Electricity

[8sPOT]

I am sick of getting my electric bill each month and being floored by the total I owe.

Each month over the last 3 months it says we are consuming over 2300 kWh, is that insanely high?

Anyone know how much they typically consume? From what I have researched I am certainly over the average amount of a typical household.

We are consuming almost 77 kWh per day.

[Yanda]

dont run a growop 8's pot

[8sPOT]

Originally Posted by Yanda

dont run a growop 8's pot

Touche.

[burn_this_city]

Do you have a hot tub or anything that would be a constant power draw??

[Pinner]

800 kwh per month here, you growin ?

[MrSector9]

thats high.. i have a 2 car garage, air compressor, welder, power tools all the time, computers in the house all the time...

you wash/dry alot of clothes?

[8sPOT]

Yeah I do have a hot tub, have had it since March of last year. Seems like since November the bill has almost doubled. If it's due to the hot tub draining more power to keep it hot in the cold weather I guess I'm stuck with these monster bills each month.

I would hate to see my bill if I did in fact have one of these 'grow ops' you refer to.

[MrSector9]

that is what it is then if it is not a "gas" heated hot tub.

[8sPOT]

Originally Posted by MrSector9

thats high.. i have a 2 car garage, air compressor, welder, power tools all the time, computers in the house all the time...

you wash/dry alot of clothes?

I would say the wife does at least one or two loads of laundry a day.

I do have a fridge in the basement as well, freezer in the garage (not a heated garage), run a 1500W heater in our room about 10 hours a day and a smaller heater in our son's room as well.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by 8sPOT

Yeah I do have a hot tub, have had it since March of last year. Seems like since November the bill has almost doubled. If it's due to the hot tub draining more power to keep it hot in the cold weather I guess I'm stuck with these monster bills each month.

I would hate to see my bill if I did in fact have one of these 'grow ops' you refer to.

Hot tubs are huge power pigs, especially in the cold. You might be able to insulate it better but you're probably hooped. Make sure the cover is sealed well so you dont have heat leaking out.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

....anything that would be a constant power draw??

3 kids, and my wife. Lights on all the time, heaters, hair appliances, electric blankets, you name it. I pull my hair out once a month to no avail. I have a yard light and septic, so there is a pump on occasionally. I used 2800 a month last year.

[MrSector9]

yeah you just use alot of power, those 1500w heaters are nasty on electricity too, as well as older washers/dryer (even new ones are not great)

Your huge jump I would gurantee though is from the hot tub.

[8sPOT]

Yeah I got a cover lifter not long after I got the tub, and while extremely convenient to be able to open the cover while holding a few drinks it doesn't seal like it used to.

Will be nice when solar/wind power is cheaper and more common, thats for sure.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by 8sPOT

I would say the wife does at least one or two loads of laundry a day.

I do have a fridge in the basement as well, freezer in the garage (not a heated garage), run a 1500W heater in our room about 10 hours a day and a smaller heater in our son's room as well.

That's a lot of wasted energy. Turn off your lights when you aren't in a room. Do laundry once a week. How do you have 2 loads of laundry per day? Wear fewer clothes and wash them less often. Do a load once or twice a week. Instead of using the dryer, find a place to hang up your clothes to dry if you don't need them immediately. A lot of people have a drying rack or clothesline in the basement or storage room, etc.

Turn off the hot tub when you don't need it. Set a timer or unplug the freezer in the garage during winter nights as it's cold enough in there. As long as you don't open the lid when you are sleeping, the temperature will stay the same. Many people use their garage shelves in Calgary winter as an extra fridge that requires no power. Put computers on hibernate when not in use.

The room heaters are a big killer. You have electric heaters on for 10 hours a day??? Wear more clothes and use blankets. I grew up in a very frivolous household and my parents always taught me to turn down the heat, turn off all the lights, and just wear more clothes if I was cold.

2x 1500 watt heaters x 10 hours = 30,000 watts, or 30 kWh / day. @ Enmax 8 cents per kWh, that's $72 a month you could save by wearing a sweater. That's basically 930 kilowatt hours a month!

If you find your house is still cold, you may have insulation issues that could be resolved to improved your overall energy bill as well.

[burn_this_city]

You cant turn off a hot tub, especially in the winter.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

You cant turn off a hot tub, especially in the winter.

Oh really? I've never been lucky enough to have one. Why can't you turn them off?

[ken0042]

Because when water freezes it expands; pipes will burst.

[MrSector9]

it will freeze, it (i am assuming outdoors) and bust the piping and/or the housing of the tub itself.

I agree on the heaters and the laundry though.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Because when water freezes it expands; pipes will burst.

Ahh, I assumed it was an indoor hot tub.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Because when water freezes it expands; pipes will burst.

drain it?