Electric Question on utility meter

nothreat

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Aug 7, 2004
Messages
123
Re: Electric Question on utility meter

"You are charged by the amperage you use, I don't care if they call it kilowatts. Why? Because Ohms law says they're all interrelated. One amp is what it takes to push one volt through one ohm of resistance. It's a 1 to 1 to 1 relationship."

I work for a utility. It is a one to one relationship when you deal with real power as seen in the P=VI where P is power, V is volts and I is current. The utility charges you for power used over time. If you use 1 amp at 120v for one hour or .5 amps at 240 volts for one hour, you get charged for 120 watthours (actually .120 kilowatt/hours) of power. In the real world (AC power world) with losses, reactive power, and impedance rather than resistance, the relationships starts to get less straightforward, but you still get charged for kilowatt/hours used.
 

levittownnick

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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Jul 2, 2003
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Re: Electric Question on utility meter

The power company charges by "power" not "amps". There is a huge difference. If for the sake of simplicity, we ignore "power Factor" then power which is measured in watts (or kilowatts or megawatts) is = to volt times amps. If you try a couple of examples: 100Volts X 10Amps = 1,000Watts which is the same as 200Volts X 5Amps Therefore having a higher voltage brought into your home will NOT reduce the cost of electricity, but will enable the use of smaller gauge wire. As far as the National Grid is concerned, they do not send 120V over the grid, they use tens of thousands of volts.
 

rwise

Captain
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Jul 5, 2001
Messages
3,205
Re: Electric Question on utility meter

Yes many 103,000 volt lines, thus the transformers near you (and not so near you). But your meter does not run off voltage, it runs on amperage. Almost all homes have 220 volt service, or 2 lines of 110. Running something on 110 volt moves the meter more than running the same thing on 220, provided it is capable of doing both 110 and 220 ;) with a wiring change of course. Why, because it pulls less amps and balances the load across the 2 phases.

Balancing your load will help also so that you have the same pull on both phases (lines).
 

levittownnick

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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789
Re: Electric Question on utility meter

Sorry rwise, but you are dead wrong. They charge for Power which is Amps X Volts X Power Factor. Some may charge for just Volts X Amps.
 

WizeOne

Commander
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Mar 23, 2008
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Re: Electric Question on utility meter

Wow! I read this whole thread and ended up not understanding any more than I did before.:p
 

nothreat

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Aug 7, 2004
Messages
123
Re: Electric Question on utility meter

Wow! I read this whole thread and ended up not understanding any more than I did before.

You don't really need to...the Power Company will take care of you ;)
 

MrBossman

Banned
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Oct 14, 2008
Messages
42
Re: Electric Question on utility meter

Tell you what. Whatever it is you do make sure it is 100% up to all electrical safety codes and you wont go wrong.........That Im sure of.LOL
 

rwise

Captain
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Jul 5, 2001
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3,205
Re: Electric Question on utility meter

Sorry rwise, but you are dead wrong. They charge for Power which is Amps X Volts X Power Factor. Some may charge for just Volts X Amps.

Whatever you want to believe is fine with me,,,,

Like MrBossman said follow code!

I'll continue to balance the load on my meter and enjoy life while I can ;)
 

levittownnick

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 2, 2003
Messages
789
Re: Electric Question on utility meter

Whatever you want to believe is fine with me,,,,

Like MrBossman said follow code!

I'll continue to balance the load on my meter and enjoy life while I can ;)

Sounds like a good plan.
 
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