Electric Bill High

[Mustang71]

I get those letters in the mail telling me that I use 90 percent more power than my neighbors with electric heat. I don't have electric heat and my normal bill is 120ish a month. They lie. Anyone heating with only electric heat is paying 500 a month plus for electric. I bet my water heater is half my bill and the dry is a quarter of it. Family of 4 uses a lot of hot water and does a lot of laundry. Those taco pumps draw next to nothing for power and a furnace blower won't kill the bill. You shouldn't need aux heat with a OWB. Any sort of boiler is great once it's hot it shouldn't run much to maintain that heat. I believe a boiler with a water coil is the best way to heat.

 

[3fordasho]

I get those letters in the mail telling me that I use 90 percent more power than my neighbors with electric heat. I don't have electric heat and my normal bill is 120ish a month. They lie. Anyone heating with only electric heat is paying 500 a month plus for electric. I bet my water heater is half my bill and the dry is a quarter of it. Family of 4 uses a lot of hot water and does a lot of laundry. Those taco pumps draw next to nothing for power and a furnace blower won't kill the bill. You shouldn't need aux heat with a OWB. Any sort of boiler is great once it's hot it shouldn't run much to maintain that heat. I believe a boiler with a water coil is the best way to heat.

I can look up my daily usage online. Days we're at work average 12-14 kwh/day. Week end days when the wife is using the dryer some can spike it to 36kwh/day. I'll never buy an electric dryer again.

 

[Iaff113]

I’m not sure how your power company does it but if it’s your first year in a house they base the estimated readings off the previous year. So if the last home owner ran the bills up. You will pay for it for a year. That’s how Potomac Edison does it in md. Keep in mind also to check your account often for over payments. And make sure they are applying them to your next bills.


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[anlrolfe]

One of the best things I've done with appliances was swap to a natural gas dryer. Consumer reports ranks gas as lower cost of ownership. They get you up front but the fuel has dropped in price over the years compared to electricity costs. My Maytag Neptune is 13yrs old and last year I had to replace the hot-point igniter and clean the photo-eye.

On the note of OWB or IWB systems. These are much more cost effective fitted into an existing forced hot water system. With some handy valve modifications 1-pump may be able to do it all so as far as the system efficiency(electricity wise) is about the same 1-way or the other.

I don't think most people appreciate the amount of power it take to run an electric motor continuously. In the summertime when temps are +90 I'll set the t-stat to run my furnace fan continuously during occupied times. Even with a thick blanket of insulation in the attic our 2-story house gets warmer upstates, heat rises you know. By churning up the air with the furnace fan it keeps things regulated throughout the house. In general running your furnace fan is more efficient than running ceiling fans in every room but I notice significant difference in power usage when I simply switch between On/ Circulate/ Auto modes on my t-stat. Not all motors are equal. An el-cheapo motor may only be 80% efficient where newer modern high efficiency models reach well into the mid to upper 90% range. People see price tags when they are buying a new fan(s) or pump(s) what they don't realize is that they are going to feed it WAY MORE MONEY for electricity over it's lifespan than its original purchase price. It's kind of like you're truck/car. Think of one you've owned for a good while. How many mile do you have on the odometer? what's your average MPG?? Divide those and that's how many gallons you've put into the tank. Now think of what your fuel costs have been over the years. Average the high/low and come up with a middle number maybe a little higher at the pumps than we are right now probably. Multiply that times your number of gallons used, that's how much money you've put into the tank. If that's not significantly higher than the purchase price of your car/truck I'd be surprised unless you're driving a Prius. With an electric motor it's like this but even worse, far worse. So, if you are scrounging equipment and buying surplus you may want to rethink electric motors especially if it's going to be something that runs continuously. If you've gotten something out of your grandfather's shed that was handmade and personally signed by Nikola Tesla himself or came off the USS Arizona it is going to EAT YOUR LUNCH to run continuously.

 

[avason]

I still think my usage is through the roof. We have a family of 5 and are heating a rather large home. I know that needs to be considered. I just talked to my wife about using the dryer less and she basically laughed at me.

 

[greenskeeper]

sq footage of the house and location would put things into perspective

 

[avason]

Yes...from what I hear, CT has some pretty outrages utility rates. Also have 3 kids who are constantly leaving lights on. When they leave 1 room on, they are leaving 4 bulbs on. We are currently in the process of switching everything to LED.

 

[Mustang71]

Yes...from what I hear, CT has some pretty outrages utility rates. Also have 3 kids who are constantly leaving lights on. When they leave 1 room on, they are leaving 4 bulbs on. We are currently in the process of switching everything to LED.

I'm in the same place. 2 kids and a wife. My MIL watches my kids at my house every day so lights, tv, and hot water are always being used. We do laundry and dishes in the dish washer. Take 2 showers a day a bath and a small bath every other day. Idk how I would use less electric. I'm constantly turning stuff off that was left on and am in the process of switching to LED lights. My bill is less than yours but I'd have to look up my usage and I'm sure it will go up once these kids get older.

 

[Wayned24]

The house is about 2,500 Sq. ft. and I live in SE Ohio..It has been very cold for about the last month. Several nights below zero and several days in single digits.

 

[NSMaple1]

You're at pretty well the same rates as me. 0.18/kwh all-in.

Do you have municipal water, or your own well? Wells & pumps can be a big user - usually what I would suspect first. Drippy foot valves, weepy toilets, pressures set too high. Too high pressures, plus electric DHW, plus lazy water users, can really compound things - a few extra minutes with a hot water tap on will send a lot more hot water down the drain at 50 psi than say at 25-30. And make your pump start more often - water pump starts are big users.

After I got my monitor, the main thing that opened my eyes, that wasn't even on my radar to start with, was how much juice 4' fluorescent light fixtures can use. I had two double ones in my office that are on like 10-12 hours a day. I think I figured double whatever the watts on the bulbs say - ballasts eat juice, it seems. I pulled them down & put ordinary double bulb fixtures with LED bulbs. I think that cut my bill by around 15%, alone.

Bottom line: get a monitor, spend time with it, and it will pay for itself in no time.

 

[Beetlejuice]

You're at pretty well the same rates as me. 0.18/kwh all-in.

Do you have municipal water, or your own well? Wells & pumps can be a big user - usually what I would suspect first. Drippy foot valves, weepy toilets, pressures set too high. Too high pressures, plus electric DHW, plus lazy water users, can really compound things - a few extra minutes with a hot water tap on will send a lot more hot water down the drain at 50 psi than say at 25-30. And make your pump start more often - water pump starts are big users.

After I got my monitor, the main thing that opened my eyes, that wasn't even on my radar to start with, was how much juice 4' fluorescent light fixtures can use. I had two double ones in my office that are on like 10-12 hours a day. I think I figured double whatever the watts on the bulbs say - ballasts eat juice, it seems. I pulled them down & put ordinary double bulb fixtures with LED bulbs. I think that cut my bill by around 15%, alone.

Bottom line: get a monitor, spend time with it, and it will pay for itself in no time.

My turn, my turn.. May I vent. My house and garage are on separate meters and not attached.. The house rate is schedule 01/residential...The garage is schedule 012, and 33% higher.. My bill last month over $600!!!! If my dear wife would let me work on chainsaws in the front room I would do that. So when I talked to avista (power provider),my option for lower rate was to bury power line from house to garage (150 feet) and run one meter, or lie on my belly and take it like a man..I asked if I could use their power line since it went that direction anyway.. They saw no humor in this. OR...I could be in a constant state of remodeling, with a temporary power mast cuz that's a schedule 01 rate..hmmm. Decisions, decisions. I don't know.. Time tells on this one.. Thanks, .K

 

[Beetlejuice]

I can look up my daily usage online. Days we're at work average 12-14 kwh/day. Week end days when the wife is using the dryer some can spike it to 36kwh/day. I'll never buy an electric dryer again.

I agree with you.. I think I put up a clothes line so the birds could get a good view of the cats

 

[Deleted member 117362]

In my youth, summer between junior and senior year, I was earning money helping a neighbor build a new home outside of Fenton. Guy next to him owned a small machine shop and had several patents for making cutters used in air conditioning units. Started hearing a chainsaw and crashing. He was upset with power company and was cutting down power poles. Had installed a large diesel generator and informed them to remove poles or he would. Told me if he was going it get screwed, he would rather do it to himself.

 

[Beetlejuice]

In my youth, summer between junior and senior year, I was earning money helping a neighbor build a new home outside of Fenton. Guy next to him owned a small machine shop and had several patents for making cutters used in air conditioning units. Started hearing a chainsaw and crashing. He was upset with power company and was cutting down power poles. Had installed a large diesel generator and informed them to remove poles or he would. Told me if he was going it get screwed, he would rather do it to himself.

I don't mind everybody getting a little piece of the pie..it's when the slices get too one sided through nothing but greed that I have a problem with

 

[anlrolfe]

Just using my little Jotul 602CB I can knock ~$50 off my utility bill through the colder months.
Next upgrade for energy savings will be a natural gas on-demand water heater w/ up-stream storage tank to allow water temps to equalize.
I like knowing that in an emergency I can still get hot water from my natural gas storage water heater but may consider upgrade for better efficiency.

 

[avason]

My brother just hooked up an on demand heating system...he swears by it.

 

[Beetlejuice]

My brother just hooked up an on demand heating system...he swears by it.

I hear that's the way to go

 

[chaded]

I

The house is about 2,500 Sq. ft. and I live in SE Ohio..It has been very cold for about the last month. Several nights below zero and several days in single digits.

I live in SE Ohio as well. We have a hardy h4 OWB and with a 3100 sq ft house and heating a full basement we are paying $150 a month for electric. I may have missed it but who is your provider? We have Buckeye Rural and they supposedly have the highest rates around here...

 

[Beetlejuice]

I


I live in SE Ohio as well. We have a hardy h4 OWB and with a 3100 sq ft house and heating a full basement we are paying $150 a month for electric. I may have missed it but who is your provider? We have Buckeye Rural and they supposedly have the highest rates around here...

For a buck and a half a month? I'm putting my wife in the suitcase, dogs in the trailer, and a beer in my glass.. Watch out OHIO!!!! Here I be a coming

 

[Iaff113]

At .18 a Kwh I can see why your all’s power bills are high.


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