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Old 09-14-2007, 02:27 PM   #1
BirdingRVer
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Metered Electricity

We moved into our 5th wheel today to start our fulltiming lives. We will be staying at this RV Park until then end of the year. Our monthly rate doesn’t include electricity, it is metered and we pay for what we use at the end of each month.

This is our first encounter with metered electricity. I understand that it is common with monthly rates. I am wondering if it would be more economical to run the water heater and refrigerator on propane while we are here. Or is it more economical to use the electricity.

Any words of advise?
 
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Old 09-14-2007, 03:10 PM   #2
sreigle
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Grant, I've often wondered that same question but have never satisfactorily come up with an answer. I ask the kwh price of electricity and also how much per gallon or pound of propane. If either seems unusually high I base my decision on that. Pretty scientific, huh?

By the way, in Vermont recently we stayed overnight in a park that metered electricity even on the daily rate. That's a first for us. It's always been only with the monthly rate.
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Old 09-14-2007, 04:28 PM   #3
snfexpress
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From a practical standpoint, based on empirical evidence, we use propane to heat the water. We use electricity to cool the fridge and everything else is done with the idea that we are paying for electricity. This seems to be good for us.

If you're interested, here is an online calculator to estimate the cost benefits of propane vs. electricty at various price/gallon and kwh costs: http://www.tigerfuel.com/calculator.htm

But, like I said, when paying for electricity, we do not use the elctric side of the hot water heater 24/7. We turn on the propane about 20 minutes before we want to shower, do dishes, etc.
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Old 09-14-2007, 05:54 PM   #4
clutch
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In Az metered electricity is the norm. Last winter it was .16 per kw hr. For us it was about $50 a month.
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Old 09-15-2007, 12:40 AM   #5
Glenn and Lorraine
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We use electric for everything whether we pay for it or not. Quite often we will use a small electric heater to keep the chill off and not touch the furnace. The only time we switch to gas is when the CG has a poor system and we aren't getting the needed voltage. YES we do have an Autoformer but even that won't help in some rare cases.
Over the long run, I have found little difference in KW cost or propane cost. Plus changing out the propane tanks can be a real pain in the butt.
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Old 09-15-2007, 06:06 AM   #6
Parrothead
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I think part of this depends on how easy it is to get the propane bottles filled. We did a lot of thinking and calculating on this when we were parked for months at a time in Northern California. Ed would be back at our home in So. California every couple of weeks for a week or more. He was worried about me running out of propane so we kept everything on electric even though we were paying for it. When he was there, we used propane some for showers but did not leave it on all the time. There is another factor here also, how cold the water is when it enters the hot water heater.
Happy trails..................
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Old 09-15-2007, 06:02 PM   #7
dsprik
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In our FL park, they fill our propane at $19. I run exclusively on propane. I will check on the calc supplied by snfexpress, but with our electric bill touching $80/month (last year in FL we needed the A/C a bunch - and we use it more than some), I can say with confidence that the water heater on propane was the economical way for us to go.
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Old 09-16-2007, 02:29 AM   #8
Bill and Ann
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In Texas we use the propane for the water heater and the frig. Power is .17 kwh and propane is $13.50 to fill a bottle. It is more economical for us to use power at home in Canada as our power is 5.7 cents Kwh.
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Old 09-16-2007, 02:38 AM   #9
richfaa
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we were 6 weeks in a RV park in Apache Junction , Az over the winter..it was not super hot nor super cold...used electric for everything..bill after 6 weeks was 53.00.
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Old 09-16-2007, 07:32 AM   #10
sreigle
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by snfexpress


If you're interested, here is an online calculator to estimate the cost benefits of propane vs. electricty at various price/gallon and kwh costs: http://www.tigerfuel.com/calculator.htm
Excellent, Michael. Thank you.
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Old 09-17-2007, 06:35 AM   #11
BirdingRVer
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Kathy has pointed out that we have been paying $150 to $200 a month for electricity in the stick house for years; so, $20 to $60 a month is a bargain either way. I think I am going to stay on all electric just for the ease of use for now.
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