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Dang Electric Bill! I Give Up!!!

February 9th, 2007 at 10:30 pm

I have switched over lightbulbs to the energy efficient kind, cost me a couple of bucks each, was not cheap to do this in the entire house, I turn off lights if not in use. I have no heater because I'm too cheap to pay a minimum gas charge of 50.00 per month, the only thing gas in this entire house is the heater, so I had the gas put on vacation over a year ago thinking that I rarely use a heater anyway. In this part of Texas we usually have very good weather in the winter, still warm enough to wear shorts.........not this year! I have frozen my you-know-what off! The weather is warming up now so is much better but next year will take the gas off vacation for a month or two.

Anyway......my electric bill is still $212.00 for the past month......there has to be something I'm missing. I do use the dryer quite a bit....can it use that much electricity??????
I will keep working on it though!

Back in the summer using the central AC my electric bill was $650.00 per month, I turned that thing off and bought window units for three rooms and instantly it went down to about 297.00.

Any thoughts?????

9 Responses to “Dang Electric Bill! I Give Up!!!”

  1. Sindel Says:
    1171074965

    I don't live in the US but you could check this
    Text is
    site and Link is http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html
    site out.

    If you scroll down tha page - there's a 'Calculate your electric cost' table, with options to pick out the appliance (even your often-used dryer) + hours used per day, and it calculates the cost per month for you.

    hope this helps!

  2. Cheetahwoman7 Says:
    1171081426

    Hi Cindi,

    You should look into a "gadget" called Kill-A-Watt. What it does is check how much electricity your appliances are using when you don't have them turned on. Amazing, but true. Even though you think your appliances are turned off, they still draw electricity.

    The suggestion that is made is to then take your appliances and put them on a power strip where you can turn off the electicity to them completely except when you're actually using them. I have my computer, microwave, TV, washer, stove, etc. hooked up through power strips. It has saved me almost half of what I used to pay in the past on electricity. Don't know if it will make that big a difference for you, but it might. Smile

  3. cindilee Says:
    1171110497

    Thanks so much for the tips and suggestions, I will def see what else I can do. I guess I can unplug or turn everything but the fridge off when not in use. It's crazy to pay so much for electricity!

  4. Cheetahwoman7 Says:
    1171164610

    Hi again, Cindi,

    I find it easier to just click off the power strip, then I don't keep having to move things or reach behind an appliance to turn it back on. Just one click of the power strip button and I'm ready to go. I've left on my one alarm clock, the fridge, and....well, I think that's it. Almost everything else has a power strip that it's plugged into. My radio in the bathroom and the one in my bedroom are easy enough to plug in and out, so those aren't on a strip. I'm sure a few other small things aren't either.

    Oh, one other thing. You should pull out your fridge and vacuum the coils. It's suppose to help your fridge run easier, using less electricity. If you do a search on the forums, I'm sure there are a lot of other suggestions. Smile
    Hope they all help!

  5. crazyliblady Says:
    1171204296

    Wow. $212 for an electric bill in the winter is crazy if you don't have electric heat.

    I would look for the following and try to fix them, if possible.

    - Air leaks around doors and windows
    - find out how much electricity your fridge, washer, dryer, and other appliances are using. If there are high, you might investigate replacing them with something better.
    - investigate budget billing with your electric company

    We were having a lot of trouble keeping our house cool last summer and found this product at Home Depot that works in both the summer and winter.

    Gila 4 Ft. x 15 Ft. Platinum Heat Control Insulated Window Film

    I was not at home when it was put on the windows. My DH and a friend did it and they said that you have to peel off a layer before putting it on the window and that it sticks to itself really bad. We finally just wound up putting it on the windows and sticking it with tape, but it works very well.

  6. cindilee Says:
    1171213387

    It's crazy......I figured on a very low bill in the winter. This is a big old house though that I rent, but still I will try some of the suggestions. I'm dreading the summer again though!

  7. Cheetahwoman7 Says:
    1171227198

    Cindi, Check with your electrical company and see if they do free energy audits. Many times they will come out and inspect your home to find out where you're losing your energy. Wouldn't hurt!

    Good luck!

  8. LuckyRobin Says:
    1171248360

    Is it possible your meter is broken? Maybe you should start observing it for awhile when you are running things and when you are not.

    I called the power company once when the bill inexplicably went up $39 when it was a time I was actually using less electricity than previously. I told them I did not have electric heat, used all fluorescent lights, washed nearly every load of laundry in cold water, took short showers and used the dishwasher once every two days or so and I could not figure out why my bill was so high.

    They gave thier standard suggestions but the next bill that came was $50 lower, with no changes on my part. I think just calling them on the increase when I didn't have electric heat may have flagged the "can't take advantage of this customer" button or something. I never had that type of increase again. I'm not saying they were just randomly billing to see if people would pay without questioning, but the circumstances seemed mighty peculiar to me.

  9. katwoman Says:
    1171490339

    Cindi, take your bill to the meter and make sure the number on the bill and the meter match. Sounds obvious, but this mistake has been made in the building I live in. You could very well be paying for someone else's usage!

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