Am I the only person that thinks you just pay for Joules? A kWh = 3.6 million Joules.
My bill only reads how many kWh I used. There may be periods where the rate per kWh is higher, but that just means Joules are more expensive at certain times, not more expensive if you take them “faster”.
Say I only use 100 kWh and I only use electricity during off peak hours.
My bill is identical whether I burned a 100 W bulb for 1000 off peak hours or
I ran 10 100W bulbs simultaneously for 100 hours. There is no sense of Power entering into the equation.
My water bill is the same whether I use all the water by trickling it out of a faucet slowly, or blasting it out of a hose, I just pay for gallons used.
That assumes that all Joules are the same cost. Some companies charge more per kWh for low users than for high, and then again they may charge less for usage at night.
The actual number of kWh may be constant, but the bill may vary.
A kWh is a unit of energy, just like joules. As you note, there’s even a simple conversion factor between the two.
A residential electric meter measures the power and integrates it over time to calculate the total energy, either mechanically with the old fashioned style meters, or using digital circuitry with the newer style meters.
Which has nothing to do what I said.
Ignoring time of day differentials which I agree exist, there is no distinction between bills if consumed my 100 kWh in 1 minute or 30 min; obviously these are different rates of power, but I do not pay for power.
That is correct. Ignoring time-of-day rates, few if any utilities apply demand charges to residential customers. You’re just paying for energy, not power.
Well, you’re also paying the flat base fee, but that’s still not paying for power.