Hydro Quebec Flex D Rate - Peak Demand Project

Hydro Quebec, my provincial electricity utility, is trialing a dynamic pricing model this winter. It hasn't been rolled out to all residential consumers yet, it's in a trial phase. I applied for the trial and was accepted to participate. I figured that dynamic pricing is inevitable with Quebec's push towards electric cars, so I might as well jump in and see how it goes. My home is already extensively automated, so I should be able to come up with protocols to deal with the peak demand events with a minimum of manual intervention.

The base electricity rates in Quebec are tiered. The first 40 kWh per day are charged at 6.08¢/kWh (1st tier). The remaining energy is charged at 9.38¢/kWh (2nd tier).

The "Rate Flex D" is a dynamic rate where electricity is cheaper than the base rate in winter, except during peak demand events, when it’s more expensive. From December 1st to April 31st of the following year, outside of peak demand events, the price of electricity is below the base rate, so you can save money (4.28¢/kWh for the first tier of 40 kWh/day, and 7.36¢/kWh for the 2nd tier). During peak demand events, electricity is billed at a high price (50¢/kWh). The day before a peak demand event, you receive a notification.

I've been through three days of peak demand events so far. In this post, I'll describe some of my preparation, and how things are going so far. 

First, here are some characteristics about my house.

  • Large, two story house with full basement. Electrically heated garage on an elevated concrete slab, with basement space below the slab. 3/4 of the basement is finished, 1/4 is utility space housing the fan coil, most of the zoned ductwork, the electrical entrance, and storage space under the garage;
  • 400A electrical entrance, with three 200A breaker panels. One panel is designed for critical loads and is connected to a generator transfer switch. There was a generator installed at one time at the house, it has since been removed. 
  • Principal heat source is a Carrier Infinity Greenspeed 4 ton heat pump with variable speed indoor fan coil, with three stages of backup electric resistance heating. The heat pump can maintain a constant temperature in the house, without electric backup heating, down to about -14C. Below that temperature, the heat pump needs help. The heat pump thermal efficiency drops to 1 at about -20C, where it no longer is effective.
  • The forced air ductwork is zoned, with a separate zone for each level of the house - basement, main floor and 1st floor. I upgraded the Infinity system to full zone control this year, and can now control the temperatures on each floor independently. 
  • There are supplemental electric resistance heaters in most of the rooms in the basement for comfort. These are controlled by programmable thermostats. Now, since the zone heating upgrade, I haven't bothered turning those circuits on since I can effectively control the basement temperature from the principal heating system. Our offices are in the basement, and with COVID confinement, a comfortable working temperature in the basement was one of the prime drivers to do the zone heating project.
  • I have extensive Insteon control over lighting. Virtually all lighting in the house, on all levels, is controlled by insteon switches and dimmers. 
More to follow in this series on Rate Flex D Peak Demand.....



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Franke Sink Stopper - Leaky Seal Repair

We did a kitchen renovation about 10 years ago, and installed two side-by-side Franke stainless steel sinks. Total cost was substantial. Only three years after installation, the stoppers started leaking - if you filled the kitchen sink with water and walked away, it would be empty in about an hour. I did a bunch of research, and found that you could purchase a replacement rubber seal for the stopper, you could only purchase the entire stopper. Not particularly cost effective. 

Franke 1145 Strainer Assembly - Expensive way to replace the stopper seal

Note how the new seal on the stopper looks

So - I had a close look at the stopper and seal design, to try to determine why the stoppers were leaking. The seal is in the shape of a tee - with the base of the tee set into a groove on the stopper, and the sealing surface protruding perpendicularly from the base of the tee. When the stopper is set in place, the sealing surface is pushed laterally, and causes the base of the tee to rotate. If the seal rotates enough, you get metal to metal contact between the stopper and the drain fitting, and water can escape past the rotated seal. 

Left Stopper - normal seal. Right stopper - seal flipped down and leaking

I researched possible replacement seals - o-rings, or similar shaped seals and didn't find anything that would fit or seal. You can not purchase just the replacement seal from Franke - you can only purchase the entire replacement stopper. 

Seal removed from stopper - not available as a replacement part

Then, I figured maybe there's another way to prevent the failure mode - the rotation of the seal. What if I could add some support for the perpendicular sealing surface, prevent it from rotating. I found that a very small diameter o-ring stretched around the stopper, just above the seal, supports the seal and keeps it from rotating, and allows the sealing surface to do its job. I've had this fix now for over a year, and is completly reliable. 


Large o-rings, small cross section

Simple stretch the o-ring over top of the seal, snug it up against the metal body, and it will prevent the large stock seal from rotating and leaking water.

Look closely - note the o-ring avove the stock seal

Another view - O-ring above the stock seal
Works well. 

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Shop-Vac is going out of business

 You may not have heard, but Shop-Vac is in receivership. This was announced on September 18, 2020, but I only realized it when I needed a part that I accidently discarded after cleaning my large Shop-Vac. I went to their website and found all of their manuals and customer support information was offline. 

I've had one or two Shop-Vacs for as long as I can remember. As soon as I realized that getting a part might be difficult, I went to Canadian Tire and managed to find what I needed, however I was surprised to find the shelves almost bare of Shop-Vacs, parts and accessories. So I picked up a few spare dry pickup bags. 

Shelves are bare of Shop-Vac at my local Canadian Tire
Shelves are almost bare of Shop-Vacs at my local Canadian Tire

This company is an icon, and their components drove standardization in wet/dry pickup vacuums. Knock-offs abound, and accessories tend to be universal fit across brands now. Maybe this is the reason that they're in financial difficulty. Hopefully someone comes in and rescues the brand and the North American manufacturing facilities based in the Eastern United States. 


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