seneysolar
Solar Enthusiast
Yikes those draws are several hours...
Ive had solar for a year and now the utility company charges a demand fee... not cool.
- Thread starter vwaudiguy
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zanydroid
Solar Wizard
Theoretically the EV charging can be scheduled for the troughs but I don’t believe there’s a good turnkey EVSE for that, that will also interact elegantly with a peak shaving battery.
It’s not rocket science or anything, just not on the market yet
OzSolar
Whatever you did, that's what you planned.
I am also on REC in southwest Missouri but there has been no mention of demand based rates, TOU or anything like that (yet) They have announced a rate increase is coming in April but no details other than "$15 to $30 average increase". It would be nice to see the all details you have about your demand rate.
They're not gonna know. How would they know?
If he sets it to not sell to grid then the inverter will only support what the main panel needs
He already has the pv system in place and operating. adding battery storage should be non of their business.
Yeah he might be able to get away with 14kwh but as inexpensive as diy batteries are I would recommend at least 28kwh
vwaudiguy
New Member
Yeah about 30kwh/day or so.. I think with some better thought/consideration to how I use my power and a well implemented battery/inverter system I would like to get to a 5kw or below peak demand for at least the 9 months that I typically overproduce with solar.
Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
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Can you shave peaks by controlling loads?
e.g. disable one high-draw load whenever another is enabled?
Relays are much cheaper than batteries.
If those are steady draws, as opposed to repeated turning on and off of a heater.
If a heater, then simple: rewire for lower wattage longer on time.
I'm just now starting to play with peak/valley shaving batteries. SBS + LG RESU-10H.
What they are doing is charging up to the amount of export, and discharging to the amount of load. Targeting zero export, zero import.
I've set some hours for high/low rates, don't having it working yet.
Not that I recommend this, especially not this particular battery.
e.g. disable one high-draw load whenever another is enabled?
Relays are much cheaper than batteries.
If those are steady draws, as opposed to repeated turning on and off of a heater.
If a heater, then simple: rewire for lower wattage longer on time.
I'm just now starting to play with peak/valley shaving batteries. SBS + LG RESU-10H.
What they are doing is charging up to the amount of export, and discharging to the amount of load. Targeting zero export, zero import.
I've set some hours for high/low rates, don't having it working yet.
Not that I recommend this, especially not this particular battery.
vwaudiguy
New Member
I have Ozark Electric Coop... here is what we got from them...
Attachments
They should be within reach even without another inverter.
Use your high draw loads(dryer, cooking etc during the day as much as possible. Over cool or over heat your house when pv is high to reduce the draw at night.
Hybrid inverter is just icing on the cake
vwaudiguy
New Member
I think I'm going to have to try.. my car charger runs a solid 3.8kw for 5 hours straight each day typically.. I can't keep the heat pump or water heater from running during that 5hr period.. Inevitably they all three run at the same time.
OzSolar
Whatever you did, that's what you planned.
No mention of a ratchet so this doesn't sound terrible.
21 kW x $3.75 = $78.75 for a few months a year assuming you do nothing. You can do that for decades before you can financially justify changes such as adding a battery bank of any size.
Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
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Presumably it can operate either level-1 or level 2. Although 3.8kW sounds a bit low for level 2.
I'm thinking a charger could just have one leg switched on/off (or between L2 and N) to change levels.
vwaudiguy
New Member
I reduced my level 2charger to 16 amps once I realized charging at 32 amps was going to cost me...
vwaudiguy
New Member
I agree but from what I'm seeing from my research is that the $3.75 is just the starting point for a utility company... that price can be increased a lot easier than the actual usage (per KWh) rate without involving state regulators.
Ampster
Renewable Energy Hobbyist
A Lot of your strategy may depend on how the demand fee works. I have a demand fee in California and it is based on the highest fifteen minute interval of during a month. In my situation it is a tenant who charges an EV. I looked at the economics and there was no way to justify a battery and inverter to reduce that. I do have solar so I have eliminated the kWh charges but live with the fixed fee every month.
vwaudiguy
New Member
It goes live in April so we will see how it goes.
pollenface
Solar Addict
In my case it's pre-paying for my electricity at 1/3rd of it's cost (I've only calculated that for batteries, not inverter)
$3.75/kwhr? Is this US dollars?
Nobody is shocked by this? That's absolutely nuts. Some parts of the country are getting under $0.10/kwhr
labeeman
Solar Enthusiast
He said kilowatt not kilowatt hour.
Ampster
Renewable Energy Hobbyist
Yes that is how demand fees are priced, based on the largest kW load for any fifteen minutes period. It is like a fixed fee based on your largest load. Very common in industrial and commercial rate plans. I pay them on the house meter for an apartment building.
Overall VW, you're rates are pretty low....for now.
Here in Las Vegas, they are going up to around .15 per Kwh.
I think the pamphlet they sent out (similar to yours) shows an example of the customer using 1078 kwh on a 31 day month costing $184.78.
Interesting example, but multiple that time 4-5 to see what the real bill might be with the power needed to stay anywhere close to cool in the summer. Talk about a skewed example. But NV energy is now owned by Warren Buffet and Berkshire. They have only one goal. To make money. Our rates will never go down.
Here in Las Vegas, they are going up to around .15 per Kwh.
I think the pamphlet they sent out (similar to yours) shows an example of the customer using 1078 kwh on a 31 day month costing $184.78.
Interesting example, but multiple that time 4-5 to see what the real bill might be with the power needed to stay anywhere close to cool in the summer. Talk about a skewed example. But NV energy is now owned by Warren Buffet and Berkshire. They have only one goal. To make money. Our rates will never go down.
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