Hello Everyone, My Kilowatt usage per month is growing monthly. Nearly double in the same month of 2008 as 2007. I have the same appliances, and electric draws as last year. My question is this. Could a poor connection in my breaker box be the cause? A bad Breaker? My wife says the Electric Co. put a new meter on last year. Could that be bad? I've never heard of that but I'm concerned. I know that the Electric Co. sometimes estimates usage for the month but they're fairly consistant. Any ideas? I'd hate for my house or shop to have an electrical fire. Thanks in advance, Terry
Growing Electricity Usage
- Thread starter tbob
- Start date
JB740i
Well-known member
One of the guys at work had a leaky pipe at his house that was causing his well pump to be running almost constantly. Don't know if you've got a well or city water but I was surprised cause I hadn't even considered something like that.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
Old meters sometimes run slow. If the power co becomes suspect that the meter is slow, they change it out, and this may be what happened. You should have seen a sudden jump when they did that, if that was the case.
My shop (on its own meter) jumped $10 a month after the old 1979 fridge (with condenser coils on the back) died and I moved the 1985 Kenmore fridge (with condenser underneath with a fan) from the house to the shop. I didn't realize how much current that sucker used. House bill did not change so the new Whirpool Gold I put in the house must use about the same current as the old (and smaller) Kenmore.
You could have a loose connection. If you are not familiar with electrical stuff, it may be worth it to pay a good electrician to spend a couple of hours going over the panel and wiring looking for problems.
Charles
My shop (on its own meter) jumped $10 a month after the old 1979 fridge (with condenser coils on the back) died and I moved the 1985 Kenmore fridge (with condenser underneath with a fan) from the house to the shop. I didn't realize how much current that sucker used. House bill did not change so the new Whirpool Gold I put in the house must use about the same current as the old (and smaller) Kenmore.
You could have a loose connection. If you are not familiar with electrical stuff, it may be worth it to pay a good electrician to spend a couple of hours going over the panel and wiring looking for problems.
Charles
Aceman
Well-known member
I agree.
I'd start by looking at appliances first. Water heater, fridge, furnace, well pump, etc. Any one of them could be drawing excessive current or just not shutting off when supposed too. A leaking pipe/pressure tank is fairly common for causing high power bills.
LoneGunman
Well-known member
I see of no way a loose connection would cause a NOTICABLE power consumption increase. I'd say it's a malfunctioning meter (unlikely) or as others have said, an appliance but I have never seen an appliance malfunction cause an electric bill to double. For example, an AC compressor on it's way out will draw more power so will a motor.
Have you compared what you are paying for power to last year? Maybe a malfunctioning appliance plus an increase in cost is the cause.
It may seem gimicky but I have a Kill A Watt that I have used at work (electrician), it is a very usefull tool and not expensive.
http://the-gadgeteer.com/review/kill_a_watt_electric_usage_monitor_review
Have you compared what you are paying for power to last year? Maybe a malfunctioning appliance plus an increase in cost is the cause.
It may seem gimicky but I have a Kill A Watt that I have used at work (electrician), it is a very usefull tool and not expensive.
http://the-gadgeteer.com/review/kill_a_watt_electric_usage_monitor_review
Jaguar Fan
Well-known member
My first reaction was "somebody is stealing your electricity". I know its pretty rare, but every now and then I've read about it happening, usually where someone is using lots & lots of "grow lights" to grow pot.
CraigFL
Well-known member
Don't forget to check if either of those "meter readings" were actually estimates. Sometimes they are too lazy to read the meter and just estimate usage so you will have a bill and then read it the following month....
LoneGunman
Well-known member
Don't laugh it will happen but it will be the government, they'll need to make up for the shortfall of taxes from gas and diesel.
PhantomEB
Well-known member
I going to buy one of those Kill-A-Meters off of Amazon and let you know what I find. Thanks, Terry
Ryan87LX
Well-known member
Do you have an electric water heater?
I've heard these can draw outrageous amounts of power when they start to fail.
I'm on gas so I'm not really familiar with it, but I trust my sources.
I've heard these can draw outrageous amounts of power when they start to fail.
I'm on gas so I'm not really familiar with it, but I trust my sources.