ME 434: Air Conditioning Design

ASSIGNMENT 1

Due Date: Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Problem 1: A large electricity consumer has negotiated an electricity rate of $0.045/kW-

hr, with an $11.50/kW peak demand charge. There is a $68 a month charge for the
meter. In a certain month, the consumer used 96,000 kW-hr or electricity, with a peak
demand of 624 kW. What is the electricity bill for that consumer for the described
month?

Problem 2: For the consumer described in Problem 1, the facility was in use for 22
working days that month, with 11 working hours in each day. Determine the average
electricity usage rate (per working hour), and the ratio of the peak demand to the
average usage. Give a reason that could have led to this (high) ratio.

Problem 3: Again considering the scenario from Problem 1, the owner responsible for
the bill is not happy with the high demand charge for this month. The owner wishes to
explore dropping this pricing scheme, and instead go with a simpler scheme based on
paying only for the electricity used. The electric company says that they can do this for
an electricity charge of $0.1305/kW-hr, and the same meter charge (but no demand
charge). What would have been the size of the electricity bill if this option had been
used for the month described in Problem 1? Based on this, should the owner change
billing plans?

Problem 4: Problem 1.1 in the textbook. Do the best you can with this, based on how
much access you may have to the nameplate information on the furnace and how
accurately you know the size of your home.