High electric bill

NanoNana

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 20, 2024
Messages
702
Reaction score
1,025
Location
US
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Not many do

1721469919751.png
I don’t have an option to switch in my area but yall have given me some gratitude today.
My household is electric bill for 3200 sq feet was $325 US last month with AC running all day.

That said, I have a separate service for the barn where our pottery studio is located. Depending on how much clay I fire, it can creep over $200 a month. The only real power consumption in the barn is the kiln so when it comes to power consuming hobbies, pottery beats aquarium. Lol.
 

Lbrdsoxfan

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 13, 2021
Messages
5,334
Reaction score
8,469
Location
Long Beach, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I haven' read through every post here, but I do know that changing your supplier will keep electrical costs as low as possible. I change suppliers every year as when my 1 year locked rate is up. They usually jack the prices up...so I just switch to someone new. I'm always around the $.05 / kwh because of it. Sometimes suppliers like to sneak inconspicuous letters in the mail that tell you about a rate change in your community. That happened here in northeast Ohio with NOPEC a few years ago. If that letter goes unnoticed that allows you to opt out of that agreement, then you'll see your electric bill quadruple out of nowhere. I would look into changing suppliers on top of everything else.

There's also something on your bill called "cost recovery charges" or somewhere along those lines depending on you company. That fluctuates with gas prices. Another reason your electric bill could jump up.
We don't get that choice. We are stuck with the one provider that's available.
 

fish farmer

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 13, 2017
Messages
3,879
Reaction score
5,680
Location
Brandon, VT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I was suprised my bill was just under $200 for June. I've been running two A/C's practically non stop until this weekend. Average temp for where I am at in Vermont was 3 degrees warmer than last year, humidity you could cut with a knife.

$0.189 kwh, $36 in fees, one company in my area. 1200 sq foot house, two humans, two cats, one dog, one 29 gallon reef tank.
 

BZOFIQ

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
5,049
Reaction score
4,313
Location
NYC
Rating - 100%
9   0   0
Not many do

1721469919751.png


Again, it doesnt matter any more.

These greedy electric providers got smart - with falling supply cost they raise delivery cost. In NYC 2/3rds of the bill are delivery charges so even if I got electricity for a penny per kWh the bill would only drop from $800 to $500-600, still a lot of mulah per month.

Last year in total my electric was $7900.
 

14 foot reef

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 22, 2018
Messages
2,688
Reaction score
4,554
Location
Apex NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
QTY- 67 - 400 Watt panels on my roof to off set my usage with 1000 gallon reef and a 4000 sq.ft. Ranch home.
All of the newest appliances and HVAC to be as efficient as possible.
Still can't produce more than I use..... :)

IMG_9326.PNG


IMG_9327.PNG
 
Last edited:

BZOFIQ

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
5,049
Reaction score
4,313
Location
NYC
Rating - 100%
9   0   0
QTY- 67 - 400 Watt panels on my roof to off set my usage with 1000 gallon reef and a 4000 sq.ft. Ranch home.
All of the newest appliances and HVAC to be as efficient as possible.
Still can't produce more than I use..... :)

IMG_9326.PNG


IMG_9327.PNG


Eric,

I only have space for 15-18 and SunRun wanted $36K for that installed - I told them they are out of their mind.

15 panels will offset maybe 10-20% of my usage, I will never realize any ROI
 

14 foot reef

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 22, 2018
Messages
2,688
Reaction score
4,554
Location
Apex NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Eric,

I only have space for 15-18 and SunRun wanted $36K for that installed - I told them they are out of their mind.

15 panels will offset maybe 10-20% of my usage, I will never realize any ROI
After my rebate from US Government I only paid $34,000 for my 67 panels
I ran my own numbers for ROI and I will revamp my $34,000 in less than 7 years and I plan on staying in my home until I head to the other side. So it made great since for me to proceed with this install.
After 1 year installed, they have performed and delivered above the promised performance.
 

Walkerby

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 22, 2024
Messages
5
Reaction score
1
Location
UK
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Adding a tank can really make those bills jump, especially at 30 cents a kWh! I went through the same thing with my tank setup, and I’ve been looking for ways to cut down on costs.
 

Rappa

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 14, 2023
Messages
323
Reaction score
361
Location
Tewksbury, MA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yikes. Mine is 12 cents/kWh. Can’t imagine paying almost triple that!
Yeah but... have you added up all the B.S. other costs (delivery charges, electric vehicle charges, blah blah blah charges), then divided the total bill cost by the actual KWH's used? That's the only way to figure out the true cost per KWH.
 

bakbay

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 1, 2022
Messages
1,937
Reaction score
2,374
Location
Orange County
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Last month, my electricity bill was $920 - it's better this month at $819, woot woot! I'm on a Time of Use (TOU) plan with peak of $0.61, mid-peak of $0.43, and off-peak of $0.23. 80% of what I use is already off-peak, except my 4 tanks -- which runs 24/7. Going solar is cost prohibitive since it will take ~10 years to recoup this capital.

2yrs ago, I was at 65kWh daily but now, I'm at 98kWh! I can visually see the uptick in usage since 2mos ago when I lit up the 450g & 2 other tanks, from 73kWh to 98kWh! I kept thinking that my neighbor was/is stealing my power? lol
 

Rappa

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 14, 2023
Messages
323
Reaction score
361
Location
Tewksbury, MA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Last month, my electricity bill was $920 - it's better this month at $819, woot woot! I'm on a Time of Use (TOU) plan with peak of $0.61, mid-peak of $0.43, and off-peak of $0.23. 80% of what I use is already off-peak, except my 4 tanks -- which runs 24/7. Going solar is cost prohibitive since it will take ~10 years to recoup this capital.

2yrs ago, I was at 65kWh daily but now, I'm at 98kWh! I can visually see the uptick in usage since 2mos ago when I lit up the 450g & 2 other tanks, from 73kWh to 98kWh! I kept thinking that my neighbor was/is stealing my power? lol
You and I have very similar electric bills! Last month we used 2,895KWH's!!! I swear someone is stealing my power lol
 

bakbay

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 1, 2022
Messages
1,937
Reaction score
2,374
Location
Orange County
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You and I have very similar electric bills! Last month we used 2,895KWH's!!! I swear someone is stealing my power lol
Yes — my tanks and EV(s) are robbing our power! lol

Our utility company had issued several rate hikes post Covid. It’s absolutely absurd — if I back out my recent change in usage, my cost should be 30-40% off the current rate.

I’m going with Solar but PPA option (renting) and cut out the utility company. I would rather pay someone else for almost half the cost!
 

jimfish98

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2020
Messages
354
Reaction score
371
Location
Orlando Metro
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Last month, my electricity bill was $920 - it's better this month at $819, woot woot! I'm on a Time of Use (TOU) plan with peak of $0.61, mid-peak of $0.43, and off-peak of $0.23. 80% of what I use is already off-peak, except my 4 tanks -- which runs 24/7. Going solar is cost prohibitive since it will take ~10 years to recoup this capital.

2yrs ago, I was at 65kWh daily but now, I'm at 98kWh! I can visually see the uptick in usage since 2mos ago when I lit up the 450g & 2 other tanks, from 73kWh to 98kWh! I kept thinking that my neighbor was/is stealing my power? lol
Ever thought of a whole house battery system, charge it off the grid at night, use up the battery power during peak hours. I would imagine your bill would drop significantly if all power consumption was during off peak hours.
 

bakbay

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 1, 2022
Messages
1,937
Reaction score
2,374
Location
Orange County
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ever thought of a whole house battery system, charge it off the grid at night, use up the battery power during peak hours. I would imagine your bill would drop significantly if all power consumption was during off peak hours.
It’s marginal though — my on-peak consumption is 1/4 of the bill so the ROI is not there. I’m going PPA Solar in a few months so hope to cut the bill by 40%. I rather pay someone else than our utility provider - they’ve jacked their customers since Covid! It’s ridiculous.
 

jimfish98

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2020
Messages
354
Reaction score
371
Location
Orlando Metro
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It’s marginal though — my on-peak consumption is 1/4 of the bill so the ROI is not there. I’m going PPA Solar in a few months so hope to cut the bill by 40%. I rather pay someone else than our utility provider - they’ve jacked their customers since Covid! It’s ridiculous.
Just stay on the installer for permits and inspections. Have found that many stumble their feet getting utility sign off to be able to actually turn them on. My father in law has to harass his every time something goes wrong. Here in FL it’s more speed of install vs longevity it seems.
 

n2585722

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 17, 2013
Messages
3,957
Reaction score
2,267
Location
Cedar Park, Tx
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My last electric bill was just $230. I charge my car once a week and use about 50kwh each time. Also September was a hot month for us so lot's of AC use. But winter is or highest bills since the house is all electric and heating the house is usually more expensive than cooling it. My aquarium cost is a drop in the bucket on the AC bill. The first time the aquarium heaters have come on since April was Thursday and Friday and only one of the two came on. They are only 50 watt heaters. It got down in the 40's Thursday and the 50's Friday in the early morning. It was up to the 80's during the day. If I calculated right charging my car last Monday cost me only cost $5.32 for 52kwh of energy.
 
Last edited:

BZOFIQ

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
5,049
Reaction score
4,313
Location
NYC
Rating - 100%
9   0   0
Last month, my electricity bill was $920 - it's better this month at $819, woot woot! I'm on a Time of Use (TOU) plan with peak of $0.61, mid-peak of $0.43, and off-peak of $0.23. 80% of what I use is already off-peak, except my 4 tanks -- which runs 24/7. Going solar is cost prohibitive since it will take ~10 years to recoup this capital.

2yrs ago, I was at 65kWh daily but now, I'm at 98kWh! I can visually see the uptick in usage since 2mos ago when I lit up the 450g & 2 other tanks, from 73kWh to 98kWh! I kept thinking that my neighbor was/is stealing my power? lol

This is absolute insanity.
 

HAVE YOU EVER KEPT A RARE/UNCOMMON FISH, CORAL, OR INVERT? SHOW IT OFF IN THE THREAD!

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
Back
Top