New member here with some advice

[pb57]

This is only my second post since I joined back in July. This is the best forum I've been on! I just wanted to pass on some savings to others in case they were not aware. I just finished up my new shop. This is the second shop I have built. (divorce) This one is 28X34 with 12' sidewalls. Its 2X6 walls with netted and blown in insulation and 5/8 sheet rock throughout. My rural electric co has a program called switch makes sense and if your all electric you get a reduced rate on your heat/air and water heater. My rate is just .04 cents a kw. I installed two 7.5kw heaters in my shop on one thermastat. It costs only .60 cents an hour to heat so it should be very economical in my northern Iowa climate. My house heat/air and water heater is also on the switch makes sense program. I just thought I would post this info since I have never seen this brought up before. thanks for such a great forum. Paul

 

[Steevo]

$0.60 per hour? That is over $400 a month just to heat the shop?

 

[KULIWOBBY]

$0.60 per hour? That is over $400 a month just to heat the shop?

I suppose if it is heated 24/7. It would be less if he is only heating it when he is out in the shop.

 

[Steevo]

I heat my 24x40x12 shop (located in Idaho) with a Mr Heater 75k natural gas unit heater, and keep it at 50 degrees 24x7. I occasionally bump it up to 65 degrees or so if working on something light or stationary where I am not working up a sweat. During the coldest months (Jan/Feb/Mar), my gas bill only goes up by about $35 a month to heat the shop.

 

[Erampu]

Actually, OP said .60 cents an hour. A little over half a cent an hour is pretty cheap.

 

[jvitez]

pb57: welcome to the forum! Thanks for the tips.

Our POCO proudly says we have the "among" the lowest electric rates in North America. Yet they keep raising the rates! We have nothing like this "all electric" rate. They used to discount the first few hundred KWH per month, but not any more.

Our current cost is 7.6 cents/kwh, no discounts, no off peak rates. So 4 cents/kwh is fantastic! Congrats.

BTW: it will only be 60 cents/hr if both heaters run 100% of the time. You have 15.8 watts/sq ft installed. I heated my well insulated attached garage in my old house with 9 watts/sq ft and it did fine as long as I didn't let it cool off too much. You should have nice fast warm up if heated intermittently, and otherwise they won't be running much per hour. I'm sure your heat costs will be very reasonable.

 

[Steevo]

Actually, OP said .60 cents an hour. A little over half a cent an hour is pretty cheap.

Ok. I mistook that to be 60 cents, not six tenths of a cent.

That would be dirt cheap electricity.

 

[pb57]

Jvitez your flat rate is pretty good to. MY regular rate is 10 cents per kw. My house is all electric also and have the heat/air and water heater on switch also. My highest electric bill in the winter in the last 5 years since I built the house was 120.00, so not bad. Im divorced and the kids are grown so its just me and the gf who stays at times. My shop should be very reasonable to heat at the rate I have. I had propane in my other home and shop and that was very expensive.

 

[SteelHorseHD]

My electric rates here in Illinois are 13 cents/kwh. My dryer and water heater are electric. I heat the home with a outdoor wood boiler. My cheapest electric bill ever was $120. They are usually atleast $180. That's just me, my wife and 6 year old daughter. I should really heat my water with the wood boiler. I just haven't hooked it up yet. Enjoy those dirt cheap rates!

 

[Falcon67]

If those heaters are running full time, you got some issue IMHO. My 5kW heater only cycled 4 times an hour in my old 20x24. Figuring 15 min/hr on time for 15K watts, that comes closer to .15/hr in cost.

We're on a co-op at .115 and that's the best deal you're gonna get unless you buy a truck load of solar panels. Co-ops are exempted from the state competition regulations. We could save .03/kWh if we were fed from an AEP pole. But their business office is too stupid to figure out that their pole is 20' from our pole. And they might well bill us $500~1000 for the switch since they have to buy all the equipment to feed the house, per state regs.

We are all electric and in the winter - hate it. There is no NG in this neighborhood and I'm not sure how far away the closest pipe it. Propane is not economical enough to pay for the plumbing and equipment retrofit, assuming the city would even allow a 250 to be dropped off here. We had NG at the old house 2 miles away and really miss it.

 

[madosta]

Actually, OP said .60 cents an hour. A little over half a cent an hour is pretty cheap.

Was going to say the same thing.

Ok. I mistook that to be 60 cents, not six tenths of a cent.

That would be dirt cheap electricity.

You forgot to reduce, six tenths = three fifths. LOL. JK

 

[pb57]

I dont believe they will be running to much. Without heat my shop has stayed at 60 degrees so far just from the residual concrete heat. We have had a lot of 20 degree nights and 50's for highs so far this fall. I was just saying if they ran for an hour full time it would cost 60 cents. I should have been more clear.

 

[Ksullivan]

My grandparents have something of this same device on their hot water heater, I think it is due to them having a co op for an electrical company. Our electric company is too greedy to give a reduced rate...