I am just curious for opinions. Looking at my electric bill, it has a peak in the summer months (presumably because of A/C), but an even bigger peak in the winter and that's with gas heat. Any idea why that would be? It's about 200kWh higher in January than it was in August, which baffles me. I can't think of anything I'm doing now that I wasn't doing a year ago, but it's about 100kWh higher than January
2008. Thanks!
its been much colder here in pennsylvania.... burr.
so the furnace runs more using electric, were home more, after being out all day in snow and cold who wants to go places?
all of this uses more electric.
Plus if you bought a new TV like a LCD flat panel they use far more power
If you have a lot of incandescent lights, that hurts a lot more in the winter. Instead of 4 hours of lights, from 7 - 11 pm, you have at least an hour in the morning and 5 - 11 pm at night, that is more than a 50% increase in lighting useage. Also, furnace blower motors, or hot water circulating motors are running a lot in mid-winter compared to not at all in the summer. Also, if you use electricity for cooking, most folks cook less in the summer due to the heat.
Bob Hofmann.
its been much colder here in pennsylvania.... burr.
so the furnace runs more using electric, were home more, after being out all day in snow and cold who wants to go places?
all of this uses more electric.
Plus if you bought a new TV like a LCD flat panel they use far more power
*************************************************My January bill is always the highest aside from the AC months. Shorter days mean longer nights and more lights burning. Each month will drop slightly until it gets hot and we start using cooling. August is usually the highest use of the year.
If the OP used a space heater or had a huge Christmas light display, that would suck some juice too. Check the dryer vent too.
Hi, LCD panel uses LESS power. I think you meant Plasma panel?
Your electric outlets are leaking, insulate and cover them.
Hi,
Everything in our homes is prone to wear and tear. There might be some energy leak in your home that you may not be aware of. Heating definitely accounts for the largest expense in homes, especially during winter months. And the figure could even grow if this factor runs inefficiently.
You could check on some key areas where heating might be wasted. Your home heating system might already need a replacement or some tuning up for maximized efficiency. The attic, windows and doors and other areas should be evaluated in case home heating seeps through.
Best,
The Craftsmen Network
What kind of heat do you have, steam, hot water baseboard or furnace?
Just to give you an idea, an average blower on a furnace uses about 6 amps.
Also check your bill, is your utility company charging the same KW rate in the summer as the winter?
Do an energy audit and see where you waste it. A Kill- A- Watt meter and clamp on amp meter is all you need. Do you use CFLs. Pumps, compressors, motors, can use alot more energy as they die.
Depends on many things. Your climate, size of building, size of AC. Do you supplement heat with portable electric heaters?
Are you in an apartment? in some older buildings you may be sharing part of a circuit with a neighbor due to goofed up wiring.
Is that forced hot air gas? the blower motor takes some power and may be running more.
I shut off my oil boiler and only run my wood boiler and my electric bill went down $50.00. Last bill was $24.00.
There's all kinds of energy saving tips/lists to examine. My average monthly kWhr use has actually declined but the cost has increased dramatically due to rate increases, extra taxes, additional fees, etc. Large applicances can use a lot of energy. Your furnace blower is electric. Modern electronic appliances (plasma, LCD sets) use energy when turned off.
I have seen solar panel prices drop and my personal goal is to eventually get off the grid.
My point was there are TVs and appliances that use power when turned off. If I disconnect my plasma, it has to go through a lengthly, partly-automated process of scanning channels then manually re-entering date/time. My Panasonic plasma TV does not have a backup battery, I guess any memory is volatile. I installed two switches to turn off the TV completely, but don't use it out of inconvenience. I save some by just using the plasma for movies and use the TV tuner on my computer LCD other times. Not sure what this adds up 24/7 over a year period without a watt-o-meter.
I take advantage of sunny days (like today) by opening south windows to catch the solar heat.
Hi, Most electronics or electrical apparatus use tiny amount of current when it is in stand-by or turned off. There is NV memories for sure. But the thing is they are most prone to fail when turned on/off repeatedly due to surge. I leave everything plugged in. Just to save a few bucks a year, if a TV pops it'll cost more than a few bucks to repair for sure. When Flat panel TV is operating, Plasma panel uses lot more power than LCD. Just see the amount of heat Plasma panel generates.
your shit speweth over ransley. Oh, I see. You think you are a comedian. Unfortunately you are just a dumbass Bubba
Does, or did, your power company estimate your usage? Mine does occasionally and it always seems they guess high, which of course is in their favor, they get to use my money for a month.
Also, as many have stated, extra lights due to short days, Christmas lights, furnace fan running due to the cold winter, all add up. Also check that no lights have been left on in areas you don't visit often. Extra closet or attic, or crawlspace?
This site,
Other things: extra lighting, maybe people having more lights on, people home more often.
G
Did you put in one of those allergen-reducing filters in your furnace? They can make you blower motor draw more current trying to run. Are you furnace filters clean?
you may have a hole in a electric wire and piss amps are escapeing....
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snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:13ca8988-7cd9-4395-ac80-b29a55401362 @e22g2000vbe.googlegroups.com:
Call your electric co. and check your history for last january (billing for DEC.) compared to this. See if it's really unusual, or if you've just noticed. How many holiday lights do you run and for how long?
Personally, I keep a spreadsheet on my usage and know when something goes awry as it did last year for about 3 weeks in nov.and dec. My daily for that time period jumped 2x to 3x over normal. The elec co. (REC) had records of comsuption collected ever 27 hours which indicated usage. (We finally traced the leakage to a faulty disconnect switch for a well) Seriously, the power company doesn't want to see you wasting power, call em soon. Good luck. Steve Southiowa
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