Brownstone Energy Usage - Am I Crazy?

Hi everyone,

I am hoping to get a sense check from some of you on my energy usage. I live alone on two floors of a standard 20×40 townhouse. HE washer/drier/dishwasher and a Mitsubishi AC on one floor, standard HVAC covering my top floor and the rental garden apartment (all AC is on my meter). I had solar installed last summer. Two years ago ConEd installed smart meters and my usage skyrocketed. Unfortunately it is hard to know by how much because I would go months with only estimated readings due to poor SmartMeter connectivity in my neighborhood (ConEd is aware of this and says maybe by sometime next year this will be fixed).

I set a new record this month – my June bill usage was 1310 kwH, my solar generation over that period was ~750 kwH, so my total usage was over 2000 kwH. I keep my thermostat at 78 degrees all day long. The fan runs intermittently to circulate airflow. The tenant space uses around 400-600 kwH and has all the same amenities and a single tenant.

Is this outrageous? I’ve tried talking to the solar company and conEd about these usage num bers and everyone blames the other guy. Is there a way to audit my energy usage and try to figure out what’s going on? Unfortunately due to some error with the conEd system, I can’t view my daily/hourly usage in my unit to try to troubleshoot when the usage is happening.

Sorry for the essay and thanks for the time.

andy

in General Discussion 5 years and 2 months ago

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andy | 5 years and 2 months ago

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By way of followup: first off I LOVE the Sense energy monitor. It’s so incredibly cool and has me going around unplugging things left and right to try to save energy. Truly a powerful application of Big Data.

I don’t have the full picture yet but it appears I really am using a ton of energy. The HVAC system draws an incredible amount of power between the fan and the condenser. I searched the forum here and had US Mechanical come by to take a look. There’s nothing they can do with my system to make it more efficient. Their advice was simply, pay the cost, or upgrade to a more energy efficient Mitsubishi model that can ramp down consumption.

I’m waiting on that quote, but do have concerns about the Mitsubishi being able to handle two floors (the first and third floors in this case).

NeoGrec | 5 years and 2 months ago

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Hang in there! It’s maddening but I’m sure you will prevail. If you see a ConEd tech on your block, see if you can ask them under what circumstances they are dispatched to private homes. They ARE visiting homes currently, viz. our recent experience with the installation of new meters.

andy | 5 years and 2 months ago

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I’ve been in constant contact with BSW and I do think they’re trying to help me. You’re right though NeoGrec. I can’t say for sure it’s 100% a solar issue (it could also be the migration to smart meters from the old style in the course of my reno), but the fact remains I’ve spent dozens of hours on the phone and in person with conEd and BSW since this was installed.

Although it’s going to cost a decent chunk to have these energy monitors installed, I’m looking forward to having some independent data I can call my own for the first time in this awful saga.

By the way, in the course of reviewing this I also learned that conEd charges my tenant space meter double the service fee (~$30 vs $15/mo) because as the homeowner, I’m not technically allowed to be the holder of record on both meters. The house is a fully legal 2 family home with CO. Very deceptive business practice, and a total crock. There’s a fix, but it’s complicated, time consuming, and requires an appointment which is not available in the covid era.

NeoGrec | 5 years and 2 months ago

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Oh, a couple more quick comments. Firstly, I’ve only ever spoken to Mr. Munoz when calling Net Metering. I suspect it’s a department of one. Secondly, the ConEd tech said it’s critical to get someone out to your house to take an actual meter reading. If the billing department is relying on estimated readings, they will automatically bill you at the same level they’ve previously billed you at. In other words, they carry over their error (excessively high bills) to the new bill. And 1400 kWh month-to-date is definitely completely bonkers.

Guest User | 5 years and 2 months ago

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NeoGrec, the solar systems themselves have a readout showing total generation – if that number doesn’t match up with ConEd’s I would think it’s more likely the problem rests with ConEd’s equipment and not the solar equipment, but convincing BSW to act as an ally is a good approach I would think. They surely are more familiar with these kids of problems. In fact, if I’m not mistaken they guarantee 95% of estimated production the first year.

NeoGrec | 5 years and 2 months ago

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Belated reply: no explanation was offered for our new lower bills — I guess they just identified the problem and fixed it. I will be monitoring my bill like a hawk going forward. Also, maybe a good idea to keep pressuring BSW? While they are not responsible for ConEd’s errors, they are incentivized to help their customers find solutions to these billing problems and presumably they have more clout than any individual homeowner. The promise of solar energy is terrific but if the installations continue to create these issues, it will damage BSW’s reputation and make potential new customers wary. Their credibility largely rests on homeowner referrals.

andy | 5 years and 2 months ago

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Naturally conEd told me they see numbers like this all the time?! Thanks again

Guest User | 5 years and 2 months ago

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Those numbers are monstrous. It sounds like you’re going to have to go deep on this one. Sorry this is happening.

andy | 5 years and 2 months ago

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Right. That was something I tried to clarify with the Head of Net Metering (Mr. Munoz) and his boss (Mr. Bugatti). For example, last month conEd had some usage number of ~1550 kwH for June and they billed me 1310. So they used that to say my solar generated 240 kwH over the month. The question I had was, if I generate 1 kwH in the next hour, and I use that same 1 kwH over the same period, would that show as ‘usage’ in their system? They both said yes it would. In other words, this isn’t a situation where 510 of the 750 kwh are being used exactly as they are generated, with the 240 as surplus generation from times when I wasn’t using energy.

According to the meter yesterday, I am on track this month for a 1400 kwH bill despite not being home 4 of the last 8 days (with AC off during that time).

Guest User | 5 years and 2 months ago

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Happy to engage. One final thought: is it your understanding that ConEd’s reading of 240 is surplus after your monthly use (making your actual usage 510 out of the 750 generated)? They don’t seem to make it very clear on their monthly bills, which makes sense in a way, given that their interest is only how much of THEIR product you use.

andy | 5 years and 2 months ago

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I used Brooklyn Solarworks as well (and thought they did a great job). SMA reflects more or less expected generation (750 last month, versus the 240 that conEd alleged, and less going back towards winter ofc).

I’m going to follow your suggestion and just ordered Sense Energy Monitor with Solar which I understand will be able to doublecheck SunnyPortal. Thanks for engaging with me on this.

Guest User | 5 years and 2 months ago

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Do you have a separate means of checking solar production?

We have panels via BrooklynSolarworks and use an app called SunnyPortal to check actual production numbers.

andy | 5 years and 2 months ago

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JH – thank you, I’ll check out the energy monitor! And I will go ahead with a test after shutting off all electric.

NeoGrec- Thanks for the comments (not a rant at all). I had the same issue after install but was unsuccessful getting anything adjusted down. What reason did ConEd accept to adjust your bills? I basically begged the technician who came by to change the meter and he did me a major solid. My bills went down for awhile although that was winter, so who knows.

Net metering just told me there is not a duplicate meter issue at my property, thanks for the suggestion though. As always they blamed the solar company. They gave me production numbers of 230-240 kwH for each month Feb-June (which doesn’t make any sense, since clearly even if there was an inverter issue I would produce much more in June than Feb). They cannot send anyone by due to Covid…

I would love to hear from others what kind of bills you’re seeing. This whole process makes me crazy.

NeoGrec | 5 years and 2 months ago

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We have had a similar, but not so dire, situation since installing solar and switching to smart meters last year. Our bills were ridiculously high. I complained and, after months of waiting for a resolution, they finally were adjusted down. Then our tenant started receiving crazily high bills ($400 one month for a 650 sq ft unit with one occupant). Yesterday a ConEd tech came and installed two brand new smart meters. He explained that ConEd had issued duplicate meter numbers for hundreds of customers. So we (both us and our tenant) were being billed for usage at other locations. You can’t make this s**t up. We will see if this clears things up although, worryingly, the technician wasn’t optimistic. His attitude was that ConEd’s billing department is a nightmare of dysfunction which — hey — has been our experience too. Sorry for the long rant but here are three takeaways. 1. Because you have solar, always speak to the Net Metering customer service dept (212-780-6600) at ConEd, not regular CS. 2. Ask them to check if you might have the same duplicate meter numbering issu e. 3. Ask them to send a tech to check your smart meter. Apparently the remote reading procedure often results in significant errors. Meanwhile, make a manual log of your meter readings, taking photos on a regular basis. Good luck!

Guest User | 5 years and 2 months ago

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That honestly sounds out of this world. We were in a duplex apartment with a mini split system pushing 4 air handlers (for heating and cooling), loads of electronics and incandescent lights – we only brushed up against 1100 kWh a month! If you have access to your electrical panel I would suggest picking up a home energy monitor. This is just one that we’ve used, but there are others out there. We used it to great success in identifying what was using the majority of our energy. Depending on how your panel is wired, you may be able to track just your usage.

https://www.neur.io/energy-monitor/

The only other thing I can think of, which may be impractical in the dead of summer, is to turn off your electric (in your space) for an extended period of time and check the meter. Of course, unless your tenant does the same thing, you might still see a lot of movement on the meter.

andy | 5 years and 2 months ago

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Oh, and the townhouse is well insulated from a gut reno completed last year (foam insulation in ceiling/front/back walls. So it’s not an insulation problem.