Outrageous Electric Bill (long)

[mrfoo]

http://www.zippyvideos.com/8113884336113116/mvi_0123
Basically I am in college and have no money ever. I just moved into this apt a few months ago. I got it because it was the only thing left. The video (if it works) is before i moved anything in. 1 wall unit for heating/cooling. I have the necessary stuff like refridge, microwave, computer, water heater, alarm clock, and lights. I tinted the bedroom windows also. I have two ceiling fans that always run because of the constant heat in my apt. In my previous apt. which was SLIGHTLY smaller than this, I had a central heating/cooling unit. IT was partially broken and I did not find that out until 2 months before I moved out. The bill there with the same stuff I have now was around $125-150 which was high. I have lived here for 2 months and my bill for part of August up till 9/28 came out to be $420 bucks. August(22 days billed) was 196. This month (8/30-9/28) was $224. Everyone I have talked to has a much lower bill than that and that is living in 3-4 bedroom houses. One guy that lives in the same apt complex I do got a $19 bill last month. He is hardly ever there and does not have the same problem with heat hanging out in his apt. My wall unit is from 1990. I talked to the landlord about giving me a new one. They said they couldn't but they did come out here and fix something with it. I have also contacted the power company (Alabama Power) and they checked the meter to make sure it was read properly and of course it was. They also told me that a meter would not speed up if it is broken, it would slow down. Anyways my question is, does anyone know of any way I can solve this problem?! I might be able to buy a multimeter from work on payday.
I just really have no freakin idea how my bill could be this high. It is driving me crazy and completely wiping out my bank account. Anyways sorry if I rambled but I do not know where to go from here. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance
Daniel

[SCW]

one of the electrical engineers mentioned at work that if you plug an extention cord in and wrap it in a loop or 3 around your meter it will slow considerably. I only barely trust this guy and haven't verified it.

[/courious bits of info]

[Rev Den]

Electric water heater?
Electric Stove?
Do you run the air more due to the heat in you unit?
Is this the same power company as you other place?

Water heater, stove, and AC can suck down the watts.

Rev

[dallas xjs]

one of the electrical engineers mentioned at work that if you plug an extention cord in and wrap it in a loop or 3 around your meter it will slow considerably. I only barely trust this guy and haven't verified it.

[/courious bits of info]
lol...the meter and all parts inside are alum...wraping a cord around it wont do chit...just request power company to do a meter change or provide accuracy report of meter...meters are always tested...also you might want a tech to come out and pull meter to verify that its feeding you apt...at times on those meter gain bases addresses pull and fade...than when meter ready comes out he just take a guess...good luck bro

[GSequoia]

They have electricity now in Alabama?

[Kittrell]

Mine was usually $130 ish for a 1,200 sq. ft. apartment. And I run my heating and air at will. So that does sound just a tad high.

[87manche]

lol...the meter and all parts inside are alum...wraping a cord around it wont do chit...just request power company to do a meter change or provide accuracy report of meter...meters are always tested...also you might want a tech to come out and pull meter to verify that its feeding you apt...at times on those meter gain bases addresses pull and fade...than when meter ready comes out he just take a guess...good luck bro
yes, but a meter works by measuring the current, and it does that by measuring the inductance, wrap a cord around it carrying electricity or place a large magnet near it and you'll change those properties.
Whether it makes it read slower or not is up for debate, the power companie's not dumb, the critical parts may be shielded

[Cornflake]

They have electricity now in Alabama?

LOL

[SCW]

yes, but a meter works by measuring the current, and it does that by measuring the inductance, wrap a cord around it carrying electricity or place a large magnet near it and you'll change those properties.
Whether it makes it read slower or not is up for debate, the power companie's not dumb, the critical parts may be shielded

I think this was the point, but like I said I didn't try it. I just paid my electric bill, $58.00 for the month. 1800sq-ft house, unfortunately in Utarrrgggghh.

[mrfoo]

REV: Everything is electric. Other than showers and washing a few dishes thats it. The stove is not used but 3 to 4 times a week for a short period of time. I do run my a/c more because the temp. will sometimes rise to around 85 in my bedroom at night if the a/c isn't turned cold enough.

GS: yes we DO have electricity in Alabama :idea:

The meter is in another part of the building so wrapping a cord around it is probably not going to happen. If I can find a magnet of decent size, I could try that.

[XJEEPER]

Not the same issue as yours but related......my Sept bill spiked higher that Aug which was a much hotter month, so I knew my central air cycled less, plus our new high efficiency washer and dryer should have factored into this as well.

Some sleuthing found that the hard to get at switch that controls the heat tape that keeps the gutter from freezing in Jan was somehow toggled to the ON position........but the gutter never froze once last month!

[Rev Den]

REV: Everything is electric. Other than showers and washing a few dishes thats it. The stove is not used but 3 to 4 times a week for a short period of time. I do run my a/c more because the temp. will sometimes rise to around 85 in my bedroom at night if the a/c isn't turned cold enough.

You do know that the water heater will operate as needed to maintian the water at a certain temp....right? If it is old....and limed up, it may be running 24X7. If your bedroom gets to 85 at night...imagine how much the air has to run during the day....I am thinking it never shuts off.

Rev

[RichP]

Look for suspicious extension cords and then find out who is paying the smallest bill in the complex... or if you do find one hook it up to 220 and see who suddenly has to buy new appliances...
I'd start by turning one thing off at it's breaker, don't use the ac and use the ceiling fans.

[dallas xjs]

yes, but a meter works by measuring the current, and it does that by measuring the inductance, wrap a cord around it carrying electricity or place a large magnet near it and you'll change those properties.
Whether it makes it read slower or not is up for debate, the power companie's not dumb, the critical parts may be shielded
just given the guy some useful advice...magnets wont work,putting a cord around the meter wont work...i must now go climb another pole,hang some more wire,and set some more meters....

[mrfoo]

The water heater was made in Feb '05 so I don't think that is a problem. I try to limit the a/c to run only when it gets toasty in here but it does run often. Just using fans only circulates the heat so I have to turn on the a/c to get cold air in. There is one switch in my kitchen which I do not know what it does. I took the plate off and looked in it today and it looked like it was connected to a wiring harness or a thick guage wire....I will have to look deeper into that later. My bathroom floor is always unusually very warm. I assume that is from the pipes under it though.

[87manche]

The water heater was made in Feb '05 so I don't think that is a problem. I try to limit the a/c to run only when it gets toasty in here but it does run often. Just using fans only circulates the heat so I have to turn on the a/c to get cold air in. There is one switch in my kitchen which I do not know what it does. I took the plate off and looked in it today and it looked like it was connected to a wiring harness or a thick guage wire....I will have to look deeper into that later. My bathroom floor is always unusually very warm. I assume that is from the pipes under it though.
or a radiant floor heater that's causing your apartment to be warm and causing your electricity bill to be high.
cue conspiracy music.

[SCW]

just given the guy some useful advice...magnets wont work,putting a cord around the meter wont work...i must now go climb another pole,hang some more wire,and set some more meters....

How long have you been working lines? The guy who told me of the trick is nearing retirement and may simply be talking about outdated equipment. Or talking out his a$$, I never really know with this guy. We design transmission lines and substations, this guy is a substation electrical engineer (but kind of a blowhard).

[dallas xjs]

How long have you been working lines? The guy who told me of the trick is nearing retirement and may simply be talking about outdated equipment. Or talking out his a$$, I never really know with this guy. We design transmission lines and substations, this guy is a substation electrical engineer (but kind of a blowhard).
going on 9yrs...we also have real old meters on the system and they are unable to be hacked by cords or etc...the only way to trick it would be screwing with the dail....but once theres is a jump in consumtion or drop,a troubleshooter {me} well come out and investagate wth is going on...the apt issue is the guy is loosing heat and a/c some where or insulation in walls etc suck...

[Danno]

be glad you are not living in SoCal. My brother-in-law's house (about 2000 ft.squared) cost him $500 in July and over $800 in August in electricity and it was still hot in the house. He can thank Enron and Gov. Grey Davis for that. Enron helped drive up the price and Davis signed a long term purchase agreement.

[Ben H]

check to see if you local power company offers any limited income discount. They may or may not but it is worth checking into.

[scoobyxj]

You definitly need to do some investigating. It sounds like there are two aparments running off the same meter. The insulation isn't going to be much of a factor in an apartment if you have units above, below, and on both sides. Ask the landlord about the unusually warm floor in the bathroom. Maybe the guy below you is growing pot, and even has tapped into your service. If you do find something amiss you may be able to forward the cost on the landlord. I know here in Ohio if a landlord won't fix a problem that is dangerous the tennet can leagly withhold paying rent 'till it's fixed.

[dallas xjs]

The insulation isn't going to be much of a factor in an apartment if you have units above, below, and on both sidessorry bro but efficiency of the said apt and apts does play a role..or we wouldnt have a pink panther...

[mrfoo]

Well first off, thanks again for all the suggestions and help. I did call the power company today to request the accuracy reading from my meter. Apparently all they have is when they came out and checked the reading last time. On my lease, I had to sign saying I knew about the possibility of lead based paint because it was built pre 1978, so the insulation and age is questionable. I have signed up for "budget billing" where my bill is the average consumption for the last twelve months @ $121 a month. I still have to pay the remaining balance but it supposedly works itself out. I am on the ground floor so I hope nobody is underneath me. The people that live on either side of me hardly ever run their a/c. I have not met either of them because they do not seem to associate with people they don't already know. The person above me walks constantly and I CAN hear that all the time if thats any indicator about the insulation. When I took my first bill to the landlord, they told me that is why I was paying a lesser amount for this apt because the bills would be higher?! I am paying$10 bucks less than the last one (this one is $370). For the price of this and power, I am already looking for something in the $450 range with a normal power (~$75 range) bill and central heating/cooling. I am going to ask about the "heated" floors also. Oh ya and my water bill was $10 bucks higher than it has previously been. So the possiblity of someone mooching my stuff is there but...I will just have to investigate and try that out myself. Roaches seem to be attracted to my apartment complex no matter how many times the pest control comes out. I think that has to do with the age of the complex though.
Daniel

[dallas xjs]

Daniel my friend never admit to having roaches,those are called bait or waterbugs in alabama...i lived in gulf shores for yrs. so once again i know i can speak on those critters...good luck bro

[5-90]

be glad you are not living in SoCal. My brother-in-law's house (about 2000 ft.squared) cost him $500 in July and over $800 in August in electricity and it was still hot in the house. He can thank Enron and Gov. Grey Davis for that. Enron helped drive up the price and Davis signed a long term purchase agreement.

Hey, you want to have fun? My mother-in-law lives with us! She's got emphysema, COPD, and a host of breathing problems, and she doesn't turn anything off!

I tell you, sometimes I'm ready to just kill the breaker (I really should map breakers one of these days...) to her room, but that would kill the oxygen concentrator, and get my wife wroth with me.

At least she's got a newer concentrator - the old one drew 10A, the new one draws about six. That's still like turning on a hair dryer and walking away from it, but it's a smaller hair dryer now. She's still got the damn TV on all the time, tho. And leaves lights on everywhere. And I have to keep resetting the thermal cutout in the garbage disposal, because she leaves it on and walks away (and I find out an hour or so later, when the cutout's tripped, and my wife tries to use it.)

Our power bill for August was over $700. House is about 1400 sq. ft. After going to the trouble to put an air conditioner in her room - I almost yanked the damn thing back out and recycled it as scrap metal (it's a 8kBTU room/window unit, but she kept thinking it would cool off the whole damn house. To 66*. Cripes.)

No central air, gas water heater. What do Californians have against gas stoves tho? I grew up cooking over fire (either gas or wood) without any trouble, and I honestly prefer it. Not only is it more efficient (therefore costing rather less,) but it's ON when you turn it on, OFF when you turn it off. Changes in temperature happen immediately. Gas stoves and cast iron cookware - can't beat it!

Anyhow, I'm just ranting now - but I had to get that out. Don't even get me started on Professional Gouging and Embezzlement...

5-90

[RichP]

Geeze, and gripe over our $150 month for a totally electric house... of course when I replaced the original builders windows with low E anderson double hungs our electric bill went in half from $400, the new roof and skylights cut it more and with one daughter in philly and the son heading for boot camp in january it should really come down now...