Is power consumption increased with distance from power utilitys meter or consumption the same at 20' or 500'

Question

Ok what I need to know is if my power meter is 10' from my house will my power consumption be less than it would if it was 500' from my house. The reason I want to know is because of the cost of labor and power poles charged by the power company.

Answer 1

If the meter is located at the power pole 500 feet away, where will the transformer be located? If it is also at the power pole, you will need to run heavy wire for 500 feet in order to prevent excessive voltage drop. For a 240 volt service, you should limit the voltage drop to about 7 volts between the meter and the distribution panel. For 200 amps expected maximum usage, you would need 500 MCM wire. That will cost something like $35,000 for 500 feet of two full sized wires and a smaller neutral wire. You would need to add the cost of poles or more expensive wire suitable for underground use. The power loss at 200 amps would be about 1400 watts. Of course, you average usage would be much less than 200 amps.

For 10 feet from the meter to the panel, the wire would be sized for current capacity rather than voltage drop. For 200 amps, you would need 3/0 wire. The voltage drop would be only about 0.34 volts at 200 amps and the power loss would be about 68 watts.

Answer 2

Your power consumption is measured by your meter, therefore you do not get charged for the slight loss of power on the lines running from the pole to your meter. But you do get charged for any power dissipated AFTER the meter, including line losses to your loads. And therefore, the further from the meter your loads, the more line losses getting there, though generally it doesn't amount to much until you get to fairly high currents.

You can minimize this by investing in heavier wire than code minimum. And in some localities, going up in gauge for longer distance runs is mandatory by code.

Every three gauge sizes halves the voltage drop, which cuts line power loss by a factor of 4. Of course, you can quickly get into a diminishing-return situation if you go too far. IF you email me with the actual load you intend to run, both average and peak, I can suggest a decent wire size and estimate of power loss/expenses.

Do you have air conditioning? Gas or electric water heater, stove, or clothes dryer? Any heavy electrical equipment?

Answer 3

Generally, power consumption shown by your meter reading will be higher the further away your meter is from the point of use. This is because of line losses that you will have to absorb. In most household uses, I would guess that this is pretty minimal.

Answer 4

Like Gary H says, this one is tough to call just with the information given. Normally I would say have them install the tap at 500', but I would have to look at the numbers* to be sure.

*numbers like, how much do you pay or power per kWhr?
How many kWhr per year do you use?
What is the cost to run the wires to your house, vs 500' away?
What is the differential cost of 500' of larger wire?
What is the gauge of wire?

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