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We had a couple of really high utility bills for a couple of months. Turns out it was a leak in a hot water pipe, which resulted in the hot water heater running continuously. We were in Florida at the time and the pipes were all under the concrete slab so you couldn't tell that there was a leak. What a pain that was!
I wonder if the power company would come out and do a free analysis of how you could cut back on power usage. In some locations I understand that they are happy to do this.
I'm just so shocked at your power bill, and sympathize. Sorry you got this nasty surprise.
No water well. I've only been in the house since late July/early august. I have the previous owners power bills and they were no where's near as high as mine.
It's really difficult to say. I rented a house from a family member and we quickly found that winter heating, keeping the place above 60 with the gas furnace was over $300/mo. The normal bills were way less than this because the owner just didn't heat the place unless it was near freezing. It cold just be that the previous tenants bundled up and put space heaters in the bedrooms because the cost of heating the whole house was too high.
I have an all electric house (yes I know this is bad) and just received a $500 power bill. The bill stated we used 4339 kWh of power. This is a small home ~1500 sqft. with 2 people living in it and the thermostat is set between 62 and 68. The previous owners had 5 people living in the house and used significantly less power.
I suspect that it is the HVAC system. Could someone point me in the right place to check?
In all honestly I don't know if I have a heatpump or not. I know I have an outdoor and indoor unit.
Thanks
I once had a $535. Same deal, it was poorly insulated and electric heat in a cold winter month - that will do it!
HVAC guy coming today. It wasn't set to Emergency heat, but there was a period of about 4 days where we didn't get above freezing. There are no extra charges on the bill.
Our meter is a smart meter, is there a chance it's recording incorrectly? They will come out for free, but it's $80 if they find nothing wrong with it.
Is there any chance you have been getting estimated bills since the summer and they finally took an actual reading this month? Even with 4 days below freezing your bill seems way too high for one month if you were not running on emergency heat.
Please let us know what the HVAC guy says about your unit.
Hmm 2many MJ plants. Knock off a couple heat lamps and walla, lower power bill. BAM Easzy peazy. Your based out of Colorado right.lol...Sorry bud, but I couldn't resist.(pun intended)peace
I have been fighting large electric bills as well. One of the things I have done is to put that foam pipe insulation {it runs around $1 for a 5 or 6 ft length at most hardware stores & looks like one of those "pool noodles"} on my electric water heater pipes, lower the temp of the water heater--would like to put a blanket on the whole unit but I am also in a rental & the heater is in a tight area & I can't get all the way around it.
My windows' gas seals are all broken and there's nothing I can do about that but I just read a new crazy idea in AARP---mist your windows and put bubble wrap on them!! Just mist the window with water and put the bubble side of the wrap against the glass. I am hoping this works cuz our windows are really bad for living in Oregon--they run {condensation & a lot of it} all the time so badly that mold grows on the sills and I have to keep towels on them and spray with vinegar water all the time, takes a lot to absorb all the water & a ton of q-tips in the aluminum channels; the toilet tank constantly drips as well. {I am pretty sure that the floor around the toilet is rotting as well & it scares me}
One of the biggest problems for folks like us {renters} is that there is no where we can turn for help if the landlords refuse to help us. If we "push" the landlord then we end up getting evicted for forcing them to spend money to bring these places up to code or at least make them worth the outrageous rent they charge. I think in any area of the country with cold weather it should be LAW that rentals are well insulated and the windows kept current if the gas seals break. Even our sliding glass door looks nasty with water running inside the panes and you can't clean them. Mold is a very serious issue in Oregon and a lack of insulation adds to the problem. Maybe we should start a thread in the city area of this site to post addresses of bad landlords and mold---even the health department doesn't act in our behalf and I am allergic to mold--it almost killed me after I moved to Oregon from SoCal...I stay sick all the time now.
When you use chlorine {BLEACH} to clean certain types of mold there is a chemical reaction that creates an invisible gas that permanently scars your lungs the very first time you use it & creates lifelong problems.
After cleaning some mold and using bleach as I was taught, I was sick for almost 2 years and lost over 40 lbs, couldn't keep much of anything down, had extreme headaches, even worse than my migraines {migraine meds didn't work on them}, eye pressure went sky high & I would have spasms going from my neck to my temple, thru my eyes {my dr actually saw my eyeballs spasm} across my face & then to other side of temple before blinding incredible full head pain, had no balance so had to crawl,--called "temple mandibular nerve headaches" and this was caused by the mold & bleach combo.
Does anyone have any suggestions about getting the cities or health dept's to help us? The outside of our place is also in bad shape, boards twisting off the building, all the wood siding was put on SIDEWAYS...it has a groove about every 5 inches & instead of the grooves going in a vertical line {so they would drain the rainwater off} they are horizontal so here in Oregon {otherwise known as Atlantis lol} the wooden siding HOLDS all the rain so it is full of dry rot, my neighbors sliding glass door was put in backwards so it has let the rain inside & it has rotted the kitchen floor & was replaced last year, {this neighborhood is all cookie cutter duplex's, private owners but all operated by 2 management companies} ALL the garages only have walls halfway up, maybe 8 feet and then they are wide open to the roofline so anyone can come into your garage and take whatever they want! I am really worried that if we ever had a claim our renters insurance wouldn't cover it because of this.
We would love to move but can't, they raised the rent 2 times in 1 year and now are just making it. We are saving every penny we can but still can't afford to move for a long time yet.
So it turns out the wiring was completely backwards in all 3 units. Thermostat, heat pump, and outside unit. The AC was running while the the emergency heating coils were on.
So it turns out the wiring was completely backwards in all 3 units. Thermostat, heat pump, and outside unit. The AC was running while the the emergency heating coils were on.
So glad you have an answer. Your landlord owes you a big thank you! You have probably saved everyone in the building a great deal of money going forward.
So it turns out the wiring was completely backwards in all 3 units. Thermostat, heat pump, and outside unit. The AC was running while the the emergency heating coils were on.
Lovely...must have been done by an unlicensed contractor or a homeowner who didn't know what they were doing.
Thanks for coming back and letting us know what the problem was. I don't know if you own or rent but hope you can get the problem straightened out without costing you too much money.
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