Looking for info regarding electric bills

[sweet angel]

I live in a 936 sq. ft. single story home about 35-40 years old. I used to have ALL electric service, but converted to (forced hot air) gas heat/hw in 2004. I have a newer roof, all new windows and new patio door, as well as a new garage door. I still have electric stove and dryer.

Here's my question...my monthly electric bills for the past year have averaged out to $130/month. That seems really high to me. It was 1300 KWH for the past month for a cost of $175.81.

My house has two people who are not home all day. I have a programmable thermostat which is at 68 when we're home, 65 at night and 60 during the day when no one is home.

I simply do not understand how my useage can be so high.

My parents, on the other hand, have a house that's 1800+ sq. ft., and are home all day, and last month they used 629 KWH.

What do you use? And can someone explain how this is possible?

Thanks.

 

[snowy76]

Insulation?

Also, I actually think some houses that are occupied all day tend to be warmer because you have people moving about and generating their own body heat -- ever had a party or been at a family gathering, the room heats up fast!

 

[freckles and boo]

Electric companies claim their meters are reliable but you could have it checked for accuracy. Also, do you get an estimated reading or an actual reading? Whenever I get an estimated gas meter read it is always too high. Do you have an electric hot water heater or old refrigerator? Those can use a lot of electricity keeping the water hot and the fridge cold. There are little power drains like VCRs and chargers (cell phone, dust buster, etc) that when left plugged in all the time suck electricity. We are gradually switching to the compact florescent lights in most of our fixtures because they use a lot less power. My house is nearly twice the size of yours and our electricity bill is about half, but we have mostly natural gas appliances. Good luck tracking it down. Our rates are about to go up 22% so I have been paying attention to this issue a lot lately.

 

[bartleby1]

If I'm understanding you correctly, your heat is no longer electric heat, correct? So your new windows, etc, and what you keep your thermostat at shouldn't have anything to do with your electric bill?

If that is just one months electric bill, that seems very high. We are a family of 5 and last month was high for us due to Christmas lights and we used 839 KWH. Although, we do have a gas stove and gas dryer. I have to admit though, we are very careless with electric (lights are always on, tv's always on, computers always on).

Maybe the electric company can come out and check to make sure your meter is working properly? Or maybe your meter is switched with a neighbors house, lol?

According to our bill, including summer months when we run our AC, our average monthly usage is 660 KWH, but like I said, we don't have an electric stove or dryer like you do. I'm still thinking your usage is high though since it doesn't include your heat.

 

[sweet angel]

Gas heat, gas hot water heater. Every single one of my appliances is new within the past 6 years...the stove and fridge are less than 2 years old.

I don't really know about the insulation -- I suppose it's likely that the house is not well insulated due to the age.

I called the electric company this morning and she said they don't send anyone out to check the meters -- that if a meter is "broken" it slows down.

They don't offer efficiency evaluations anymore.

DS gets home from school around 2 p.m. (so between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. there are no lights, appliances, etc. running and the heat is on 60). Once he gets home, the lights, tv, etc go on, but I am the light nazi and walk around constantly turning things off.

I honestly cannot fathom how my useage is more than double what my parent's house is when they are double the square footage with cathedral ceilings.

 

[hercamore]

Our hour is 30 y o and the same size as yours. Our usage was 1004 kwh last month.

Our usage is also way up form a year ago.

herc.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We were in a similar situation this summer. Our bills were sky high! They had just installed new digital meters and DH called the electric company but they assured us they were accurate. It was frustrating - we knew we didn't use that much...

So I notice our fridge is running warm and I call out the repair man. First thing he says is, "wow, your electric bills must be high".

Turns out we had a box in the freezer which was causing the door not to close all the way. It caused condensation, and in turn, the condenser (??) was working overtime trying to compensate, which was what was driving our bill up. Once that was fixed, our bills were cut by about 30% - still high, but not as bad.

Are all your appliances running ok? That might be something to check. Good luck.

 

[koopa]

On my bill, it gives me the kwh (month by month) used over the last year. Is 1300 a lot different from the previous months usage?

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Is your bill an estimated or actual reading and are you on a budget so that your current usage is not reflected accurately since switching out heating systems and appliances?

 

[GeorgeG]

While most bills are based more on kilowatt-hour usage, there are usually surcharges based on the utility company's cost of fuel, which can vary month to month. You should be able to call your company and ask for someone knowledgable to explpain in detail. Many utilities also offer to come out and survey your home so they can point out areas where you can conserve.

 

[freckles and boo]

A couple of other wacky questions... do you have an attic fan or other hidden HVAC stuff? Our attic fan was goofy and ran in the winter instead of the summer for about a year. Also, a waterbed heater can use a lot of electricity. Ditto for large fishtank or landscaping (pond) pumps. Are you on a city water service or do you have a well pump? It stinks that your power company won't do efficiency checks or meter checks. I would see if any governmental agency offers the efficiency check.

 

[hydster]

Our power bill is ridiculous this month. We have used more in the last month than we did in the summer with central air. We have a gas dryer, 2 gas water heaters, a brand new fridge and we used over 2000 KWH this last month. My bill was 165.04 and my gas bill is 108.02 so I do feel your pain.

For us our electric company did a HUGE rate increase the middle of this month so it went from something like 2.04 per kwh to 5.97 per kwh which made my bill JUMP!

 

[sha_lyn]

If I'm understanding you correctly, your heat is no longer electric heat, correct? So your new windows, etc, and what you keep your thermostat at shouldn't have anything to do with your electric bill?

The fan that circulates the air would be electric. If the heat is coming on too often (due to poor insulation, high thermostat etc) it would use more electricity

 

[Sleepy]

Shut off the power to your house and see if the meter still runs.

 

[Aidensmom]

If your water and heat are gas, that is high for electric. Everything for us, including heat/air conditioning and the water heater, is electric, we live in a 1000 sq foot house, and our bill is about $120/month.

 

[BillSears]

I think I heard the dryer can be one of the biggest users of electricity in a house. So if it's just your parents at their house they probably do alot fewer loads of laundry then your family does and that might make up some of the difference. Plus with your electric stove you might be cooking more meals and using the oven more.

 

[sweet angel]

I'm going to have to do more research. The girl at the electric company is sending me a printout of useage for the past couple years and she's trying to get me a printout from '03 -- before I converted to gas -- for comparison.

I've always been on the budget plan -- which really isn't a budget since they adjust it 2-3 times each year -- and at one point it was up to $244/month (but that was because of a month when I left the kitchen/garage door open not thinking...duh).

I guess I just expected a dramatic decrease in my electric bill when I converted from electric heat to gas.

 

[freckles and boo]

One of our citizens utility advocacy groups here found that budget plans rarely save consumers money. Good luck figuring it out!

 

[sha_lyn]

One of our citizens utility advocacy groups here found that budget plans rarely save consumers money

It isn't suppose to save you any money.

 

[freckles and boo]

It isn't suppose to save you any money.

I know. It is supposed to help you budget. But budget plans are often presented in a way that suggests you will save money in the winter months when natural gas usage is up. They don't advertise that they are adjusted regularly to benefit the utility.