How much a clothes dryer cost to use? Again ......

[JP]

Cost to run dryer

I live on the Central Oregon Coast & my electric company says its about27.6 cents per HR our rates are 6.14 cents per kilowatt hr.

[Existential Angst]

No, you still can't clamp around both wires. This is 220/240 *single phase* -- true, you are using two legs of opposite phase, but the net voltage is still single phase. Iow, there is single phase and three phase, but no two phase -- heh, funny how that works.

But the clamp-on is a good idea, because it is esp. accurate on a purely resistive load -- no power factor to worry about. You would, however, have to subtract out the the motor current of one leg, tho. If one hot were reading 20 A, and the other leg were reading 16 A, the total wattage would be:

16 x 240 + 4 x 120 x .8 , where .8 would be a typical (inductive) power factor for motors. Presumably the neutral coming from the dryer would also read that same 4 A, but who knows what's going with grounds, etc.

[trader4]

But what it takes for fuel to generate the power is a huge factor and varies widely. The areas with the lowest electric prices are usually the ones driven off hydro-electric. Unfortunately, because of geography, most areas of the country don't have that available.

And also factor in labor rates, materials costs, land costs, etc. What it costs to build a sub-station or run a new transmission line near Niagra falls is going to be a whole lot different than one in northern NJ or San Francisco.

[Pete C.]

The tiers here are just the opposite, cost per KWh goes down as usage goes up. Go figure...

[Existential Angst]

But what it takes for fuel to generate the power is a huge factor and varies widely. The areas with the lowest electric prices are usually the ones driven off hydro-electric. Unfortunately, because of geography, most areas of the country don't have that available.

And also factor in labor rates, materials costs, land costs, etc. What it costs to build a sub-station or run a new transmission line near Niagra falls is going to be a whole lot different than one in northern NJ or San Francisco.

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A much much bigger factor: How corrupt is a state's legislature? Given the corruption factor in NY, I spose 30c/kWhr (what it winds up really being, not the bullshit 9c) is still a bargain.

[trader4]

I'd recommend trying them both out soon and make sure you save the receipt until you do. I bought one at Costco last summer. Right out of the box, one of the keys didn't work, so it was impossible to use. Took it back and they gave me another one. On that one a different key didn't work. So, I decided to wait a few months in the hope that maybe they just had a bad batch. Bought one a couple months ago and that one is working fine.

[Existential Angst]

There you go again. As Tony pointed out to you, just because that's how your electric company pricing is structured, it doesn't meant that it's that way everywhere. Here in the next state over, NJ, my residential rate is fixed at a flat rate per KWH.

Most of us here would say the large upfront price differential should be factored in before concluding that front loaders are a win-win situation. And I'd say if you do that and factor in the time value of money, in most cases they come out to be a losing proposition. ====================================================

Well, if the Frigidaire Josh posted on at $500 is any good, then this would be a no-brainer -- proly a very very high ROI. And, for some, the fact that front loaders are so easy on septic systems is a major plus as well. The resource savings from any front loader are enormous. How that actually translates into an ROI is not so easy to determine, unless the price is "normal". $1500 does make you think a bunch of times.... dats why they give these units such good paint jobs....

[terry]

IMO I think you would be measuring it twice. the current flows from one end of the 220 volt supply, thorugh the the machine, mainly the heaters, and back through the other 220 volt as a return. Some dryers do have some 110 volt that would unbalnce that a bit but not much.

[terry]

That's relatively cheap; but does that include ALL the charges. To get ours I divide the total bill (which includes a per account and sales tax charges) by total k.w.hrs. Since we are on an even monthly charge plan, the same every month, adjusted annually, it's accurate.

[terry]

There was one common model we used in one of the Gulf states called the Indesit, made IIRC in Italy. It was quickly nicknamed 'THE INDECENT' . Problem was that once you started it you couldn't open the door! It didn't use much water and took ages to rock back and forth and 'do' a wash. Then the problem of drying clothes. Either hanging them up in front of the AC (even that was dusty) or finally installing a large US style 230 volt dryer. The electricity btw, was all 230 volt 50 hertz.

[terry]

Not two PHASES. The TWO ends of the same single phase supply. Which also has a centre tap to provide a zero point for two 120 volt 'legs'. Have lived in a house that had a single neutral and three separate phases each 120 degrees apart! There was a 3 phase main breaker and then three separate sections to the breaker panel.

[Bob F]

If a utility has huge surplus generation capablility, that makes sense. Where are you?

[Pete C.]

N. TX.

[E Z Peaces]

Rather than run a cable to the new outbuilding at his farm, my brother considered having the power company install a service drop. If he'd used no electricity in the building, that second account would have cost him $9 a month.

Electricity is 8 cents per kWh. If in a given month his only use in the building was a little lighting, his he might have been billed $9.08 for

1kWh.

Suppose his tractor was parked in the building, and the battery ran down. He figures it will take 2kWh to charge it. That would add 16 cents to his bill.

Dividing the total bill by the total kWh would lead him to estimate that charging his battery would add $18.12 to his bill.

[trader4]

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

Please post us a link to the utility in NY where electricity costs 30C a kwh for any typical amount of residential usage. I've seen many tables showing electricity costs, highs, lows, etc and have never seen anywhere that it costs 30c.

[Metspitzer]

Since it is single phase, the current in both legs will be the same. And you don't add them to get the total.

[Jim Elbrecht]

30cents wouldn't surprise me for ConEd, LIPA or Central Hudson. The average is supposedly 19cents; I'm served by National Grid- one of the bigger upstate suppliers- and usually on the low end. They have on the bill that they are selling me electricity for 6.8cents. But when I divide the bill by the KWH, I find I'm paying over 15cents. LIPA and ConEd both advertise over 20 cents & they both have higher taxes than upstate- so 30cents is real easy to believe.

But I think California and Hawaii are higher.

Jim

[dpb]

It also all depends on what particular rate is being spoken of -- depending on locale and what particular rules are for the various state/local commissions, there's generally an approved "base rate" but when the fuel adjustment and so on are included the actual end-user cost is generally higher (sometimes significantly so). It can even vary within the state from utility to utility based on specifics of a generation mix, construction costs for needed expansion or to meet mandated generation mix requirements, or pollution abatement edicts, etc., etc., etc., ... IOW, despite wishes to the contrary there still is no free lunch.

--

[Pete C.]

The current will be slightly asymmetric since a dryer typically has 120V control loads in addition to 240V heating elements. This is where the neutral current on the ground issue arises and why the current code has

4 wire receptacles for dryers with separate neutral and ground conductors.

[Existential Angst]

They are. But I don't think Trader is really curious, as much as he just wants to catch me in a lie, like SaltyAss, Ricodjour, Shitty Two, and their ilk.

Again, for the slow, my near-30c rate is not an explicit, published rate -- the published rate is 9c. But the *real* rate I wind up paying, when I divide the $$ that I mail in by the kWhr that I got, is near 30c.

It's good to hear that not everyone is f'd ita like this. But CA, NY, and a bunch of others are. I suspect everyone's turn will come, tho. After all, what corp. concern can resist the easy fleecing of millions of sheeple? What CongressShill has the balls to fight it? If balls is even an issue -- corruption is the issue.

Free Money, Free Money!!!