Electric bill sky rockets

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HAHA THE MOOSE

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Hi I just went to a customers rental property and one of her tenants are complaining about having a high electric bill. The previous tenant had an average electric bill of around 50 bucks a month. Well this guy for some reason is getting a bill of around 150 bucks a month. Nothing has changed in the house regarding the wiring, no one is stealing this tenants power, and he is not growing weed (that was my first guess). The unit is a one bedroom one bath, all gas appliances, no dishwasher, no disposal, full dize fridge but really just not that big and nothing was in the room that drew any flags. I was wonderin if the electric meter could go bad and maybe is spitting out faulty readings. The meter is not digital it is probally twenty years old. Are there ways to test the meter to see if it is good. I really am a bit stumped on this one I have only looked at the house for an hour or so but maybe one of you could throw out a suggestion for me that I have not thought of.

Thanks everyone
 
If he was growing weed I imagine he would drill a screw into each of the service conductors ahead of the meter and just run a tap.

Not that I'd know anything about that...

Maybe the new tenant just has more stuff and uses it more often. Maybe the refrigerator light is stuck on.
 
HAHA THE MOOSE said:
The previous tenant had an average electric bill of around 50 bucks a month. Well this guy for some reason is getting a bill of around 150 bucks a month. Nothing has changed in the house regarding the wiring,
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Well one thing has changed.

Maybe the first person was frugal and this guy leaves the lights on and the refrigerator door open?

Did the new tenant bring a space heater or window shaker air conditioner in with them?
 
Is a dehumidifer being used?
Are there more people living in the unit?
Maybe the previous customer was stealing electricity?
Any other tenants move in or out?
Did the landlord add a washer or electric dryer that could be run off this tenants meter?

Could there be a crossed meter/wiring situation?

Make sure when he applied for the service with the POCO that he was put into the correct unit. He may be paying for someone else's unit. When I worked in customer service, we saw it all the time.

An old meter usually runs slow
 
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The key to your problem maybe as you said this is a new tenent the other person had no problem The chances that something went wrong with the internal wiring or meter when he moved in is slim check to see what appliances he has brought with him I discovered a refer that was running all the time which increased the electric bill had an ac duct broken in the attic wich caused the ac to run all the time. He maybe running some space heaters , he may have installed a window ac. You can call you local poco to test the meter but I bet the problem is with the new tenent.
 
Comparing present dollars to past dolllars is meaningless. You have to compare present KwH's to past KwH's to remove POCO rates from the equation.
 
Typically 1 of 3 things

Miss labeled/addressed meter (have seen this many times in meter stacks and with multiple meter installations)

Meter not calibrated (have seen this several times)

Using more power, be it accidental, such as pump stuck on, or intentional, leaving lights on.

Call the utility.

Turn off what you think is normally on and take amperage readings.

Pull the meter and make sure the power goes off.
 
Is the refrigerator empty?

An empty refrigerator costs more to run than a full one.

What type of TV does the new tenant have?

Is the new tenant conservative with power, or does he just leave the lights on all the time?

Does he use a hair dryer?

Etc, etc, etc....

I would be willing to bet that the new tenant just uses more electricity than the former tenant.
 
K8MHZ said:
Is the refrigerator empty?

An empty refrigerator costs more to run than a full one.
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I bet we could do a whole thread on that one, :D

IMO that is only true if your opening the door, if the door stays closed I would say full or empty will cost the same.
 
iwire said:
I bet we could do a whole thread on that one, :D

IMO that is only true if your opening the door, if the door stays closed I would say full or empty will cost the same.
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Pretty tough to use a refrigerator without opening the door, is it not? :grin:

Beside the thermal mass issue, airflow is designed around product being in the refrigerator and is more efficient when there is product inside than when empty. In addition to that, if the refrigerator is empty, ALL the energy feeding it is wasted.

My point was more directed toward a difference in lifestyle than in thermal mass and airflow, but I think you know that. If not, I apolize, I guess I will have to try to sharpen up my literary skills a bit.
 
K8MHZ said:
Pretty tough to use a refrigerator without opening the door, is it not? :grin:
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If it's empty why are you opening it? :D

Beside the thermal mass issue, airflow is designed around product being in the refrigerator and is more efficient when there is product inside than when empty.
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I have my doubts about that :smile:

but I can not argue about this. :D

In addition to that, if the refrigerator is empty, ALL the energy feeding it is wasted.
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My point was more directed toward a difference in lifestyle than in thermal mass and airflow, but I think you know that.
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I did and it was clear. :smile:
 
Beside the thermal mass issue, airflow is designed around product being in the refrigerator and is more efficient when there is product inside than when empty.
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I have my doubts about that
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That's the dope I got straight from the Stafford-Smith techs I was working with. These guys can hang a box the size of a bait cooler on the ceiling of a 20 x 30 foot room and make it 12 below in there. I have no reason to doubt them.
 
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The Straight Dope on the fridge issue.
 
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480sparky said:
060616.gif


The Straight Dope on the fridge issue.
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It's ranch for me every time. Instant decision. :smile:

Here is something to think about. The usual style refrigerator is uses less energy if used by short people than by tall people.

If the lady was short, when she opened the fridge door she could just look right in, grab what she needed and vamoose. If the new guy is tall, like me, the top of the fridge compartment is about belly button height with the middle about shin height. Not only does it take more time to bend over like a running back on the scrimmage line to be on eye level with your food (see image, above), it takes WAY more time to get back up, especially after a long day at the grind.
 
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