Duke Energy Bill, anyone else experience huge jumps? (Charlotte: house, cost)

[JTfromCharlotte]

My bill was about $60-$65 more this month than previous months. I know there was supposed to be a small rate increase - but I didn't expect this. There was no major usage increase as far as I know- anyone else experience huge jumps?

[Gregory P]

Have you gotten a new Hi-Def DVR lately? They run all day and night and suck as much power as the fridge.

We unplug ours at night...

Study: DVR, set-top box use most energy at home | Circuit Breaker - CNET News

[DipDog3]

Originally Posted by JTfromCharlotte

My bill was about $60-$65 more this month than previous months. I know there was supposed to be a small rate increase - but I didn't expect this. There was no major usage increase as far as I know- anyone else experience huge jumps?

Look at the power usage from the current month and then look at your last month's bill and see if it went up or not.

The rate increase was only a few dollars so either you have a problem with your bill or something in your house is eating a lot of extra electricity.

[coastalgirl]

Originally Posted by Gregory P

Have you gotten a new Hi-Def DVR lately? They run all day and night and suck as much power as the fridge.

We unplug ours at night...

Study: DVR, set-top box use most energy at home | Circuit Breaker - CNET News

Wow - good to know! Does it mess anything up to unplug at night? We have two of them, so this could potentially save a ton of energy.

[Gregory P]

Originally Posted by coastalgirl

Wow - good to know! Does it mess anything up to unplug at night? We have two of them, so this could potentially save a ton of energy.

Nah, the only downside is having to boot-up the next day. But you can get a power strip with a timer to take care of that. (And of course, you can't record when it's off!!)

[Suncc49]

Thought the 17% increase wasn't until september... try turning your thermostat up when you leave for work...

I set mine on 80... saves 40-60 bucks a month.

[GCharlotte]

Originally Posted by JTfromCharlotte

My bill was about $60-$65 more this month than previous months. I know there was supposed to be a small rate increase - but I didn't expect this. There was no major usage increase as far as I know- anyone else experience huge jumps?

Look at the cost per day and the number of days billed compared to last year to see if there's a trend. Compare to last month's bill too. See if there's an increase in both months compared to a year ago. If so you've got a probable trend.

A/C would be the biggest thing this time of the year and 1 degree on the thermostat is about 6% in the bill.

[USCRugbyNo1]

I had an energy audit done on my house and some retro fitting. I save over 2 dollars a day.

[Barkingowl]

A $40-$60 hike would've been nice. Mine went up $400.

[DipDog3]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

A $40-$60 hike would've been nice. Mine went up $400.

Maybe you should turn off all those lights in your basement.