Help with electric bill... About This Page:

[5SOXFNZ]

I hope this is the right place to put this....

I need help...over the past two years DH and I have replaced every bulb in our house with the CFL's. I am constantly walking around turning off lights and now the kids are in the habit of turning off a light if the room is empty. We have done a lot towards cutting down on phantom energy drains by unplugging "most" of the stuff that drains (all the counter appliances in the kitchen, the cell phone chargers, the computers when they are not on, we have not done the TV's yet) We do not have air conditioners, or electric heat, and have actually done a lot of work on windows (foam insulation spray) and even replaced the door and screen door with new, energy efficient ones, and we replaced the old ceiling fan with a newer one. The only major "negative" change is that we replaced two older TV's in our house with flatscreens, a 20" and a 46". But yet, month after month our electric bill goes up. And it's not rates, it's actual usage...I'm at a loss.

Any idea what is going on?

[Huntermom]

You can have the electric company come out and do an energy audit. They may actually be able to find an appliance or soemthing that is using more than it should.

[Colexis Mom]

The flat TVs take up a lot of energy! I unplug our plasma when not in use, and I can see a major difference in the bill if I do not!

[FanOfMickey]

That would be frustrating. I heard to Plasma tv's use a lot of energy.

I agree with Huntermom about having the electric Co. do an audit.

[pntsmom99]

I know that when we've had an appliance that is not working properly we will see an increase in our electric bill a few months before it needs to be replaced. I agree with the energy audit.

[roaminggnome]

Originally Posted by Huntermom

You can have the electric company come out and do an energy audit. They may actually be able to find an appliance or soemthing that is using more than it should.

[eff051102]

I watched a news report on our local channel about the newer tv's being an
energy drain unlike the older tv's.

[KimbalovesDisney]

An older fridge can often be a culprit, as wall as fans on your heater. You can also shut off all your breakers, basicly turning off the house, then go look at your meter, if it is still spinning, you may have someone tapped into your line somewhere. They sell devices at the home depot to check the usage of your appliances too. But go for the free energy audit from your electric co. Good luck!

[jenjen1127]

Have you had your meter checked? My Dad had a similar problem and it was the meter which needed to be replaced.

[Caldercup]

Originally Posted by KimbalovesDisney

An older fridge can often be a culprit, as wall as fans on your heater. You can also shut off all your breakers, basicly turning off the house, then go look at your meter, if it is still spinning, you may have someone tapped into your line somewhere. They sell devices at the home depot to check the usage of your appliances too. But go for the free energy audit from your electric co. Good luck!

All great advice!

Also, check with your electric company or township -- many of them will let you borrow one of those audit devices you use to see if any appliances or electronics pull energy, even if they're off. In our township, we can actually pick them up at our local library for a few days use. Helped us locate a few "drains."

My friend had a problem and had the local electric/gas company come out and they found that one of her ducts had come unhooked from underneath her house -- instead of going to the vent and into the house, it was heating her crawlspace! Fixing that saved more than $100 a month!
Eileen

[KimbalovesDisney]

I forgot to mention dial 211 (just like 411) and you will reach a free information and referal line for human services and social services. They may be able to tell you if any other programs are available in your area.

[dworldluver]

All great advice. Do have the audit and check for the "borrowing" of your electric by someone else. Also unhook/unplug all games not just turn them off. Wii is a big culprit as is the PS. When dd first got her wii the first month we thought it was an increase because everyone was playing, but it didn't go down until we were unplugging from power strip and tv.

[5SOXFNZ]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I will work on the TV's and Yes, we do have the Wii that is always plugged in so maybe I'll move that to a power strip. I'm going to loo into the energy audit from the power company too! I'll let you all know how it goes!