SMECO Emails

[TPD]

Do I really need to know that I used 5.987kWh of electricity on Wednesday at 4:03:27pm? Because I payed one bill online many years ago, they now have my email address and send me these stupid messages. I have unsubscribed once which apparently didn't take so I have tried it again. I pay the bill by mail every month and know how to read the monthly usage on the statement. I don't need any more detail than that...

 

[NextJen]

Do I really need to know that I used 5.987kWh of electricity on Wednesday at 4:03:27pm?

Usage shaming.

 

[Yooper]

Usage shaming.

^^^ This. ^^^

--- End of line (MCP)

 

[David]

Yep, the general theory is that it is cheaper to chide retail consumers into using less energy than it is to build new power plants. So, while we scrimp and save, the big box stores light up warehouse size buildings and huge parking lots and heat/cool open spaces with 20-30' high ceilings. And the car dealers with their mega lights shining on all the new cars and so on and so forth.

 

[mitzi]

I got mine today and I like it. It showed I used more usage on the evening of the18th. I thought about what I may have done and yep, that's what it was. It made me more aware of where I wasted electricity because I forgot to turn a space heater off (that I rarely use anyway).

 

[Goldenhawk]

SMECO can take their opinion of my energy usage and stuff it where the solar panels don't do any good.

 

[spr1975wshs]

I get snail mail chidings saying I use more than so and so % of my "neighbors."
Half of the single family dwellings near me have solar panels.
About 1/3 of the nearby housing is apartments or townhouses.
Not a comparable sample to our single family house without solar.
So, in File 13 it goes.

 

[Dakota]

Okay, so there isn't something wrong with me when I get these notices and want to scream.

Your efficient neighbors - YOU <--- crap

But at cookouts, when we compare, my bill is far less than my neighbors so what gives? Why tell me my household is an energy suck when it isn't true at all.

 

[This_person]

Most of the time when you get those "compared with your neighbors" things, they've complete lies. EVERY neighbor is using more than all the other neighbors. I suspect if you ask, that's what you'll find (it's what happens in our neighborhood).

Not sure why anyone would get upset over the e-mails, though. The delete button is really easy to find.

 

[Bonehead]

I find it interesting to track electrical use, some may not.

 

[GWguy]

I don't use those letters as a comparison to anyone else. The KWH numbers for myself are factual, taken from actual usage. I like to compare myself to previous years, just to see if I'm using more or less.

 

[MiddleGround]

All of you complaining about WHY they send out the neighborhood comparisons have probably never looked at the bottom half of those notices. Ya' know.. the spot where they try to sell you their "Home Energy Evaluation Service."

It is a service sales flyer.... plain and simple.

 

[Clem72]

SMECO can take their opinion of my energy usage and stuff it where the solar panels don't do any good.

I don't need their opinion, but I very much like having the detailed data. So I can for instance tell at what temperature for instance my HVAC starts ramping up the cost (when the heatpump bomes much less efficient, but it still hasn't kicked over to the electric coils). Helps me determine when I should run the pellet stove.

 

[Clem72]

Okay, so there isn't something wrong with me when I get these notices and want to scream.

Your efficient neighbors - YOU <--- crap

But at cookouts, when we compare, my bill is far less than my neighbors so what gives? Why tell me my household is an energy suck when it isn't true at all.

Your "efficient neighbors" is an average that includes vacant houses or (in my case) homes that are only occupied part of the year. I also find it hard to believe I run 10% above my efficient neighbors when every light in my house is LED and I keep my thermostat at 65 in the winter / 78 in the summer with a 26 SEER heatpump, gas appliances, and my entertainment electronics are limited to a couple of tablets, a laptop, and a modest TV. Maybe my CPAP uses 5kwh a night.

 

[ginwoman]

I got mine today and I like it. It showed I used more usage on the evening of the18th. I thought about what I may have done and yep, that's what it was. It made me more aware of where I wasted electricity because I forgot to turn a space heater off (that I rarely use anyway).

I'm wondering if my new (to me) air fryer didn't jack it up several of those evenings

 

[FED_UP]

Does anyone ever get one saying your useage is lower than your neighbors? haha. Any one get the solar deal, if so what was the cost, been thinking about it. Friend says his bill is now very low, one time it was negative. So the bill is lower which is good but now there is a bill for the financed solar stuff. Wonder what the ROI would be after the panels are paid over so many years.

 

[FED_UP]

I'm wondering if my new (to me) air fryer didn't jack it up several of those evenings

I love that thing, have not fried anything in cooking oil since Thanksgiving.

 

[MiddleGround]

Does anyone ever get one saying your useage is lower than your neighbors?

I have received ONE that said I was the most efficient and a couple that said I was not the worst. Most of them say I use more than everyone else in the neighborhood.

It's a sales ploy for their home evaluation services.

 

[nutz]

I find it interesting to track electrical use, some may not.

I’ve been using an efergy setup to keep track. For some reason, the SMECO usage mailers dont match my meter, my monitoring program or SMECOs bill

 

[Cannon]

Does anyone ever get one saying your useage is lower than your neighbors? haha. Any one get the solar deal, if so what was the cost, been thinking about it. Friend says his bill is now very low, one time it was negative. So the bill is lower which is good but now there is a bill for the financed solar stuff. Wonder what the ROI would be after the panels are paid over so many years.

I looked into it. They were going to put solar panels on my large garage roof (35x55ft). For the first year, yes, the monthly rates would be much lower. Then they would creep up. After five years, I would pretty much be paying the same as I did before, and it would be like that up until 20 years when the whole set-up was paid off. After that, then I would really start to see savings.... with 20 year-old equipment that was now all mine... to repair. Not to mention the now 20 year old roof that needs repair, which will be incredibly increased in cost due to the panels. Moore's law states that tech doubles in capacity every three years. So, would you replace your roof and then put the old stuff back on it? No, you would have to buy new solar equipment due to your stuff being ancient. You think they didn't plan on this????
Do the math. Don't look at it for the immediate future. Amortize it over 20 years. Then figure in repair costs. You aint saving a dime, and the solar company walked away with the 10K "Solar Grant" money. Do you know of any company that is in business for you? I don't. They are in business to make money.... Yours and the grant money. Leave it alone. Don't be a sucker.