ELECTRIC Bills!!!!!!

[jamesgang]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10491127#post10491127 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by northbay-reefer
"I'm trying the reverse lighting and running my tank from 6pm to 3am"

The only way that would work is if you had PG&E installed a time of use meter at your house.

I'm running it after 6pm and into the early morning because elecltricity cost 3-4 times more between Noon and 6pm. That's when my tank was on the most and when I was away from home the most and usually when the outside temp is the hottest.

By switching to an evening on, early morning off schedule it's cooler outside, so it's not adding any additional heat to the inside of the house, I'm home to enjoy it more, and per KW hour is 1/4 the price.

 

[jamesgang]

Got my next bill. Another $400+ and this is after switching the lighting around and running it from 5pm till 3am and bumping the A/C up a bit.
I'm getting rid of it all for $500. 72g tank with 29g sump. Selling it all as a complete system. I hope my bill comes down the month after that or I'm not going to be happy.
The wife insist that it's the tank so I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt. I'll set up another in a few years when I get my house built.
I can post some pics tomorrow.
Just when it started looking sweet.

 

[jo kerpaly]

WOW! you just got this tank. Maybe you should hold on to it for a month and see if the bill comes down. Cuz maybe when you switched your lighting times it was like half way through the billing cycle. You should try and get your wife to compromise on running the A/C for less time and see if that helps too. Also are you being careful about not leaving a bunch of other lights on in the house? Well good luck man, I hope you change your mind about getting rid of the tank.


P.S. How bout a PG&E update......my bill was $275

 

[jamesgang]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10474363#post10474363 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thysrof
Wow,$460. Is that total bill including Gas? I have a seperate granny unit,Pool,and central a/c and I'm burning 2 250 watt halides and my Electrical portion of my bill was $255 and I burned 1129 KWH. how many KWH did you burn. Its on your Bill as well as what you paid for them. I wonder if you need to talk to PG&E about a different plan or maybe you can ask for a higher baseline. I asked for a higher baseline and they said no,but you can always ask.

The last 4 months I've used 1067, 1343, 1719, and 1467 KWH and my bills for elec. have been $240, 342, 495, and 374.
I try and keep the upstairs at 75 during the day and downstairs 73. I have a smartvent system for the evenings to bring in cool outside air. I could let the house get warmer during the day but the wife has a home office. So I'm SOL there.
Damn global warming!!

 

[jo kerpaly]

Keeping your downstairs at 73 is what is eating your money. Tell your wife that when you get rid of the tank and the bill only goes down by about 20 bucks that you are going to get a new bigger better tank. We have a pretty big house and we keep it a little warmer and we also have a hottub that is kept at 104 degrees and your bills are still more than ours. Maybe you could ask her if you could try turning up the A/c for a month and see if that brings the bill down before you get rid of your tank.

P.S. We used 1157 KWH last month.

 

[jamesgang]

I hear what you all are saying, but isn't there a price difference between my county and yours? I'm the last town in the "Bay Area" of Solano county. You guys are in northern Sonoma away from the money pit of the Bay. I hate the amount of money I have to pay for everything around here and can't wait to move back to the midwest.

 

[jkreefer]

hold on i'll post our price's

 

[jkreefer]

baseline 345 kwh........$.1143
101-130% of baseline....$.1298
131-200% of baseline.....$.2272
201--300% of baseline....$.3171
301-over% of baseline....$.3643

ok now lets see your prices

 

[northbay-reefer]

Its the freaking AC :lol: 73 is COLD

 

[jkreefer]

my house doesn't even get to 73 at night........I'm jealous

 

[jamesgang]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10703329#post10703329 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jkreefer
baseline 345 kwh........$.1143
101-130% of baseline....$.1298
131-200% of baseline.....$.2272
201--300% of baseline....$.3171
301-over% of baseline....$.3643

ok now lets see your prices

I was wrong, ours are exactly the same. It's gotta be the A/C!!

 

[northbay-reefer]

How old is your AC unit ? if its older than 10 years its probably has a low seer rating which is not energy efficient and thats why its expensive to run. You want a model that is atleast 13 seer to 20+ seer. The higher the number the better.

 

[thysrof]

Jason,
Don't forget this is a summer thing.We pay extrememly higher electrical rates in the Summer,just like we pay higher gas in the winter. What is your goal or budget for your PG&E Bill? Have you thought about the balanced payment plan. If your not familar with it. The way it works is PG&E looks at 12 months of useage and divides by 12 months and you pay the same amount every month.

Also I have a large house with a swimming pool,Detached granny unit,and central A/C and i haven't burned over 1340 kilawatts this summer. You definately need to turn that A/C up to 78 or so. Have you thought about a Whole house fan or Solar attic fan. I have a solar attic fan and it definately makes a difference.

 

[crispyreef]

I got you all beat. Two months ago my bill was $750:mad2: . Since then we turned off the hot tub that was always on, switched out the dryer to gas, and set the AC at a reasonable temp. The last bill was $520. You think you got it bad, this is cutting into my tank budget:mad2: :mad2: .

 

[jamesgang]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10706064#post10706064 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by northbay-reefer
How old is your AC unit ? if its older than 10 years its probably has a low seer rating which is not energy efficient and thats why its expensive to run. You want a model that is atleast 13 seer to 20+ seer. The higher the number the better.

My house was built in 2004, and I purchased the largest A/C available. Better to run a large A/C for a short time than a small A/C for a long time. Plus I'm from the Mid-west and California heat waves are nothing compared to the dog days in Missouri.

As for an attic fan, I might need to look into that. Probably a job I could do myself.

 

[northbay-reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10708824#post10708824 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by frsfrme
I got you all beat. Two months ago my bill was $750:mad2: . Since then we turned off the hot tub that was always on, switched out the dryer to gas, and set the AC at a reasonable temp. The last bill was $520. You think you got it bad, this is cutting into my tank budget:mad2: :mad2: .

:eek2: :eek2: holy cra----p batman ... :eek1: :eek1: I though I got it bad.

 

[clarkiis]

Man I have it lucky it seems, my bill is never over $150 but again I have no A/C I also have it set up so that my bill is average from you previous years usage. so lets say i use only $100 of electricity i still have to pay $150. But when a bill comes around for $500 to $600 typically the last 3 months out of the year i still only pay $150 dollars. But remind you it is going up every year slowly, and if I ever actually dramitaclly use less energy it will take a year to see the savings.

 

[sulcata1619]

something isn't right on your bill Chris. How many square feet is the house. Are you sure the neighbor hasn't tied in to your house?

 

[crispyreef]

I thought about that. One night I turned off the main to see if any of the neighbors lights went off, no such luck. PG&E will only try and troubleshoot over the phone, they will not come out to help. Talk about trying to be green.

 

[jo kerpaly]

The lights that go off, you wont be able to see.