House electricity bills sky high

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Has anyone looked at tankless lately?

I looked hard when I built in 2008, the math didn't work out then. I'm wondering if things have changed in seven years.

I don't think much has changed really. They're still only about 20-30% more efficient, maybe less since the newest power vent tanks are pretty efficient. But you're supposed to get a certified plumber to service them once a year so you're not likely to save much. If you have space concerns or venting concerns they might solve a problem or two.

[automaton 3]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Has anyone looked at tankless lately?

I looked hard when I built in 2008, the math didn't work out then. I'm wondering if things have changed in seven years.

I was just asking a plumber the same question a few weeks ago (we built in 2007).

Fwiw he said it still doesn't make sense for most people once you factor in the required maintenance, and that with our hard water in southern Alberta his experience is that the tankless models tend not to last all that well. Plus, the additional up front cost and the wait for hot water on long runs.

[You Need a Thneed]

Maintenance on Tankless shouldn't be too bad, buy a small sump pump, a 5 gallon pail, and a couple of short connector hoses, once a year, hook the sump pump up to the heater, and pump 4 gallons of white vinegar through the tankless heater for an hour. Certainly something that you can do yourself. If you have to bring in a plumber to look at the unit, make sure you call a plumber that is authorized for service by the tankless manufacturer.

We had a tankless heater in our old house both to save space, and we didn't have enough chimney size when we added the extra furnace for the basement suite. Chimney size forced us either to put in a high efficiency furnace, or a tankless water heater.

[You Need a Thneed]

dp

[tvp2003]

Does consumption (compared to your brother-in-law) increase higher during the winter months? If the difference is the same throughout the year, you may have one or two appliances (or the aforementioned grow op) sucking out power 12 months of the year. However, if it spikes in the winter only, it might be due to inefficient heating or lighting?

[Stealth22]

Its most likely the electric water tank...we have the same problem.

The builder also installed a #### ton of pot lights. Those were killer...I noticed a difference in power usage by replacing all the heavily used pot lights (and even the normal ones) with LED bulbs. CFL's are ok, but LED's last for years, and they use a fraction of the energy.

Get one of these: http://www.amazon.ca/P3-Internationa.../dp/B000RGF29Q

[Slava]

I know this is a bit of a tangent, and sorry for that, but if I were to out a water softener in would that help keep the water heater free of sediment over time? It's something I have debated for years, and I know it's easier on your appliances and of course on your skin. Just wondering about the water heater, and potentially a tankless hot water heater?

[lifetime_flamesfan]

Originally Posted by chedder

Same wattage water heater too? I have electric boiler for in floor heating and know its a big user of juice when it's on. I'd bet your water heating is the culprit. does your family bath/take long showers like mine (all girls except me). Lots of clothes washing/drying?

We have the exact same water heater. its the standard one the home builder puts in.

[lifetime_flamesfan]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

That is insanely high.

Do you use any electric heaters or heating blankets?

Nope none of that stuff. The only thing we have like that is a portable air condidtioner we use in the summer sometimes and its not plugged in when we don't use it.

Originally Posted by Ace

Electric heat sources are your biggest uses. So in comparison see if you have an electric range and your bro in law has gas; do you use the oven more than him? Space heaters, Irons? Maybe your family simply uses more hot water, or perhaps you have yours set to a higher temperature. Do you have an electric heated floor in a bathroom?

Those are the places i'd look first.

I'm starting to think that we just may use more hot water than we think. No space heaters, irons. The bro-in-law has the same electric stove/oven as we do as well. The only stuff we have that is different are the fridge, the washer and dryer and possibly the dishwasher. We use cold water when washing clothes as well.

Originally Posted by GGG

Does your Brother in Law house use an electric water heater?

Also why an electric water heater over gas?

Standard water heater that came with the house when we built. Didn't really know we had an option (I also wouldn't have even thought about it as well).

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Does consumption (compared to your brother-in-law) increase higher during the winter months? If the difference is the same throughout the year, you may have one or two appliances (or the aforementioned grow op) sucking out power 12 months of the year. However, if it spikes in the winter only, it might be due to inefficient heating or lighting?

I would say that at anytime of the year we are between 1200 Kw/h and 1800Kw/h in usage and from my understanding, the bro-in-law is between 600 Kw/h and 900Kw/h throughout the year.

We are converting to LED lights currently but they are pretty expensive, so it might take a little time to fully change over the house.

[PaperBagger'14]

Sorry I know you're getting bombarded with questions here, but in your house is there a switch near your thermostat that says "ventilation switch"? They sometimes are unlabeled as well but check if there's one and if it is on. If you turn it on you'll hear a soft him around your house similar to the sound of a furnace. These are air exchangers which bring in fresh air from outside more readily than your furnace to "purge" the house. If it is on all the time, it draws a fair bit of power and also causes your furnace to run almost 24/7 in order to heat the colder outside air.

[Northendzone]

Have you checked your roof to ensure that you have not left a whole load of Christmas lights running?

Do you turn on your oven to heat your main floor? Is your daughter like mine and can only find the switch that turns things on - and never the switch to turn a particular device off?

Does your spouse stay home during the day, while his spouse works?

[Peanut]

There's a side conversation about tankless hot water heaters - don't do it!! We acquired one with our house and it's terrible. Even to the locations where it's not a long run, the water still takes forever to turn hot. The upstairs bathroom is just worse. And sometimes it doesn't turn hot at all for some reason, so you have to turn off the tap and start again. Definitely waste way more water than before.

I don't know if we just have a crap brand or what. It's only 2.5 years old. Definitely do not recommend.

[GGG]

How hot is your hot water relative to your BIL. It might be that you have the tank set at a much higher temp so you spend more energy to hold the water at that temperature.

Do you dry all your clothes and he hangs his to dry?

I noticed about a 15% savings by switching out all my lights to cfl/LEDs. My kitchen was the big culprit that had 8 x 60 pot lights which essentially were on all day.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by To Be Quite Honest

Do you have a garage? Is someone hooked up to your home somehow? It's odd that the usage is double.

Originally Posted by LanceUppercut

I'd ask your neighbor how their grow op is doing.

You never know, try turning off the breakers to your outdoor plugs and your garage for awhile and see if it makes a difference.

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by lifetime_flamesfan

Our electricity bills show that we are using 1200 Kw/h (on a good month) to our most recent bill of 1800 Kw/h, and probably averages around 1400 Kw/h.

That kind of consumption isn't really that uncommon for a house that size. Do you find you freshen clothes in the dryer? Smaller kids means more laundry -is that the case? Do you have a hot tub? space heater? Run the dishwasher more than you should? Heat dry the dishes?

You can buy a device you put on your meter and it will show you your current load which allows you to turn off breakers and appliances to pinpoint where the load is being drawn.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Stealth22

CFL's are ok, but LED's last for years, and they use a fraction of the energy.

I just want to clarify what you meant here- you do mean that both CFLs and LEDs use a fraction of the energy of incandescent bulbs, right? Because your post seems to indicate the LEDs use a fraction of the power of CFLs; which isn't true unless you mean 9/10.

I just hear people saying that frequently, and the savings of LED over CFL are minimal compared to either over incandescent. Given LEDs are still about 5 times the purchase price, the savings just isn't there yet. Most of my CFLs last around 5-7 years, so even buying another round of CFLs while waiting for LEDs to come down in price is worth it.

[stampsx2]

Have an electric water tank as well. Brutal for energy draw. I can only imagine how much more electricity is used as calcium builds up on the coils over time. Granted i have no idea if a gas tank would be cheaper but i would imagine so.

[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I just want to clarify what you meant here- you do mean that both CFLs and LEDs use a fraction of the energy of incandescent bulbs, right? Because your post seems to indicate the LEDs use a fraction of the power of CFLs; which isn't true unless you mean 9/10.

I just hear people saying that frequently, and the savings of LED over CFL are minimal compared to either over incandescent. Given LEDs are still about 5 times the purchase price, the savings just isn't there yet. Most of my CFLs last around 5-7 years, so even buying another round of CFLs while waiting for LEDs to come down in price is worth it.

No no, I meant that CFL's and LED's use a fraction of the energy of incandescents.

And yeah, LED's are more expensive. They've been coming down lately though. I like them better than CFL's anyway...they last way longer, and there's no "warm up" time.

I've been buying them whenever I see them for a reasonable price. They won't singlehandedly bring down a electrical bill, but when your builder puts pot lights all over the place, I get tired of changing the incandescent flood lights over and over.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I just hear people saying that frequently, and the savings of LED over CFL are minimal compared to either over incandescent. Given LEDs are still about 5 times the purchase price, the savings just isn't there yet. Most of my CFLs last around 5-7 years, so even buying another round of CFLs while waiting for LEDs to come down in price is worth it.

FWIW: I am fortunate enough to have access to many different makes and models of CFL and LED bulbs. I vastly prefer the light from LEDs.

The general public is woefully ignorant with respect to the concept of color temperature. One should take some time to educate themselves before making the decision to move from incandescent bulbs to a CFL/LED lighting solution.

[T@T]

Sometimes I wonder about enmax, a few years ago I had 5 straight months of crazy high bills, I complained and even asked them to check my meter (they said it would cost me $200.00 for a service call if nothing was found wrong )

Funny, after that the high bills stopped!