

First 476 KWH are $0.04531 /KWH
Balance are $0.05941 /KWH
Surcharge is $0.0124 /KWH

Distribution is $0.04284 /KWH
Surcharge is $0.00579 /KWH
Michigan sales tax 4% calculated from total charges.

My last bill was for 1191 KWH total and $142.23 or on average $0.1194 /KWH. Average usage per day is about 41 KWH or 1.71 KW average load. If we assume an active day of 16 hours, then my average load is 2.56 KW. Much of this is computers and lights.

.

So you can charge your neighbor about 12.53 cents/kWh and you will cover your incremental (although you have provided access to the grid at no additional fee). Now if you can get the to run a pump for 10 days straight, you might could buy a cup of coffee...no wait, you have only covered your costs...time to tack on a slight margin.

In all seriousness, Lester615's neighbor might be clueless as to how little electricity he is talking about. Most people how no understanding of these concepts. He might be an ok guy that does not understand his electricity anymore than a monkey understands the bending moments applied to the limb he is hanging on. He just knows his bill is high and has gone up 80-somthing percent over the last 3 years.