primitives discuss electric bills

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018192486

Oh my.

applegrove (54,958 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 01:59 AM

Help. My electricity bill has gone through the roof. It used to be $50 every two months. Now it is $230 every two months. I got a laptop and leave it on all night. Would a laptop take up more power than a tower which I left on all night? I have a one bedroom apartment and do not pay for heat. I don't cook here very often. What could it be?

LunaSea (1,554 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 02:38 AM

1. Can you easily monitor your meter?

Check the rate. Kill all the breakers and turn them on one by one and find out if anything kicks up the spin (or the count if it's digital) at a high rate.

You might be able to narrow down the culprit that way.

Call maintenance and have them check it out too, you could have an issue with a microwave or dishwasher even if it's turned off.

It's very rare, but it happens in modern chip-laden appliances.

Check your bills for any notice of a rate increase, or call the utility.

If a laptop were the cause you'd likely notice lot of heat.

Joe Shlabotnik (1,344 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 02:46 AM

3. I'd be very surprised if its the laptop.

Smart-meter malfunction maybe? Neighbour stealing your hydro for a grow-op? I'd call the hydro company.

applegrove (54,958 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 03:12 AM

4. I'll do that. At the very least perhaps they'll let me off the hook on part of my bill. I can't afford it and put off paying most of it until next month.

Denninmi (3,602 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 03:44 AM

5. Our bills here have done that as well.

Do you have old bills to compare to?

The reason I ask - our bills used to be $50 to $80 a month. A few years ago, our local utility DTE Energy changed to "smart meters" and our bills went up considerably. But, when comparing old bills to new bills, which range generally in the $150-$175 range, the difference isn't usage in kilowatts, that is remarkably the same. The difference is that we are now billed for all kinds of "extras" that are now allowed by our PSC in Michigan -- not only the electricity itself, but charges to get it to us through the wiring ("line charges" I believe its called), charges by secondary utilities for the use of their lines, etc. All kinds of weird new mandatory charges that all add up. Plus taxes and fees.

But one thing to check out if this is really sudden and no big change in your habits or useage -- ask them to check that the meter is functioning properly and that you don't have some kind of voltage leak somewhere.

HopeHoops (40,388 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 09:40 AM

7. Nope. A tower's always going to take more electricity. Something's ****ed.

It could be the A/C, but it certainly isn't computer related. My tower's on 24x7 and most of the laptops are on the charger even when they're closed. They don't eat squat. Still, $230 is REALLY high. Call the power company to see if they can help you figure it out.

Blue Diadem (6,427 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 01:11 PM

8. Check your refrigerator

We noticed our electric bill skyrocket before we noticed the fridge was running more than usual.

dimbear (3,753 posts)  Fri Sep 14, 2012, 01:50 AM

23. I second this. Check the seals on fridge and freezer. Leaks are energy wasters.

Next most likely problem is a meter fault.

Blue Diadem (6,427 posts)  Fri Sep 14, 2012, 01:38 PM

24. Our fridge was going bad,

Not long after that bill, it began running non stop and not able to keep the temp cold enough. New fridge fixed the high bill. Bill was about equal to a very hot month running AC.

RebelOne (24,581 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 01:19 PM

9. I had the same problem with my water.

I live in a mobile home and the manager reads the water meter monthly. Twice, I caught her with incorrect readings. The readings are recorded on each month's lot rent statement, so I checked them out with the current reading and saw she had read the meter incorrectly.

mrmpa (1,369 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 01:32 PM

10. it could be theft by another unit............

we had an empty rental house on our block, it had been empty for about 8 months. One day the owner was looking around the property. While talking to him, learned he was trying to figure out why he was getting a hugh electric bill for an empty house. I took him to the side of the house & showed him where his neighbor had tapped into his line for electricity.

The neighbor's power had been shut off for about 6 months, he lived there with girlfriend and 4 kids. The owner took the neighbor to small claims court for the payment of the electric. The owner did this, he said, because if he had him arrested, he would never see the money and the kids would have nowhere to go.

The neighbor paid before he got in front of the judge, so the owner withdrew his suit.

Rambis (7,243 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 01:52 PM

11. Dude grow lights use a lot of energy. That is how they bust pot growers

^^that's probably it.

Lydia Leftcoast (45,708 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 01:56 PM

12. Did you use AC more than usual?

My electric bill averages $25 a month for a two-bedroom apartment here in Minneapolis (I don't pay for heat, either, thank goodness), but if there's a period when I have to use the AC a lot, the bill can quadruple. That's why I try not to use it.

I have neighbors who turn their AC on almost as soon as the snow melts, and last night (I could tell as I approached the building from outside) at 10PM with temperatures in the lower 60s. I can't imagine what their electric bill must be.

hunter (14,065 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 04:47 PM

15. I was living in an apartment with a miswired outlet.

An outlet wired to our meter was in the apartment next door.

We never noticed when he had nothing plugged into it, but then he plugged an air conditioner into it and our electric bill went up.

I figured it out by turning off everything in our apartment and checking the meter. Sure enough it was our meter that spun when his air conditioner was on, and it stopped when his air conditioner turned off.

Fortunately everybody played fair, the electric company, the landlord and my neighbor. I think we got a refund that was a little more than what my neighbor actually used.

Tallulah (184 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 05:53 PM

16. That's very high

During the summer months when it gets in the triple digits here I pay $230 in a month but that's for a 3 bedroom home with power going day and night.

Here you can call the electric company for an audit of your usage if you think the bill is too high. There is no charge for the service. If your power company offers something like that, have one done.

Could you have had a fuel adjustment bill ? I can't imagine a laptop causing that much power usage.

ThoughtCriminal (9,163 posts)  Fri Sep 14, 2012, 12:01 AM

21. Laptop probably pulls 40 watts max

And that's just when it's working hard. If you're just surfing and not pushine the CPU, maybe 20 watts. When my laptop goes to sleep, it uses less than 4 watts.

You should consider getting a "Kill-A-Watt" meter. Got mine on Amazon for less than $20 and used it to track down electricity hogs.

Refrigerators can pull a lot, especially if it is having defrost problems. If you have an electric water heater, that would also be worth checking. If you have an Interocitor, try not to use it for trivial pranks.

applegrove (54,958 posts)  Fri Sep 14, 2012, 12:04 AM

22. I have been opening the freezer a lot. Maybe that would do it???? Opening the freezer 4 times a night to get popsicles?

[Chris_]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTxGHn4sH4[/youtube]

[JohnnyReb]

Same house, same # of people, same everything including amount used and my bill today is double what it was a couple of years ago....$162.21 today. DUKE ENERGY

Change you can believe in...."under my administration energy cost will necessarily skyrocket"

Well, I for one believed him when he said it and it seems to the one promise he kept.

[miskie]

  Fri Sep 14, 2012, 12:01 AM

<snip>

If you have an Interocitor, try not to use it for trivial pranks.

Well played, OMC TC.  

[jukin]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTxGHn4sH4[/youtube]

Bet me to it HI5.

Although I'm sure that the higher electricity bills are Mitt's fault.

[GOBUCKS]

applegrove (54,958 posts)  Fri Sep 14, 2012, 12:04 AM

22. I have been opening the freezer a lot. Maybe that would do it???? Opening the freezer 4 times a night to get popsicles?

So his bill went from $25 a month to $115 a month.

Yeah, it costs about a buck every time you open your freezer.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Is there anywhere you can find DUmber people than the DUmp?

[Skul]

applegrove (54,958 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 01:59 AM

Help. My electricity bill has gone through the roof. It used to be $50 every two months. Now it is $230 every two months.

Hit the "off" button, DUmbshit.

[Chris_]

So his bill went from $25 a month to $115 a month.

Yeah, it costs about a buck every time you open your freezer.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Is there anywhere you can find DUmber people than the DUmp?

That's a lot of popsicles.

[GOBUCKS]

The real question is how on earth you can have an electric bill of $25 a month.

Sounds like someone did a little work on the electric meter.

[Skul]

The real question is how on earth you can have an electric bill of $25 a month.

Sounds like someone did a little work on the electric meter.

Extention cord. Neighbor not home.

[Duke Nukum]

applegrove (54,958 posts)  Fri Sep 14, 2012, 12:04 AM

22. I have been opening the freezer a lot. Maybe that would do it???? Opening the freezer 4 times a night to get popsicles?

Yeah, this is the new Mrs 0bama Tax. She can see what you are eating through your smart meter and she taxes you for eating foods she disapproves of.

Welcome to the Brave New World you wanted.

[Skul]

I'm starting to think the neighbor has an extension cord. 

Oh, hush, at least I spelled it right this time.

[Chris_]

I'm starting to think the neighbor has an extension cord. 

The OWieS pulled that shit here during their "protest".  The city came through and cut the power after repeated attempts to dissuade them from using public electrical outlets failed.  They were plugging into the bottom of light poles and shit.

[Skul]

The OWieS pulled that shit here during their "protest".  The city came through and cut the power after repeated attempts to dissuade them from using public electrical outlets failed.  They were plugging into the bottom of light poles and shit.

They protested about that, didn't they?
 

[98ZJUSMC]

applegrove (54,958 posts)  Thu Sep 13, 2012, 01:59 AM

Help. My electricity bill has gone through the roof. It used to be $50 every two months. Now it is $230 every two months. I got a laptop and leave it on all night. Would a laptop take up more power than a tower which I left on all night? I have a one bedroom apartment and do not pay for heat. I don't cook here very often. What could it be?

AKA Section 8 subsidized housing paid for by those evil, inconsiderate taxpayers who refuse to raise the minimum wage to $20.00/hr, guarantee a minimum annual salary of $25,000/year and give you unlimited food stamps.  I can distill it down to three words for you (D)Ullard:

War on Energy.

Welcome to the Brave New World you wanted.

Exactly.