Time of Use

Not all power is created equal. It cannot be stored, saved in a warehouse, or bought on sale for next season. There are ways to be frugal with your household power consumption with a Time of Use plan.

A Time of Use plan gives your household a cheaper per KWH (kilowatt hour) rate for using the bulk of your power during non peak times.

A peak time is when most customers are using power. For example power in the North Carolina area peaks in the morning when folks are running hair dryers, using hot water for showers, watching TV and turning on the coffee pot. Folks are also getting to work, turning on computers, and overhead lights. Another peak occurs in the late afternoon between 4-7 pm. Workers are getting home using the stove to cook dinner, the TV and computers are on.

A non peak time is any other time. In NC, these times are between 1-4pm and after 9pm-9am from September through March. During these winter months the afternoon is the warmest part of the day (among other reasons) thus heaters are working less hard to warm us resulting in lower energy demands. The evenings are an off peak time as most office buildings lights are off, at home we are turning off the TV, done with the cooking and going to bed. (Summer peak hours are from 10am-9pm)

As a Time of Use customer, I pledge to use my high power appliances during these off peak times in return for a cheaper rate. I run the dishwasher after lunch or set the timer to run it in the middle of the night. I do laundry while my little one naps. Or I start a load of laundry before bed and put it the dryer when I wake up and it is done before the 9am cutoff. I also try to vacuum during these off peak times.

I still have power 24 hours a day to use at my discretion. However, I will pay a slightly higher rate for the power used during peak hours.

Does this work? It has saved me $120 in my power bill since we started the Time of Use plan. Every little bit helps!

It is more than helping your wallet, it helps the environment too. More on that in future postings.

To find out if Time of Use is available to you search your utilities website for "time of use." You will most likely have to call your utility company and ask to sign up for the service specifically. It did not cost me anything to join with Progress Energy in NC.

Do you think Time of Use is something you could benefit from?