Can you help me w/ electric bill?

[Ima saver]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

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

[sweeps]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

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

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

[Cap'n Rob]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

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]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

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]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

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.

[Ima saver]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

Thanks, Rusty, i will try that!

[dshep]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

Scrava,

Your electric bill is nothing compared to what we pay up here in Maine.. My bill came in a week ago, at 176.00... and that is low... we pay ..083840 per kilowatt... and then we also get to pay a delivery charge.. bases also on the kilowatts used.. So last month.. my electric bill was 100.65 for the electricty and then another 75.83 to have it delivered to my house. I have a 1300 square foot house... and the only difference between us, is I have no dehumidfer and no mini fridge. The Maine Slogan is "the way lifes suppose to be" HA HA... We are the highest taxed state in the nation.. and everything else is higher too! So I am paying attention to this thread, hopefully I will learn something too...
For those that turn their electric water heater off......I was told by my plumber that it actually costs more to turn it on and off.. if you have to keep heating the water up.....and it wears out your heater faster... apperently from the sounds of it... my plumber is wrong!

[scrava]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

dshep that is exactly what my DH says about the hot water heater but I would still love to try it & find out myself!!

Wow, I thought we paid the most taxes being taxachusetts.
Maybe you should have a tourist tax, LOL.

[dshep]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

I lived in Taxachuessetts till 20 years ago... then I moved to Maine, house taxes got to high... what was I thinking? It is now cheaper there then it is here, on all counts... I almost went into heatfailure when I read the report a few months back we lived in the most expensive tax state.. then again.. the fresh air, small school system, made it all worth while to raise my kids here... As for the tourist tax... our grocerys, go up 10 cents to over a dollar a item during tourist season! Then the state gets more tax... come november our groceries go back down again.. but not as much as they went up...

[zoe]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

OMG Ima here in Australia our rate is $0.15 / kwh! Even with the currency conversion that is sooo much cheaper!

[shadowfax]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

Some points I have learned.

Florescent lighting does save a lot of money. I use the compacts it's been about 3 years since I changed a bulb.
When you turn on a florescent it uses more energy than it will use being on for an hour comming on so only turn your lights on if you plan to be in the room for long. Use a flash light if you really need a light.

Apliances that are on timers ar similar. Fans and dehumidifiers and air conditioners that are constantly comming on and off use more power than one running full time. Keep your thermostat low in the winter and high in the summer and your apliances will switch on and off less or set them to run full time and turn on only during time they need to be on.

keep refridgerators and freezers full they will run less. If you don't have food to fill them place pots and pans or gallon jugs of water inside them to fill up the space.
Make sure you defrost freezers regularly as frost buildup will cause them to run more.
Make sure your door seals are in good condition na not leaking cold air.

Cover all windows with plastic in winter. Even the double insulated ones that seem to be really tight. You'd be amazed how that inch of air between the plastic and window can help insulate the house.

Check wall outlets for air leaks. I have found major drafts comming from light switches.

Only turn off your computer if you will not be turning it on again for say a day. I turn mine on in the morning and off at night only on days when I will be using it later in the day. If I plan to only use it in the morning I turn it off when I'm done. This saves a lot. Pluss it is easier on your hard drive and cooling fans. But frequent on and off is also hard on them and uses a lot more power.

My power bill at it's highest was about $40/month and that was with 3 adults and a child living with me. I am alone now and run a fish tank all day have several pets and have a power bill of around $20/month.

[Ima saver]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

Sorry, but your plumber is wrong. I have been turning the hot water heater off for 30 years. I have never had to replace it. My husband does plumbing too. It makes a lot more sense to me to run the hot water heater for 20 minutes a day than 24 hours. (20 minutes to warm up for a shower)

[Ima saver]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

I got my bill today. It was barely under budget, but I am still happy. It has been so hot, I was expecting it to be a little over budget! I used less kph than I did last year. (Plus our rates went up this summer)

[Diolla]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

Ima- I keep reading about you shutting your HWH off so I checked into it. If you have an electric HWH it can save a significant amount but I have a gas heater which is much more efficient. I thought about turning it down but it wouldn't make much difference and you can't just turn it on and off like you do maybe if it had electronic ignition?? (Will look into that). Everything in my house except lights, small apps, cooling and fridge is gas and my gas bill last month (not heating) was $24. Line drying my clothes makes more difference than messing with the HWH (dryer is also gas).

Are all electric homes the norm in your area? Here they are very unusual. Gas is a much more efficient heating fuel.

[Ima saver]

Re: Can you help me w/ electric bill?

Most homes we build have electric hot water heaters, but propane gas heat. You are right, your hot water heater has to be electric in order to turn it off. It does save quite a bit of money!