Monitoring power consumption

[dspracing]

We haven’t run out heat or ac here in Havasu since October. House amazingly stays right at 72, we open doors at night on the warmer days to get some fresh air and drop the temp a hair if needed. That in itself concerns me as its been cool over the last month, I don’t understand why it stays comfortable but I’m no thermal scientist.

During the summer our bill was high 200’s low 300’s even during the hottest month. I figured we were going to pay next to nothing in the winter since the heat hasn’t been running. wrong. Checked in with the wife yesterday and our last bill was $309 and like $270 the month before that. The December bill I expected to be higher having the family in town and the oven/stove running constantly.

The stove and dryer are gas. Everything else is electric. In December our gas bill went up a whole $2 from $14 to $16.

I don’t understand where the power is going. Has any one tried these power monitoring devices?

Amazon.com

The only other thing I can think of is that I installed a recirc pump on the water heater a few months back, AND we turned the heater off in the summer. Can it be sucking this much energy? I always felt like the recirc would cause an increase in power usage as the lines are not insulated but in a conditioned space.

 

[ChumpChange]

Does your bill have the usage? Don’t just look at the dollars but look at the usage to compare. There are minimums for service and maybe that is the majority of it. Utilities are gonna get their money somehow.

 

[Ultra...Good]

You heating a pool w/elec?

 

[4Waters]

Look at the rates, there maybe winter rates and summer rates. Our rates are higher per KWH in the winter, it doesn't make up the difference from summer but it does make up some.

 

[Maw]

If you log into your account with UniSource they have a utility that can plot your electricity usage vs. time of day, 15 minute time slices are as fine as you can get I believe, but you can look for anything out of the ordinary in usage.

 

[Melloyellovector]

Did you sign up for budget billing with out knowing, they will take an avg yearly use and divide it over 12 months so all months are pretty close in cost.

 

[dspracing]

Look at the rates, there maybe winter rates and summer rates. Our rates are higher per KWH in the winter, it doesn't make up the difference from summer but it does make up some.

I know the peak hours changed when we moved from summer to winter but I don’t believe the rates did. Going to review the bills when my wife releases them to me.

 

[HNL2LHC]

Did you sign up for budget billing with out knowing, they will take an avg yearly use and divide it over 12 months so all months are pretty close in cost.

This is what I’d think occurred. But what do I know I just have the wife set up and take care of everything….

 

[FreeBird236]

Make sure you're not signed up for one of those time of use plans (TOU). They give you a cheaper rate but then charge a lot more on peak times. It doesn't really sound like your problem, but I'd guess a lot of the people complaining about astronomical bills signed up for TOU without realizing how they work.
Our bill increased last summer, but exactly what you would expect with the 9% surcharge and the 12% rate increase. If it's 115* for six weeks straight let's see you keep the air off from 3-7.

 

[SoCalDave]

The only other thing I can think of is that I installed a recirc pump on the water heater a few months back, AND we turned the heater off in the summer. Can it be sucking this much energy? I always felt like the recirc would cause an increase in power usage as the lines are not insulated but in a conditioned space.

I looked into these pumps and when I read complaints of increased electric usage I didn't do it. Those pumps use 75-100 Watts uf power so that could be a part of your increase.

 

[Gelcoater]

We haven’t run out heat or ac here in Havasu since October. House amazingly stays right at 72, we open doors at night on the warmer days to get some fresh air and drop the temp a hair if needed. That in itself concerns me as its been cool over the last month, I don’t understand why it stays comfortable but I’m no thermal scientist.

During the summer our bill was high 200’s low 300’s even during the hottest month. I figured we were going to pay next to nothing in the winter since the heat hasn’t been running. wrong. Checked in with the wife yesterday and our last bill was $309 and like $270 the month before that. The December bill I expected to be higher having the family in town and the oven/stove running constantly.

The stove and dryer are gas. Everything else is electric. In December our gas bill went up a whole $2 from $14 to $16.

I don’t understand where the power is going. Has any one tried these power monitoring devices?

Amazon.com

The only other thing I can think of is that I installed a recirc pump on the water heater a few months back, AND we turned the heater off in the summer. Can it be sucking this much energy? I always felt like the recirc would cause an increase in power usage as the lines are not insulated but in a conditioned space.

Can you unplug the recirc pump for a month and see how the power bill is effected?