High Electric Bill (Problems?)

Feb 19, 2005 21 Replies

I have been having extremely higher than normal electric bills. We live in a retirement village. I was talking to my neighbor, and he told me I may have an electric leak. He also recommended a remedy to contain the electricity leaking from outlets. He took me in his home to show me these plastic plugs which plug into the outlets. A couple of questions on this.


  1. Do these really work?


  1. From your experience, how much can one expect to save monthly on your electric bill?



Chuck


Thank you, but do you know the typical average savings? The fellows that do our snowplowing/shoveling and yard maintenance have sold thousands to the residents here. I would like to place my order the next time they are around.

Its not gonna save you anything.. Have you checked your air filter to make sure it is not plugged. This can cause the ac/heat to run more than needed.

the electricity leak is into the pockets of the energy company higher ups, like ken lay

take heart though, 5 percent of the power that goes into the electric grid winds up at it's intended destination, only 95% is lost in transmission

But it is not a home repair subject, it is a TROLL.

Certainly an electric leak is entirely possible.......

The bigger question is have you yet determined exactly where it is this electricity is supposedly leaking to ???

This is Turtle.

I can't believe you don't know where the Lesstricity is getting out when you can see the holes right there in the receptical. all you have to do is get you tube of caulking and seal them up and i bet your electric bill will fall for sure.

TURTLE

Only for keeping children from sticking things in the light sockets.

Number of children saved depends upon how many and often your grandchildren visit. Electrical savings would be zero.

Are you a troll or serious?

No. About 50% of the fuel's heat energy becomes electrical energy. The other 50% goes up a cooling tower, And 30% ends up at the destination, where a clever homeowner with a heat pump can turn it back into 100% :-)

Cleverer homeowners burn the fuel at home, with no cooling tower...

Nick

I smell TROLL...............

i think someone's just having some fun. ...thehick

A bigger problem is the amount of electricity left over in wires after you unplug things- like the vacuum cleaner, for example. If you leave things plugged in, the electricity can't leak out of the outlets, plus the electricity that would otherwise be left over in the wires gets recycled. Another option is to place extension cords in front of each outlet. That way, as the electricity leaks out, it will take the path of least resistence, and find its way into the extension cords, where it will be ready to go next time you need to use one.

Get the 100 foot ones and you can fill them up to use on camping trips.

Great idea! The heavy duty ones would hold even more.

Cost money to fill up power cords too you know.

Get them caps, Electricity always flows to ground, runs out on the carpet and sticks. That's Static Electricity. Sometimes it piles up as high as your pockets, and fills them up too .. touch a doorknob zap, Door knobs open/close just like a switch, sometimes.

You could achieve more savings by simply unplugging your clocks when not in use.

First you need to ascertain whether or not you do in fact have a leak, you will need two pieces of metal thin enough to fit into the little slits, hold one in the right hand and one in the left then stick them in there. If you wake up in heaven or a hospital then you've got a leak. Seriously either your neighbor is pulling your leg or he's stupid. Those little plastic plugs are mainly used to keep kids from doing what I just mentioned above. You don't mention how much higher the bills are, would expect slightly higher bills in the winter. Especially in Jan and Feb.

Stone

Further idea - once you have the extension cord full, plug one end into the other making a complete loop and the 'lectricity can't get out of your cord.

Dave D

Thanks. I should have mentioned that. I just thought it was common sense, but I guess you can't be too careful on Usenet.

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