Can you help me w/ electric bill?

[scrava]

I am almost embarrassed to say our bill is $130/month +. Our company doesn't do energy audits,
doesn't have off hour rates and I don't know what to do. I feel like there must be another house or street
lights or something hooked up to our meter. We live in a single familt home, 2 adults, 2 cats and 1 dog.
I called and since we have been in our house for 3 years, they say that according to our account the charges are
right in line. It's bugged me for 3 years... but, I've been busy. Prepping now to SAHM so need to save $
like a mad woman.

Here's some details:
1200 sq feet
we turn all lights off when we exit a room
no central air and only have a/c on when we are in bed
we do have a (new) stand up freezer in basement
DW gets run once a day
I only do laundry every-other weekend (12+ loads)
we have oil heat & an electric HW heater (btw LOVED the turn the HW heater off idea but we don't have a switch and dh won't go for it).
I have a fridge (new w/ freezer in bottom) and a mini-fridge
We occassionally use the oven/stove miscrowave. The TV is probably on 5 hours a day.
I have 1 light on a timer. we use those special lightbulbs everywhere possible (have 5 i think).
We have 2 sensors outside. 1 hardly ever comes on. We have 2 dehumidifiers in basement
that run only in June-beg. of Sept and they come on&off as needed. So, my bill in Feb was
still $130+.

I'm new to the site so no flamming, please :-)

[sweeps]

Dehumidifiers use a lot of power. Honestly, between the 2 dehumidifiers, freezer, main fridge, mini-fridge, and the occasional use of the window A/C, $130 doesn't seem too far out of line.

[lucasrd]

do you have a computer that gets left on?

[asmom]

I wonder if the problem isn't your usage but the rates? My house has twice as much square footage as yours and we use more than you from your description but in February my bill was only ~$55. Of course you have that freezer and an electric hot water heater and I bet that figures into why your bill is so high too.

[banana]

I'm wondering about your rates also. On a great month I could use as little as 350 kwh which is usually in the spring and fall. In the summer I can use between 900-1200 kwh with the central air going and 1 dehumidifier. My highest bill ever was $130.00. I have oil heat and my hotwater is also oil.

[Ima saver]

I have 3200 square feet, plus an extra garage with an apt., so 2 refrigerators and a full size ice maker that runs all the time. I never turn the computer off. My bill was $95 last month. My big savings is to turn off the hot water heater. My husband puts a switch in all the homes he builds, but before that, we just went and turned off the circuit breaker in the garage. It takes a second, and saves a ton. You only need to turn it on 20 minutes before a shower, or while you run the dishwasher.

[sweeps]

According to this table, Massachusetts' rates are twice as high as Georgia's, hence the discrepancy.

[34saving]

In general this group isn't very good at flaming, so you should be okay. I'm with Sweeps . . . I think your bill in in-line with the power you're using, but I agree it's high. Some things to consider:
1) Do you need the mini-fridge operating all of the time? (Or is it more of a special occasion kind of thing?) If you can, unplug it when you're not using it. (Be sure to leave it open or it might mold.)

2) Electric hot water heat is EXPENSIVE. Try doing the laundry in cold (be sure to pretreat stains). Adding some vinegar can help if smells are a problem. (Sounds weird I know!) If you have an electric dryer that's also expensive, try hanging at least some things or at least double spin them so every last drop that the washer can get out is out.

3) As your electric stove/dryer/ESP. WATER HEATER wear out consider switching to gas. It may or my not be worth it based on your nat. gas rates (or whether you even have nat. gas), but at least consider it.

4) See if you can cut down the dehumidifier use. Using your furance fan all year round might help even out the moisture enough that you can cut down significantly.


5) Put a thermal blanket on your water heater.

[Ima saver]

I don't even know what flaming is??Flamming??

[34saving]

See, Ima has 3000+ posts and doesn't even know what flaming is Ima -- basically being really mean to somebody in response to a post. For more insight check the shorts vs. the longs on any yahoo stock message board. . . .

[lrjohnson]

I'd second the idea to not use mini-fridge except for special occasions, if possible.

I'd look at getting compact fluorescent bulbs. They cost more upfront but they last a long time and save power. If initial cost is an issue, just buy a couple at a time and use to replace bulbs when they burn out.

You didn't mention hanging laundry. Doing this made a huge difference for us. (My blog entry from 6/27 covers a lot on hang drying clothes. Watch out, it's dry reading...heh heh....)

Could you check the temperature on the fridge and feezer and make sure you aren't paying to keep items too cold, and adjust if necessary?

Fill the freezer if it's not full, to make it more efficient-water jugs would help and be a source of emergency ice if your frezzer isn't all the way full.

On DW, skip the dry cycle and leave propped open to let the steam out and let dishes drip dry.

I wish you great success.

[sakigt]

Mine was $130 as well.

Im going to try and turn off the dehumidifier for a month and see how much of a difference that makes. I dont want a moldy house, either.

[Ima saver]

Our rate is .091 cents per kwh!

[markio26]

My Bill Was $94.13 Not Too Bad Considering I Bathed 2 Kids Everynite For 21 Days.
Not To Mention All The Cooking And Laundry..

[sweeps]

FYI. Kill-a-Watt is on sale for $19. Plug a device or appliance into it and it measures how much electricity it's using.
Link

[Ima saver]

Thanks I just ordered it, it should come in handy!!

[sweeps]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

Thanks I just ordered it, it should come in handy!!

Ima, did you receive this? How does it work?

[Cap'n Rob]

I've been using the kill a watt for about 9 months and its great for finding what everything is costing you - it does have its limitations though, you can't use it on appliances that draw more than 15 amps - I.E. Clothes Dryers etc... . and my energy supplier dosent exactly make it easy to figure how many dollars 1 KW/H actually costs - with all the line charges - federal add- ons and everything.

Some other considerations you might want to consider are standby modes of some appliances - say for example your TV .... instead of turning it off - unplug it from the wall - or use a power strip to shut it off... in standby most TV's use
between 7 and 25 watts just to make the TV quicker on power up. The only things you should leave plugged in are things that keep time like your VCR or Cable Box.

Consider any transformers you have plugged in - (Like - cell phone chargers, Calculator adapters , cordless phone adapters, etc...) all these draw current as well - even if the device is not in use - try to unplug these.

You could also use the kill a watt or an ammeter to see if with everything unplugged you are still drawing amps - I've fixed this at a number of locations - heck even without it - go and unplug everthing and go outside and see if your meter is still running - if so - it may be a good idea to start looking for faults in switches and wiring.

Computers and monitors draw power when off and plugged in too - pc's with PCI spec 2.0 (circa 1997 or better) may keep the 5V rail live even when powered off. - Monitors have the High Voltage Coil charged and constantly drawing current if they are CRT and not LCD.

consider LED lighting or Compact Flourescent where possible - LED lighting may be initially prohibitive but in the long run and with a lifespan of 50,000 + use/hours will save a fortune.

If you have an electric or oil boiler (furnace) - shut it off (kill switch) during off hours - this will save you on two fronts


and if you want to get crazy the phone company provides 18V A/C on its lines that could be used for some creative purpose and is not billed at all.... I've always wanted to use that supply for something but never really had the chutzpah to do it.


hope you find some of this useful -

Rob

[Ima saver]

Yes, I am using it. I found that my water distiller takes about 21 cents to run for 5 hours. The tv and treadmill only uses pennies a day. However they both do draw small amounts of power when not in use, probably a penny a day! I did not know that it would not work on the dryer, I have not tried that yet. Right now, I am checking out the fan. It too seems very low. I think the main big power items are the air conditioner, hot water heater and dryer. It cost about 50 cents to run the dishwasher because of the hot water heater being on for an hour and a half!
My worse power day since I started reading the meter was yesterday. It is because I ran the dishwasher last night and forgot to turn off the hot water heater when it was thru. So, it ran all night.

[rusty@saving]

if you go to energyhog.com(i am in no way affiliated), they break down all the usage of the appliances and % that they use. they also give great ideas on how to get the most out of your appliances.
also, i saw a discussion in here about it, with a lot of great ideas, and i cannot remember where it is because i am new too, sorry.