HELP! I need suggestions on how to lower my electric bill!! (Gilbert: house, buy)

[Zippyman]

To the O.P. - you need to find out if that's a monthly estimate or just nine days of usage - I'm not familiar with SRP, but with aps it will give you a daily usage summary. If you're using 40-60kw/day, it's probably a monthly bill. if you're pulling 100+ KW a day, there's likely something wrong.

I got an $800 whopper last year due to a defective blower-motor in my a/c unit, so it is possible the bill is accurate...

Change the filter in your a/c unit once a month, starting today...

If your actual usage is high, you'll need to troubleshoot your appliances, starting with the A/C unit.

You can buy an inductive meter at harbor freight for about $30 - you don't have to disconnect any wires, just put the clamp over the power wires. I'd check the a/c unit, the pool pump, and the water heater. - there's a data plate on each device that will give you a ballpark figure of maximum expected amperage.

If you're afraid to do it yourself, you can find A/C guys on craigslist that will do a "check up" for about $40-50, and I'm sure they'd check the amp draw on the water heater and pool pump as well - it only takes a minute..

If it isn't one of those devices, you can get a "kill-a-watt" meter at costco for about $15 - plug your fridge into it for a couple of days to figure it's consumption.

As a renter, about the only cost-effective modification you would be able to get away with is a water-heater timer. They're about $40 - and you can set them up so the water heater doesn't cycle during "peak" pricing.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by jambo101

I,ve turned mine down to 100 and its only drawback is you have to wait a few hours between people taking a shower

The other disadvantage is that legionella bacteria thrives in 100 degree water. Google it...

[landbox]

Originally Posted by jukeboxx99

I recently went online to browse the sight and found the estimation tool, well, to my surprise for 9 days of electric my estimated bill was $220. Now I knew the electric bill would be higher here than in my previous state (NJ) but that amount was a shock to me.

This would be a huge shock to me also.
We are with APS and using the estimation tool, our estimated energy charges reported is amount used so far and not the monthly estimate. And this is before any tax and other charges.

My APS report on Smart Meter Highlights (available online)
================================================== ========
Your estimated energy charges (before taxes and other fees) as of 10/2/2010 are $....
The estimated cost is based on your usage through 10/2/2010 --This is 9 days into your current billing cycle
Your average daily cost is $.. per day

If the SRP online tool offers daily usage, you should be able to calculate manually the estimated charges by adding the on-peak and off-peak usage
that 9 days and using the rates SRP currently charge (I think)
off-peak 19.15cent per KWHr
on-peak 6.63cent per kWHr
Estimate = (Total Off-peak usage * 0.0663) + (Total On-peak usage * 0.1915)
$220+ for 9 days is extreme especially for 1900 sqft.

Have you look at history/previous bills paid for the house, ask the landlord for help and get help from SRP? Zippyman has some great suggestions. Hope that you can get help and relieve asap.

One of our nice contributor had posted a history of electric bill:
//www.city-data.com/forum/phoen...12-months.html
He is also from Gilbert and using SRP - his place is much bigger but no pool.
The nice thing here (depending on the weather/heat) - the bills from Nov to May
should way below $100 when the AC is not/seldom in used (we use mostly ceiling fan instead). Also the on-peak rates is slightly lower.

Agree with twiggy - AC is the major culprit but $700+. Ouch!

[hotzcatz]

Many municipal water systems have chlorination added to the water, so that will probably discourage bacteria from thriving.

Generally, to lower an electric bill, it is as whole lot of little things adding up which get you to really low energy use however there are a few big energy hogs which should be looked at first. The A/C unit, the water heater and the pool pump are probably your biggest users unless you are also using an electric clothes dryer and electric stove.

For the A/C unit, turn the temperature up as high as you can, keep the unit running as efficiently as possible (clean the filters) and do everything possible to keep heat out of the house. If you can, paint the roof blindingly white or reflective silver. Insulate the roof/attic area, put solar film on the windows, put heavy drapes over the windows to keep the solar heat out. Those should have a white or silver backing. If you own the house, put awnings over the windows and shaded porches around the doorways. Plant a vine on a trellis which will shade the walls of the house. Ventilate the heat out of the attic and if there's any way to get them, high ceilings help keep the heat up and out of the area people live in.

If you can, get solar hot water. The heat is all over the place, why pay money to get heat for water when the sun will do it for free? Otherwise, turn the temperature down on the water heater and put a timer on it. Also, insulate the water heater and the pipes. That's easy enough to do.

The pool pump uses a lot of power, too. Run it as little as possible and during off peak hours.

If possible, vent the oven and the back of the refrigerator to the outside of the house. Both of those make heat which your A/C unit then has to remove from the house. (Note: A/C units don't make cold, they remove heat.)

If you have an electric clothes dryer, put up a clothesline and hang things outside. It will save tons on your electric bill. Or run it on a lower heat setting. Any time you make heat with electricity it uses a lot of power.

Change over all the lights to CFL, LED or fluorescent lighting. Turn them off when you aren't using them. Put all your electronics on a power strip so you can turn them all entirely off. Many electronic things have "ghost" loads and keep using power even when they are turned off.

[observer53]

The OP is a renter, so they won't be able to do some of those things unless the landlord wants to do them.

[notmuch69]

Originally Posted by jukeboxx99

Hello All,

I have been living in the Gilbert area for approximately a month, we have rented a single family 1 story house with pool approx. 1900 square foot. We use SRP as our electric company and are on the 1pm-8pm plan. I recently went online to browse the sight and found the estimation tool, well, to my surprise for 9 days of electric my estimated bill was $220. Now I knew the electric bill would be higher here than in my previous state (NJ) but that amount was a shock to me.

We are a family of four, run the pool filter about 5 hours a day (off peak) and leave the air on 80 when we r home and 86 when we r out. Washer and dryer only used off peak as well and used every other day. We use a crock pot, grill, stove top for dinners and try to avoid using the oven. Lights r on only when needed and TV usage is a couple of hours a day (peak & off peak combined).

We have tried to be as diligent as possible, are we missing something?? Any hints or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks

Kim

We have the Off-Peak plan. The off peak hours for our plan are 9:00 pm - 9:00 am. Our house is 2850 SF. I have our thermostat programmed for 76 degrees 9:00 pm - 6:00 am; 72 degrees 6:00 am - 9:00 am to keep it cool through the day; OFF 9:00 am - 9:00 pm; 77 degrees all weekend. On the hottest weekdays it will get to abut 82 degrees by 5:30 pm and about 87 degrees by the time it turns back on at 9:00 pm. Our electric bill rarely reaches $200. Our neighbors with the same size houses say there's are regularily $400+. The key is that if you have the Off-Peak option you will pay dearly for anything used during On-Peak hours.

[MAtheBanker]

The $220 estimate is for the whole month, not just 9 days of usage.

On SRP's website, you can click on the "Daily Usage" tab, which will then take you to the "Bill Estimate" link. It's an estimate based on those 9 days of usage. So, if you're using 25 kWh every day for 9 days, they estimate you will use 25 kWh for the last 21 days, too.

In the summer peak months, my SRP bills get to around $95, but my place is twice as small as yours. $220 doesn't seem THAT bad.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by observer53

The OP is a renter, so they won't be able to do some of those things unless the landlord wants to do them.

Good point, Observer.

However, changing all frequently used light bulbs to CFLs or LCDs is fairly simple and they can be taken with a renter when moving (don't forget to save the original bulbs).

I switched my four outdoor coach lights to CFLs about six years ago and my electric bill dropped by at least ten bucks plus they last much longer so definitely worth the initial investment.

[Juram]

I just noticed that OP is a renter.


I would say lighting is a huge factor. Replace as much standard incandescent lighting as possible.

An installed timer on the electric water heater shouldn't be an issue either. Install it yourself for $25-30 or have someone install for you from $60-125.


Duct work and A/C inspection could be worked out with the owner of the property perhaps.

However, $220 doesn't really sound all that pricy, average utility bills for APS in the summe run close to $300 while for SRP they're just over $200.

[jukeboxx99]

A quick shout out to all who have responded to my post, thanks!! We moved here knowing that the bill would be higher we just weren't sure how high. We have replaced the bulbs with CLF's,and reduced the pool pump to a few hours a day. Unfortunately, washer & dryer are electric and are only used during off peak hours. I agree $220 per month is very doable, guess I read the estimator wrong and thought the amount was for only 9 days not the whole month. The house is realitively new and I believe the air conditioner is energy efficient. We just changed the filters yesterday so maybe that will help a little. We will definitely try the tips/hints that everyone has offered. Thanks Again!!

Kim