electric bill soaring, dont know why, maybe you can help.?

Question

this winter our electric bill has soared, we use only propane,kerosene or wood for heat. i called company and asked them which one was causing my bill to rise and they didnt have an answer just kept telling me it is colder this year then it was last year, and that our rates have not gone up. can someone figure out this for me? the reason we dont use electric heat is because of the rising electric cost but if this keeps up should we ditch the forms of heat or will it make it that much higher. i wish i knew because im tired of being half#$(*^% warm and paying a big bill.

Answer 1

I would say check these out:

Your electric meter
Refrigerator (clean the coils)
Water Heater (might be an issue with it)
Light bulbs (replace with CFL)
Dishwasher (some heat water with electric power)
Things left on all day (computers, VCR, DVD)

Have you bought any new electronics recently? Leaving the charger in costs a bit of cash as well.

Answer 2

Yeah, appliances/electronics are a biggie when it comes to energy consumption. For your heating bill though, maybe there is an unknown draft in the house that was not there in the past? That causes a lot of heat loss (it could be a crack between your walls and windows, or something more hidden). I'm not an expert, but when my fiances parents got new windows (they live in a 200+ year old house with original windows) there was an immense difference noticed compared to last winter. You could literally feel the cold air streaming in with the old windows. I'm not saying go out and buy new windows, it's just an example I'm using, but doing even minor things can also help you cut down on cost. If there is a draft, your heater may be on much more than it was prior. Just an idea, everyone kept mentioning appliances and stuff, just thought I'd throw this out there since I've learned a lot about energy efficiency lately to save money. Good luck finding the source of the problem!

Answer 3

Make sure that your hot water pipes are insulated, if you have electric hot water. Otherwise, your electric bill should not change with the weather. You're bleeding off electricity somewhere. Your bill will always go up in the winter because you use lights more often, but you shouldn't notice that enough to prompt a question on here. It should just cost you a couple of dollars more a month.

Answer 4

Alas- you have a LOT of company. To begin with, due to the high oil prices last Fall, MANY electric companys raised their rates over the Winter. THEN, the Winter was quite a bit colder in alot of places- so we all used MORE OF that more expensive electricity. And finally, if you have an electric hot-water heater- it naturally took alot more electricity to keep that water hot through the cold weather. What to do?- Well, -if you live in a State that gets alot of sunshine, consider installing Solar panels on your roof. They've gotten cheaper over the years, and after the initial outlay- should pay for themselves in electric savings- in 7 or 8 years...

Answer 5

The heater is one giant power user in your house and I don't know how else could you have more electric bills.

Did you cook more with electric oven or did you do laundry more with electric dryer?

I would read the meter myself and note the read-out and compare with the bills for the various dates and billing cycle.

Answer 6

Go out and check your meter and compare it to your bill. Sometimes they just guestimate your bill and do not look at the meter and then charge you what they assume you use. Make sure you are not leaving an outside light on all the time or any other item.

Answer 7

its the same here, but our electric provider has raised our rates twice this year.