Looking for info regarding electric bills

[pospisil]

If you don't have electric heat or air, the size of the house doesn't matter at all. You need to think about all of the appliances and gadgets you have that are drawing power. It's very common for older couples to have significantly lower electric bills, because they generally don't have as many gadgets and things as younger people, especially people with kids at home. There are exceptions, I know, but the younger you are, the more spoiled you are to things, and all of those things use power. Think about all the things you have in your home, compared to the things your parents have. Most of the stuff uses minimal amounts of power, but added together, it can make a big difference.

The electric company is right about the meter. When they break, they almost always either slow down or quit completely. I work for a utility company here in Texas. I've been there 8 years, and only twice have we had a meter tested and it came back reading high, and each time it was not a significant amount. If I remember correctly, the incorrect meter only caused a 2 or 3 dollar increase in the monthly bill. Your electric company should be able to have it tested, if that's what you want to do, but there's normally a charge to the customer if the meter comes back accurate.

I hope you get it figured out. I know how frustrating it can be.

 

[sweet angel]

Pospisil, sadly, what you say makes sense. We have iPods, cameras, cell phones, etc. charging regularly. Coffee pot, microwave, etc. always plugged in. Plus video games, tvs, vcr/dvd, computer running a good chunk of the day.

I guess it does all add up.

 

[SillyMe]

Pospisil, sadly, what you say makes sense. We have iPods, cameras, cell phones, etc. charging regularly. Coffee pot, microwave, etc. always plugged in. Plus video games, tvs, vcr/dvd, computer running a good chunk of the day.

I guess it does all add up.

I have 3 tv's, 2 dvd/vcr's, PS2, XBox, 2 cell phones, toaster oven, microwave, electric stove, refrigerator, electric hot water heater, washer, dryer, computer, small fish tank plugged in all day & night, plus electric heat and my last electric bill was $175. Barely any insulation, so the heat runs constantly. I would say your bill is higher than it should be.

 

[sweet angel]

I have 3 tv's, 2 dvd/vcr's, PS2, XBox, 2 cell phones, toaster oven, microwave, electric stove, refrigerator, electric hot water heater, washer, dryer, computer, small fish tank plugged in all day & night, plus electric heat and my last electric bill was $175. Barely any insulation, so the heat runs constantly. I would say your bill is higher than it should be.

You have all that in your apartment?

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

We live in an "apartment" too. We have the entire first floor and half of the second floor, plus the full basement of a 100 year old 3 story rowhouse. My estimate is about 800 aquare feet, give or take.

We get little daylight and almost always have lamps turned on because there are only 10 windows in our unit. Most of the windows (all but 3) are old single pane, wood-frames that allow pretty much cool air to come through. We have 4 tv's, 2 vcr's, a stereo, a DVD player, a PS2, 2 computers, cordless phone, cell phone (2, but usually one is charging at a time), clock radio, washer and dryer, old refrigerator, big toaster oven, big microwave oven and an aquarium. I just unplugged one tv and vcr because they weren't being used. In the summer we have the ceiling fan going, two 5,000 BTU A/C and an old 15 or 20,000 BTU window A/C. One of the bedrooms has an electric baseboard, the rest of the house is oil fired hot-water heat.

We're on a monthly Equal Payment Plan that was recently reduced from $99 to $64. We had an older washer and clothes dryer that we recently upgraded to one more efficient models and I think that had a big impact on our bill. The actual charges 11/21-12/20 were about $61 for 626 KWHs. Our usage spiked in August when the A/C's were running day and night. The bill then was $149.79, although our payment was just $99 for 1650KWHs.

We've been fortunate that the weather has been mild and the heat has only been turning on overnight for the most part. Keep in mind that we have shared walls on both sides that keep our heating lower than if we had 4 exposed walls. Now if we could get rid of the old energy sucking refrigerator and replace it with a new one we'd been in even better shape.

 

[sweet angel]

It's tough to compare COST because the costs vary from location to location. How many kilowatt (KWH) hours did you use? I'm finding it hard to believe that I used 1300+ for the last billing period.

 

[SillyMe]

You have all that in your apartment?

Yes, Pumba, I do.

 

[SillyMe]

It's tough to compare COST because the costs vary from location to location. How many kilowatt (KWH) hours did you use? I'm finding it hard to believe that I used 1300+ for the last billing period.

Okay, I just looked. I used 1,532 KWH and my bill was $139.78.

 

[sweet angel]

Okay, I just looked. I used 1,532 KWH and my bill was $139.78.

Okay, so that's more KWH than me. Electric is just more expensive here, I guess?

 

[SillyMe]

Okay, so that's more KWH than me. Electric is just more expensive here, I guess?

Must be. Now keep in mind, though, that mine includes my electric heat which is running constantly because this place doesn't have any thermostats.

 

[bartleby1]

sweet_angel - I just thought of something. Do you happen to have a spare refrigerator in your garage or someplace cold, like a basement? We have to unplug our spare one in the garage during the winter because if the garage gets too cold the newer fridges will constantly try to defrost themselves for some strange reason, which will greatly increase your electric bill as well as constantly melt and refreeze your frozen food.

Hope you find the problem!

 

[unbroken chain]

My last bill was 1360 KWH, $111. Gas heat, gas hot water.

I bet you do a lot of laundry. My mother always hung her laundry out on the line, or up on hangers to dry. Cost: $0. Do you use your dishwasher? Your parents might have one but never use it. My folks washed dishes by hand (and not necessarily that well as they got older either). Cost: almost nothing. Computer? Maybe your folks don't even have one. Microwave? My mother NEVER figured out how to work the thing. Hairdryer? My mother set her hair in curlers while wet and let it dry naturally. Do you leave all your exterior lights on at night as the police recommend here? Maybe your folks don't. It all adds up!

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

I edited my last post to include KWHs.

 

[sweet angel]

My last bill was 1360 KWH, $111. Gas heat, gas hot water.

I bet you do a lot of laundry. My mother always hung her laundry out on the line, or up on hangers to dry. Cost: $0. Do you use your dishwasher? Your parents might have one but never use it. My folks washed dishes by hand (and not necessarily that well as they got older either). Cost: almost nothing. Computer? Maybe your folks don't even have one. Microwave? My mother NEVER figured out how to work the thing. Hairdryer? My mother set her hair in curlers while wet and let it dry naturally. Do you leave all your exterior lights on at night as the police recommend here? Maybe your folks don't. It all adds up!

I don't have a ton of laundry since it's just me and DS15. We each do our own laundry -- which I suspect may contribute to the problem. I believe he feels a full load is a pair of jeans and a sock -- yes, one sock -- whatever he happens to feel like picking up off the floor to wash at any particular moment. He also likes to set the dryer for the LONGEST cycle so that he doesn't have to take the stuff out and crumple it in a ball too quickly.

My parents have a dishwasher, microwave, computer, etc and use them all. Mom also irons EVERYTHING --I'm not even sure where my iron is -- but that's another thread. lol

I forget that I also have a freezer and small fridge in my electrically heated garage.

 

[bartleby1]

I forget that I also have a freezer and small fridge in my electrically heated garage.

I bet that is where your usage is. I would imagine that heating a garage (especially using electric heat) uses up quite a bit. Also, if you aren't heating it up to a high enough temperature, your freezer/fridge may be doing the defrosting cycle way too often like ours does. If you really want to lower your bill, turn off the extra freezer/fridge and look into possibly getting rid of the heat in the garage if it isn't needed.

We have an attached two car garage and it gets COLD in there (cold enough that bottles of water and soda will freeze). I can't imagine paying to heat that!

Like I said before, our usage was high last month due to Christmas lights (839 KWH). We are a family of 5 with a 2100 sq ft house (gas heat, gas appliances) but I am a stay at home mom so I am here all day with my 2 youngest. We are not careful about turning things off either! Two lights are on all night long because my kids are afraid of the dark and I leave my tv on all night long to drown out the ringing in my ear that I have. We also leave our 2 computers on all day and some nights.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Your DS needs to consolidate his laundry to full loads of colors and whites. Since it's only the two of you, maybe you should combine loads. the heated garage could be a big source of your high usage. It's a big area to heat. Can you turn the thermostat down in there? Keep it high enough to keep from freezing, but low enough to be noticible when the colder weather arrives.