Quote Originally Posted by TheGanjaKing420
Now if there was only a way to get cheaper A/C...
There can be, kinda. If you have off-peak electricity service for your water heating, you can tie into that. If you have off-peak service, it will be noted on your bill and you will most likely have two power meters in your breaker box. Some newer electronic metering systems only have one digital-type kWh meter. These systems are a little harder to grab an off-peak power feed from.

Off-peak is usually only about 25% the per kWh price of normal household service because it can be switched off by the power company when the loads on the generation stations are too high. This is done by sending a radio signal down the powerline which controls a device called a 'ripple control receiver,' which is a remotely controlled power switch.

If you know a bit about AC wiring, you can grab power in the breaker box after the off-peak meter but before the ripple control receiver. This way, you are pulling power through the off-peak rate meter but your supply won't shut off when the power co turns off the water heaters on the off-pk svc.

Don't do this unless you really have a clue about AC wiring- but if you can, it'll save you ~75% on your power costs. It may also save you from a charge of 'stealing electricity' if you get busted because you ARE paying for your power... just not at the rate the pwr co wants you to pay.

Bridging out a power meter is never a good idea. If your meter doesn't spin between readings, the pwr co will send out a techie with a new meter. If the new meter doesn't spin, the techo will go looking for why this is so- and the really big trouble starts from there!