high electric bills

[nnyl]

Originally Posted by stevep

Instead of calling JEA to get your reading, you can read it yourself whenever you like - it's usually on your outside wall. This way you can do some tests. Run everything normal for 2 hours and then read the meter to see how much kw you used in 2 hours. Now, disconnect something (like your outside refrig) and run everything else for the next 2 hours and then read the meter to see how much kw you used without the refrig. Subtract these 2 kw numbers and then divide it by 2 (since it was a 2 hour test). This is the amount of kw your refrig is using every hour.

LOL. Okay now I will be known to be certifiably crazy. I had that bright idea. Was going to do just that.

Until............

I went over to that side of the house to do just that. And found a great big long snake sunning itself on the shrubbery just below where the meter is. I am terrified, mortified, of snakes. I ran and almost killed myself getting away from there. Haven't been back on that side of the house since.

[stevep]

Here are 2 other options. They're not as precise, but will be in the ballpark.... you could ask the snake to take the readings every 2 hours, but there might be a problem in the translation. The other option is to look in the back of your refrig and there's usually a tag that lists the amps. For ex: 2A or 2 amps. Multiply this number by 120 and divide by 1000. This will be the number of kw used in 1 hour. Multiply this number by 24 and this is the amount of kw used in a day. Normally a refrig won't use this many kw, because it's not running every second of the day, but if yours is older and in the heat with bad seals, it's going to be running a good amount.

[daytonadewd]

I had a 'weird' problem with electric after I bought my house. If you live in the "urban core" area of a city, you need to pay attention to this!

My house is in the downtown area and has a utility pole in the sidewalk easement, which also has a street light. The utility pole has a numbering system on it to ID it.

I had the electric company come out and do an energy survey and what rebate programs I'd be eligible to receive to remodel/update my home. Afterwards, my electric bill nearly DOUBLED, and I figured this was due to the height of the oil crisis when gas prices went to over $4.

Nope. It turned out the tech keyed in the WRONG utility pole number into their system, which in turn billed me at COMMERCIAL rates, NOT residential.

This all became evident and corrected when the street lamp burnt out and I had to call in the pole number. Apparently, my meter was then assigned to a commercial address and had to be corrected.

My electric bills fell in half again!

It's ALL computers and how you're logged in their "system" on what your billing rates will be.

Hope this helps!

[tamcim72]

Originally Posted by fsquid

Another stupid question from me. How would filling your fridge with gallon jugs of water minimize electricity usage?

A full refrigerator retains cold better than an empty one. If your refrigerator is nearly empty, store water-filled containers inside. The mass of cold items will enable the refrigerator to recover more quickly after the door has been opened.

We also have a programmable thermostat for the hot water heater. It's just like the one for AC. It easily adjusts for daytime and vacations.

This a cool gadget I want to get....but i think I would drive my family crazy. you plug an item into it and then into the outlet and it tells you exactly how much KWH the item is using. I wonder if HD/Lowes carries them?
http://www.thegeoexchange.org/kill-a-watt/index.htm