Is TXU's free nights something that EV owners can benefit or abuse?

[sinnombre]

That free night plan would not work for me . It would cost me an extra $1,200 per year to get $300 free for the Volt. I guess it would probably save another $350 a year on running the A/C for free on summer nights . If you had 5 electric cars charging every night it would make sense .

[karl0525]

I just signed up for 2 years of free nights I plan on a drastic change.1 charge volt 10-6 2-run pool pump 3-run dishwasher it has a 4 hour delay I can use to get me to 10 if I set it at 7 after dinner. 5-washing machine has a time delay to. 6 dryer I can put clothes in at 5 when I wake up from the washing machine. 7 I plan to put a timer on the hot water heater to only heat water from 10-6 it should hold enough hot water during the day for use. 8 for heat and air I will lower my normal 78 degrees to 70 at night then at 6am it will go back to 78 I think it will take the house 3-5 hours to move the 8 degrees helping save there also.9 do the same for heat in the winter but in reverse as for temps go. Any other ideas would be thankful the house is already efficient as I can get it thanks.

[montgom626]

And you can use a clothes line to dry clothes, assuming dust is not an issue.

[Cheezmo]

I just spent a day evaluating that and my 7.1c Pennywise service still comes out ahead even if I assume moving all charging to "free" night time and get credit for my projected outflows. Don't have real numbers yet since the solar isn't installed.

Things to consider. Free isn't really free. With Oncor you still pay 2.5c/kWh and in Houston around 3.4c/kWh.

The free nights plan is 12c/kWh which is outrageous for the Dallas area right now, my Pennywise plan is 7.1c/kWh.

They buy back at 7.5c/kWh.

Do the math, maybe not that great a deal unless you have a LOT of out flow and a lot of energy use you can shift to night time. If I had that plan I would pre cool the house over night in the summer!

[Cheezmo]

They don't do net metering (at least in the Dallas/Oncor area). In flows and out flows are metered separately. They buy outflows at 7.5c/kWh.

The TXU Energy Surplus Power Purchase Agreement is a month-to-month agreement for surplus solar electricity currently paid at $0.075 per kWh and surplus non-solar electricity paid at $0.06 per kWh. Payments are made quarterly with no cap on the amount paid out. This program is limited to systems of 10 kW or less in capacity. Requirements: Must be on a TXU Energy residential or business rate plan of customer’s choice and have an interconnection agreement in place with their TDSP. For more information or to participate, txu.com/surplus.

[Cheezmo]

I read a lot about how it all works and Oncor says that the meter at 4 second increments to determine inflow or outflow. They specifically say the net metering is not available.

Can I get net metering?
No. Oncor utilizes metering that measures in-flow and out-flow energy in separate channels.
"Net metering" is commonly defined as a single channel meter (some say "spins forward and backward" if an analog meter) that allows for off-sets (some say energy banking) and results in one value being reported at the end of the billing period. Transmission and distribution utilities (TDUs), such as Oncor, provide meters that measure separate in-flow and out-flow values for renewable generators pursuant to state law and Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) rules. TDUs in Texas are not allowed to install meters that subtract out-flow from in-flow within the meter. Remember, anytime you simultaneously generate and consume electric energy you are "netting" and avoiding using energy you would have purchased at retail rates.
For additional information, refer to: "What happens to the energy I generate?"

[larry4pyro]

Sitting here in amazement in San Diego. Our power is a lot more expensive. Many rate plans offered, but nothing near $.12 fixed rate during the day and free power between 10 PM and 6 AM.

[Cheezmo]

Sitting here in amazement in San Diego. Our power is a lot more expensive. Many rate plans offered, but nothing near $.12 fixed rate during the day and free power between 10 PM and 6 AM.

So how does $.071 fixed rate all day sound? We have it lucky here in natural gas land.

[KyleH]

Too funny....Well, if he is using free nights, he should attach an industrial ice maker and have it turn on at night to dump ice into the pool. I am not sure if it will be effective against the ambient temperature.

Of course the cost for an icemaker may take years to offset any costs / savings / maintenance.

-KyleH

...
A friend near Houston has plumbed his heat pump to use his swimming pool as the heat dump for summer cooling. With free nighttimes he could chill his pool every night.

[sinnombre]

Too funny....Well, if he is using free nights, he should attach an industrial ice maker and have it turn on at night to dump ice into the pool. I am not sure if it will be effective against the ambient temperature.

Of course the cost for an icemaker may take years to offset any costs / savings / maintenance.

-KyleH

He could also turn the A/C to 85 during the day , come home from work for a cool shower , go for a swim and wait to turn the A/C to 67 degrees at 10:00 and .01 second . At 67 , the house would take a while to warm back up to 85 the next day .

Run an extension cord to the neighbors house to charge their cars and charge a dozen batteries at night to run appliances during the day .