spiking KWhr use.
- Thread starter Jim Baird
- Start date
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
Is it colder this year?
What is running longer? Lights, well, ht/ cool?
Family of ten vs family of three?
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
Add to the list:
Electric water heater?
If so, leaks? Lots of laundry? Teenager who is leaving a window wide open while vaping in their room, or just discovered the “privacy” of a hot shower? (That one cost me a bundle for each teenager…)
“In an investigation, details matter.”
Our utility often has request to check "high usage". Other than lifestyle relates issues as mentioned above the most often "electrical" issue found is a bad hot water heater element leaking current to ground (water) and problems associated with heat pumps allowing strip heat to be utilized as opposed to heat pump.
synchro
Senior Member
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Occupation
- EE
Was there an increase in the amount of outside lighting for Christmas and the holidays?
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
With LED lights he either had one heck of a display, or never turned anything on in the house before.
synchro
Senior Member
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Occupation
- EE
Perhaps portable electric heaters were used more than a year ago.
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
The neighbors have a new EV and are plugging into your back yard receptacle.
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
Can they tell you time of day?
Fred B
Senior Member
- Location
- Upstate, NY
- Occupation
- Electrician
So this is not a local issue, seeing this 900 miles away. Customers here that have doubled usage (not related to the price increases) from a year ago with no actual physical changes to how power is being utilized. Is something else going on? Is there something exterior to actual usage that can effect the metering?
Up here not heating contribution because ave. temp. is actually warmer than last year.
Up here not heating contribution because ave. temp. is actually warmer than last year.
readydave8
re member
- Location
- Clarkesville, Georgia
- Occupation
- electrician
Well pumps notorious if present
David Castor
Senior Member
- Location
- Washington, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
Customer can request that the meter be checked for proper operation. Any chance the prior reading for the month they are looking at was estimated? Utilities sometimes use estimated readings due to bad weather or staff shortages (assuming meters are not part of an AMR system). Then eventually they read it and catch everything up.
Portable space heaters running continuously can use a lot of kWh.
Portable space heaters running continuously can use a lot of kWh.