Is there such a thing as a "fast" electric meter?

[Camden]

The electric bill at my home is outrageous. It has been ever since I bought the place 2 years ago.

I had an energy audit performed and the guy who did it found out one of the elements in my hot water heater was malfunctioning so I got that replaced and my bill dropped significantly.

However, I am still paying LESS for power at my business which is three times the size of my house and has multiple pieces of equipment running non-stop the entire day.

Something is seriously messed up. I am considering solar power or erecting a windmill. I don't know what those things cost but I gotta believe I would be money ahead in just a few years.

Any of you had a similar experience?

 

[Rattlin_Ram]

Have someone out watching your dial spin, and start shutting off circuits in the house... When the dial slows you know where the most juice is goin...

narrow it down to which circuit is pulling the most juice, then narrow it down tow what appliance is doing it...

if it is just one doing it that is...

 

[Blu Du]

what kind of bill are we talking here? mine is 50 - 110

 

[redlineguy]

I have a friend who lives near you and works for the power co and I had him speed yours up.
























































Real answer, Yes they can be off, Call them they will check it for free.












.

 

[Camden]

what kind of bill are we talking here? mine is 50 - 110

They are rarely under $200 and my business bill is rarely over $200. When I compare the two bills it shows that I am using more Kilowatt hours at my home than I am at my biz which is absolutely ridiculous.

I am writing this message from my house and as I look around there are a lot of little things using power like the clocks on my stove and microwave but it's not like I've got dozens of grow lights plugged in for a marijuana operation in the basement...it's just a normal home with normal usage.

 

[ruffryder]

They are rarely under $200 and my business bill is rarely over $200. When I compare the two bills it shows that I am using more Kilowatt hours at my home than I am at my biz which is absolutely ridiculous.

I am writing this message from my house and as I look around there are a lot of little things using power like the clocks on my stove and microwave but it's not like I've got dozens of grow lights plugged in for a marijuana operation in the basement...it's just a normal home with normal usage.

What type of business are you comparing this too? A good idea would be to turn off everything you can, and then see if that slows the meter down....

Some info...

 

[Ex-Member]

Shut off the mains. The meter should stop, or move very very slow.

If it still moves, you're being charged for energy you're not using.

Start turning circuits on one at a time, i'd start with lights and other known low-current circuits.

Also, replacing lights with CFLs dropped my bill by about $10/mo. My biggest current draw is my server/router/switch/HDs that stay on 24/7...

I like bubbles.

 

[ruffryder]

Shut off the mains. The meter should stop, or move very very slow.

If it still moves, you're being charged for energy you don't know you are using.

Fixed it for you...

 

[tudizzle]

Not sure about fast meters but with a decent magnet you can make a slow meter!


Just make sure it's not there when the meter reader stops by

 

[modsledr]

.........I've got dozens of grow lights plugged in for a marijuana operation in the basement....

Well there's your problem!! lol JK

Like others have said, flip off 1 breaker at a time and see which makes the biggest difference.

 

[XC700116]

Fixed it for you...

Or that you're not using and someone else is. I've seen it done. Especially in the case of the aforementioned grow lights if you know what I mean.

 

[thebigtreeman]

I assume you have gas furnaces, right?

 

[captjacksparrow]

Electric hot water heaters use a ton on electricity. I've always had gas water heaters in my houses but the house I'm in now has an electric and I've never had electrical bills this high. I'm changing it out for a gas as soon as I can.

 

[6Mile]

The electric bill at my home is outrageous. It has been ever since I bought the place 2 years ago.

I had an energy audit performed and the guy who did it found out one of the elements in my hot water heater was malfunctioning so I got that replaced and my bill dropped significantly.

However, I am still paying LESS for power at my business which is three times the size of my house and has multiple pieces of equipment running non-stop the entire day.

Something is seriously messed up. I am considering solar power or erecting a windmill. I don't know what those things cost but I gotta believe I would be money ahead in just a few years.

Any of you had a similar experience?

I have a simmaliar issue. My house is now 4 years old and this place uses more than twice the electric of my old house.

Electric appliances like range and oven are part of it i am sure, and the hot tub is about 30.00 a month, but I just cant figure out where the rest is going. I have a gas waterheater with the power vent and a gas furnas.

personally I think it is the dumb air exchanger, and furnas fan timer.

I am going to try the breaker deal and see if I can find it.

 

[06MXZXRenegade800]

heh, had the same issue here (Renting)

Only took the first $290 power bill (when i had been away for almost 3 weeks) for me to say WTF!

Figured out the landlord had his storage buildings out back running off of my power, and im fairly sure he has a grow-op out there with the ammount of power its using...

Didnt take more than a minute for us to come to terms



But, like mentioned above, shut everything off on the main panel and start adding circuits till you find which one is hogging all the juice and go from there.

 

[anziconda]

You should go talk to your nearest neighbor and ask him for some of the bud he's growing on your tab.lol

 

[Snowizard]

Have you discovered your large current drain yet?

One of these gadgets allows testing of every device that plugs into a standard outlet.
http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-2632390-3081400?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1222718472&sr=8-2

Big electrical draws are freezers, refrig's, dehumidifier, clothes dryer (elec), water heater (elec), air conditioning, hot tub,welder, beer fridge in the garage, lol etc,etc, and don't overlook a computer and monitor left on 24-7.

My son's 52 inch plasma TV draws 250 watts!! Glad he doesn't live at home, and pays his own bills.

Also check the line voltage. Should be 120 Volts, only +/- one or two volts.
If it's too high, like 125-130 (heaven forbid) will cause everything to use more power beyond normal ratings, thus running up your bill. Too high voltage is tough on longevity of equipment, and lighting. Contact your electrical supplier, they have to correct it, if not contact the public utility commission in your state. It will be fixed SOON after that.

I'm in north cenrtal MN, and I think rates have snuck up in the past couple years. My bill runs about $90.00/mo and I'm the only one home during week days. Company most weekends. (Happens when you live on a lake, lol. )

 

[Beels]

Electric hot water heaters use a ton on electricity. I've always had gas water heaters in my houses but the house I'm in now has an electric and I've never had electrical bills this high. I'm changing it out for a gas as soon as I can.

I found the opposite. The house I'm in now has an electric water heater and with the current rates (nat. gas vs. electric) I firmly believe I'm better off with it.

 

[ruffryder]

I found the opposite. The house I'm in now has an electric water heater and with the current rates (nat. gas vs. electric) I firmly believe I'm better off with it.

Yah, you need to compare rates and usage before you can make that decision.. ....

 

[Beels]

On a related note, we had a gas meter here at work that was completely out to lunch. We have a used oil furnace we use for primary heat in our main shop. All of a sudden, our gas usage went through the roof. We thought it was something random and kept watching for the next couple billing cycles. Still high. Complained to the gas company, they came and changed out the meter, tested the old one and claimed there was nothing wrong with it. Every bill after the meter was changed wasn't even within half of the high ones. Nothing wrong with it, ya right...