OMG!!! Our electric bill.....

[CatDad]

Originally posted by lovemyshiba
Nope, 1 month!!!

I have never had one over $100 in my life. I freaked out when I opened the envelope!!!!

That seems a might high, even if you did have all of those air cleaners. If it has never been over 100 I would say a mistake has been made.

It could be what Richard said and they estimated way wrong. On my utility bill it actually says if the reading is actual or estimated, you may want to check.

I would call the utilities and talk to them, an over 400% rise just does not happen. OK, if it does it shouldn't.

When you find out what happened, I would be interested. Let us know if you can.

[lovemyshiba]

We did call them, and they said it was correct.

It was an actual reading, not an estimate--they do them that way every other month here, and December's was an estimate, this one an actual. However, since they may have underestimated in December, they have to make up for it.

We have spoken to them about payments--they were very cooperative.

We have been quite careless with the lights and stuff lately--I must be more vigilant to turn everything off!! Plus with Christmas lights and everything last month, and the incredible cold--it all just happened at the same time, unfortunately.

Denyce--
thanks for the idea. We do have those crappy little baseboard heaters--I hate them. Just adding a tiny space heater in the living room warms it up considerably. In our apartment, we had a gas fireplace, and it warmed everything, including the bedrooms--I miss my fireplace!!
This is a new house too, and we are figuring out everything as we go along ( a new house is NOT all it's cracked up to be)--one thing, is I'm making a list of everything I DONT want in a future house--I'm adding electric baseboard heaters to the list!!!!

[Twisterdog]

Electric heat is horrible.

I had never heard of it until I bought this house, and it has two baseboard heaters in my bedroom, and one in the office, to supplement the old furnace, I guess. Well, I thought that was way cool, since I'm always cold, and cranked them up all the time.

Then I got the first electric bill. It was close to $400! I disconnected the baseboard heaters immediately, and I've never had a bill over $200 now, and that is with running a grooming shop and kennel as well.

[trayi52]

That is a high electric bill, I freak out when ours is 170 dollars, we have three different meters one for the house-170, one for the well that pumps the water-35 and one for my husbands little workshop-25. So I kinda just freak out most of the time. We live on a fixed income, my hubby draws his Diasability and it is hard to make ends meet, and you have to really stretch sometimes to get ends to meet.

Gee maybe your meter has gone bad, it happens!

Willie

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Wow - that IS a high bill! I have the opposite problem - my bill is much higher in summer, as the air cons run 24/7!! At the moment the aircons are off, as it is the middle of winter (20 degrees Celcius today and my bill has dropped to around $350 - it's usually around $550

[ramanth]

That's a few dollars shy of one month's rent for me!

Owie...

[Cataholic]

Yeah, you really do have the worst and most expensive kind of heat going! That stinks.

Something I do, and it is not for everyone, I know...but, my 'heat' stays at 60 all winter long. Yep. 60. Yes, it is 60. I wear socks and slippers on my feet, always, and have on at least a sweatshirt. To me, it is worth it. It isn't harmful for the pets, in fact, Binx prefers it.

The opposite is true in the summer. I set the A/C at 70. Yep, 70. Again, it is better for the pets, and I would rather suffer in the winter then have them swelter in the summer.

I also turn off every light! Always! I don't leave a room without turning it off. I turn the tv off if I am not sitting in front of it. I line dry alot of stuff, esp. in the summer. I don't preheat the oven for alot of stuff. I get in and out of the fridge timely. I am cheap. Cheap. Cheap!

(and I have some very sad news for all you wood fireplace users...they are REALLY ineffective for heating.)

[popcornbird]

Now THAT is SCARY!!!!

My dad went overseas on business about a year ago, and took his cell phone with him. It is a world mobile, so it works anywhere in the world on the same number. Only problem is..........the bill is tremendous. My brother and I kept calling him on that, like 5 times a day. I know I know..........stupid us, but we didn't realize HOW high the bill would be! Anyway, my dad came home to a $650 phone bill! Boy was he MAD at us! LOL

[Miss Meow]

Originally posted by Cataholic
Yeah, you really do have the worst and most expensive kind of heat going! That stinks.

Something I do, and it is not for everyone, I know...but, my 'heat' stays at 60 all winter long. Yep. 60. Yes, it is 60. I wear socks and slippers on my feet, always, and have on at least a sweatshirt. To me, it is worth it. It isn't harmful for the pets, in fact, Binx prefers it.

The opposite is true in the summer. I set the A/C at 70. Yep, 70. Again, it is better for the pets, and I would rather suffer in the winter then have them swelter in the summer.

I also turn off every light! Always! I don't leave a room without turning it off. I turn the tv off if I am not sitting in front of it. I line dry alot of stuff, esp. in the summer. I don't preheat the oven for alot of stuff. I get in and out of the fridge timely. I am cheap. Cheap. Cheap!

(and I have some very sad news for all you wood fireplace users...they are REALLY ineffective for heating.)

As Jo said, you save so much on your bills just from turning off lights and electrical items. If you have an electricity meter that spins, watch it, then go inside and turn off as much electrical stuff as you can AT THE WALL. Then go back outside and see how much slower your meter is turning! Nearly all appliances run phantom loads if you turn the appliance off but leave the wall switch on. Shane is the 'power nazi' at our house and heaven help me if I leave the TV or computer turned on at the wall switch

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by Miss Meow
If you have an electricity meter that spins, watch it, then go inside and turn off as much electrical stuff as you can AT THE WALL. Then go back outside and see how much slower your meter is turning!

LOL,

I catch my self 'watching the electricity wheel spin'.....
How much energy does that use up?

The reason for phantom loads is the need for us to have that 'instant on' feature for our appliances....especially the television set. Almost any remote controlled appliance runs that way.

About the fireplace heating.....tell that to Edward...sometimes I pick him up and he is ready to burst into flames!!!

[Glacier]

Originally posted by Cataholic

(and I have some very sad news for all you wood fireplace users...they are REALLY ineffective for heating.)

Wood fireplaces might be ineffective, but a good wood stove is amazing. I heat a 1700 square foot house with a wood stove. I have a proprane furnace as a back-up, but the price of propane causes me not to use it very much. Natural gas doesn't exsist in the Yukon. Most people use oil or wood to heat still. Some have electric heat. one of my friends bought a house with soley electric heat. his bill was equivalent to his mortgage for a month in the winter! he switched to heating oil in a hurry!

[Logan]

I have to say that I'm surprised that any reputable contractor would install baseboard heating in a new house!!! Yikes!! It is definitely the most expensive thing going!!

We have gas in our downstairs and a heat pump upstairs. Thank goodness Helen likes it cold, and she has an electric blanket, since she is the one upstairs most of time.

We use our woodstove alot to heat our living room. We close off the rooms that we can and use the warmth of the stove for the living room when we are in it.

But our combined electric, gas, and "wood" bills for this 3500 sq ft house are nothing compared to what you describe. I know that kills your budget for this month!! It would be interesting to know which things in your home pull the most electricity....I'm thinking it is not the tv or the lights, but more likely the heat!!!

[lovemyshiba]

Originally posted by Miss Meow
As Jo said, you save so much on your bills just from turning off lights and electrical items. If you have an electricity meter that spins, watch it, then go inside and turn off as much electrical stuff as you can AT THE WALL. Then go back outside and see how much slower your meter is turning! Nearly all appliances run phantom loads if you turn the appliance off but leave the wall switch on. Shane is the 'power nazi' at our house and heaven help me if I leave the TV or computer turned on at the wall switch

That is a good idea, I'm going to try that tomorrow!!
I am just so curious as to know what made it go sooooo high so quickly!!!!
My husband says he wishes the meter went in dollars instead of they way it is--showing you how much you were going to owe!!!!,lol

Logan--
I was quite surprised to find that someone had installed electric baseboard heat in a new house as well. He is from Vietnam, and had built this exact same house for his daughter in California (maybe that's why he didn't install very econimical heat). He does live in the area, but this is the only home he has built here (other than maybe his own)