Electricity retailers may wish to charge customers different tariffs at different times of the day. This is because there is generally a surplus of electrical generation capacity at times of low demand, such as during the night (see supply and demand). Electricity retailing is the final process in the delivery of electricity from generation to the consumer. ... The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability at each price (supply) and the desires of those with purchasing power at each price (demand). ...
Some multiple tariff meters use different tariffs for different amounts of demand. These are usually industrial meters.
Domestic usage
Domestic variable-rate meters normally only permit two tariffs ("peak" and "off-peak") and in such installations a simple electromechanical time switch may be used. They are commonly used in conjunction with electrical storage heaters. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Multiple tariffs are made easier by time of use (TOU) meters which incorporate or are connected to a time switch and which have multiple registers.
Switching between the tariffs may happen via a radio-activated switch rather than a time switch to prevent tampering with a sealed time switch to obtain cheaper electricity.
Radio-activated switching is common in the UK, with a nightly data signal sent within the longwave carrier of BBC Radio 4, 198 kHz. The time of off-peak usage is between 12.30am - 7.30am, and this is designed to power storage heaters and immersion heaters. In the UK, such tariffs are branded Economy 7 or White Meter. The popularity of such tariffs has declined in recent years, at least in the domestic market, due to the (perceived or real) deficiencies of storage heaters and the low cost of natural gas. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A trio of propane water heaters. ... For other uses, see Natural gas (disambiguation). ...
Some meters using Economy 7 switch the entire electricity supply to the cheaper rate during the 7 hour night time period, not just the storage heater circuit. The downside of this is that the daytime rate will be a touch higher, and standing charges may be a little higher too. For instance, normal rate electricity may be 7p per kWh, whereas Economy 7's daytime rate might be 7.5p per kWh, but only 2.8p per kWh at night. Timer switches installed on washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers and immersion heaters may be set so that they switch on only when the rate is lower. Front-loading washing machine. ... An electric clothes dryer A clothes dryer or tumble dryer (also spelt with an i: drier) is a major household appliance that is used to remove the residual moisture from clothing or fabrics, generally shortly after being cleaned in a washing or washing/drying machine. ... A Dishwasher A two drawer DishDrawer dishwasher. ... A trio of propane water heaters. ...
Commercial usage
Large commercial and industrial premises may use electronic meters which record power usage in blocks of half an hour or less. This is because most electricity grids have demand surges throughout the day, and the power company may wish to give incentives to large customers to reduce demand at these times. These demand surges often corresponding to meal times or, famously, to advertisements in popular television programmes. A database query syntax error has occurred. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ...
Multiple tariff rates may also dependend on frequency, also known as availability based tariff (ABT), deployed in Grid substations and inter-utility transfer points for bulk transfer of energy. This is based on the premise that the system frequency is inversely proportional to the current load. This also causes self-regulation because the rates are higher when the system frequency is low, eventually bringing down the demand.[citation needed]
Appliance energy meters
Plug in electricity meters (or "Plug load" meters) measure energy used by individual appliances. They can help in energy conservation by identifying major energy users, or devices that consume excessive standby power. Examples of plug in meters include various Kill A Watt and Watts Up[2] Meters. A power meter can often be borrowed from the local power authorities[3] or a local public library[4]. For the physical concepts, see conservation of energy and energy efficiency. ... Standby power, also called Vampire power, refers to the electric power consumed by electronic appliances while in a standby mode. ...
In-home energy use displays
A potentially powerful means to reduce household energy consumption is to provide real-time feedback to homeowners so they can change their energy using behavior. Recently, low-cost energy feedback displays, such as The Energy Detective or wattson[5], have become available. A study of a similar device deployed in 500 Ontario homes by Hydro One showed an average 6.5% drop in total electricity use when compared with a similarly sized control group.[6]
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