Power cost

[jave808]

I got both machines up and running again so I'll be able to get them done before I shut that rig down.  Not happy about it but without a big phat solar array on the roof it's just getting to expensive.

It is mate.
Whilst I'm not giving up on BOINC, it's become a VERY expensive hobby with the prices of electricity & gpu's.
I hate having all these great cpu cores just doing nothing right now and that's purely because of electricity prices.
I really hope something is done regarding power prices in Australia. Surely business will go to the wall soon and maybe that's what it will take to doing something. Involencies.

If it were just my gas prices going up (yep, them as well) I'd crank up more CPUs for the heat, but it's everything all at once.  F'n BS is what it is.  Power and gas are natural monopolies and should be handled by the state.  We have a 50MW hydro plant near here that almost never runs because the private mob that owns it decide is not "cost effective" and would rather run gas turbines instead.  That little hydro could be running 24/7/365, the dam has to release a minimum amount of water for irrigation and use by various towns down stream so they can't argue there isn't enough water release to spin it.

Agree with you DA. The government at the time decided to sell off the grid and power stations, just for a few quick bucks. Ridiculous.

[Dark Angel]

I got both machines up and running again so I'll be able to get them done before I shut that rig down.  Not happy about it but without a big phat solar array on the roof it's just getting to expensive.

It is mate.
Whilst I'm not giving up on BOINC, it's become a VERY expensive hobby with the prices of electricity & gpu's.
I hate having all these great cpu cores just doing nothing right now and that's purely because of electricity prices.
I really hope something is done regarding power prices in Australia. Surely business will go to the wall soon and maybe that's what it will take to doing something. Involencies.

If it were just my gas prices going up (yep, them as well) I'd crank up more CPUs for the heat, but it's everything all at once.  F'n BS is what it is.  Power and gas are natural monopolies and should be handled by the state.  We have a 50MW hydro plant near here that almost never runs because the private mob that owns it decide is not "cost effective" and would rather run gas turbines instead.  That little hydro could be running 24/7/365, the dam has to release a minimum amount of water for irrigation and use by various towns down stream so they can't argue there isn't enough water release to spin it.

Agree with you DA. The government at the time decided to sell off the grid and power stations, just for a few quick bucks. Ridiculous.

Well, it's was about six billion that they privatised it for (not counting what they got from foreign entities that have bought the infrastructure).  That's what had been set aside by the NSW Electricity Commission for future upgrades for lines and station upgrades.  The Greiner government wanted to get their sticky little hands on it to balance their incompetent budget, so the Commission was locked down and marked to be sold off and that money was suddenly available.  The people of NSW haven't stopped paying for that corruption ever since.

[chooka03]

Gee, If I run my gpu's on Einstein and my cpu's at 50% usage (so only on the cores) for LHC (day & night), it costs me $27/day. 
Might have to go back to cpu only during the daytime.

I got a letter this week also telling me that the tariff rate is going up again. Between 6-9pm every day, the more I use, the more I pay :(

[chooka03]

Another day and another change to my power bill! 

So Energex have now changed my plan so instead of a flat rate of 44c/kwh, I now have -

Peak (4pm - 8pm) = 65.12c/kwh
Shoulder (7am - 4pm & 8pm - 10pm ) = 49.05c/kwh
Off Peak (10pm - 7am) = 41.85c/kwh

Plus a daily charge of $1.34/day.

I hate to say it but I might have to pause crunching between 4-8pm :(
I dunno about everyone else but I'm getting really angry about power prices!  It's out of control!
I'm spending $6000 year on electricity now and that's WITH solar. My solar credit for last month......$10.64.

So angry. 

[Dingo]

Another day and another change to my power bill! 

So Energex have now changed my plan so instead of a flat rate of 44c/kwh, I now have -

Peak (4pm - 8pm) = 65.12c/kwh
Shoulder (7am - 4pm & 8pm - 10pm ) = 49.05c/kwh
Off Peak (10pm - 7am) = 41.85c/kwh

Plus a daily charge of $1.34/day.

I hate to say it but I might have to pause crunching between 4-8pm :(
I dunno about everyone else but I'm getting really angry about power prices!  It's out of control!
I'm spending $6000 year on electricity now and that's WITH solar. My solar credit for last month......$10.64.

So angry. 

That seems a lot.  My TOU charges with Red Energy Qantas account are:

Tariff Description UsagekWh RateperkWh Charges
TotalSolar*      22-      $0.04-    $ 0.88
TotalPeak        63        $0.3668  $23.11
TotalShoulder    229        $0.2792  $63.94
TotalOffPeak     299        $0.2398  $71.70
ServicetoPropertyCharge 29days $1.02/day $29.58
GST $19.93

I bought a small EcoFlow battery backup so try and run the computers during peak times off the battery.
They also have a terrific app that you can see your usage for the Bill Cycle, Monthly, Daily or last 12 months with one day lag so you see yesterdays today.  I am impressed with them so far.

[chooka03]

Geez.... Maybe I have unique rates because my power plan has a 28% pay on time discount applied?

Last month's bill -

Daily Charge - 31 days @ $1.34/ day - $41.60
Std Solar - 0.04c = $10.64 credit
Off Peak @ 0.12c/kwh = $241.00
Peak @ 0.65c/whr = $153.00
Shoulder @ 0.49c/kwh = $218.00

Total = $644.00 minus the 28% POTD = $472.00

Edit - So I just compared my plan with Red Energy's Living Energy Solar Saver and the net difference is $47.65 cheaper with Red Energy.

So it just looks to me like they get you either way. Creative accounting.
Give with one hand (28% discount) but take with the other (sky high tariff rates)

I roll off the pay on time discount in Aug 2027.

I should plug all this into chat GPT on the best way to reduce my power bill effectively. 

[Cruncher Pete]

Currently I am with Red Energy.  It is hard to figure out who is cheaper with the different options available.

[jave808]

Currently I am with Red Energy.  It is hard to figure out who is cheaper with the different options available.

Pete, there is this energy comparison website hosted by the government - https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/

I've switched my dad over to Amber Energy (moving from Origin Energy). Not sure how it'll go but they pay a better rate on solar energy exports back to the grid.

[chooka03]

Well here's something I've learnt while away on holidays..... With zero crunching and being away, our house used about $1.20/day and the solar generated about $1.30/day. Sometimes more, sometimes less (depending on cloud cover)

[chooka03]

Wow.... so by not crunching for 5 days in Sept, it dropped my power bill from $472 down to $281.00 
Gee, now that I can see that in perspective......