Do people in the US actually care about electricity prices during the day?

Posted by SmartEnergyDIY@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 12 comments

I tried for a few days to run stuff like my washing machine or dishwasher at “cheaper” hours…

honestly it just made my routine annoying

Like yeah it’s cheaper at night or whatever, but I don’t really see people around me actually changing their habits for it.

Maybe it’s different in the US?

Do people really plan around electricity prices or is it more like “nice idea but not worth the effort”?

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deebville00@reddit

AFAIK, electricity cost the same regardless of what time it is. If there is a difference, I could probably care less.

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Wermys@reddit

Yes, I always shut the ac off depending on how long I will be gone for. Turn the lights off etc.

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Negative-Arachnid-65@reddit

Between the username and the fact that we've been getting this question a lot lately, someone is clearly trying to do lazy market research.

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Yes, but at the same time I want to be comfortable in my house, just like everyone else. That means I'll deal with paying more. If the utility company actually cared they would work on changing the local laws allowing me to put more than 110% of my previous 3 month utility use average on my room and let me sell the excess back to the grid as a profit. If they let me do that I would put panels on every available space on the roof.

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tsukiii@reddit

I run my dishwasher and EV charging overnight when the power is cheaper. That’s about it.

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MoonieNine@reddit

I've moved a lot all around the US. Only a few places had cheaper rates at night. Most places I lived, the prices were the same.

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Into-Imagination@reddit

I plan my EV charging around electricity pricing (avoiding a 4PM to 9PM peak charge window); I do so because it’s incredibly easy to have setup as a schedule (charger just automatically doesn’t operate during that time period.)

Other than that, no, I don’t optimize.

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Objective-Plum1201@reddit

I was going to say the exact same. Only my EV

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mrbeige3@reddit

I charge our car at night, because it’s convenient and does make a pretty big difference versus charging during the day. Otherwise, no. I’m not washing clothes at 3am to save 12 cents.

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TCFNationalBank@reddit

We seem to be getting this question a lot lately, I wonder why that might be.

I do the hourly billing and run my dishwasher at night, no other real change to my consumption. It's also very useful to people who charge EVs overnight during off-peak hours, or people who have solar panels on their property they can use during the day.

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Weightmonster@reddit

Not sure where you would find this info in real time.

For most people the difference is not worth the hassle.