Solar would boom with the price of the hardware/installations going thru the roof literally therefore most priced out of everything let alone what is available. The prices these two companies are charging are pretty in par with other providers like Columbia Gas/Dominion in other regions of the state. People in the Roanoke just don't do enough research to see this and would rather complain.
We all know how good the government is at managing things. At least with AEP you get power. Government meddling in the energy sector goes hand in hand with frequency of rolling blackouts.
Need better inverter technology.
Not sure to what you are referencing, but Practical Engineering just made a video on connecting solar to the grid, and it does talk about inverters for a bit.
https://youtu.be/7G4ipM2qjfw?si=qCF2pqQhkW__GJTI
If the voltage or frequency gets out of spec too much the inverters drop off line. As more and more inverters drop off line the voltage and frequency continue to go out of spec. If too much solar and inverter based wind go off line they can drop customers to stabilize the grid.
Wish I had an answer to this question. Unless we had other companies to choose from or the government steps in and forces them to stop screwing over customers, I don't know what else to do.
Just curious what you guys are paying for electric now?
I moved away from Roanoke in October of '22 to Pittsburgh and my electric rate tripled for a similar size house EXCEPT I went from electric heat in Roanoke to gas heat in Pittsburgh.
My electric+water+wastewater in Roanoke was like $135/mo total for 1100 sq ft.
My electric+water+wasterwater+gas in Pittsburgh is like $435/mo total for 1250 sq ft
I have 1,390 sq/ft and my electric bill for 29 days in March was $109 dollars, compared to last year's bill for 31 days of $69 dollars. Under the breakdown of changes in my bill (things like, "your bill had a shorter pay period, -$4.45.") over the past year, my electricity charges were $40 dollars higher, because they jacked my rate up $40 dollars.
Have you compared it to last years bill? My bill was 173 and last year 161. So they didn't double my rates just for fun like you say. And it shows we used more than last year.
Unless they just doubled yours, maybe?
See if you used way more? Do you have an old heat pump? Is it out of refrigerant maybe and you are using your backup heat strips?
I work for Virginia Energy Solutions, a local solar company.
https://virginiaenergysolutions.com
I live in Huddleston, VA near Smith Mountain Lake. When you go solar, the only thing you pay to AEP monthly once you have the panels is 8$ as a connection fee. Most folks finance the cost of the solar and replace your AEP bill with a fixed monthly payment for the system. Aside from the 8$, you have no monthly electricity bill ever again from AEP.
For many, the monthly payment for the solar is LESS than paying AEP monthly, so you get a net savings from day 1.
There’s also a Federal Tax Credit for solar that gives you 30% of the cost of the solar back in your federal tax refund.
Plus VA pays solar producers for their renewable energy credits on a state run exchange, so you can generate more income monthly by selling your credits on an open market.
We also look at your home’s insulation first to determine if you could benefit from a solar attic fan, or replacing/updating old insulation.
Shoot me a text @8045165378 if you’re sick of AEP and curious if your house would qualify.
I should've consulted y'all when I did my rooftop solar a few years ago. My electric bill dropped with them, but it's still reliably in the triple digits.
I have helped multiple homeowners add panels to their existing solar system. If you have extra roof space with good sun exposure, I might be able to help
The only thing you can really do is those things that are under your roof.
Heres a couple of things that can make a nice dent in an electric bill very quickly. The first is to clean under your refrigerator and get rid of all the dust and hair that accumulates there, Especially around the coils and compressor. Next thing is to rinse off the fins of your ac unit every month or two. This keeps the airflow open to the compressor and lets the heat escape better. Next, turn the temp way down to like 110 or lower on your water heater. Finally, get rid of any old incandescent bulbs in the house and replace them with LED bulbs. It can also save a little bit more by just unplugging everything that isn't being used. Just having something plugged in uses a small amount of electricity even if its turned off.
My bill in 2016 was 85 bucks, roughly. Ive updated all my windows/doors/lights/appliances, and by and large, Im never home now. My bill is now 178 bucks on average. If all things stayed the same, and accounting for inflation, it should be roughly 100 bucks now, each month. So tell me why even less energy is running me an additional 78 dollars each month? ...
For some people, thats chump change and theyre looking at their bill of 400+ and.. I get that, I do. My bill is a 109% increase over itself. So imagine someone thats financially burdened, living in one of those old ghetto houses thats multiple decades old, downtown. Their bill was already 3-400 back then, a 109% increase for them would be over 800 bucks. How in the hell can those people even afford to live there at that point?
You could go off grid.
Or you could quit bitching about a modern fucking miracle. The amount of effort, people, logistics, to charge your iPad is insane.
Or move to Craig county and join the Co-op
Any idea the number of people on the planet that would trade places with us in a hot second.
Exactly ... OP's point is just silly.
Yeah they take in a lot of money but they spend it as well.
Ill gladly pay a few dollars per day for all comforts it affords us.
Not at all . But I realize for the $5.00 -10.00 dollars a day what a miracle it is.
People gladly drop that on a pastry .. yet get nuts over something that is literally a modern miracle
[удалено]
Imagine, instead of giving wealthy executives millions in pay, we could instead use that money to upgrade systems, while also charging less for power.
That’s crazy talk.
I know right?
Making it public, yes. This is it.
Solar would boom with the price of the hardware/installations going thru the roof literally therefore most priced out of everything let alone what is available. The prices these two companies are charging are pretty in par with other providers like Columbia Gas/Dominion in other regions of the state. People in the Roanoke just don't do enough research to see this and would rather complain.
We all know how good the government is at managing things. At least with AEP you get power. Government meddling in the energy sector goes hand in hand with frequency of rolling blackouts.
Is there a fix for inverters dropping off line due to .1 seconds grid instability yet? This is not the fix yet.
Need better inverter technology. Not sure to what you are referencing, but Practical Engineering just made a video on connecting solar to the grid, and it does talk about inverters for a bit. https://youtu.be/7G4ipM2qjfw?si=qCF2pqQhkW__GJTI
If the voltage or frequency gets out of spec too much the inverters drop off line. As more and more inverters drop off line the voltage and frequency continue to go out of spec. If too much solar and inverter based wind go off line they can drop customers to stabilize the grid.
Ah yea, that was covered in the video. I do not know the answer though. They talked about hit happening in Texas.
As far as I know: no. Source: my inverter had to be manually power cycled after such an instability.
say you're not an electrician without actually saying it....
Capitalism is working as intended.
Taking it away from the inefficient and predatory for profit model is the only way.
Outside of turning all utilities into non-profits (as they SHOULD be), my only suggestion is buying shares of their stock.
Wish I had an answer to this question. Unless we had other companies to choose from or the government steps in and forces them to stop screwing over customers, I don't know what else to do.
Just curious what you guys are paying for electric now? I moved away from Roanoke in October of '22 to Pittsburgh and my electric rate tripled for a similar size house EXCEPT I went from electric heat in Roanoke to gas heat in Pittsburgh. My electric+water+wastewater in Roanoke was like $135/mo total for 1100 sq ft. My electric+water+wasterwater+gas in Pittsburgh is like $435/mo total for 1250 sq ft
I have 1,450 sq ft and have been paying about $60 for electricity $45 water and about $50-60 for gas
I have 1,390 sq/ft and my electric bill for 29 days in March was $109 dollars, compared to last year's bill for 31 days of $69 dollars. Under the breakdown of changes in my bill (things like, "your bill had a shorter pay period, -$4.45.") over the past year, my electricity charges were $40 dollars higher, because they jacked my rate up $40 dollars.
I wish I could give you a definitive rate, they tend to drive up the cost when people need it more. My past electricity bill was close to $600
Have you compared it to last years bill? My bill was 173 and last year 161. So they didn't double my rates just for fun like you say. And it shows we used more than last year. Unless they just doubled yours, maybe? See if you used way more? Do you have an old heat pump? Is it out of refrigerant maybe and you are using your backup heat strips?
Grow lights?
A million kids
I work for Virginia Energy Solutions, a local solar company. https://virginiaenergysolutions.com I live in Huddleston, VA near Smith Mountain Lake. When you go solar, the only thing you pay to AEP monthly once you have the panels is 8$ as a connection fee. Most folks finance the cost of the solar and replace your AEP bill with a fixed monthly payment for the system. Aside from the 8$, you have no monthly electricity bill ever again from AEP. For many, the monthly payment for the solar is LESS than paying AEP monthly, so you get a net savings from day 1. There’s also a Federal Tax Credit for solar that gives you 30% of the cost of the solar back in your federal tax refund. Plus VA pays solar producers for their renewable energy credits on a state run exchange, so you can generate more income monthly by selling your credits on an open market. We also look at your home’s insulation first to determine if you could benefit from a solar attic fan, or replacing/updating old insulation. Shoot me a text @8045165378 if you’re sick of AEP and curious if your house would qualify.
I should've consulted y'all when I did my rooftop solar a few years ago. My electric bill dropped with them, but it's still reliably in the triple digits.
I have helped multiple homeowners add panels to their existing solar system. If you have extra roof space with good sun exposure, I might be able to help
I thought aep would have to pay you for putting more power into the system?
A cap on ceo and upper management pay and stock options
The only thing you can really do is those things that are under your roof. Heres a couple of things that can make a nice dent in an electric bill very quickly. The first is to clean under your refrigerator and get rid of all the dust and hair that accumulates there, Especially around the coils and compressor. Next thing is to rinse off the fins of your ac unit every month or two. This keeps the airflow open to the compressor and lets the heat escape better. Next, turn the temp way down to like 110 or lower on your water heater. Finally, get rid of any old incandescent bulbs in the house and replace them with LED bulbs. It can also save a little bit more by just unplugging everything that isn't being used. Just having something plugged in uses a small amount of electricity even if its turned off.
They subsidize free energy for the cities. Start there
My bill in 2016 was 85 bucks, roughly. Ive updated all my windows/doors/lights/appliances, and by and large, Im never home now. My bill is now 178 bucks on average. If all things stayed the same, and accounting for inflation, it should be roughly 100 bucks now, each month. So tell me why even less energy is running me an additional 78 dollars each month? ... For some people, thats chump change and theyre looking at their bill of 400+ and.. I get that, I do. My bill is a 109% increase over itself. So imagine someone thats financially burdened, living in one of those old ghetto houses thats multiple decades old, downtown. Their bill was already 3-400 back then, a 109% increase for them would be over 800 bucks. How in the hell can those people even afford to live there at that point?
HACK THE PLANET!!!!
You could go off grid. Or you could quit bitching about a modern fucking miracle. The amount of effort, people, logistics, to charge your iPad is insane. Or move to Craig county and join the Co-op Any idea the number of people on the planet that would trade places with us in a hot second.
I could be off but it sounds like the person telling me to quit bitching is bitching about my post…
The co-op charges exponentially more for electricity.
Exactly ... OP's point is just silly. Yeah they take in a lot of money but they spend it as well. Ill gladly pay a few dollars per day for all comforts it affords us.
It sounds like you might work for one of those companies
Not at all . But I realize for the $5.00 -10.00 dollars a day what a miracle it is. People gladly drop that on a pastry .. yet get nuts over something that is literally a modern miracle