When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it make
sense to connect it to the cold water? If it gets cold water from the hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants, the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted.
Right?

Beter off to run the hot water in the sink to heat it first imo
"Anagram" wrote in message
...
When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it make
sense to connect it to the cold water? If it gets cold water from the hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants, the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted.
Right?

It depends on the dishwasher and the cycles. Some dishwashers have special
cycles to heat the water if it is not hot enough. Others do not. Then you
would be washing in cold water which is about useless. Even on the
dishwashers with the special cycles, the regular cycles may not heat the
water. They are all made to hook up hot water
"Anagram" wrote in message
...
When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it make
sense to connect it to the cold water? If it gets cold water from the hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants, the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted.
Right?

On Aug 7, 2:34*pm, Anagram wrote:
When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it make
sense to connect it to the cold water? *If it gets cold water from the hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants, the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. *That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted. *
Right?

Just use it as directed in the instructions, in other words, don't
worry.

It will or will not heat water as it is designed. They are all
designed to connect to the usual domestic hot water and expect that
there will be some cold water come in first. Don't worry. I believe
almost all of them today have their own heater to increase the
temperature above the usual domestic hot water temperature. Of course
no matter if the water is heated before it gets to the machine or
after, you are going to pay for heating it either way. If you have an
electric water heater it will be the exact same price if you have a
cheaper source for your domestic hot water it will cost just a little
more, but not enough to justify increasing the domestic temperature
setting.

To clarify, the dishwasher in question is presently always set to use the
cycle that heats the water, because the water is never reliably hot. Even
if we run the water to get it hot, it doesn't stay hot very long, because
the pipe is not insulated, and goes under the slab foundation.

Ideally, we should set it up with some kind of switch to be able to switch
back and forth between hot and cold water, so we can experiment with
different cycles etc., to see which get the dishes cleanest, and which
result in higher energy bills. Also, this dishwasher can take hours. But
even if we put it on its shortest, non-heating cycle, it still seems to
take hours. Or at least a long time.

On Aug 7, 2:16*pm, wrote:
On Aug 7, 2:34*pm, Anagram wrote:

When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it make
sense to connect it to the cold water? *If it gets cold water from the hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants, the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. *That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted. *
Right?

* Just use it as directed in the instructions, in other words, don't
worry.

* It will or will not heat water as it is designed. *They are all
designed to connect to the usual domestic hot water and expect that
there will be some cold water come in first. *Don't worry. *I believe
almost all of them today have their own heater to increase the
temperature above the usual domestic hot water temperature. *Of course
no matter if the water is heated before it gets to the machine or
after, you are going to pay for heating it either way. *If you have an
electric water heater it will be the exact same price if you have a
cheaper source for your domestic hot water it will cost just a little
more, but not enough to justify increasing the domestic temperature
setting.

I agree just dont think about it, mine heats the HW until its at a
certain temperature, some dont, messing with cold-hot is a waste of
time. You want to save money, do it by hand.

"Anagram" wrote in message
...
To clarify, the dishwasher in question is presently always set to use the
cycle that heats the water, because the water is never reliably hot. Even
if we run the water to get it hot, it doesn't stay hot very long, because
the pipe is not insulated, and goes under the slab foundation.

Ideally, we should set it up with some kind of switch to be able to switch
back and forth between hot and cold water, so we can experiment with
different cycles etc., to see which get the dishes cleanest, and which
result in higher energy bills. Also, this dishwasher can take hours. But
even if we put it on its shortest, non-heating cycle, it still seems to
take hours. Or at least a long time.


No. Leave it connected to the hot water. Go read a book or remove your
spouse's clothing. Either of these is a much better way to expend time &
energy.

dishwashers only heat water if put in the sanitize setting.

Incoming water should be 140 or more degrees and be close to the source.

s

"Anagram" wrote in message
...
When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it make
sense to connect it to the cold water? If it gets cold water from the hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants, the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted.
Right?

On Thu, 7 Aug 2008 15:11:50 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

dishwashers only heat water if put in the sanitize setting.

Incoming water should be 140 or more degrees and be close to the source.

s

"Anagram" wrote in message
.. .
When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it make
sense to connect it to the cold water? If it gets cold water from the hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants, the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted.
Right?



My dishwasher is hooked up to the hot water line only. Our gas water
heater is set to 125 degrees, so the dishwasher heats it to higher
temperatures. Cold water washing seems to be the trend, but I'm not
convinced cold water kills pathogens as good as hot water. My washer
does not have a "sanitize" setting--I thought it sanitized at whatever
settings.

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 7 Aug 2008 15:11:50 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

dishwashers only heat water if put in the sanitize setting.

Incoming water should be 140 or more degrees and be close to the source.

s

"Anagram" wrote in message
. ..
When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and
get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it
make
sense to connect it to the cold water? If it gets cold water from the
hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants,
the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while
waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted.
Right?



My dishwasher is hooked up to the hot water line only. Our gas water
heater is set to 125 degrees, so the dishwasher heats it to higher
temperatures. Cold water washing seems to be the trend, but I'm not
convinced cold water kills pathogens as good as hot water. My washer
does not have a "sanitize" setting--I thought it sanitized at whatever
settings.

If sanitization was truly the goal, the water would be at 212 degrees
fahrenheit. According to our local health department, the combination of
friction (from the water) and soap is enough to remove germs. Hot water will
do a better job of loosening food that may've dried onto the dishes while
they were waiting to be washed, though.

Phisherman wrote:


My dishwasher is hooked up to the hot water line only. Our gas water
heater is set to 125 degrees, so the dishwasher heats it to higher
temperatures. Cold water washing seems to be the trend, but I'm not
convinced cold water kills pathogens as good as hot water. My washer
does not have a "sanitize" setting--I thought it sanitized at whatever
settings.

You're right. Before hot water, when eating and cooking utensils were washed
(if washed at all) in cold water, pathogens multiplied and the human race
died off.

Home hot water cannot kill most bacteria and viruses.

I'll bet you don't even eat food that falls on the floor!

On Aug 7, 4:01*pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
Phisherman wrote:

My dishwasher is hooked up to the hot water line only. *Our gas water
heater is set to 125 degrees, so the dishwasher heats it to higher
temperatures. *Cold water washing seems to be the trend, but I'm not
convinced cold water kills pathogens as good as hot water. *My washer
does not have a "sanitize" setting--I thought it sanitized at whatever
settings.

You're right. Before hot water, when eating and cooking utensils were washed
(if washed at all) in cold water, pathogens multiplied and the human race
died off.

Home hot water cannot kill most bacteria and viruses.

I'll bet you don't even eat food that falls on the floor!

And some believe you need your water heater at 120 to kill the
pathogens,so I guess we are all going to die if we drink water from
city storage tanks

"Anagram" wrote in message
...
To clarify, the dishwasher in question is presently always set to use the
cycle that heats the water, because the water is never reliably hot. Even
if we run the water to get it hot, it doesn't stay hot very long, because
the pipe is not insulated, and goes under the slab foundation.

Ideally, we should set it up with some kind of switch to be able to switch
back and forth between hot and cold water, so we can experiment with
different cycles etc., to see which get the dishes cleanest, and which
result in higher energy bills. Also, this dishwasher can take hours. But
even if we put it on its shortest, non-heating cycle, it still seems to
take hours. Or at least a long time.

If you feed it cold water, it will take longer to heat the water, slowing the
cycle. Run the water before you start it till the water is hot to speed the
wash. If you heat water with cheaper fuel (Gas), it will cost less to use the
hot water supply. Dishwashers may not need to heat the water after the first
cycle, as one hot cycle should wash and sanitise, and rinsing doesn't need the
highest heat.

Anagram wrote in
:

When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know
it should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead
and get whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it
make sense to connect it to the cold water? If it gets cold water
from the hot water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the
water it wants, the hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would
be wasted while waiting for the dishwasher to use it again. That
problem would be solved by connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no
hot would ever be wasted. Right?

If you give me the full model number I MAY be able to get you the timing
diagram. It has every piece of info that happens at each different cycle.

BTW, it is often tucked behind the kickplate during install for any future
the service techs.

"HeyBub" wrote in
m:

Phisherman wrote:


My dishwasher is hooked up to the hot water line only. Our gas water
heater is set to 125 degrees, so the dishwasher heats it to higher
temperatures. Cold water washing seems to be the trend, but I'm not
convinced cold water kills pathogens as good as hot water. My washer
does not have a "sanitize" setting--I thought it sanitized at
whatever settings.

You're right. Before hot water, when eating and cooking utensils were
washed (if washed at all) in cold water, pathogens multiplied and the
human race died off.

Home hot water cannot kill most bacteria and viruses.

I'll bet you don't even eat food that falls on the floor!




...and the human race died off.

That must mean I'm a cockroach. They survive everything man and Mother
Earth has been able to conjure up for millions of years.

"Anagram" wrote in message
...
When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

It takes what comes out. Most instructions tell you to run the hot water in
the sink until the cool water is flushed and it runs hot.



If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it make
sense to connect it to the cold water?

No It is designed to boost the water temperature on one or two cyles, not
the entire process. You need hot water for hte best cleaning job.


If it gets cold water from the hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants, the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted.
Right?

Wrong

Red Green wrote:
"HeyBub" wrote in
m:

Phisherman wrote:


My dishwasher is hooked up to the hot water line only. Our gas
water heater is set to 125 degrees, so the dishwasher heats it to
higher temperatures. Cold water washing seems to be the trend,
but
I'm not convinced cold water kills pathogens as good as hot water.
My washer does not have a "sanitize" setting--I thought it
sanitized at whatever settings.

You're right. Before hot water, when eating and cooking utensils
were
washed (if washed at all) in cold water, pathogens multiplied and
the
human race died off.

Home hot water cannot kill most bacteria and viruses.

I'll bet you don't even eat food that falls on the floor!




...and the human race died off.

That must mean I'm a cockroach.

Takes a big, uh, roach, to admit that.


--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Red Green wrote in
:

If you give me the full model number I MAY be able to get you the
timing diagram. It has every piece of info that happens at each
different cycle.

BTW, it is often tucked behind the kickplate during install for any
future the service techs.

Maytag "Jetclean Dishwasher Quiet Plus" model number MDB6100AWB.

"Bob F" wrote in
:

If you feed it cold water, it will take longer to heat the water,
slowing the cycle. Run the water before you start it till the water is
hot to speed the wash. If you heat water with cheaper fuel (Gas), it
will cost less to use the hot water supply. Dishwashers may not need
to heat the water after the first cycle, as one hot cycle should wash
and sanitise, and rinsing doesn't need the highest heat.

It seems to have several phases. A preliminary wash that disposes of
garbage by sending it to the in-sink erator. Other phases after that.

Here is what I think might be happening in the phases after the first:
The water in the pipe is no longer hot at the start of the phase. The
dishwasher draws that cooled water from the pipe. The house water heater
replaces that water in the pipe with hot water. The dishwasher proceeds
with that phase, starting by heating the cooled water, while the hot
water in the pipe cools. So the hot water in the pipe would waste its
heat while at the same time the dishwasher would be wasting energy to
reheat water whose heat was already wasted.

Electricity around here is almost as cheap as natural gas. Some months
it might actually be cheaper.

Those are the reasons why I think it might be a good idea to try
switching the dishwasher to use cold water.

It's true that it would take hours. But it takes hours anyway. An extra
hour isn't likely to be a big deal. You would want to run it while you
sleep or while you're not home or whatever.

Regardless, it does a good job of getting the dishes clean.

ransley wrote in
:

And some believe you need your water heater at 120 to kill the
pathogens,so I guess we are all going to die if we drink water from
city storage tanks

The pathogens probably thrive in a range of temperatures, such as between
80F and 105F, or some such range. The city water supply is probably below
that range.

On Aug 7, 4:11*pm, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:
dishwashers only heat water if put in the sanitize setting.

Incoming water should be 140 or more degrees and be close to the source.

s

"Anagram" wrote in message


Not all dishwashers work the same way. Many do heat the incoming
water if it is not hot enough. If you want to know what your's does,
you need to check on that specific model.

In any case, the answer to the question always goes back to just
follow the installation instructions for the specific model you have.
Don't try to outthink guys who design them.

When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know
it should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead
and get whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it
make sense to connect it to the cold water? If it gets cold water
from the hot water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the
water it wants, the hot water pipe would start to get hot, which
would be wasted while waiting for the dishwasher to use it again.
That problem would be solved by connecting it to cold instead of hot,
so no hot would ever be wasted. Right?

The hot water is most needed for the rinse cycles so it's not a problem
by then. If you have large diameter pipes in the hot water supply then
you'll notice it won't get hot and you might want to run the hot water
at the sink first, but ... usually it's not an issue. Mine runs 3/4 to
1/2 about 4' from the washer, then up in the washer's hose; the wash
cycle will blast you with heat if you open the door.
I think any modern washer would handle the situation. I noticed the
heater element works during the first fill, so that must be to make up
for cold water on ours. It's a Maytag and does a really good job
compared to our old GE.
Get the "quiet kit" with it; really worth it! You hardly know it's
working.

"TWayne" wrote in :

at the sink first, but ... usually it's not an issue. Mine runs 3/4 to
1/2 about 4' from the washer, then up in the washer's hose; the wash
cycle will blast you with heat if you open the door.

The problem here is that the hot water pipe from the house water heater
seems to go under the slab foundation, and seems to be uninsulated, and the
dishwasher is about 30 feet from the water heater. So even if I let the
water get hot in the pipe first, it won't still be hot each time the
dishwasher wants water from it.

On Thu 07 Aug 2008 11:34:14a, Anagram told us...

When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and
get whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it
make sense to connect it to the cold water? If it gets cold water from
the hot water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it
wants, the hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted
while waiting for the dishwasher to use it again. That problem would be
solved by connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be
wasted. Right?

This may have already been said, as I have not read the entire thread.

There are 3 basic types of dishwasher technology when it comes to the
temperature of water.

Basic low-end dishwashers don't heat the water at all. They depend
entirely on the proper temperature of water coming from the source.

Some dishwashers have "heat assist" but still depend on using hot water as
the source. The heat assist will help to bring to maintain the proper
temperature. this category probably represents most mid-line models.

Higher-end dishwashers usually have a switchable option which will heat the
water to the proper temperature. The downside of connecting it to the cold
water line, however, is the length of time it takes to heat each batch of
water used during a full cycle. Often there one or two pre-rinses, a wash
cycle (sometimes two), and anywhere from two to four final rinse cycles.
Using cold water as a source could cause the full cycle to run for hours.

Our dishwasher is one that has "heat assist". I always make sure that I
run the water at the faucet until it is steaming hot before starting the
dishwasher. It gives the best results.

HTH

--
Date: Friday, August(VIII) 8th(VIII),2008(MMVIII)

*******************************************
Countdown till Labor Day
3wks 2dys 11hrs 54mins
*******************************************
Robin Hood was a terrorist
*******************************************

Anagram wrote in news:MXUmk.10079
:

Red Green wrote in
:

If you give me the full model number I MAY be able to get you the
timing diagram. It has every piece of info that happens at each
different cycle.

BTW, it is often tucked behind the kickplate during install for any
future the service techs.

Maytag "Jetclean Dishwasher Quiet Plus" model number MDB6100AWB.

Sorry, was not in database. As I mentioned, it is often tucked behind the
kickplate. May be taped to backside of it.

Electricity around here is almost as cheap as natural gas. Some months
it might actually be cheaper.

THAT makes no sense at all. Gas is measured in therms, while
electricity is measure in kilowatt hours. Just because your gas bill
and electric bill might be around the same amount has nothing to do
with the basic cost of gas and electricity.

Electricity is nearly always a more expensive way to heat anything
compared to gas (or oil or propane)

JK

ransley writes:
On Aug 7, 2:16*pm, wrote:
On Aug 7, 2:34*pm, Anagram wrote:

When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it make
sense to connect it to the cold water? *If it gets cold water from the hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants, the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. *That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted. *
Right?

* Just use it as directed in the instructions, in other words, don't
worry.

* It will or will not heat water as it is designed. *They are all
designed to connect to the usual domestic hot water and expect that
there will be some cold water come in first. *Don't worry. *I believe
almost all of them today have their own heater to increase the
temperature above the usual domestic hot water temperature. *Of course
no matter if the water is heated before it gets to the machine or
after, you are going to pay for heating it either way. *If you have an
electric water heater it will be the exact same price if you have a
cheaper source for your domestic hot water it will cost just a little
more, but not enough to justify increasing the domestic temperature
setting.

I agree just dont think about it, mine heats the HW until its at a
certain temperature, some dont, messing with cold-hot is a waste of
time. You want to save money, do it by hand.

Actually, doing dishes by hand typically uses a lot more water (and
hot water) than modern dishwashers so long as you run the dishwasher
reasonably full.

"Mike" writes:

It depends on the dishwasher and the cycles. Some dishwashers have special
cycles to heat the water if it is not hot enough. Others do not. Then you
would be washing in cold water which is about useless. Even on the
dishwashers with the special cycles, the regular cycles may not heat the
water. They are all made to hook up hot water

I believe that some European dishwashers are made to hook up to cold
water since in some areas they often have smaller hot water supplies.

"Anagram" wrote in message
...
When a dishwasher uses hot water from a hot water pipe, does it know it
should wait till the hot water runs hot, or does it just go ahead and get
whatever comes out of the pipe?

If a dishwasher has the capability of heating its own water, would it make
sense to connect it to the cold water? If it gets cold water from the hot
water pipe, then, by the time it finishes getting the water it wants, the
hot water pipe would start to get hot, which would be wasted while waiting
for the dishwasher to use it again. That problem would be solved by
connecting it to cold instead of hot, so no hot would ever be wasted.
Right?

Big_Jake writes:

Electricity around here is almost as cheap as natural gas. Some months
it might actually be cheaper.

THAT makes no sense at all. Gas is measured in therms, while
electricity is measure in kilowatt hours. Just because your gas bill
and electric bill might be around the same amount has nothing to do
with the basic cost of gas and electricity.

Electricity is nearly always a more expensive way to heat anything
compared to gas (or oil or propane)

JK

Unless you live somewhere where you get cheap hydro-generated electricity.

I believe that some European dishwashers are made to hook up to cold
water since in some areas they often have smaller hot water supplies.

that because europeans often have tankless water heaters.

my old bosch had a fantastic water heater built in.

unfortunately the bocsch was the least reliable of any dishwaser I
have ever had and dead last in reabilty by consumer reports.

now that isnt the worst its parts cost a fortune, all service is
difficult, because of the design, and it breaks way too much,

thats why mine went to the trash.

I am going to insulate the hot water lines to improve performance of
the whirlpool dishwasher. its just one year old and honestly a piece
of scrap. heck even the silverware basket broke.

too bad its hard to find good products anymore

the chinese guys are good at producing low priced stuff, but quality
isnt one of their concerns

On Aug 10, 12:07 am, blueman wrote:
Big_Jake writes:
Electricity around here is almost as cheap as natural gas. Some months
it might actually be cheaper.

THAT makes no sense at all. Gas is measured in therms, while
electricity is measure in kilowatt hours. Just because your gas bill
and electric bill might be around the same amount has nothing to do
with the basic cost of gas and electricity.

Electricity is nearly always a more expensive way to heat anything
compared to gas (or oil or propane)

JK

Unless you live somewhere where you get cheap hydro-generated electricity.

Are the rates really that better? We pay a little over 11 cents a
kilowatt hour where I am (Wisconsin), which is cheaper than many other
places, but I would be curious if it is really that much less where
hydro is prevalent.

JK

Big_Jake wrote in
:

On Aug 10, 12:07 am, blueman wrote:
Big_Jake writes:

Are the rates really that better? We pay a little over 11 cents a
kilowatt hour where I am (Wisconsin), which is cheaper than many other
places, but I would be curious if it is really that much less where
hydro is prevalent.

There are places where electricity rates are below 5 cents per KWH. Some
of it comes from hydro and some from nuclear. Meanwhile, natural gas has
been skyrocketing for the past few months.

There are places where electricity rates are below 5 cents per KWH. Some
of it comes from hydro and some from nuclear. Meanwhile, natural gas has
been skyrocketing for the past few months.

In central VA, we pay a little less that 8 cents during the summer air
condioning season and about 6 cents during the winter. Heat pump users can
get "budget billing" with a fixed monthly charge.

Our power comes from a mix of coal fired plants and nukes.

There may be a few "peaking" plants that use oil or NG but there are also
some coal fired plants that aren't owned by the same folks that distribute
the power.

Some of this may change because (as happened in California) our local
utility promised to keep rates down in exchange for permission to sell off
its power plants. The "modern" pattern is for a particular company to own
distribution systems in one area and power plants in another area and high
voltage links in still other areas. Essentiallly, these three aspects of
the costs to the consumer will be controlled locally by three different
companies.

You can "look it up" but for year and years in most places "hydro" is used
mosly for "peaking" rather than base load. Base load plants (coal and
nuke) are often placed on the lakes created by "hydro" dams.




** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

"John Gilmer" wrote in message

In central VA, we pay a little less that 8 cents during the summer air
condioning season and about 6 cents during the winter. Heat pump users
can get "budget billing" with a fixed monthly charge.

Here in CT we are paying 18¢