What is draining my electricity?

Question

I am having a major problem with my electrical usage. Around the time an electrician upgraded by electrical system, my usage (and most importantly the bill), increased by 2.5-3x's. This is after relatively 8 years of steady usage in the same house. Nothing really changed in the house to warrant this. Even in Sept/Oct, with no a/c/electric heaters, the bill was high. My usage towers over any of my neighbors with similar size houses. PSEG changed the meter and checked it...it is OK. They said it is not their problem. An electrician "checked out the inside", and this too was OK. ANY IDEAS??? I dont know where to turn.

If nothing is found, should I downgrade back to my old voltage?

Answer 1

I recommend that you get another electrician to check out your problem. Fuzzykjun and johnny1pun may very well be on the right track. What they said about the grounding issue could do it. I would check incoming voltage at the main panel, as well as the voltage at any sub-panel or major electrical load to see if there is a line loss issue. It would be smart to use an ammeter to verify the current flow at various parts of the electrical system. Old refrigerators and freezers can be a huge load on the system, but usually not what you are describing. There is a plug-in ammeter (Kill-a Watt meter), that you could use to verify the power consumption at various appliances. Either there is something very wrong with the electrical system itself, or with one of the large appliances. You should have it examined again by a competent electrician. Sometimes a second opinion is a good thing. Good luck

Answer 2

Did your usage go up after the electrician upgraded your place or after you had a new meter put in or was it all done at once? Did you use a qualified electrician? I have found that everytime I get a new meter-any type-my usage seems to go up. I'm not sure whether old meters slow down or new meters go faster. Have them check the meter again. Give them the proof of your bills and any comparative bills you can gather. They should check again. A meter can go bad just after it is put in. Just ask me about my water bill. The meter was checked when it was put in and then slowly got worse and worse. It counted a gallon for a gallon when it was checked. But every once in awhile when it was time for the 10 gallon counter to turn, it would count 20. They didn't catch that for about a year.

Answer 3

You could do a few simple things yourself.

Turn off everything electrical in the house. You electric meter should stop, or turn very very slowly due to doorbell transformers and the like.

If the meter still spins rapidly, something is using power. Unplug everything. Stove, refrigerator, freezer and all. If meter slows, plug them back in one at a time and watch the meter. The culprit should show itself.

If the meter does not slow down, throw circuit breakers off one at a time, or remove fuses one at a time. If the meter slows, double check to see if something is still connected. If not, you probably need an electrician,

Answer 4

What was the "upgrade" by the electrician?? Why was it done? (Was there anything changed in the house to warrant the upgrade?) If "Nothing really changed in the house to warrant this." then what warranted the "upgrade"?? What provoked fixing something that wasn't broke?

You're saying your bill is now abt 2.5 to 3 times as much as it used to be in the corresponding months of previous years (?)

Answer 5

i had this problem many years ago at 1 of my farms, my father than worked for the hydro,he told me to do exactly what the last answerer (fuzzykjun) said .this was resolved when some friends from the hydro came out and found the previous electricians mistakes.my bills turned out alot better,i even went after the old electrician and received money back.

Answer 6

if this started after work was done as you mention then the so-called electrician has reversed a return and ground wire some wheres allowing the power to drain into ground even when nothing is turned on,, this will keep the meter turning even when everything is supposed turned off!! unplug everything in you house,, turn off all lights and check your meter and see if the wheel is turning or the digital meter adds numbers!!

Answer 7

Make sure you shut off any unused items at night before you go to bed. A simple light left on in your closet for a few nights will add up in the long run. Just be a little more economical on how you use your power. Shut off your AC/Heater when you leave the house for long periods of time. Be conservative.

Answer 8

Do you have an electric hot water heater? If so, maybe one of the elements has gone bad in it. If one of the elements has burnt out, then the remaining one has to try to do the work of 2 and will use alot more electric. If you run out of hot water quickly, this is probably your problem.
This did happen to me once, made my bill go up EXTREMELY high!

Answer 9

Do you have a dehumidifier, electric blanket, humidifier, leave on lights and tv's and children that don't turn things off? I know my sister had a heated cover for her bed and left it on and it was getting old. Her's went up about 20 dollars in a month. So, I don't know. It doesn't sound right, I know everyones has gone up since last yr. about a third more, I watch mine more and it has gone down some. Good luck.

Answer 10

You may need a service amp upgrade. Meaning that your house is only rated at 100 amps. look up some electricians web sites for examples.