Help me slay this electric bill?

[3nglishteacher]

I"m new to this board having migrated over from the BackyardChickens forum b/c my electric bill is making me ill. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why it's so high ! New construction, 2100 sq ft cape, well insulated, 2 adults, 2 teenagers. Electric Energy star dishwasher, refrig., hot water heater -- gas stove/oven. Elec heat pumps with avg. SEER ratings -- couldn't afford top of line. Always use cold water to launder. Heat set at 68 in a.m. and p.m. till we go to bed and reset to 64. ALL CFL bulbs. And we still avg. 75-100 kwh per MONTH! I"m just heartsick. I haven't gone the extra step of putting everything on power strip but I guess should be first step.

When I read how little some of you all are using / month I feel like there's just no way ours is "normal" - there must be a huge suck somewhere. Could it be the meter? Or just us?

Any thoughts would be so appreciated.

Karen in VA

YES -- I mistyped!! 75-100 kwh PER DAY -- we used 2934 kwh last month and it usually floats between 1500 and 2000 per month for the one year we've been in this house. So sorry for the mistake

 

[dacjohns]

Are your numbers off by a zero? My last bill was for 741 KWH and that is for 2 people. Amount was $94.21. I use mostly wood for heat, have a gas stove, electric water heater, electric dryer, no dishwasher, heat lamp and water heater for the chickens, mostly CFLs.

First of all you have teenagers. Get rid of them and your bill will go down.

Use power strips. Your TV, DVD player, microwave, AC adapters, and anything with automatic start (no warmup) and/or a clock or any light will use electricity even when not in use.


By the way. Welcome

 

[ams3651]

an electric hot water heater will use up quite a bit. Try getting ...whats it called....a blanket? for it and turning the temp down a couple degrees. if nobody is home during the day you can turn the heat down a couple degrees then, do you have a programmable thermostat. We only have a light on in the room we are in and the kids dont 'hang out' in their room, if they have tv's, computers, etc in there that will cost you. I use a night light in the bathroom, only the guys need to SEE where they are going. We also dont shower daily unless we need it, that saves on heating water too.

there is another thread on here too where others mentioned using their dryer or dishwasher on off peak times when electricity is cheaper.

 

[enjoy the ride]

I found that my new house (new in 2001) used more energy than my poorly insulated 1920's cottage because in part, I had so much more in it needing power.
There is a timer for electical hot water heaters so that you can time it to heat up the water only when you're home. Then, any appliance with a digital read out could be using power all the time.
I also set my heat on 65 during the day and off at night. It's on a programable thermostat so that it turns on just before I normally get up in the morning and way down when I normally would have been expected to be at work.
You could also do the teenage challenge- that you will split any savings with them from your normal seasonal bill. Explain about shorter showers, hair driers, leaving lights on, leaving the computer or games running while not in use, leaving upstairs bedroom doors shut so not heated, etc.
I also have a power strip extension cord with individual switches so I can have only the TV going and not the DVD player, or audio system (and only the parts I want) on at the same time and visa versa.
I decided I did not need a rechargable phone in every room of the house and suimply unplugged all but two.

I have never had a heat pump so don't know how much it uses.

Oh and

 

[patandchickens]

First I'd suggest calling the electric company and see if there is someone there you can talk to. They might be able to tell you if your useage is way outta line for comparable homes; and these days electric companies often really *want* to encourage customers to use less juice (at least, up to a point). Also, there are two possibilities that the electric company would definitely want to look into: first is that there is an unknown resistance or loss to ground somewhere i.e. something wrong with the wiring; and second, not especially likely but it does happen, is that someone is illegally tapping off your service. Up here that sometimes happens when neighbors are growing illegal things in the basement; there can be other reasons too. I've known people in the past who've brought this sort of concern up with the electric company and they've sent someone out to check it out.

Second, if it should turn out that there is nothing electrically 'wrong', I would suggest spending the $200-300 it takes to have an energy/heat audit done. There are private companies who do this, your utility company may be able to put you in touch or try googling or something. It is quite possible that you are hemorrhaging heat somewhere in the house -- like the builder did not insulate some important place(s) -- and money spent diagnosing and fixing the problem could pay itself off pretty quickly in lower electric bills. (Have you been in there long enough to know whether your bills were still quite high in summertime, or did you only move in after the heating season began?) In the meantime, setting the thermostat lower, like 62-65 F, will help. Wear sweaters

Good luck,

Pat

 

[SKR8PN]

How many freezers or refrigerators do you run? Do you have a security light that comes on and stays on all night? How about those low voltage landscape lights? Do you have a fireplace/chimney in the house? How many computers? Laptops with chargers? Cell phone chargers? Ceiling fans with lights? Dehumidifier? All this kinda stuff adds up.

We live in a small,totally electric 1200 sq ft house(very well insulated w/new windows) with a full basement and radiant electric heat(in the ceilings) I run my shop off of the house power(no separate meter) I have a LARGE air compressor,welder,tons of lights including a mercury vapor security light,TWO large freezers, a side by side fridge in the kitchen and a small under counter bar fridge in the basement, an 80 gallon electric water heater, and we use about the same KWH per month as you do, but I heat my shop with propane and waste oil,and we do have an emergency propane heater in the basement that we hardly ever use.

 

[shareneh]

If you are heating with electric for your house you may be able to install a woodstove in the living area and heat the most lived in space duing the day with wood. I bought a brand new wood stove this summer and it paid for itself the first two months. I live in ND so we use a lot of wood to heat our house. When we are sleeping the propane furnace takes over at 60 degrees. It takes the teens a while to get used to it but they aren't paying the bills right.

I think that you should also unplug the appliances that aren't in use. We have gotten into the habit of unplugging everything after we use it. That way there is no question of phantom use.

You also need to get after the kids and hubby about leaving cell phone or other chargers plugged into the wall when not in use. Those draw electricity too. Switch your alarm clocks to battery charged or use a wind up.

The water heater is the big issue for most people. I used a timer on my water heater and that cut my bill in half. You can get them at any home store. They are about 40 bucks.

The main thing is to talk to everyone in the house. They will have to modify their behavior and keep a schedule for showers and chores as there won't be hot water whenever they want it. It's worth it to reign everyone in when it comes to electricity use, it's pointless to waste energy when you don't have to. It also teaches discipline and conservation at the same time.

And take Pat's advise and have your electricity audited so that you know where you need to start conserving energy. Pat's smart

 

[FarmerChick]

What I did to drop to under 1000 kwh per month

I did the same as you--the CFLs saved me alot of money per month.........my house is 1700 sq ft and no teenagers...LOL

I have a propane fireplace.....your electric heat is what is killing you. It can't be avoided unless you put in alternative heat.

My propane fireplace heats my house. But I pay for propane of course, so the savings is off the electric bill but put to the propane....but the propane is a hotter heat and makes the house feel warmer at 68 then electric heat. So that is why I love it.

Line dry clothes. The other biggie that knocked off tons of kwh was the dryer. Yup, I line dry now and I was a dryer addict...HA HA
Turn off the dryer and the savings is huge!

Lastly, I bought a toaster/baking oven for the counter. I hardly ever use my oven anymore. I use the stove top and the little toaster oven for all baking needs that I can fit into it. I rarely turn on the oven...and that element takes alot of kwh actually.


So that is what I did to bring me down on the bill. I was about 1600 kwh per month give or take in high summer or cold winter, to a measly 1000 and UNDER......yup my bill is lower now big time and I love it....

best of luck to you

 

[me&thegals]

You might want to consider an online audit. Our electric company has those and I'm sure you could find some online. Also, welcome to SS

 

[Wifezilla]

your electric heat is what is killing you. It can't be avoided unless you put in alternative heat

Exactly.

Can you install a pellet stove?

"Heating with pellets is quite economical compared with oil and natural gas. On the Sam's Club web site, pellets sell for about $187 a ton. The Department of Energy says a homeowner can expect to go through up to three tons of pellets a season, or $560 worth. In contrast, heating oil will likely cost owners of bigger homes in the Northeast several thousand dollars this winter."
http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/deals/should-you-buy-a-pellet-stove-18323/