Metered Electricity Questions - RV-Dreams Community Forum

K & E · RV-Dreams Family Member

Metered Electricity Questions

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Somewhere on the Escapees forum there was a good general formula.We are paying 15 cents per KWH here in Florida which is about average .Propane is $2.79 a gallon and for us it's cheaper to heat with propane.Remember anything that uses electricity to create heat is a KWH hog.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

The formula Raceyguy is refering to is there is about as much heat in one gallon of propane as 22 KWH of electricity. At 16 cents a KWH if the propane was under $3.52/gallon (22 times 16 cents) than propane is cheaper than electricity.

Of course if you have to drive a long ways to fill the tank, the real cost is more.

Still your numbers seem high if you are running the water heater, fridge and heat on propane since 25 to 40 KWH is what we use going all-electric. (We have a 40 foot motorhome). Check for block heaters or other devices that are on by mistake and make sure you are not sharing your electricity with a neighbor. Two walkie-talkies (two-way radios) with someone watching the meter and the other turning on circuit breakers inside will tell you a lot. Start with all breakers off inside since that will tell you if the electricity usage is in your RV.

Serengeti · RV-Dreams Family Member

First I can tell you that your refrigerator is using at least $20.00 worth of electric per month at a cost of $.12 KWh.
You have to remember that the electric side of the refer is a controlled short and uses a lot of energy.
The cost to operate a regular stix-n-bricks refer is about $3.50 per month
You have to figure out the difference in the cost at $.16 KWh.
Even if you put the refer on gas you need to keep the inverter/converter going to supply 12 volt to the brain of the refer.
Some times the inverter/converter have issues and could be using a lot of energy.
Good luck in your quest to find a problem, and by using the bjoyce method of turning breakers on and off is a good idea.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

In general, if you are on metered electric LP gas will be less expensive for hot water, the refer and heating. No question. Just like in a sticks and bricks, especially for hot water and furnace operation. If it were not, you wouldn’t see full-time “permanent” RV rigs with 200 lb LP tanks connected for heating and hot water.

You can do a lot of math, but after you do I can almost guarantee, based on experience, that LP is more efficient and less costly. My mom winters in Florida (full-time Airstreamer) with metered electric and we know from years of experience LP is the way to go although it is more trouble.

BTW, you would be surprised how much power those 12 volt lights take. It is not uncommon for my converter to be pulling 4 or 5 AC amps just for lights. That 600 or more watts per hour. So just saying, when you’re trying to conserve all that stuff adds up.

Gee 16 cents per kwh is really high - or so it seems from here - not to mention $12.50 as a base cost. I'd sure consider trying LP for a month.

Safe travels

Bill

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

We found AZ. to be the most expensive place for electric. We now avoid parks that meter electric (on other than daily rate) as we can't afford them ;)

I enjoy telling this story, but at the time it wasn't funny. Staying at a park in AZ. they were charging $0.165/kWH. While there the governor of AZ. signed a law that stated RV parks could not charge RV'ers more per kWH than a single dwelling home owner. At the time that was $0.08/kWH. I called the office and asked them if they were going to lower the rate they charged me and they told me the new law didn't apply to them.

K & E · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks for your comments. Like I said, we've never been charged for metered electric before other than at Wisconsin State Parks where they charge $5 per day extra for an electric site. I always thought that was too high, but not anymore.

We had no idea how much electricity an electric heater uses. After turning it off, we saw our daily KW hours drop from 30 to 18. Wow. Now we're experimenting with the water heater and refrigerator.

As they say, live and learn.

Hope everyone is staying warm in this cold snap the majority of the country is experiencing. 32 degrees this morning in Yuma. Ouch!

injunear · RV-Dreams Family Member

Wow, that's outrageous. We pay .11 per KWh for commercial property in TN.
At .16 per KWh propane would be much cheaper. You may want to get a portable LP heater.
I guess we will have to ask the electrical rates for extended stay in southern TX and AZ when we go fulltime.

Wayne

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

12 KWH from a 1.5KW heater means it was running 8 hours every day, which fits "overnight".

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well, the discussion is relevant and has remained on target. Strange huh? I do want to inject one caveat here. Yesterday, it was my unfortunate experience to purchase propane from Fiesta RV Resort in Boerne, TX. Of course, it is my fault because I did not ask rates first. When my 40 lb tank was filled, I went to the office to pay. Almost choked when it was $40.00. I asked if that was correct, and was assured it was. My comment was, that is a dollar a pound, making it cost about $5.00 per gallon, based on propane weight of 4.65 lbs per gallon. They commented "Well, I didn't set the price". I told them I would not admit to it either.

At that cost, metered electric would be a bargain.

Always ask first just became my policy. Never assume they are reputable business people.

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ran into that in North Carolina but it was only $ 18.00 for a 30 lb bottle which was ok if it's empty. But it would have been the same price to just top it off also which is a ripoff in my books. I also learned to ask before filling.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Racerguy wrote:
Ran into that in North Carolina but it was only $ 18.00 for a 30 lb bottle which was ok if it's empty. But it would have been the same price to just top it off also which is a ripoff in my books. I also learned to ask before filling.

Absolutely true, you must look at the price of LP vs. electric in the equation. That’s just a rip off price and sometimes at a campground the price is “rip off” for LP and electricity. So you might want to check out the local prices for LP depending on the driving distance.
With that in mind, one thing to check on, especially if you are a bit new to this game, is to make sure if you tank is not completely empty that the price charged is per gallon and not a flat charge for a tank. For example, a 30lb tank is $18.00 no matter how much they put in as opposed to a per gallon charge. I have that situation locally and so I actually use a U-Haul dealer who sells, like most places, by the gallon, not by the tank. They also give a flat $1 off per tank for repeat customers. We use a little 5 lb tank for the grill which last a long time. $1 off on a $3 fill is a pretty good deal.
Just a word to the wise for those just beginning this little adventure.
Safe travels
Bill

Speedhitch · RV-Dreams Family Member

I think the main thing here is to be conservative no matter what fuel you use.