That's a new one on me. In the case of the OP, the unaccounted-for use is enough that he almost ought to be able see the problem point glowing (or smoking) if what you say is true. He's dissipating a _lot_ of energy someplace.
In other words, I don't think your suggested explanation is likely in this case.
Agree completely -- if I recall correctly, the OP said his power consumption was on the order of 50 kwh per day, compared with figures of around 50 to 60 percent of that, given by other posters. IOW, the OP's *excess* consumption is somewhere on the order of 20 to 25 kwh per day, or roughly 0.8 to 1 kwh per _hour_, equivalent to a continuous 800 to 1000 watt load.
I have heard of shorts costing home owners 20$ a month 15 yrs ago when electric was cheaper, but true that big a loss should be easily found, probably the electric heater hidden in the kids room. or your neighbor wired up to your garage.
For 2006 I averaged 43 a monthly low of 36 & a high of 72. [2005 was 53- monthly low 38, high 83] Family of 4, 3 BR; appliances all within 5 yrs; frost free frig with icemaker; manual frost freezer; gas stove, water heater, dryer.
I'm in upstate NY- 2 months of summer- usually 5 of winter [last 2 winters never really showed up] But our big electric thieves are; dehumidifier in basement year round; humidifiers upstairs during heating season; ionizers on 2 floors; liberal use of hair dryers by 2 ladies; coffee maker runs 9-10 hrs a day; Instant Hot water at kitchen sink; pool pump 24/7 in summer; liberal use of 4 window-shaker a/c's; oil furnace gun and fan in winter; electric space heater in teen girls bedroom; 2 desktop computers & monitors on 24/7; I used to have a sump pump that ran frequently-- last year I got the drainage corrected and now save
10kwh/day. [may not be all that sump pump, as I didn't notice that huge drop until just now when I looked at my past usage. But 2005 I was using 53 & 2006 I used 42. I did use a different pool pump this year- but that is all that changed other than the sump.]Our lighting usage might be high, too- as we have people in the house getting ready for work as early as 6AM - and others returning from work at midnight. And there is rarely a time when someone isn't home. So the 'lights are off' for only about 4-5 hrs a day.
For reference- my records go back to 1998 & these are my daily averages for those years;
38, 34,40, 39, 41, 50, 50, 53, 43.My washer is 10+ years old- dryer is gas & about 4. We do at least 3 times that much laundry.
Someone else mentioned a Kill-o-watt meter- Here's the one I use
Heating season - your furnace uses *some* electricity. Do you use AC in summer? [In my experience the guys who do the surveys for the electric company are pretty clueless- and with little common sense. I actually got a handout from the electric company once that said
*radios* were major electricity users. Might have been true in the 40s when they were tubed, but not likely since the 70's.]First thing to do is try the 'shutting off all power' and see if the meter still runs. Then turn the circuits back on one at a time and make a thorough assessment of the electricity you use. [good time to make a list of what goes to what circuit breaker.]
Things like pool pumps, sump pumps, dehumidifiers, etc often get forgotten but if your neighbors are using much less than you- they could be the variable. Also look at your kitchen counter--- we get high usage from our toaster, coffee maker, George Foreman grill and an electric deep-fryer. [and the Hot H2O is an extravagant convenience]
The vegetarian next door blends some veggies once in a while. [he's also only home a couple hrs a day- and rarely on the weekends. I'll bet he uses 1/10th the electricity we do]
I've done the assessment and have decided that the $6.40 a day it cost us last year was worth the convenience & comfort. YMMV.
Jim
Curious about the Instant Hot Water. What leads you to think that this is a big user of electricity? It's only a small insulated tank that holds a few quarts of water. And in most homes, the actual usage of water out of it is very small and only occasional. I would think the amount of electricity actually used is small and certainly not on the order of magnitude of your 24/7 pool pump, A/C's, etc. Did you actually measure the usage of all these things or how did you calculate?
pool pump 24/7 in summer;
gas & about 4. We do at least 3
Here's the one I use
furnace uses *some* electricity. Do you use AC
the 'shutting off all power' and see if the
I *think* it came out to 60cents a day when I checked it a couple years ago. My Kill--a-Watt is idle, I'll throw it on again tonight.
Plugged in at 8:45 eastern- Wife got her evening cup & the wattage is
500. If I remember right, we got the cheapest one because it looked right with our decor. [I just install things- my wife picks them out.] We had one fail & I dissected it. There was little to no insulation.BTW- this is the one we have;
-snip-
That's what I get for 'thinking'. In 12 hrs, with 2 cups drawn, and nearly worst case ambient temp, it used .58 KwH -less than a 20 cents a day, even here. [about 15 cents *real* cost per KwH]
A lot less than I remembered-- but it still represents 2-3 percent of my usage - or about $4-5 a month. If I was cheaper than I am lazy, I'd probably unplug it. [I have thought about a timer- but it is likely to be used at any time of day in our house- we have an assortment of night-owls and someone is home all day.]
A/C's suck up a lot of power-- but they don't run 24/7 & only get used
5-6 days year in my neck of the woods. The pool pump. . . pure extravagance.Jim
Dont forget your electric dildo and vibrator. As much as you use them, you should own the electric company by now. I bet if you shut them off and used your dick instead, you'd save a couple hundred bucks every month.
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