edatoakrun
Well-known member
Hi Wayne,
"I'm in Berkeley and have an underground service lateral rated at 100A in a 2" conduit. I looked into getting a separate meter for E9B, but I got the expected answer from PG&E that any changes to the service would require upgrading the service to all current PG&E requirements..."
Does this apply, even if you replace exiting capacity in your panel-such as an electric stove or water heater, with an evse?
If so, I assume you now plan to use L1 charging only. Unless you have a very long commute, and live in an area that is not likely to have public charging, I don't see the cost/benefit analysis leading to anyone spending many thousands of dollars on L2.
"Also, I wasn't initially clear on how TOU categories and tiers interact. So I called the PG&E New Construction Service Center (which handles service changes) and asked. What I was told is that your net rate within any tier will be the weighted average of the different TOU rates in that tier, weighted according to the proportion of your total usage occurring within each TOU category. This algorithm seems to make it hard to determine the marginal cost of electricity, since if you increase your usage within one TOU category, it affects your rates at all tiers."
This appears to contradict what I was told by a PG&E rep, who said that after each tier was filled in each month, additional kWh's would be billed by TOU rates for the time of day used.
Would someone who knows the correct answer, please clarify?
"Random question: for E9A, has anyone considered the economics of using a (supplemental) electric tank water heater on a timer so that it only heats water during Off-Peak?"
If you are asking about supplementing a natural gas water heater with electric resistance for use at night, I think the answer that the calculator below will give you, is no. If you use an electric heat pump to heat your water at night, probably a good idea, but they are expensive, and may still bump up your E9A tier. Solar-thermal hot water with natural gas backup may work out to be your best option.
Be sure to enter current price from your PG&E bill for gas (lower) and electricity (by TOU) which will be higher or lower than the default price shown below.
http://www.builditsolar.com/References/Calculators/Fuels/FuelCompare.htm
"I'm in Berkeley and have an underground service lateral rated at 100A in a 2" conduit. I looked into getting a separate meter for E9B, but I got the expected answer from PG&E that any changes to the service would require upgrading the service to all current PG&E requirements..."
Does this apply, even if you replace exiting capacity in your panel-such as an electric stove or water heater, with an evse?
If so, I assume you now plan to use L1 charging only. Unless you have a very long commute, and live in an area that is not likely to have public charging, I don't see the cost/benefit analysis leading to anyone spending many thousands of dollars on L2.
"Also, I wasn't initially clear on how TOU categories and tiers interact. So I called the PG&E New Construction Service Center (which handles service changes) and asked. What I was told is that your net rate within any tier will be the weighted average of the different TOU rates in that tier, weighted according to the proportion of your total usage occurring within each TOU category. This algorithm seems to make it hard to determine the marginal cost of electricity, since if you increase your usage within one TOU category, it affects your rates at all tiers."
This appears to contradict what I was told by a PG&E rep, who said that after each tier was filled in each month, additional kWh's would be billed by TOU rates for the time of day used.
Would someone who knows the correct answer, please clarify?
"Random question: for E9A, has anyone considered the economics of using a (supplemental) electric tank water heater on a timer so that it only heats water during Off-Peak?"
If you are asking about supplementing a natural gas water heater with electric resistance for use at night, I think the answer that the calculator below will give you, is no. If you use an electric heat pump to heat your water at night, probably a good idea, but they are expensive, and may still bump up your E9A tier. Solar-thermal hot water with natural gas backup may work out to be your best option.
Be sure to enter current price from your PG&E bill for gas (lower) and electricity (by TOU) which will be higher or lower than the default price shown below.
http://www.builditsolar.com/References/Calculators/Fuels/FuelCompare.htm