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Posted by Doug Miller on January 27, 2007, 6:59 pm
>That's a new one on me. In the case of the OP, the unaccounted-for use
>is enough that he almost ought to be able see the problem point glowing
>(or smoking) if what you say is true. He's dissipating a _lot_ of
>energy someplace.
>In other words, I don't think your suggested explanation is likely in
>this case.
Agree completely -- if I recall correctly, the OP said his power consumption
was on the order of 50 kwh per day, compared with figures of around 50 to 60
percent of that, given by other posters. IOW, the OP's *excess* consumption is
somewhere on the order of 20 to 25 kwh per day, or roughly 0.8 to 1 kwh per
_hour_, equivalent to a continuous 800 to 1000 watt load.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
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Posted by m Ransley on January 27, 2007, 7:20 pm
I have heard of shorts costing home owners 20$ a month 15 yrs ago when
electric was cheaper, but true that big a loss should be easily found,
probably the electric heater hidden in the kids room. or your neighbor
wired up to your garage.
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Posted by Italian Mason on January 29, 2007, 9:17 pm
Yea you guys are right. I guess I didnt read the post very carefully
that is alot of power and yes it would probably be glowing. Im clearly
not an electrician....Just out of curiosity would this test I found
actually work to find a "leak" in theory it makes sense????
THanks
> Italian Mason wrote:
> > I have a friend that has a similar problem and I found a "leak test"
> > or "Hight Resistance Short circut test" in one of my electrical books
> > you may try;
> > According to the book older wiring thats coating is damaged can leak
> > current like a dripping faucet. Turn on all wall switches to activate
> > the hot circut wires, then stop power consumption by removing light
> > bulbs and fluorecent tubes, and disconnecting all lamps and appliances
> > (and everything else electric).
> > Then examine the electric meter, if it is turning (look closely and
> > watch for atleast a full min) this means a high-resistance short
> > circut is causing an electrical leak somewhere in the wiring. If this
> > produces results I would contact the land lord and what ever local
> That's a new one on me. In the case of the OP, the unaccounted-for use
> is enough that he almost ought to be able see the problem point glowing
> (or smoking) if what you say is true. He's dissipating a _lot_ of
> energy someplace.
> In other words, I don't think your suggested explanation is likely in
> this case.
> --
> The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
> minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.
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Posted by Tony Hwang on January 27, 2007, 4:46 pm
snappydragon@gmail.com wrote:
> Some background:
> I rent a 50yr old small house that has natural gas for heat and water,
> electric everything else. We have had high electric bills for a few
> years now (avg 60kwh/day usage) which we attributed to a bunch of old
> appliances.
>
> We recently replaced the fridge and freezer with new high energy ones,
> had a broken stove for two months, and do, as a high average, 8 loads
> of laundry a month with older appliances. However, we still see a 50
> kwh/day average, which is high according to neighbours and the electric
> company. We have had the meter checked and replaced, with no help in
> solving this problem. I've had an electrician come in and he can't
> find anything out of the ordinary.
>
> The electric company claims that having old windows and doors can cause
> this problem. However, since we are heated by natural gas, I don't
> understand this logic (Can someone explain please?)
>
> I have run out of ideas, can anyone help point me in another direction
> with suggestions as to what to look for next? Thanks.
>
Hmmm,
Your house may have leaky wiring. It'll cause lot of wasted Wattage.
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Posted by Jim Elbrecht on January 29, 2007, 8:19 am
On 26 Jan 2007 10:31:02 -0800, snappydragon@gmail.com wrote:
>Some background:
>I rent a 50yr old small house that has natural gas for heat and water,
>electric everything else. We have had high electric bills for a few
>years now (avg 60kwh/day usage) which we attributed to a bunch of old
>appliances.
For 2006 I averaged 43 a monthly low of 36 & a high of 72. [2005
was 53- monthly low 38, high 83] Family of 4, 3 BR; appliances all
within 5 yrs; frost free frig with icemaker; manual frost freezer; gas
stove, water heater, dryer.
I'm in upstate NY- 2 months of summer- usually 5 of winter [last 2
winters never really showed up]
But our big electric thieves are; dehumidifier in basement year round;
humidifiers upstairs during heating season; ionizers on 2 floors;
liberal use of hair dryers by 2 ladies; coffee maker runs 9-10 hrs a
day; Instant Hot water at kitchen sink; pool pump 24/7 in summer;
liberal use of 4 window-shaker a/c's; oil furnace gun and fan in
winter; electric space heater in teen girls bedroom; 2 desktop
computers & monitors on 24/7; I used to have a sump pump that ran
frequently-- last year I got the drainage corrected and now save
10kwh/day. [may not be all that sump pump, as I didn't notice that
huge drop until just now when I looked at my past usage. But 2005 I
was using 53 & 2006 I used 42. I did use a different pool pump this
year- but that is all that changed other than the sump.]
Our lighting usage might be high, too- as we have people in the house
getting ready for work as early as 6AM - and others returning from
work at midnight. And there is rarely a time when someone isn't
home. So the 'lights are off' for only about 4-5 hrs a day.
For reference- my records go back to 1998 & these are my daily
averages for those years;
38, 34,40, 39, 41, 50, 50, 53, 43.
>We recently replaced the fridge and freezer with new high energy ones,
>had a broken stove for two months, and do, as a high average, 8 loads
>of laundry a month with older appliances.
My washer is 10+ years old- dryer is gas & about 4. We do at least 3
times that much laundry.
> However, we still see a 50
>kwh/day average, which is high according to neighbours and the electric
>company. We have had the meter checked and replaced, with no help in
>solving this problem. I've had an electrician come in and he can't
>find anything out of the ordinary.
Someone else mentioned a Kill-o-watt meter- Here's the one I use
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=%22kill+a+watt%22&btnG=Search
The P3 - starts at $21 now- I paid $39 for mine 4-5 yrs ago. I
haven't found an electricity thief in my house-- but have eliminated a
bunch of suspects.
>The electric company claims that having old windows and doors can cause
>this problem. However, since we are heated by natural gas, I don't
>understand this logic (Can someone explain please?)
Heating season - your furnace uses *some* electricity. Do you use AC
in summer? [In my experience the guys who do the surveys for the
electric company are pretty clueless- and with little common sense.
I actually got a handout from the electric company once that said
*radios* were major electricity users. Might have been true in the
40s when they were tubed, but not likely since the 70's.]
>I have run out of ideas, can anyone help point me in another direction
>with suggestions as to what to look for next? Thanks.
First thing to do is try the 'shutting off all power' and see if the
meter still runs. Then turn the circuits back on one at a time and
make a thorough assessment of the electricity you use. [good time to
make a list of what goes to what circuit breaker.]
Things like pool pumps, sump pumps, dehumidifiers, etc often get
forgotten but if your neighbors are using much less than you- they
could be the variable. Also look at your kitchen counter--- we get
high usage from our toaster, coffee maker, George Foreman grill and an
electric deep-fryer. [and the Hot H2O is an extravagant convenience]
The vegetarian next door blends some veggies once in a while. [he's
also only home a couple hrs a day- and rarely on the weekends. I'll
bet he uses 1/10th the electricity we do]
I've done the assessment and have decided that the $6.40 a day it cost
us last year was worth the convenience & comfort. YMMV.
Jim
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>is enough that he almost ought to be able see the problem point glowing
>(or smoking) if what you say is true. He's dissipating a _lot_ of
>energy someplace.
>In other words, I don't think your suggested explanation is likely in
>this case.