Checking electrical usage

[SamSpade]

Now that my regular electric bill is outrageously high - and this after spending a small fortune last year HUGELY insulating the attic and replacing the roof - I just have to know WHAT circuit is wasting the power.

I know that heating/AC and hot water consume the most - but something else is going on here.

My wife thinks it's a lot of things that intuitively I know aren't the likely cause - computers (on standby most of the time), light bulbs (left on at times, but every one is LED) and so on. Right now, electricity is the highest bill after the mortgage - and thanks to SMECO - it went up, a lot.

It's always been high - it's pretty high even in the spring and fall, when we barely heat or cool the house at all, and our furnace has this cycling thing where it doesn't spike as much.

Is there some way I can EASILY check the amount of electricity usage PER BREAKER? I do have that "Kill-A-Watt" thing and I have used it, but it would be nearly impossible to check EVERYTHING in the house, one by one. It would be useful if I could isolate the offending culprits.

Is it TVs or ceiling fans? Is there an old appliance running in the attic I don't know about?

How can I check?

 

[GURPS]

get a watt meter

 

[GURPS]

My wife thinks it's a lot of things that intuitively I know aren't the likely cause - computers (on standby most of the time), light bulbs (left on at times, but every one is LED) and so on

Phantom Loads ... EVERY POWER BRICK ... most electronics do not ' turn off ' but go into stand by ...

the fridge is the biggest draw, then electric water heater

are your phones wireless ?

 

[PeoplesElbow]

The things you name are small users.
1. Heating/Cooling
2. Heating water
3. Refrigerator/Freezer

Unless you have a dozen 85 inch TVs on all the time everything else is in the weeds compared to the three things I listed.

 

[OccamsRazor]

I will say this... after the DOUBLING of my electric bills in months February and March, it looks like my bill has gone down to normal comparable levels (with the 25% increase) for April. Nothing changed with appliances, etc. Sure there have been some milder days where the HVAC isn't running as much but, I still do not see where the prices were so high for those 2 months and now back to what it was last year (once again, adding the 25% increase)
Anyone else noticed this?

 

[SamSpade]

I will say this... after the DOUBLING of my electric bills in months February and March, it looks like my bill has gone down to normal comparable levels (with the 25% increase) for April. Nothing changed with appliances, etc. Sure there have been some milder days where the HVAC isn't running as much but, I still do not see where the prices were so high for those 2 months and now back to what it was last year (once again, adding the 25% increase)
Anyone else noticed this?

I use the SMECO Account Manager often to look at usage. Most of the time, I don't notice huge spikes.

What DOES bother me however is, I live in a 3300 sf home and with the new pricing, I'm up to nearly 500 a month. That's unbelievable. I do check the ACTUAL usage, and cost, but one thing I know is, it has never been in the 200s.

SOMETHING or things is using a LOT of energy.

 

[Kyle]

I use the SMECO Account Manager often to look at usage. Most of the time, I don't notice huge spikes.

What DOES bother me however is, I live in a 3300 sf home and with the new pricing, I'm up to nearly 500 a month. That's unbelievable. I do check the ACTUAL usage, and cost, but one thing I know is, it has never been in the 200s.

SOMETHING or things is using a LOT of energy.

I would look for stray spaceheater, pump or anything with a motor for that matter that may have been left on in the basement or a room no one uses.

Also, I had a horrific bill one april that was due to a faulty pressure valve on the water heater.

The water bill wasn't any prettier.

 

[phreddyp]

I use the SMECO Account Manager often to look at usage. Most of the time, I don't notice huge spikes.

What DOES bother me however is, I live in a 3300 sf home and with the new pricing, I'm up to nearly 500 a month. That's unbelievable. I do check the ACTUAL usage, and cost, but one thing I know is, it has never been in the 200s.

SOMETHING or things is using a LOT of energy.

Do you have any outbuildings or pond pumps or Nitrogen recovery or pump up septic system ?

 

[SamSpade]

Do you have any outbuildings or pond pumps or Nitrogen recovery or pump up septic system ?

Just the pool pump, and it is off most of the year.

I just remember last fall, we went on vacation for a week - and there's no indication our electrical use varied all that much.

 

[phreddyp]

Just the pool pump, and it is off most of the year.

I just remember last fall, we went on vacation for a week - and there's no indication our electrical use varied all that much.

Do you turn it off at the house or at the pool ?

 

[Clem72]

How can I check?

Buy a clamping AC multimeter, lots for less than $30 on Amazon. Open your panel, clamp around the black (hot) for each breaker (or return, but not both). Look for one that is using power then you believe everything is off. Then turn off that breaker and figure out what circuit you turned off, then look for what's plugged in. If none are moving any real current, then you have a bigger issue.

 

[David]

How close are your neighbors?



But seriously, if the SMECO analysis tool shows you usage by hour of the day and you can find a pattern, use the aforementioned clamping meter around that time. I would suspect anything that is 240V, has a motor, and is older than 5-10 years.

In 2012 I installed a well insulated electric water heater and put it on a timer. I think it shuts off around 10p and comes back on around 8a. Does it save a lot? Hard to A/B test something like that, but I did see an initial drop in the bill around that time. Also check your water temp. I think you need it at least 116-120 to avoid bacteria in the water. Other than that, you're probably just wasting the juice.

If you have kids, make sure they aren't mining Bitcoin in the house. That'll do it for sure...

 

[SamSpade]

I just check through Account Manager - I noticed that while energy use WAS lower during our vacation - therre WERE spikes in usage, when the usage jumped up dramatically. We do have one of those heat pumps that level out stuff like that, and all of our stuff was off. The only thing I can guess is usage for stuff like hot water or water pressure from the pump.

But no one was using anything else. Nobody opening the fridge, or turning on a light. What could cause regular spikes in usage? They go all day long.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

You mentioned before having lots of cable boxes. I believe I read they actually use a fair bit more than you would expect.

 

[SamSpade]

You mentioned before having lots of cable boxes. I believe I read they actually use a fair bit more than you would expect.

Three DVRs and I think three basic ones. I'll look it up.

I DO know, beyond anything - that the biggest consumer of electricity is always going to be the heat pump - and after that, the water heater and then the dryer. The last time I did a Kill-A-Watt on stuff like the freezer and fridge, I was surprised to learn they actually didn't use quite so much - they're just ON all the time.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Three DVRs and I think three basic ones. I'll look it up.

I DO know, beyond anything - that the biggest consumer of electricity is always going to be the heat pump - and after that, the water heater and then the dryer. The last time I did a Kill-A-Watt on stuff like the freezer and fridge, I was surprised to learn they actually didn't use quite so much - they're just ON all the time.

You have a pretty big house, maybe it's just a case of death by 1000 cuts. My house is 1500 sq ft and my highest electric bill ever was $160 for a very hot August, lowest ever was $88 for an October that I spent two weeks away.

 

[Grumpy]

Just the pool pump, and it is off most of the year.

I just remember last fall, we went on vacation for a week - and there's no indication our electrical use varied all that much.

I rent a shack on the bay yearly and we have BG+E. We noticed early last spring that our electric bill was 2 times what it was the previous year for the same time period. Called BG+E to see if they could help, they sent us a daily usage chart and we noticed that usage was up during the weekdays when it should have been the same as weekend days.(next to nothing because we don't use the place until late April/early May). The only appliance we had on during the winter was the refrigerator, with power off to every other circuit. Come to find out that the same circuit our fridge was on had a line going to an out building (previous tenant put it in, but it was not included for us to use in our lease). The guy that tends to the propery had put a refrigerator in that shed the previous fall and it was running off our electric. The usage spikes were early spring days that were hot days. I disconnected that circuit .

Was thinking you could get a daily usage chart from SMECO and narrow down when/how your usage spikes.

 

[SamSpade]

You have a pretty big house, maybe it's just a case of death by 1000 cuts. My house is 1500 sq ft and my highest electric bill ever was $160 for a very hot August, lowest ever was $88 for an October that I spent two weeks away.

Close to 500. Maybe it is death by a thousand cuts. It's an old house so, fairly drafty - but I can't believe it's all that.

The spikes might be the OTHER heat pump. I just don't get how on a day we are not home, usage jumps up and down - a lot.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Close to 500. Maybe it is death by a thousand cuts. It's an old house so, fairly drafty - but I can't believe it's all that.

The spikes might be the OTHER heat pump. I just don't get how on a day we are not home, usage jumps up and down - a lot.

I put a Nest thermostat in my moms house so I can control the temperature remotely. It shows me a history of when the heat and AC runs, how long etc. Might be worth the investment, it was only $130.

 

[Clem72]

Also check your water temp. I think you need it at least 116-120 to avoid bacteria in the water. Other than that, you're probably just wasting the juice.

Fyi, green/energy saving recommendations are 120 degrees. However this is not hot enough to kill legionella and other slimeys, CDC recommends 140 degrees.

If you set for 120, you should probably go in once a month or so and crank it (maybe 150-160) and run your taps until it comes out full temp.