Gas heater running = high electric bill?
yoda888
12 years ago
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mike_home
12 years agoyoda888
12 years agoRelated Discussions
High Gas/Electric in Studio Apt?
Comments (8)Update: I checked my meter. Then I spoke with the gas/electric company and was informed that my meter was indeed correct. Apparently, my gas heat is always on. I thought by turning the dial all the way down meant it was off, but was told that I have an automatic thermostat that automatically comes on when the temperature in the building falls below 55 degrees. So while I had my electric radiator on full blast, the heat to my unit would come on regardless, though I never felt it. Prior to November the average gas and electric bill for my unit was $40 bucks. My building turned the heat on in mid-November. I used the radiator in October but once the building heat kicked in in November and I was still using the radiator at the same time the bill skyrocketed. I was told that I should stop using the electric radiator and turn my heat to 70 degrees and leave it there, as turning the heat on and off would just increase usage and energy. My problem is that I've noticed that my place is still cold after turning the thermostat to 70 degrees, especially the bedroom. Now I'm wondering if I should turn the heat to 80 degrees. Any more tips? P.S. This issue is even more troublesome since my housing company has been receiving my gas/electric bills for the past few months by error. I just figured my rent covered the utilities - again first time renter here. It appears they didn't catch it until the bill skyrocketed and then called me....See MoreVery high electric bill--need help figuring out why
Comments (3)Where is the house located? Tiger has the right answer most likely. It is possible for a leaky house in the North to get that high even with low set temps. Sorry that your fixer upper is going to be big fixer upper. I'd probably talk to neighbors to see what they have done. You basically have 3 good options (assuming no NG) - geothermal, mini-splits or conventional Air source heat pump. The ASHP will be the least upfront cost but it won't be cheap since you need to install ductwork. Even a small house will be $10k+. Minisplits may not be that much more and will be more efficient and offer more control. There is much more visual units but there is little ductwork to install. Geo is probably 50% greater cost even with tax credit but will have lower run costs (WAG - the price varies a lot with locality). Or make the house a summer only cabin....See MoreHigh Electric Bills
Comments (20)We are wondering if the culprit is the hot-water circulating in-floor radiant heat in the lower level, a feature our previous home did not have. Is that likely? (The heater is rated at 15Kw and 62.5 amps, whatever that means.) As was stated another previous reply, it means that the in-floor heating system uses 15,000 watts (15kW) of power for every hour it runs. The electric company bills for kWh of power used ... kilowatt hour ... which is 1,000 watts of power consumed for a time period of 1 hour. 500 watts (five 100-watt light bulbs) running for an hour is half a kWh. Two hours (500 x 2 = 1,000) is one kWh. Your radiant heater is equivalent to 150 100-watt light bulbs. It consumes 15kWh (15,000 watts / 1,000-hour = 15kWh A typical electric clothes dryer is 5,400 to 5,600 watts. So your radiant floor heat is also equivalent to approx 2.7 electric clothes dryers. Amperage (amps) is a measurement unit of electric power. Amps and volts. Amps X volts = wattage. 62.5 amps x 240 volts = 15,000 watts, or 15kW You can calculate the effective rate you pay for electric power by getting the kWh used for the billing period and $-amount billed from your last electric bill. $-amount billed / kWh used = kWh rate billed kWh rate X 15 = how much your radiant floor heater costs for every hour of continuous run time. Of course, it may not run 100% of the time ... presumably the heating element(s) cycle on/off to maintain a target temperature on the circulating water. Don't forget the pump motor is also part of the cost, which may or may not be included in the 15kW figure....See MoreVery high electrical bill and home has solar ... (help)
Comments (28)Don't forget that the rates have gone up dramatically and the baseline has gone down. The baseline wouldn't cover a house half the size of yours. Also, they are adding a monthly penalty starting 1/2018. We had three huge panels and still jumped to tier 4 almost immediately. Prior to solar, our summer costs exceeded $1200/mth, after solar the highest was $950. I'd check the seer rating on the ac, that is probably contributing. Also, you can get an exemption if someone in the household has a disability that requires greater consumption...See Moretigerdunes
12 years agoyoda888
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4 years agoHU-887101983
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