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I would agree that off peak or time of use is not for everyone. But if you have electrical loads you can time shift it helps a lot, washer, A/C, Dryer, dishwasher ect…
On our bill we are charged an additional $4.50 a month for a "special" meter. That irked me, but what are you going to do. Currently our rates are
on peak .2073/kw
off peak .0549/kw
flat .10911/kw
Off peak or "cheap" times in winter are noon-4p and 9p to 8a. Summer is 7p to 9a and all weekends and most holidays. The funny thing is if you leave a 100w lamp running 24x7 it will cost you less using time of use since 60% of the week is off peak, but if you use the majority of you power on peak it won't work.
We have a geothermal heat pump (COP about 3.5) that runs only off peak. So for us it's a no brainer. Here are some numbers for comparison all giving you 1 therm of heat
Natural gas furnace 90% efficient (1.29/therm) $1.43
Natural gas 75% efficient (old furnace)(1.29/therm) $1.72
off peak electric resistance heat(.0549/kw) $1.61
off peak geo thermal (.0549/kw) $.54
So it is not a scam, you just have to know how and be able to use it. We typically have less then 5kw a month on peak, off peak is another story…
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