CNT Energy is testing three web-based tools that provide information about hourly prices. One tool is a Google gadget that displays the current hourly energy prices with a virtual stoplight. Another is a toolbar for Firefox that shows the current hourly energy price, with an optional graph of prices for the entire day. The third tool is a Vista gadget.
If you’d like to try any of these tools, see below for the links to download them. We’d like to know what you think of them, so call or e-mail us with your comments. Please let us know whether you find these tools helpful for managing your energy use. Also, we would be interested in your ideas about other helpful ways to make price information available. Finally, if you are a web programmer or developer who would like to help us develop these or other tools, we’d love to hear from you.
In addition, we continue to offer more detailed web-based information about your individual electricity usage and costs through our website. Those tools will continue to be enhanced over the coming year by our technology partner Aclara Software. To view these tools, log in to your Ameren account at www.Ameren.com, and then click on the Power Smart Pricing link.
Test the New Tools!
Please note that you will need a Google homepage
Google gadget
If you have a Google account, you can place this virtual stoplight on your iGoogle homepage. It changes hourly to show the current price of electricity. You will need to log in to your Google account for the gadget to appear. Click here to download.
Firefox Toolbar
This toolbar is for users of the Firefox web browser. (If you don’t have Firefox, you can download it for free at www.Mozilla.com/Firefox.) The toolbar shows the current price of electricity and has a button to display a graph of the day’s prices. Click here to download.
(Note: You may have to log in to Firefox to have access to this program.)
Vista Gadget
This gadget will only work if you have the Windows Vista operating system. Click here to download. UPDATE: If you are having trouble getting the Vista gadget, here is a link to the Windows Vista Help website for gadgets.
These tools were developed by Jay Nick, a retired utility engineer with a long-time interest in real-time pricing. The tools are still under development, so your comments are appreciated.
6 comments:
The JayNick.com programmer seems to be a very interesting guy to talk to: are there any planned siminars/conferences in the future where he could be invited to speak/attend?
Specifically his work integrating the price of electricity with electricity useage (TED - The Energy Detective) WITH usage shifting.
The Ambient Power Orb is the first step to enabling rate-based energy useage selection, but what if you have a process that you need done 'sometime' in the next 12-24 hours that requires electricity (say dishwasher or dryer) how do you enable smart use of the process, and further a 'do it anyway' setting so as not to frustrate your family ;-)
Or, if you have a choice between natural gas or electric heat, and it's 2am in the middle of winter -- which (and how) do you decide automatically which to use?
Complicated questions!
re Jay Nick: we'll pass your compliments on to him.
Managing your electricity use with home automation and smart appliances is very possible, but the hardware and software to make this happen aren’t quite off-the-shelf technology yet. Consequently, the costs for making this happen would likely be higher than the savings you’d achieve. But there is more and more investment in smarter meters and smart grids….
Re: your questions about choosing between electric and natural gas at 2:00 a.m. in the middle of winter – as our engineer says, it depends… There are different factors to consider depending on your heating system (whether you have a forced air furnace, a heat pump, a geothermal heat pump, or space heat)… as well as if you’re on the flat electric rate, a real-time pricing rate, or have the electric space heat rate. If you’re on the flat (standard) rate, gas is likely to be best, but if you’re on the PSP rate, there are some very low prices in the middle of the night…but again, it depends.
This is a cool blog. I too have had questions about whether or not it would be better to heat with electricity in the middle of the night over the winter. In my case, my home is cooled with a central air unit and heated with a natural gas furnace (pretty typical, I think). I just replaced the furnace last year with a 90 plus efficiency unit. The central air unit was installed in '94. I have been thinking of replacing the central air with an air source heat pump. The result would be a hybrid heat system. If I could find a way to heat with the heat pump overnight when rates are low, I think I could save some real dough. However, it might be too difficult to set up the system.
Maybe the cheaper and easier thing to do would be to just heat with some freestanding oil filled plug in electric heaters. If I could find some with thermostats and/or timers, it would be even better. What do you guys think?
re: Dave
When installing heating equipment, determining the type of system that is “best” depends on evaluating the actual building in question. This is especially true with retrofits. Therefore, you should consult with potential contractors who can visit your home and provide bids on the recommended work.
Although rates are generally lowest at night, space heaters must be used properly in order to see a benefit on your monthly bill. They are not very efficient appliances so it is important to use them sparingly to heat small spaces.
CNT,
Thanks for responding. I obviously agree with your statement about hiring a contractor and getting bids. This is not something I would dive into without doing a whole lot of research beforehand. I could bore all of you with the specifics of my house, heating/cooling loads, etc., but I'll spare you. I was basically just throwing out the idea for discussion.
As for spaceheaters, I don't agree totally with your statement. Electric heat is extremely efficient when compared gas or heating oil, it's just that historically electricity has been much more expensive. I just read today that Ameren is going to increase natural gas rates 20 to 30 percent this winter. I'm speculating that putting a small spaceheater in my relatively small bedroom will be more cost effective than using the furnace to heat the entire house overnight, especially when comparing cheaper electricity to more expensive natural gas.
You are correct that electric heat is efficient in terms of no energy being lost through ducts or combustion. Our statement was made from a different perspective, courtesy of our staff engineer. He views space heaters in the context of where they get their electricity – usually a coal-fired plant. A large percentage of the energy from that fuel is lost in the conversion to electricity, whereas when you heat with gas, that conversion factor isn’t an issue.
The way you describe using a small space heater in a confined space could be cost-efficient, you’d need to do the math. But remember, safety first – manufacturers usually say you shouldn’t use a space heater when you are sleeping.
Thanks for the comments!
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