How the Freak is my electric bill $100.00 a month?

[diabeticman]

When my wife and I lived in our old place Our electric bill was never more than $50 a month.

That is my wife cooking something in the electric stove Me playing an xbox with tv on and my wife having a TV on (for background noise) and working on a computer program all at the same time and we never seen a high electric bill like we have seen in this new place.

Our water is heated by electric and yes we have a couple extra rooms and we have a dishwasher BUT can all this make a $100.00 electric bill.

I really am wondering if this electric heater isn't just heating our apartment water I have to seriously wonder IF we are heating the water for the 2nd and 3rd floors.

[dkf]

1. Yes it's your water heater.

[diabeticman]

2. and this is a new one. He says it is energy effecient. maybe I should have him lower the tempature

a little or that won't help the price.

Thank you for the quick answer.

[Aerows]

22. It's the water heater

and everything is more expensive. There is NO inflation, and NO Americans at the gates, either. The government says so. Food isn't more expensive, telecom isn't more expensive, and heating/cooling isn't more expensive.

It's just your imagination that prices have gone up 40%.

[dkf]

32. My parents got a solar water heater years ago and it makes a huge difference.

Of course being in Hawaii helps so that they rarely have to turn the heater on. My sister's bill is twice my parent's bill as she doesn't have one.

[bhikkhu]

51. You can also try using an insulating blanket on it

...which is cheap and can make a big difference, particularly if you wind up turning it off at night or putting it on a timer.

[grilled onions]

3. Isn't There A Way To Have It Checked Out?

I remember reading about similar stories from renters and they had the city check out usage as well as what is connected to what or where and many times they found out that either one appliance was a utility hog or some shady neighbor was helping himself to their gas,electric or water.

[Hekate]

37. I'd try the Electric Company

When I moved from a small apartment to a nicer one (in the early '70s) my electric bill shot up, so I called the folks who sent me the bill. The person I spoke to was very helpful: first thing she asked about was the fridge. Sure enough my old fridge was a small one with a minimal (and iced-up) freezer compartment, and the new one was big with a self-defrost feature. The second question she asked was about my ironing habits, which had not changed. She told me about a couple who took in their niece, and it turned out she was ironing her garments every morning before work instead of once a week all at once. Irons draw a lot of power too, and it cost a lot more to use the way she was doing it.

When none of your personal habits have changed, yet a utility bill shoots up, check with the utility company. They can often pinpoint the problem fairly easily.

[arely staircase]

4. i'd love to have a 100 buck electric bill

that is because i have to air condition a home in texas. that said, if you have an unusual spike like that you cold be on to something. one thing to think about is looking into whether your provider offers average monthly billing.

[TxDemChem]

14. Me too

$100 in the winter would be awesome

[arely staircase]

19. ive had one as low as 135 this time of year

i am not running any heat or ac right now because it is 50 degrees outside and i have a fire place, etc. but in the summer the mofo has gotten over four hundred bucks. and my house isn't very big. usual summer high bill is around 250 275.

[Omaha Steve]

23. Me three

Level payment plan is $200 a month with a public (below average national cost) utility. That includes several $ a month voluntarily for GREEN energy.

We do have a 50 gallon electric water heater.

[840high]

40. Same here.

[TorchTheWitch]

46. I've never ever had a bill that low

The price also has a lot to do with what area you live in - live in a more expensive area, like everything else your electricity and natural gas will be higher. I know my landlord had bills a little over $100 not useing any heat and only running the refridgerator while my house was empty before I moved in.

[ecstatic]

41. ya know? nt

[JDPriestly]

45. A solar energy company told me that if our electric

bill was $100 or more per month, solar panels would pay. You might check on if it you are in Texas and your bills are high in the summer when it is sunny a lot of the time.

[oldhippie]

5. Do you know how to read an electric bill?

How many kWHrs are you using now compared to before? What is the price per kWHr compared to before? Did you have an electric water heater before? They use a lot of electricity. Dishwashers can use a lot of electricity.

Personally, I would love to have a $100 electric bill.

[diabeticman]

7. We never had electric water heater before or a dishwasher.

I think my wife and I are going to be struggling the whole year of our lease. We will be looking for a new place.

[Historic NY]

39. Air dry the dishes instead of letting the dishwasher dry them...

I open the door and pull the racks out on mine its saves all that extra juice. Note I use mine every few days.

[MADem]

53. I have a portable dishwasher where I can turn that drying feature off, and we do that too.

Saves a fortune. Works just as good, throws a little moisture into the dry winter air, too.

[Skittles]

63. ditch the dishwasher if it's just the two of you

I live in an apartment and have compared my very low electric bill with other tenants whose bill is higher and the only difference we could find was the dishwasher - I have never used one

[diabeticman]

10. The useage seems to be more than at the old place. I'll be honest I don't understand the reading

things but looking at an old bill and a new one yes we are using more.

[oldhippie]

12. I think there is your answer.

Modern conveniences require more energy. Energy costs money. It's a trade-off.
Good luck on trying to figure it out.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. We lowered ours by turning the computers off when not in use

And using an outside washer/drier

[diabeticman]

13. We only have the computer on when we are using it. Otherwise it is off.

[Munificence]

8. You should be so lucky!

I've seen mine hit $400 a month before. I do have 3 HVAC units along with 3 young kids that do not understand any concept about all those object and lights and the cost to run them.

I have even went to my 13 yr old daughters room upstairs to wake her up for school and found her sleeping in her closet due to it being to cold in her room. Went and looked at her thermostat and it was on 60! Asked her why it was there and she said "It was hot today"...asked her why she didn't turn it back down and she said it was easier last night to sleep in the closet (it's a big walk in closet, could be a room in itself).

[NYC_SKP]

9. $20 will get you a Kill-a-Watt meter that records energy usage.

Do NOT get the Kill-a-Watt EZ!

Get the regular one.

It will indicate that you x-box, if left in, is probably one of the major culprits in your life.

If your old place had gas water heat or central for the building, then your new system with electric water heat is costing you.

And, it IS possible that the plumbing is using your power to heat other unit's water, it's happened before, you need to check.

Good luck, maybe call your utility company and ask for a visit.

[unblock]

25. our local library has kill-a-watts available for free, you check one out just like a book!

we did and found out the things to worry about. the biggest hog was leaving the computer on all the time. i now hibernate it when not using it.

the local electric company here will also give you a complete home energy audit for $75, which includes replacing all your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. it was way worth it just for the bulbs, nevermind all the little holes they plugged up.

it was pretty cool, they set up a big fan in the front doorway then go around the house feeling for drafts and plugging up and holes. we had lots of them in our unfinished basement.

[NYC_SKP]

29. Fantastic, thanks! Funny thing-- Freepers resist energy efficiency programs....

....fools that they are.

[doc03]

11. I would be happy to trade bills with you n/t

[diabeticman]

17. I may sound like cry-baby BUT when my wife and I are on a tight budget and stuggling just to get by

this is a hard bone to swallow. Maybe we got spoiled at our last place BUT it is something I am in culture shock.

[doc03]

24. All you can do is try to cut your KWHs. Get CFL bulbs, cut your water heater temperature

back to 120º and shut of stuff you aren't using.

[Warpy]

15. First, remove the panels on your water heater

One of them will be hiding a temperature control. Turn it down to "low," which will give you 120 degree water, hot enough for anything you'll want to do.

Do check the basement to see where the pipes are going, but electric water heaters at full temperature suck power like crazy.

[ThomThom]

16. you can put your water heater on a timer so it only heats the

water right before you need it if you can maintain a regular water use schedule
keeping water heated can be expensive

[Hekate]

18. Check your refrigerator, too. The old self-defrost models really draw a lot of power

If your fridge is new(er) that shouldn't be the problem. Call the Electric Company for a home evaluation, too. They may be able to sort it out for you fairly easily.

Good luck!

[Auntie Bush]

20. Mine was $205.00 two mos. ago...last month it was $160.00

[Michigan-Arizona]

21. What my brother did

My brother put a switch (like a light switch) on his electric hot water tank (on the wall, not on the tank). Hubby & I bought the place from him. We would turn it on for about 15 minutes before we wanted to shower or wash dishes. We maybe had it heating up water for 30 mins. a day. I loved it set up like that, only turn it on when you want to use it. It saved a ton off our bill.

[diabeticman]

26. I'd have to ask the Landlord.

[Ian David]

27. It must be all the hydroponics and grow lights in the garage. n/t

[diabeticman]

28. No garage.

[pkdu]

30. Do you have Gas too...if so what's the combined amount?

[diabeticman]

31. Wish I knew what the combine would be. My wife has been calling the gas company demanding a

bill to be sent to us and so far we haven't seen a bill since we moved in this place in late dec.

We had issues about the Gas company actually getting the gas put in to this place. They told the landlord it would be done by the 28th than told us it wouldn't be done until the 10th so we had arguements gallore.

But we haven't had a bill from the Gas company for 3 months.

[pkdu]

48. You really need both for a comparison...we have gas cooker and heating and

Electric everything else...but you need to add both in one location to compare to both in another

[geckosfeet]

33. If I had to use electirc in Jan/Feb I'd have $600+ electric bills.

Last one was $280.

My wood burning insert is fritzed. Getting it repaired next week. That or getting a new pellet burning insert.

[CokeMachine]

34. I'd love your bill and

I live in one of the most expensive utility areas in the nation. I keep my heat at 63 when I'm home (55 otherwise) and my bill is still 25+ percent more than yours. I'm single so it's laundry once a week. Who still uses a dishwasher -- unless you have 2+ children. Waste of water and energy. Oh well some people have it good.

Take Care

[FarCenter]

35. Electric clothes dryer?

[diabeticman]

36. Yeah BUT we had electric washer and dryer at the old place as well.

[OldDem2012]

38. You should feel fortunate...we paid $410 last month and $370 this month. nt.

[tsuki]

42. We lowered ours by putting a timer on the

heater. Only heats water once a day.

[blogslut]

43. Can you shut off/turn on your water heater at will?

I know it's a PITA but if you can do that you'll save a bunch of money.

[The Second Stone]

44. You lucky dog. Mine is never less than $300 and sometimes up to

$570. But I make up for it in not renting office space for my law practice.

[diabeticman]

47. Oh man! I feel small complaining about my bill. How do people live with such high bills?

A 500 dollar bill is more than my rent.

[The Second Stone]

54. Summer is tough. But I work in my home and need it cool

and it is a lot less than renting a place to cool the house. California has tiered electrical charging. I pay several times the amount for the portions that are above normal usage. It truly sucks to live in California's Central Valley (I'm on the SF Bay edge) during the summer due to the outrageous tiered system.

[moondust]

49. If it is the water heater...

and the water heater is in a location that can get cold, a water heater insulation blanket may help some and not be too expensive. Also, I have a tankless gas water heater that has a remote control unit which allows me to set the desired temperature. I've had it at 108 degrees for years which is sufficient for my uses but I don't use a dishwasher. Since your water heater is electric it should be possible to install a convenient on/off switch somewhere in the circuit, though that may require an electrician. Or if it uses a standard cord and plug you could place a small timer or remote control unit between the plug and the socket.

[apocalypsehow]

50. Lucky you: my last electric bill was $357.22.

[MADem]

52. I have a little holiday shack with a halfassed water heater--it is fairly new and in good condition.

It's electric.

When I am up at the shack, it costs about a buck a day to keep that little water heater going.

If you're heating a few extra rooms that you don't use, and you don't need to heat them, and can turn off the heat, just do it. Close the rooms off in the winter months.

You do have cfl or led lights, yes? If you don't need the big oven, use a toaster oven--you can save a bit that way.

You could try turning the water heater power off after you take your morning showers, and see if the other tenants complain! Might be worth a try....

[ohheckyeah]

55. Mine was $168 last month and that

doesn't include heat. We use our propane fireplaces for heat most of the winter. I'm not even running a dishwasher. I don't know how two people could use that much in electricity.

[Blue_In_AK]

56. I would be thrilled if my electric bill was $100 a month

Ours runs about $150-160. Not to mention the gas bill which is a couple hundred bucks in the winter.

[Broken_Hero]

57. I think its the hot water heater

they use a lot of juice, take a while to get your water up to temp. I learned my lesson with electric heat back in 2007. I kept a house on central heat at 65 degree's in the month of January in NE Oklahoma and my bill was 10 bucks shy of 300 bucks. I never thought electric heat would consume so much energy, but lesson learned.

I have a propane hot water heater because electric is more expensive to maintain, plus propane warms the water faster.

[JCMach1]

58. My water heater from the 1940's only makes about a $60 bill per month...

We have come nowhere...

[David__77]

59. Space heaters are guzzlers of electricity.

I work in the energy efficiency industry and have used plug meters to test various things around my own home - space heaters even on the lowest setting are up toward 1,000 watts. Natural gas is so much better for heating - including water heating. Insulate if you can. I have no solution for my own apartment in a 110-year old building. If I owned it, I'd insulate, change the windows, and install a new gas furnace (if not central HVAC!).

[Turbineguy]

60. TV's can be energy hogs

because they are left on for many hours per day. Also computers tend to create distorted loads, it's better to power them through a UPS. Electric ovens are heavy consumers. Does your dishwasher have an energy saver feature? Does your clothes dryer work on a timer or a sensor? Clean the condenser on the fridge. You also might want to check for grounds in plugs or appliances.

[PADemD]

61. Did you switch energy suppliers recently?

In PA, we are allowed to choose energy suppliers even though we keep the same electric company.

Our electric company was charging a non-variable rate of $0.08/kwh; but an electricity supplier was charging a variable rate of $0.07/kwh, so I switched. Six months later in July when air conditioner use is high, I received an enormous electric bill. I called the electric supplier's customer service to find out why. Turns out that the $0.07/kwh was a teaser rate for the first six months. They were charging me a variable rate of $0.15/kwh; and, the month before, they charged $0.12/kwh.

If you have switched energy suppliers, be sure to check the rate you are being charged.

[TheManInTheMac]

62. Add your electric bill and gas bill from your old place together,

and add them together in your new place and compare. You're probably coming out ahead.

[reteachinwi]

64. Do you have a well?

Pumping water takes lots of energy. So does a refrigerator. New friges are way more efficient than the old ones if you are careful to limit size and buy Energy Star rated ones.