Will My Freezer Work on Time-of-Use Electricity?

How it Works

• If you sign up for a time-of-use electricity plan, your electricity bill will be calculated based on when you use your electricity. Rather than pay a set price per kilowatt hour (kwh) of electricity used, the rate per kwh fluctuates depending on the time of day, with highest prices charged for using electricity during peak times. For example, Puget Sound Energy charges the highest rates for electricity used between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., and between 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; a lower rate on electricity used from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and the lowest rate for electricity used between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. To keep track of usage, time-of-use customers have their houses fitted with smart meters that can keep track of how much electricity is used at different times throughout the day.

Time-of-use and Appliances

• Time-of-use electricity pricing does not turn your electricity on and off throughout the day, so your electricity supply remains constant. Signing up for time-of-use electricity will not affect the operation of your freezer or any other electrical appliances. Since your freezer is always on, however, you will pay more to run your freezer during peak times than during off-peak times. Depending on your electricity plan and location, this may even out, so that you do not end up paying any more for your freezer operation than you do with a flat-rate electricity plan.

Advantages

• Time-of-use electricity plans may have advantages for people who are out of the house during peak hours. In this case, you can turn off appliances such as heating and air conditioning when prices are highest and you are not at home, and will be charged less for running these appliances at night, when you are at home. Another benefit is that time-of-use pricing helps reduce energy usage during peak times, which allows electricity companies to maintain a constant electricity supply without building new electricity generation plants.

Effect on Freezer Operation

• You cannot turn off your freezer, but you can offset the cost of running your freezer on a time-of-use pricing plan by using less electricity during peak hours. For example, instead of doing the laundry or running the dryer during peak times, you can do you laundry at night, when electricity costs are lower. The money you save by doing this can help you save money to offset the cost of running your freezer.