Re: Electricity touts

Paul Dormer <prd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In article <hd49be$cf6$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, kfl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Keith F.
Lynch) wrote:


In the UK, electricity consumption is considerably higher in winter
than it is in summer, but I don't recall ever seeing season rates.

In at least this part of the US, it's the other way around.


I went on a course once for electricity control engineers where they
discussed this very point. However, the course was nearly thirty years
ago (doesn't time fly) so I have no up-to-date figures.

As I recall, the curve for electricity demand against temperature in the
USA goes down and then up, with a minimum demand at the temperature where
increased air conditioning meets lessening heating. With maximum
temperatures in the bulk of the US being somewhat higher than those in
the UK - at that time, the highest recorded temperature in the UK was
about 38C - there was little data to go on for the upper part of the
curve over here. But 1975 and 1976 were two very hot summers, and 1976
was prolonged, with a drought being declared. Data from that period
showed that in the UK, demand dropped as temperature increased up to a
certain temperature, and then remained constant.

Of course, in the last thirty years, things have changed, including two
record breaking summers and commercial premises are now more likely to be
air conditioned. I never worked in an air conditioned building before
1994 (although computer rooms tended to be air conditioned). But I don't
think there has been much of an increase in home air conditioning.

As a sample point for a somewhat warmer location, we live just northwest
of Dallas in an "all-electric" house heated and cooled by a reasonably
efficient heat pump. Looking at the electric co-op's charts for the last
year it's definitely cooling that dominates our power consumption. Peak
daily usage was in July, at 111 kWh. Minimum was in April, at 45 kWh.
Peak winter usage was in December, at 72 kWh. That equated, btw, to a
maximum bill of $464.55 and a minimum of $197.75.

Robert
--
Robert K. Shull Email: rkshull at rosettacon dot com
.

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