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Vent:laundry and the new rules
This whole "peak" "off peak" "mid peak" thing is ticking me off! If you don't have it yet or haven't heard about it yet here is the deal.
Hydro One has instituted this new "green" policy. They want to put less stress on the grid so they have put in place some new rules. At first they said that if you followed these rules you could reduce your hydro bills, then they jacked up the price of hydro so you have to be freaking religious about following the rules or your Hydro bills will be out of control. They have installed smart meters on houses that not only monitor how much electricity you use but at what time of day you use it.
If you use major appliances during peak hours (7am to 11am and 5pm -9pm) it's gonna cost you. A lot.
If you use it during mid peak (11am-5pm) then it's less expensive
If you use it during off peak (9pm- 7am and all weekend or holiday days) then it's cheepest.
The only one I am having a hard time with is laundry. Dinner is going to be cooked fresh for 7. I have to live with the fact that we will have half an hour of a major appliance being operated every day during peak hours in the winter. Whatever. Same goes for furnace. My house is set at a stupidly low temperature and we all wear slippers and sweaters, come the winter time we will crank the temp to a balmy 68 but in the meantime, we can all bundle up). The dishwasher is programed to go off at 9:30 so it's no problem. IT's the damn laundry I can't keep on top of!
We had a busy weekend last weekend. Only one load made it through the washer and dryer. DD went through her 4 pairs of pants that fit her as of yesterday, and btw, she wore mismatched socks because most of her socks were in the white load that didn't get put on. Instead of three loads of laundry to be done at the end of the week I now have 6. I had just caught up all the laundry before this thing went into place and I was putting laundry in on an as needed basis. If I filled a basket it went into the wash. We all always had socks and underwear. Now I have to go stock up on all of them in case a weekend rolls around I can't do laundry.
Why not just do it after 9pm you ask? I have been in bed. I have hard water. If I wait until the next night to toss them in the dryer they will smell and need to be washed again. DD has been having nightmares. I have been up all freaking night for the last week. I have been crawling into bed at 8:45 just to get some sleep before she wakes up crying at midnight. It's making me want to price those washer dryer units that are self contained so that I can toss a load in at 9pm and go to bed and not worry about having to switch it over. I said screw it, the first month. I did my laundry in the afternoon. In the summer that's peak hours. My hydro bill was $350. sigh...
Please tell me I am not the only one having a hard time with this... And sorry that was so long.
Re: Vent:laundry and the new rules
This is one time I'm going to be really glad Calgary is slow to get on the green train and way behind other cities. What a pain in the ass! I often do a load after 7 p.m. but that's just how it works and I don't have a child.
This is one of those things that sounds better in theory.
ETA: I just reread this. I'd still be in peak times. There is no way I could start laundry after 9 and still get a decent sleep. It would piss me off but if I could afford it I think laundry I'd say "screw it" and just pay more. At least for one main load that I NEED. It would certainly suck for families with very little wiggle room in their budget though.
My hydro bill for summer was almost $700. I say it's one cost of living that comes with a house. Nothing you can do about it. i don't believe in changing my schedule because someone tells me when to do my laundry or to cook. Most everyone in my house is asleep by the time it's off peak time. And this I'm sure is also a factor for people who's laundry rooms are upstairs or on the main floor. You can't exactly have the dryer going while people are sleeping.
It's just another cash grab from the government.
Oh wow, I really hope this doesn't come here. I think there is alot better ways to help the environment that this.
I don't know how two people who work 9-5 would handle this.
We save laundry for weekends. I wash diapers every night at 9 and hang them to dry the next day. DS2 is an early riser (4:30) so if need be I do a load in the morning. But I am with you, it sucks. And while I don't want people dictating when I can do laundry, I can't afford to pay 9.9 cents a KWH either.
Sammy-Mae, your family is lucky you lut your furnace that hugh! Ours doesn't go over 65,
It is a pain!
In the summer it wasn't as difficult because the peak time is during the day, but now it is ridiculous. The peak time is at the time when you need to use it most (which I get is why it is the peak time). I do my laundry on the weekend, but I also don't have kids so I imagine it would be more difficult in your situation.
Can't really do much about dinner and heating though. It's a cost we just have to deal with now
A bit off topic, but couldn't agree more. And I've had mine out a few times in the last couple weeks, perfect for this time of year!
Call me crazy but if everyone did their laundry at the same time (regardless of the time of day) wouldn't it still place stress on the grid? I guess I don't "get it". Weird. Saskatchewan won't ever do this...they'll just gouge us 24-7! lmao
I don't get it either. Especially because weekends and statutory holidays are off peak. How is it possible that the days that most people are home are the days that it costs less?
I'm sure there is an explanation (probably based on the way the city imports the energy) but it just seems so counter intuitive.