Electric usage more than doubles in a single month?

[travelguy_73]

OK, so we have an old house and it isn't the most energy-efficient ever, but this was a huge shock.

In May, our 1930's 2-story 1600 sq ft house used 1,434 kWh of electricity. In June, it used 3,450 kWh! That, combined with our energy contract expiring (thanks for telling us, StarTex!), and our June bill was almost $700. We are in shock. We looked at our current meter reading, and (taking the reading on the bill compared to today's reading) and we apear to be using about 100kWh per day, which would mean next month's bill will be nearly as high. So much for that new driveway gate we were planning, LOL.

In April, we had our attic insulated (blown in celbar, I believe it is). We have shiplap walls.

We have two a/c units. They work, but we have no idea how old they are. We know they aren't terribly efficient.

OK, so excusing that it is hotter in June than May, it isn't that much hotter. Anyone have any ideas? Do electric meters go bad? Could our a/c units (which don't seem to run any more now than they did in May) be sucking up twice the power they did a mere month ago? We are very nervous right now...

Any advice is appreciated.

[Mr. Chenevert]

The average high in June was 95 degrees. Your A/C units are certainly running more often in June than they did in May.

What temperature do you keep the house during the day?

[travelguy_73]

Both are programmed to go to 80 during the day, and then 76-77 at night. I read that moving the day more than 4 degrees higher makes the A/C work too hard to cool down.

[Mr. Chenevert]

I take that back, I went back through my bills, and both may and june, I used almost exactly the same amount.

about 1272 kWh both months

1400 sq ft townhome with 1 A/C unit

[BryanS]

$700 is a little steep.

I heard that HL&P... Reliant... would "estimate" readings... Like they would read your meter every three months...

Maybe they actually (mis)read the meter this time?

That has happened to me before - but it was a billing error (like they got the account numbers mixed up). By the time I finally got around to calling them... it was corrected on the next billing cycle.

1300 sq ft house runs $80 to $120/month (it has 13-16" of blown-in cellulose. Yes, cellulose). One 3 ton unit.

1900 sq ft house is running a shade under $200. One 3.5 ton unit on this house. I have not added any extra insulation to the present house. I usually wait until August, when it is hottest in the attic (for some reason).

[travelguy_73]

CenterPoint says their records show they were actual readings (the rep said they have a tag in the record if it was an estimate), so I can't really say if that is true. And given that it is on the driveway side of the house, they have easy access. But the fact that we appear to have used 600 kWh in the 6 days since their last reading leads me to believe that the reading of the meter isn't the problem. Our reading on 7/12 was 40,537 and tonight (7/18) it is 41,146. That 600 kWh in 6 days! Mostly weekdays, too, which means the AC is going up to 80 during the day. *sigh*

I don't know much about electricity, but let's say that the a/c is running 20% more than normal (actual run time). So, if nothing else changed, and the meter (and Meter Reader) is OK, then that means the A/C would have to be pulling a crap load of power to run. Wouldn't that trip the breaker? We just don't know whether to have CenterPoint out, an AC guy, or an electrician!

Could the meter itself be the problem? I've never heard of that, but perhaps.

We are going to write down the usage each day from now on.

[CDeb]

I had a large jump over last year's June bill as well ($337 vs. $145). A few things caused that, IMO, which may explain your cost increase as well:

1) Weather. We had a very mild June last year and it rained a ton. This June has been really hot AND really dry, which means the AC units have been having to run a lot more. June 07 we were using 35 KWH/day. June 08 we used 63 KWH/day. (We also now have a child which means we cool a room that we didn't last year.) But it's not just you and I, it's EVERYBODY that's using more, which means that.....

2) Regional demand is a lot higher, which drives the price higher. June 07 I was paying 13.2 cents per KWH. June 08 I paid 19 cents per KWH. I've always been on a month-to-month plan. Last year it paid off (they wanted to lock me in at 17 cents but 13.2 was the highest the month-to-month rate got), this year, a contract would have probably worked better.

3) Natural gas prices are about 10% higher than this time last year, so that will also push up the KWH rate.

I just installed a programmable thermostat a couple of weeks ago and that has helped. Looking at my meter I can see that my July daily usage is about 10-20% lower than June.

[crunchtastic]

CenterPoint says their records show they were actual readings (the rep said they have a tag in the record if it was an estimate), so I can't really say if that is true. And given that it is on the driveway side of the house, they have easy access. But the fact that we appear to have used 600 kWh in the 6 days since their last reading leads me to believe that the reading of the meter isn't the problem. Our reading on 7/12 was 40,537 and tonight (7/18) it is 41,146. That 600 kWh in 6 days! Mostly weekdays, too, which means the AC is going up to 80 during the day. *sigh*

I don't know much about electricity, but let's say that the a/c is running 20% more than normal (actual run time). So, if nothing else changed, and the meter (and Meter Reader) is OK, then that means the A/C would have to be pulling a crap load of power to run. Wouldn't that trip the breaker? We just don't know whether to have CenterPoint out, an AC guy, or an electrician!

Could the meter itself be the problem? I've never heard of that, but perhaps.

We are going to write down the usage each day from now on.

Travelguy, I'm thinking something's not right in your billing/usage. The meter could be a likely suspect.

I live--guessing--5,6, 7 blocks from you. Our place leaks like a sieve, with some tattered old r-19 in the attic, with one 10 year old ac unit cooling slightly over 1500 sq ft (with 11 ft ceilings) and our bill for June is $350. We program for 80 during the day and right now it's 76 inside. We're re-doing all the attic insulation now, hoping it mitigates some of the pain going forward.

For reference on price increases, we moved in the first week of july last year, and the first light bill we paid in August '07 was $170. Been on Green Mountain the entire time.

[musicman]

I don't know much about electricity, but let's say that the a/c is running 20% more than normal (actual run time). So, if nothing else changed, and the meter (and Meter Reader) is OK, then that means the A/C would have to be pulling a crap load of power to run. Wouldn't that trip the breaker?

no. because something runs more doesn't mean it is drawing more power.

[musicman]

In April, we had our attic insulated (blown in celbar, I believe it is). We have shiplap walls.

We have two a/c units. They work, but we have no idea how old they are. We know they aren't terribly efficient.

OK, so excusing that it is hotter in June than May, it isn't that much hotter. Anyone have any ideas? Do electric meters go bad? Could our a/c units (which don't seem to run any more now than they did in May) be sucking up twice the power they did a mere month ago? We are very nervous right now...

Any advice is appreciated.

where are your blowers for the 2 a/c units?

since you have a 2 story, insulating the attic probably didn't do much overall to increase the efficiency of your house. when i bought my house, the walls weren't insulated. after the a/c was installed, i realized during the day that it just wasn't going to cool like i wanted it. it gets sun all day basically and a 3 ton unit should have easily cooled a 1250 sq ft home, but it wasn't. i ended up insulating the walls and it definitely was worth it.

[jm1fd]

I don't know much about electricity, but let's say that the a/c is running 20% more than normal (actual run time). So, if nothing else changed, and the meter (and Meter Reader) is OK, then that means the A/C would have to be pulling a crap load of power to run. Wouldn't that trip the breaker? We just don't know whether to have CenterPoint out, an AC guy, or an electrician!

The compressor will draw more power as the temperature outside increases, but it is a linear increase. It will probably not trip the breaker since the breaker is sized WAY bigger than what the unit should ever pull under normal operating conditions.

Have you cleaned the coils on the outside units? If not, then it would be a good idea for you to do so.

[Mark F. Barnes]

Most meters now days are solid state and are read wireless by the reader, who rarely leaves their vehicle now. If you suspect a bad meter have it checked and calibrated, it's a no charge request, as long as you don't ask every month. They usually just come out and do a quick meter swap, takes about five minutes, and go from there. If there shows to be a drastic drop in usage, great you'll save money, but good luck on getting you money back on the overage, they might with enough pestering give you a couple hundred credit, but that's about it. They'll never admit to how much the calibration was off on the meter, because then you have grounds to ask for the overage back and have a hard figure to work with. Meters are usually read, within a day or two, the same day each month, read your own meter and keep a log, if you have a digital camera with a date stamp, take a picture, it's not too difficult to get it figured out.

[memebag]

I saw my daily usage jump from 46 to 70 kwh over that period. Of course, that's when I cut down all the weeds that used to shade my house from the sun. 100 kwh per day seems high, but I dunno. I knew a guy that stole electricity from his neighbor by crawling into his attic and tapping his mains. You might want to check for mysterious cables coming out of your house.

[BryanS]

Travelguy, I'm thinking something's not right in your billing/usage. The meter could be a likely suspect.

I live--guessing--5,6, 7 blocks from you. Our place leaks like a sieve, with some tattered old r-19 in the attic, with one 10 year old ac unit cooling slightly over 1500 sq ft (with 11 ft ceilings) and our bill for June is $350. We program for 80 during the day and right now it's 76 inside. We're re-doing all the attic insulation now, hoping it mitigates some of the pain going forward.

For reference on price increases, we moved in the first week of july last year, and the first light bill we paid in August '07 was $170. Been on Green Mountain the entire time.

Hmmm... He has two units... 2 x $350 = $700...

A well-insulated house is a must. You must have insulation in the walls, and at least R-30 in the attic.

[travelguy_73]

where are your blowers for the 2 a/c units?

since you have a 2 story, insulating the attic probably didn't do much overall to increase the efficiency of your house. when i bought my house, the walls weren't insulated. after the a/c was installed, i realized during the day that it just wasn't going to cool like i wanted it. it gets sun all day basically and a 3 ton unit should have easily cooled a 1250 sq ft home, but it wasn't. i ended up insulating the walls and it definitely was worth it.

Our units are interesting. The upstairs unit (we dont' know the tonnage, but have heard it could run the house by itself) is typical a/c outside with a furnace in the attic. The downstairs unit, however, is what we were told is a "package" unit, where the furnace and a/c are together in a massive box. It's huge and we don't know how old it is because Sears (it's a Kenmore box) won't tell us. The ducts for the first floor run in the crawlspace and we have floor vents. Nice because we think floor vents look cool, but the ducts are probably a mess, and we haven't yet gotten anyone under the house to seal them up.

We need a really good a/c guy to come out and give us the lowdown on how to clean up and make the cooling of the house more efficient. But the units have been here since we have and so (in my mind) it doesn't explain such a crazy spike in usage.

We also have a massive (probably 50') red oak that canopies over the house. That helps!

Hmmm... He has two units... 2 x $350 = $700...

A well-insulated house is a must. You must have insulation in the walls, and at least R-30 in the attic.

But in theory shouldn't they be running less often because there are two of them? If not, what exactly is the point of zoned units? And wouldn't we have seen a steady rise from month-to-month?

Can anyone recommend a top notch a/c guy? I have heard Central City is the best, but that they are also the most expensive.

[musicman]

Our units are interesting. The upstairs unit (we dont' know the tonnage, but have heard it could run the house by itself) is typical a/c outside with a furnace in the attic. The downstairs unit, however, is what we were told is a "package" unit, where the furnace and a/c are together in a massive box. It's huge and we don't know how old it is because Sears (it's a Kenmore box) won't tell us. The ducts for the first floor run in the crawlspace and we have floor vents. Nice because we think floor vents look cool, but the ducts are probably a mess, and we haven't yet gotten anyone under the house to seal them up.

We need a really good a/c guy to come out and give us the lowdown on how to clean up and make the cooling of the house more efficient.

Do you know the temperature in the attic? the unit up there has to overcome the heat in the attic so if you work on the ventilation up there that may help some. with the older homes, the homeowner is forced to used oversized units otherwise the home will not cool due to lack of insulation, etc. the downstairs unit doesn't have to deal with a large temperature extreme so it should be easier to control the temperature.

as for leaving the upstairs at 80 when you are gone, i'd probably up that just so the unit wont be cycling on as much. let's say it was a hot day like today and you have it at 77, does the unit just stay running or does it cycle off?

are the walls warm or slightly warm to the touch vs say an inside wall when the sun is hitting it? if so, that's a pretty good indication that insulation would help.

what kind of ductwork in the attic? metal or flex? if flex, make sure nothing's pinching off the ducts.

how often do you change the filters?

[houstonmacbro]

OK, so we have an old house and it isn't the most energy-efficient ever, but this was a huge shock.

In May, our 1930's 2-story 1600 sq ft house used 1,434 kWh of electricity. In June, it used 3,450 kWh! That, combined with our energy contract expiring (thanks for telling us, StarTex!), and our June bill was almost $700. We are in shock. We looked at our current meter reading, and (taking the reading on the bill compared to today's reading) and we apear to be using about 100kWh per day, which would mean next month's bill will be nearly as high. So much for that new driveway gate we were planning, LOL.

In April, we had our attic insulated (blown in celbar, I believe it is). We have shiplap walls.

We have two a/c units. They work, but we have no idea how old they are. We know they aren't terribly efficient.

OK, so excusing that it is hotter in June than May, it isn't that much hotter. Anyone have any ideas? Do electric meters go bad? Could our a/c units (which don't seem to run any more now than they did in May) be sucking up twice the power they did a mere month ago? We are very nervous right now...

Any advice is appreciated.

Well, it's been hot. Your a/c usage is going to be a lot different than just a few months ago.

Personally, I have to have a/c but I tend to keep my unit humming at about 79/80 depending on cloud cover. If you can't keep it running, try moving to one part of the house and just running those a/c units. That's what we used to do.

[CDeb]

This month DID have a spike in usage for us. We went from 35 kwh/day in May to 63 kwh/day in June.

[jm1fd]

But in theory shouldn't they be running less often because there are two of them? If not, what exactly is the point of zoned units? And wouldn't we have seen a steady rise from month-to-month?

If they run less often then you'll have too much humidity in the house, which will cause you to turn down the thermostat which will cause it to run more....but it will run for just minutes at a time, which is inefficient and bad for the units.

You don't really have zoned units. A zoned unit is where you have one unit with dampers that direct airflow to different areas of the house. You have two units for two different areas of the house.

Maybe one of your ducts under the house came loose and the unit is trying to cool air from under the house. That would make it run more. Have you noticed the units running more?

[RedScare]

Mine jumped 59% from May to June, and is running identically in July (49 kwh per day). I don't find your 100% jump as alarming as your massive usage in all months. For a 1600 square foot house, that seems like a lot. I have a 1920 house as well. Attic insulation is a far bigger deal than wall insulation. I'm inclined to go with the advice that you may have duct leaks, and perhaps just old inefficient units. One of the problems with inefficient or undersized units is that once the temperature rises to the point that the unit can no longer cool the house, it just keeps running non-stop. That will use a bunch of electric in a hurry. Also, if you use those filters that claim to filter everything, they restrict airflow, causing the unit to work harder. In August, I switch to cheaper filters to let more air get through the system. Perhaps a bit more dust gets through, but it is a small price to pay to have your system run better.

Oh, and June WAS a lot hotter. Go to this site. Look at cooling degree days for May versus June. June was 50% more.

Maybe one of your ducts under the house came loose and the unit is trying to cool air from under the house. That would make it run more. Have you noticed the units running more?

Actually, if a duct came loose, it would send cold air into the crawlspace instead of the house. A package unit draws air from inside the house (by way of the return air vent) regardless what the ducts do. It would still run more, though.

[jm1fd]

Actually, if a duct came loose, it would send cold air into the crawlspace instead of the house. A package unit draws air from inside the house (by way of the return air vent) regardless what the ducts do. It would still run more, though.

So he has a magic unit with no return air ducts that would suck air from under the house if they came loose? I don't think so.

[RedScare]

So he has a magic unit with no return air ducts that would suck air from under the house if they came loose? I don't think so.

Rereading your original post, I misread it. I feel better though, knowing that in trying to correct me, you misread mine as well.

[20thStDad]

I agree with the latest posters, your overall usage is more alarming than the jump. My stats:

April: 716

May: 1149

June: 1480

Our highest month last year in the same house was 1242, this year was the first time the bill busted $200. But my wife is home all day with the baby, instead of both of us being at work and the program jacking it up to 77 during the day. That's right, 77 is hot. At night we still do it to 67 upstairs. I might have a boring house without much character or architectural interesting-ness, but right now I'm appreciating the energy efficiency of the newer construction.

It hasn't been raining enough either. I think it rained 20 days in July last year, which lowered the amount of heat getting to the ground significantly. This year my yard is dry, and the sun has been burning like mad.

[BryanS]

But in theory shouldn't they be running less often because there are two of them? If not, what exactly is the point of zoned units? And wouldn't we have seen a steady rise from month-to-month?

Can anyone recommend a top notch a/c guy? I have heard Central City is the best, but that they are also the most expensive.

First, it sounds like a billing mix-up. When that happened to me, the current, errant bill, had a usage for the prior month, that did not match last month's current, correct usage. It was an obvious billing mistake. It was then corrected a month later. Had it not been corrected, I would have called them to get it taken care of. If they refused to "make it right" - I was prepared to take them to small claims. Yes. Over an electric bill.

One unit is cooling the top of the house, the other the bottom of the house. They're probably both going to run, at the same time, most of the time... The upper unit may run more, as heat rises.

Before you spend any money on an A/C person, you can easily check the health of your A/C units by using a heat sensor that home inspectors use (the kind you just point at things and it magically tells you the temp - I love it!). You can buy these for cheap at Home Depot and Lowes. The difference in temp between the intake (return air) and any register should be between 16 and 18+ deg F. So if you come home and its 80 degrees in the house, turn on the A/C(s). The temp coming out of the registers should be 64 degrees or cooler. Right before they go off at 76 deg, the air coming out of the registers should be 60 degrees or cooler by that point. Keep the sensor about two feet from the intake, two feet from the register to get an honest reading. That will tell you if the units are working correctly.

It seems to me that you are happy with the way the units cool the house, just not the bill. Assuming the units are running correctly, they may be running too much because of lack of insulation, your house leaking air. You have two solutions: insulate, like crazy OR put in new, higher efficiency units that will end up running just as much - but will use less power to provide the same amount of cooling (would still insulate like crazy, though).

If your A/C units are not performing, say they have a 12 degree temp differential, then it may be as easy as $125 to $250 service call, labor included, to put more freon in the units (if that is deemed the problem vs. bad/leaking duct work). That, with some ample insulation in the attic spaces, could be your highest return/lowest cost solution (vs. the thousands of dollars spent on new A/C - which you may not even need!)

[travelguy_73]

This has all been very enlightening, thanks for the feedback.

Our usage since purchasing the home in October:

November 987

December 1084

January 870

February 793

March 1089

April 1160

May 1434

June 3449

When we had the house inspected, the inspector's air heat sensor showed the AC was blowing in the 5x-degree range, which we were told was good. In fact, the upstairs unit blows so strong we had to put air diverters on the vents to keep from freezing when the AC comes on. It is definitely oversized...our neighbor said he thought it was either a 4-ton or very close to it.

I definitely feel cool air when i put my hand in front of any of the crawlspace vents. We need to address the package unit before going any further, I believe. It's probably a mess inside and we are now paying for not having focused enough on it in the beginning.

[RedScare]

4 tons just for the upstairs? That should nearly run the entire house! That's your problem. You have WAY too much AC for a 1600 foot house. I have 1358 feet, and it is served by a 3.5 ton unit total. In general, 1 ton should cool 400 square feet.

BTW, do you have electric heat? Your wintetime electricity usage looks way high as well...unless it is electric heat.

[jm1fd]

It is definitely oversized...our neighbor said he thought it was either a 4-ton or very close to it.

Post the model number of your upstairs condenser. I'll see if I can't tell you exactly what tonnage it is.

[travelguy_73]

4 tons just for the upstairs? That should nearly run the entire house! That's your problem. You have WAY too much AC for a 1600 foot house. I have 1358 feet, and it is served by a 3.5 ton unit total. In general, 1 ton should cool 400 square feet.

BTW, do you have electric heat? Your wintetime electricity usage looks way high as well...unless it is electric heat.

No, they are both gas. Again, the inefficient units?

Post the model number of your upstairs condenser. I'll see if I can't tell you exactly what tonnage it is.

The upstairs unit is a Kenmore TCA236AKA4. The downstairs package unit says "International Comfort Products" with a model PGAD36E1K6. Not sure if this is really what is inside the box. The old woman we bought the house from was pretty clueless about it (and she owned the house since the 80s). No one did much to the house in 70 years (thankfully) because everything they did do, we are having to undo.

Oh, and we got under the house this morning. Ignoring the foundation issues (4 piers not touching their respective beams), we can feel cool air leaking in a few places. It felt quite nice down there, LOL.

[RedScare]

Considering the fact that no matter what units you have, they all push air through those ducts, the first thing I would do is have all the ductwork inspected and sealed, if necessary. I'd do the same for windows, since it is easy to do, and relatively cheap. Once that is done, I'd look into replacing one or both units with new, efficient and properly sized units. It is impossible to tell if replacing the units is the right thing to do until you have an airtight system and know what it is costing to really use those units. Even an efficient system is not efficient if air is blowing under the house or through the attic. Once you have an airtight system, you can compare electric bills to replacement of the units.

With the size of your bills, I'll be willing to bet that you'll come out ahead replacing the units. When I went from window units to central AC, it was hard to believe that it would save me money. But, since that time, I have not had a bill exceed $200, even with a higher rate. With the window units, I was paying $290 to $310 all summer at lower rates. I estimate that the central AC will pay for itself in about 4 years....sooner at today's rates.

[musicman]

Oh, and we got under the house this morning. Ignoring the foundation issues (4 piers not touching their respective beams), we can feel cool air leaking in a few places. It felt quite nice down there, LOL.

go get some water based air duct sealant. if you can feel the cool air, then you can just as easily plug the leak. it's easy to put on with a trowel or even your hand.