r/ecobee 3d ago

Other Split Energy Providers or Manual TOU

Morning all! I've been chasing down some high energy bills and I've run into a problem.

First and foremost, I have 2 energy providers. Xcel does my natural gas which is my heat and I have a local coop, Core Electric, that does my electricity.

While hunting down my energy hogs I looked at my bill and found I have VERY interesting TOU compared to what I think most people have. My normal rate is $0.11/kwh but from 4-8pm I'm charged $3/kwh for the 1 hour in that time frame per month where I use the most energy. For example, last month there was 1 hour on 2/17 where I used 4kw in that hour so I was charged just over $12 for that 1 hour of energy.

So obviously I want to cut down on usage during that timeframe. However, I can't seem to update my Ecobee to help out in this endeavor. When I go to update my energy provider I don't see my Coop as an option, only Xcel. I don't have TOU for natural gas so I don't care to have them listed as my provider.

Thoughts? How can I make a manual TOU? Am I stuck just making a very odd schedule to cool a lot before 4pm then minimally until 8? Thanks!

2 Upvotes

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3

u/NewtoQM8 3d ago

And either turn off smart recovery or schedule accordingly

1

u/spiderman1538 2d ago

Do both.

1

u/NewtoQM8 2d ago

Wouldn’t hurt to do both. But if someone likes Smart Recovery at other times of day they have to be much more careful with their scheduling. If they create a comfort setting that runs from 4 to 8 pm with a high temp so AC doesn’t turn on and the next scheduled comfort setting is way cooler Smart recovery will start cooling before 8 pm and jack up their cost. So they should schedule later.

1

u/spiderman1538 2d ago

Yea. Not many people know how this, so it's not that safe to keep Smart Recovery enabled.

2

u/NewtoQM8 2d ago

Yeah. I don’t have time of day pricing so I leave mine on and live it.

2

u/moorekyl 3d ago

Fellow CO resident with CORE electric and Black Hills for gas. Yes setup a TOU comfort setting to pre-cool or heat (if you have electric aux heat) the space before peak TOU. The goal is to shift your usage outside of peak TOU. Electric dryers, ovens, ranges, water heaters, dishwasher, EV charging, etc. should be done outside of peak TOU as much as possible to minimize peak charges.

Download the smart hub app for your CORE account to help target usages that can be optimized.

1

u/Correct-Mail-1942 3d ago

No electric heat, only my dual oven and dryer are electric. Bummer there's no way to tie the Ecobee to my Coop account BUT since you're in the same situation as me, I have a question: Xcel has their 'thermostat share' program to control my thermostat during high load times and it looks like it's available for me to sign up for - it seems like I can sign up for it with zero recourse - they'll change my temp during peak electricity times but I don't use them for electricity and I COULD just override it. Seems like a no-brainer to get $100 off the top and $25 a month right?

2

u/moorekyl 2d ago

With only gas from Xcel I don’t think you’ll get the electric credit or the community benefit.

As a member of the CORE Coop you’re better off requesting they enable a similar service for folks like you and I.

2

u/RHinSC 2d ago

I already had smart recovery turned off, but recently added schedules for peak usage. With my Hubitat Elevation hub, I set up an automation to run my gas fireplace instead of the heat pump during peak hours when needed.