Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New Jersey
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 01-23-2010, 10:02 PM
 
7 posts, read 57,408 times
Reputation: 15

Advertisements

I am planning to call PSE&G on Monday, but ... any help, ideas, etc.. would be appreciated:

I just got hit with a 600+ therm reading and an almost $900 bill for Jan 19-end (vs. ~$500 last month). most of that $900 bill was my gas bill of over $800.
1) i don't even live in the house yet because it is under renovation, and the heat is set to low 60's all day long.
2) there are contracters in the house almost every weekday, and we stop by once in a while on the weekend so...definitely no squatters or weird stuff like that.
3) sq ft is about 2400 plus 1200 finished basement.
4) its an older house (1960's), but all windows have been replaced during the renovation.
5) when in the house (day and night) I don't smell any gas (how else would i know if gas was leaking?), and it is never freezing cold, nor is it too warm or hot with my winter jacket on.

Something terribly wrong must be going on, any ideas on how to start troubleshooting this situation?
- calling PSE&G is a start, but I don't have high hopes given most people's comments.
- what types of things could be the issue here?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-23-2010, 10:15 PM
 
532 posts, read 1,459,053 times
Reputation: 465
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoLiquidity View Post
I am planning to call PSE&G on Monday, but ... any help, ideas, etc.. would be appreciated:

I just got hit with a 600+ therm reading and an almost $900 bill for Jan 19-end (vs. ~$500 last month). most of that $900 bill was my gas bill of over $800.
1) i don't even live in the house yet because it is under renovation, and the heat is set to low 60's all day long.
2) there are contracters in the house almost every weekday, and we stop by once in a while on the weekend so...definitely no squatters or weird stuff like that.
3) sq ft is about 2400 plus 1200 finished basement.
4) its an older house (1960's), but all windows have been replaced during the renovation.
5) when in the house (day and night) I don't smell any gas (how else would i know if gas was leaking?), and it is never freezing cold, nor is it too warm or hot with my winter jacket on.

Something terribly wrong must be going on, any ideas on how to start troubleshooting this situation?
- calling PSE&G is a start, but I don't have high hopes given most people's comments.
- what types of things could be the issue here?
With all the contractors are the doors and/or windows open ?
This would keep the furnace running more than neccessary even being set in the low 60's.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-23-2010, 10:21 PM
 
Location: Knoxville, TN
2,171 posts, read 7,631,651 times
Reputation: 1536
Turn off the furnace and the gas going to any appliances that might have a pilot light (stove, dryer, etc.) and then check the meter to see if it shows any gas being used. If it does, you've got a leak.
I'd drop the thermostat to 45 degrees, just to keep the pipes from freezing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2010, 06:29 PM
bay
 
425 posts, read 2,919,059 times
Reputation: 179
we got $483 gas bill (Dec 15-Jan 16). our house (2777sq ft 1960 split no basement) is under renovation as well. But I know it's because we redo all the insulation and subfloor (crawling space without insulation under that) during the period of time. Therefore, there were many days we do not have all insulation and subfloor in place. plus there were a few cold days in the past 30 days. When the insulation and subfloor were out, I found the furnance just kept running whole day, but the temp wouldn't go up to 60. End up I have to set the temp to 50 to stop it. I guess that's how we waste the gas. In addition, we also found that filter gets really dirty during renvation so that the heat did not go out evenly (cold on 1st floor and hot on 2nd floor). The 1st floor temp is much lower than 2nd floor. Our temp control is on 1st floor so that furance will keep running until the 1st floor hit the temp.

You may want to ask your contractor first to see if the furnace is running through out the day while you set the temp to 60. If so, there may be some issue (insulation, dirty filter etc).

Last edited by bay; 01-24-2010 at 06:40 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2010, 06:59 PM
 
Location: NJ
4,940 posts, read 12,082,870 times
Reputation: 4562
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoLiquidity View Post
I am planning to call PSE&G on Monday, but ... any help, ideas, etc.. would be appreciated:

I just got hit with a 600+ therm reading and an almost $900 bill for Jan 19-end (vs. ~$500 last month). most of that $900 bill was my gas bill of over $800.
Did you confirm that this is an actual reading and not an estimate? You said the thermostat is set to low 60's all day long. Are you sure the contractors are not cranking up the thermostat while they are in the house, and maybe even leaving it turned up all night? Also, it could be possible that your thermostat is not functioning properly, or is not calibrated correctly.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-24-2010, 07:16 PM
 
Location: southwest TN
8,568 posts, read 18,028,513 times
Reputation: 16701
If you haven't replaced the thermostat with a programmable one, I suggest you do so immediately and set it for 50 at night. No reason to have the heat on to 60 with no one living there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-25-2010, 09:01 AM
 
6 posts, read 15,177 times
Reputation: 11
Check the meter reading on your bill with the actual meter. I received a really high electricity bill in the summer, and when I checked the meter reader had read the meter incorrectly. If both say the same thing, then call PSEG and ask to have someone sent out to check the meter. I believe there is a law that requires them to do this if you request it. Also, if you just bought the house, are you sure that they are not sending you the previous bill, that rightly belongs to the former owners? Did they measure the gas from the day you bought the house and bill accordingly. You have lots of rights in this case, and if you disagree with their findings there is a note on all PSEG bills as to how to appeal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-25-2010, 09:06 AM
 
7 posts, read 57,408 times
Reputation: 15
Thanks everyone for the suggestions:
- knoxgarden: i will check that - good idea. fwiw, i don't have any appliances in the kitchen (gutted),the dryer is disconnected, and I didn't smell gas anywhere but, again something must be wrong.
- i do have a programmable thermostat - will change my settings again.
- My PSE&G bill suggests that the therm reading is actual not an estimate will speak to them and ask
- i do not have a subfloor in my kitchen and master bath, but have it everywhere else.
- the contractors usually keep the doors closed, at least when i have been there - nothing is open.

Thank you everybody will keep you updated
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-25-2010, 10:27 AM
 
1,552 posts, read 4,619,087 times
Reputation: 509
With the frigid temps we've had this past month, I could easily see an $800 heating bill if you're trying to keep the house at 60 degrees 24/7 with workmen coming and going, and perhaps leaving doors/windows open (either out of necessity or laziness) when you're not around. Definitely program your thermostat down to like 50-degrees at night, and frankly, depending on the nature of the work being done (e.g. if it's doors and windows being replaced) I'd keep it at 50 during the day as well. If you're certain that the work is pretty much indoors at this point, with no need for leaving windows/doors open, well then I guess you could be nice and bump it up to 60 during the day, but only during the 8-5 when they're on-site, or whatever the hours are.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-25-2010, 12:03 PM
 
1,110 posts, read 4,358,106 times
Reputation: 437
1960's house -Furnace --Is it very old? I used to live in a 1962 house about same sq. footage and it had original furnace! My heating bills were average $400 during winter. Since we moved to a much newer house 2003, no more of that nonsense.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New Jersey

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top