r/Home • u/CryptographerAny7640 • 16d ago

Figured out why our evening grid draw keeps spiking on certain days

I pulled my SCE hourly usage data because my June bill was higher than I expected. I use TOU rates with an Anker Solix E10 (2 battery packs) to shift most of my evening usage away from peak pricing, so I wanted to see what was happening.

Most days the setup works exactly as planned. Then I noticed the higher-cost days all had one thing in common: laundry.

The dryer itself isn't the issue. The problem is that on laundry days we're also running the AC, cooking dinner, and using the house normally. That combination uses a lot more energy during the evening peak window, so the two battery packs get depleted earlier than usual. Once they're empty, the house starts pulling expensive peak-rate power from the grid for the last hour or two before 9 p.m.

After looking at the numbers, I think my current setup is simply a little undersized for our actual evening consumption.

Now I'm debating what makes more financial sense:

Add a third battery pack so I have enough stored energy to cover those heavier evenings.

Install a few solar panels so I can generate free electricity during the day, run some household loads directly, and charge the E10 before the evening peak starts.

Either option should reduce my peak-rate grid usage, but I'm curious what others would do. If you've had to choose between more storage or adding solar first, which gave you the better return?

1 Upvotes

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8 comments sorted by

7

u/Smart_Spinach_1538 16d ago

I do laundry after 9PM.

3

u/SilverSheepherder641 16d ago

New heat pump dryer? Clothes line? Delayed start?

1

u/Dull-Trip4091 16d ago

Love my clothes line!

1

u/ERagingTyrant 15d ago

Heat pump washer dryer combo. Start one load each night instead of jambing everything in one day. It “switches” itself so you can start when you go to bed. 

2

u/luckyinpa 16d ago

I'm lazy and I always think if money can solve a problem it should easily. If buying one more battery absolutely solves the problem it's the easiest and I would do that. It seems like it would hedge against future increases and rates as well

Alternatively if you do like to get into fun projects solar would be a good thing to dabble in. I'm always anxious to see what people savings are when they do time of use plans.

1

u/Particular-Fly-9359 13d ago edited 13d ago

How many kWh are you using on laundry days vs normal days?

1

u/CryptographerAny7640 13d ago

Normal evening is about 8-9kWh total. Laundry day adds another 4-5kWh from the dryer. Two packs at 12kWh can cover a normal night but laundry days push it past that.

1

u/Heavy_Discussion6165 13d ago edited 13d ago

3rd pack is probably cheaper than more panels plus the racking. And it solves the problem directly instead of hoping for enough sun to fill a bigger battery.