Power Bill increasing

MikeL wrote in news:287f1460-68a9-4931-9bfe- snipped-for-privacy@z41g2000yqz.googlegroups.com:

How do the power rates compare from last year the same period? How does the kW usage compare from last year the same period?

STOP: You need to know the above before you know if you even have a problem.

What's changed around the home since last season? From two months ago?

Electric heaters added, stopped using a kero heater, lower temp from vents (one of multiple furnace elements gone), lower airflow (hole in ductwork)?

What kind of heat?

If electric, the first appliance to check might be the furnace although my guess is two months ago furnace wasn't running much and now it is.

Other appliance can be checked with a Kill-o-Watt meter. Those can be bought and sometimes borrowed. Ask the power company if they know of any loner programs.

It's a conspiracy by the government to force you to lower your energy usage, unless you're part of The Royal Family.

TDD

Was there a rate increase? Electric heating being used now?

Learn how to read an electric meter. Turn things off and see what it records for an hour or day. Turn things on and see the difference.

Check for water leaks (like under house). If there is a well, it will run more. A hot water leak will make the hot water heater run more. New TV's use more electricity than old TV's.

The more "watts" something is, the more electricity it will use when on. A

How to read an electric meter...

-snip-

That won't work with mine. Mine doesn't have any dials-- just a string of numbers. [and the meter reader doesn't even have to come up my driveway anymore]

Jim

You're right, to compare kilowatt usage. Sometimes power companies estimate every other reading. And sometimes one comes out low, other comes out high.

Other idea you didn't mention. Sometimes the wire between the meter and the trailer leaks power. Turn off all the breakers. Then, go out, look at the power meter. The meter should be at dead stop. The older ones had a dial that goes around. If the dial is moving, you may need a new lead-in wire.

I had a similar problem about 10 years ago. Bulbs were not lasting long. I used a digital voltmeter and found the power voltage to be just where it should be. Then I check the following morning and found it to be 140 volts. Seems like the electric company kicks up the voltage early in the morning as industry comes on line and adjusts it along the way. They were putting it up too high to fast. After I called, it never happened again, but a transformer at the substation was also replaced. Can't say it affected my use though.

Do not accept the power company's say so. You have the right to have the meter checked. It was a big deal here a few years back and C L & P was screwing customers. Do some research on the Hartford Courant and look for George Gombossy''s consumer columns about it. He did quite a good job of helping the customers.

Meantime, check things like the dryer vent for clogging, the oven left on low and other dumb things that can also happen.

Things that can cause extended run cycles for normal appliances like are prime suspects. Things like dusty refrigerator coils, clogged furnace filters, etc.

An increase of $150/mo, assuming no change in electric rates, works out to around a 1.38kW load assuming it is on 24x7 which is quite significant. That is also around the size of typical electric space heaters, so that is something to consider.

I had a similar thing occur about ten years ago. It turned out to be my septic pump which was running continuously because of a defective pressure switch. The pump is located at the bottom of an underground tank which is about fifty feet from the house so I couldn't hear it.

---MIKE---

"Jon Danniken" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

my meter(Orlando,Progress Energy) has the digital readout,is read by short-range radio,and still has the spinning wheel.

Dehumidifiers also use a lot of power. And anything refrigerated.

Hmm, so coming into the colder months... makes it sound like some kind of heating-related problem.

Any stuff (particularly heaters!) under load control? If so, maybe the switchgear's jammed permanently on, or something's messed up such that they're not getting a cheaper rate for the load-controlled devices (been there, done that when we first moved into our place - took a couple of bills to figure out what was going on and get the power company in to fix it)

cheers

Jules

Jim Yanik wrote in news:Xns9CDF94E84D4AFjyaniklocalnetcom@216.168.3.44:

The spinning wheel is just there to pacify you. It does nothing but spin randomly. Harbor Freight is the wheel assembly supplier :-)

Or it could be something you don't even suspect. Some friends bought a house and after some time the electric bill mysteriously started climbing. The first snowfall showed why. The snow on the sidewalk melted. Prior to their occupancy someone had installed power out to the garage in a nonsensical non-standard fashion as is often advocated here. The cable was a few inches deep and a rock rubbed through the wire. Soil there is damp because a stream is not far away. Current was flowing 24x7 keeping the sidewalk nice and warm.

How many neighbors have now tapped into your friends meter?

All electric meters I've ever seen can be read. Ask your electric company what those numbers mean. In some cases they cycle through date, time, and several time periods of usage. But if you learn how to read this, it is easy to understand.

Also you can get the make/model of the meter and search the internet for documentation/instructions on it. This would be written somewhere. The electric company need to know how these operate, so there would be instructions somewhere by the manufacturer.

Weak attempt at humor there--- the numbers are labeled KWH.

I do miss the wheel that spins. There is a single arrow that blinks on mine-- I should turn on the hot tub and see if it speeds up the blink rate.

It is a Schlumberger Centron unit - transmits a signal to somewhere. I'd love to find a hack so I could read it from inside the house & create my own usage graph.

Maybe someday I'll get around to it.

Jim

Did you peak at this?

Some time back our electric company changed from a 'spinning disc' meter (that had been there for some 40 years?) to a digital one. Then again more recently they changed it again to another digital one to be read wirelessly from their vehicle out in the road. The hand held meter reader's unit appears to be very similar to those hand held devices used in s.markets etc. for registering stock levels? Spoke with 'meter reader' one day who said that he was finding it was still not possible to read our meter from a distance and that he has to approach to within 15 to 20 feet of our house, to get a reading? Have no idea why; possible causes might include that we have a wifi network to use use our laptops within the house, our house like most in this area has metal conduit for the aerial service mast and into the main fuse panel in basement. We have a layer of aluminum foil in the outer walls ......................... The meter is where it has always been, approx 80 feet from the road! PS. The power company has been encouraging people to read and phone in their own meter readings!!!!! It's the antithesis of why (like 50+ years ago) when meters were installed inside a home; it required someone to be home to allow the meter reader in the house to read it! Maybe one could buy a computer program to read meter ourselves (electronically into our PC?) rather than going outside to jot down the digital display number. Then again the power company could perhaps read the meter at night etc. over the phone line and or internet?????