Managing a 120-unit property here and our summer demand charges are absolutely killing us. July hit $18,400 just in demand charges under Schedule LGS-2. The ratchet clause keeps us paying winter peaks through the whole year. Pool equipment and AC units all kick on at once around 3 PM and spike our demand to 847 kW. Any ideas for load management that actually work?
Las Vegas apartment complex - NV Energy demand charges insane
Tony, we had similar issues in Denver with Xcel. Installed smart pool controls and staggered the HVAC startup times across buildings. Cut our peak demand by about 30% and saved $8,000/month in summer. The pool pumps were the biggest culprit - running them from 11 PM to 7 AM instead of during peak hours made a huge difference.
Scott's right about pool timing. Also look into load controllers for your package AC units if you have them. We use Peaksaver devices in Portland that cycle units off for 15 minutes during peak periods. Tenants barely notice but it keeps demand spikes under control. PGE has rebates for the equipment too.
Kira, how much did the Peaksaver installation run? Our property owner is cheap but $18K/month in demand charges might motivate him. Are there any tenant complaints about comfort issues during cycling?
Installation was about $12,000 for 80 units, but PGE rebated $8,000. Very few complaints - the 15-minute cycles aren't noticeable when it's not extremely hot. During heat waves we can override the system if needed. ROI was under 4 months with our demand savings.
You guys might also want to look at thermal storage systems. We installed ice storage for a 200-unit complex in Indianapolis and it shifted all our AC load to off-peak hours. IPL gave us a special rate schedule that cut our summer bills by 40%. Initial cost was steep but the savings are incredible.
Margaret, thermal storage sounds interesting but probably out of budget. The Peaksaver option looks more realistic. Kira, can you send me contact info for your installer? I want to get a quote before summer ends and we get hit with another $20K demand bill.
Sure Tony, I'll PM you the details. Also check if NV Energy has any demand response programs. Some utilities pay you to participate and it can offset equipment costs. Worth asking about before you spend money on load control.
One more thing - make sure your demand billing is calculated correctly. I've found errors on about 20% of master-metered accounts where they're using wrong multipliers or reading meters incorrectly. $18K/month is high enough that even a small error adds up fast.
Scott, good point about billing accuracy. I'll pull the last 12 months and verify the demand calculations. With numbers this high, even a 5% error would be worth thousands. Thanks everyone for the suggestions - I've got a plan of attack now.
Tony, if you need help reviewing those demand calculations, I've got experience with NV Energy billing. The LGS tariffs can be tricky and they sometimes apply ratchets incorrectly. Happy to take a look if you want a second opinion on the numbers.
Randy's offer is solid - he caught a $30K error on one of our accounts last year. Tony, definitely get those bills reviewed before you spend money on load control equipment. Might be throwing money at a billing problem instead of a demand problem.