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You, Me, and the Sun...

Our Solar Gadgets

8/10/2017

8 Comments

 
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A solar cover is a great way to capture the sun’s heat and take full advantage of this natural resource to heat your above-ground or in-ground swimming pool. The benefits of owning a solar cover are plentiful and serve a multitude of purposes.
Cover Benefits:
  • Take advantage of the sun's FREE HEAT resulting in a warmer water
  • Made from durable resin material
  • Constructed with thousands of small air bubbles to capture and transmit heat from the sun to your swimming pool
  • Blocks undesired dirt and debris from your pool
  • Helps prevent up to 95% of pool water evaporation, thus reducing heat loss at night or on cloudy days.
  • Helps keep your pool free from dirt and debris
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  • Pack of 12pcs,White LED solar lights outdoor, Cost-efficient and hassle-free.solar enegy.
  • The solar pathway lights are a decorative glow to your driveway, griveway,patio, or flower beds.
  • Outdoor solar lights light up the garden and make it beautiful outdoor landscpe lighting.
  • The solar light is environment friendly, uses the energy from the sun.No wiring.
  • These solar garden lights are easily installation outdoor lights,no tools required.
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  • Charge Anytime Under the Sun: Light and portable battery bank charges whenever it's sunny thanks to the wide solar panel
  • Solar or DC Input Charging: Convenient and practical with two recharge methods including solar power or a DC5V/2A input. Note: DC input is recommended for faster recharging as it takes only 8 -9 hours with a 2A/2.4A charger
  • 15000mAh Capacity Charges Two Devices: Large capacity with two iSmart powered output ports (one 2.1A and one 1A port) to simultaneously charge two devices multiple times; can charge an iPhone 7 4.2 times, an iPhone 7 Plus 3 times, and the Galaxy S8 2.8 times
  • Reliable and Bright LED: Hold the power button for 3 seconds to activate / deactivate the handy and helpful LED light; includes dust and shock protection and built-in battery safeguards
  • 3 Steps for Better Use: Do not charge through glass; charge only in strong sunlight; and do not leave the charger in your vehicle during summer as heat will affect the battery life
8 Comments

Time of Use Rate Case Study

3/2/2017

1 Comment

 
Cited from www.PickMySolar.com : 

" Time of Use Rate Impact on Residential Electricity Costs: A Southern California Edison Customer Case Study

​
By Sagarika Bhattacharyya, Pallavi Rath, and Anurag Ghosh 

 19 March 2017
Southern California Edison (SCE), one of California’s three biggest investor-owned utilities, has created optional Time of Use rate schedules for residential customers. The new schedules mark a significant change in how customers are billed for the energy they use: Instead of a flat rate charged around the clock, customers are charged more for using more energy during times when overall electricity demand is highest, charged less when demand is lowest, and the base rate changes seasonally as well. Time of Use rates allow utilities to better recoup the costs of generation and allow their customers to save money through smarter management of energy use. In this case study, we analyze the effect that Time of Use (TOU) rates have on the overall cost of electricity for customers currently on a standard tiered residential rate structure. 
SCE’s new residential TOU structure includes three time periods: On-Peak, Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak. On-Peak refers to the daytime hours when the demand is highest for electricity from different consumers. This time period has the highest electricity prices, since generating facilities have to switch on more units to satisfy demand. In the mid-mornings and at night, energy demand drops, and this is the Off-Peak period. During the late-night hours, demand from residential consumers particularly significantly decreases, and thus the time is known as Super Off-Peak hours.

The TOU rate structure is designed so that the cost of electricity is highest during on-peak hours in the late afternoon and early evening and lowest during Off-Peak hours at night and in the early morning. It encourages consumers to use more energy during early mornings, late evenings, nights and weekends. Time of Use time periods and rates are different for different utilities and typically do not change more than twice a year; in the summer and winter.

To demonstrate how a TOU rate schedule would affect residential consumers, we will use the case of a residential consumer, “Bob Musselman,” to compare the energy consumption and electricity bill without implementing the TOU rates – in other words, under the standard residential rates serving most residential customers – and with implementing TOU rates. For the case study we analyzed Bob’s energy consumption data from February 2014 to February 2015.

Baseline regions are defined by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which says that every consumer receives a preset amount of energy depending on location, season of the year, and whether a consumer’s household is fully or partially electrified. Therefore, a consumer dependent solely on electricity would have a higher baseline. The majority of customers currently are under the standard residential tiered rate structure. Tiered rate structures charge higher rates for energy use that exceeds the baseline. The tier (or level) following it would be priced even higher. The daily kilowatt-hour (kWh) allocation for the baseline tier differs by location. In Bob’s case, he falls under SCE’s baseline region 14, which includes the following kWh allocations:


Season
Tier 1 ($0.16/kWh)
Tier 2 ($0.23/kWh)
Tier 3 ($0.29/kWh)

Summer (Basic)
Baseline
15.5 kWh
101% to 200%
15.5 to 31 KWh
Over 200%
>31 KWh

Winter (Basic)
Baseline
10.6 kWh
101% to 200%
10.6-21.2 KWh
Over 200%
>21.2 kWh

Summer (All-Electric)
Baseline
18.4 kWh
101% to 200%
18.4-36.8 KWh
Over 200%
>36.8 KWh

Winter (All-Electric)
Baseline
22.9 kWh
101% to 200%
22.9-45.8 KWh
Over 200%
>45.8 KWh
Table 1: SCE Baseline Region 14 Tiered Rate Structure

Table 1 shows the baseline allocation of region 14 in the basic and all-electric categories. We can see that the all-electric baseline increase is significant in winter – since consumers would use heaters more frequently – while during the summer, the increase in baseline allocation is just 20 percent. On the flip side, basic allocation for summer exceeds winter by almost 5 kWh, as this extra energy will possibly be used for air conditioning.

Year (2014-2015)
Electricity Consumption (kWh)
Cost

Summer (June-September)
4,869.86
$575.96

Winter (October-May)
9,840.35
$1,814.94

2014-2015
14,710.21
$2,390.90
Table 2: Total Cost under Standard Residential Plan Structure

Table 2 shows energy costs broken down seasonally. Bob has used 14,710.21 kWh of energy that accounted for $2390.90 in total.
SCE offers different TOU rate options depending upon monthly energy usage, and sets the threshold energy usage for the TOU rate plan. The utility has also created four TOU rate options, depending on if a consumer generally uses more or less than 700 kWh per month (TOU-D-A or TOU-D-B); the utility also has plans for consumers who charge an electric vehicle at home.


Tier Structure
Time Period
Weekday (M-F)
Weekday ($/kWh)
Weekend (Sat. & Sun.)
Weekend ($/kWh)

TOU-D-A
On-Peak
2pm to 8pm
0.44
-
-

Super Off-Peak
10pm to 8am
0.13
10pm to 8am
0.13

Off-Peak
8am to 2pm & 8pm to 10pm
0.28
8am to 10pm
0.28

TOU-D-B
On-Peak
2pm to 8m
0.32
-
-

Super Off-Peak
10pm to 8am
0.13
10pm to 8am
0.13

Off-Peak
8am to 2pm & 8pm to 10pm
0.17
8am to 10pm
0.17
Table 3: TOU Rates for Summer (June to September)

Tier Structure
Time Period
Weekday
(M-F)
Weekday
($/kWh)
Weekend
(Sat. & Sun.)
Weekend ($/kWh)

TOU-D-A
On-Peak
2pm to 8m
0.33
-
-

Super Off-Peak
10pm to 8am
0.14
10pm to 8am
0.14

Off-Peak
8am to 2pm & 8pm to 10pm
0.28
8am to 10pm
0.28

TOU-D-B
On-Peak
2pm to 8m
0.22
-
-

Super Off-Peak
10pm to 8am
0.14
10pm to 8am
0.14

Off-Peak
8am to 2pm & 8pm to 10pm
0.16
8am to 10pm
0.16
Table 4: TOU Rates for Winter (October to May)

The most common point of difference is the higher summer price during peak hours compared to winter’s peak-hour price, as seen in Tables 3 and 4. This difference is due to the utility’s need to bring additional power generation online to supply peak demand; the energy produced by these “peaker plants” is priced significantly higher.

We calculated Bob’s utility bill under the TOU-D-B rate, because his monthly energy consumption is above 700 kWh. On weekdays, for the same rate schedule (TOU-D-B), the peak hour charge differs by 10 cents for summer and winter (Tables 3 and 4). The weekend and weekday rates for Super Off-Peak periods are nearly identical year-round.

Year (2014-2015)
Consumption (kWh)
Cost

Summer (June to September)
4,869.86
$863.80

Winter (October to May)
9,840.35
$1,581.67

Total Consumption
14,710.21
$2,445.47
Table 5: Total Cost Under the Time of Use Rate Structure

Rate Structure
Energy Consumed (kWh) (2014-15)
Cost
Difference:
$54.57


Time of Use (TOU)
14,710.21
$2,445.47

Standard Residential Tier Structure
$2,390.90
Table 6: Rate Structure Cost Difference

Bob spent $2,390.90 under the standard tiered rate structure for 2014-15 (Table 1). Under TOU-D-B, he would have paid $2,445.47 (Table 5), close to $55 (2.3 percent) more than the standard rate schedule (Table 6). In Bob’s case, although his energy consumption during On-Peak hours of summer and winter was 14 percent and 12 percent of their respective total, On-Peak consumption contributed 25 percent and 17 percent of their seasonal bills. These numbers shed light on how useful it might be to curtail energy usage during peak hours and shift toward off-peak hours under the TOU rate structure. Switching to TOU gives a consumer the option to use energy-intensive appliances, such as washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, and electric vehicles, during off-peak times, since more energy can be used at a significantly cheaper price, leading to savings for the consumer.

Pick My Solar is developing a tool that uses a customer's annual energy bill and estimates the cost changes when they change from the standard tiered rate structure to a TOU rate structure. This will ultimately help consumers assess their energy options by reviewing the options available and making an informed decision."
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