Thanks for the suggestion. Most of our lights are leds.

I'd have an energy audit for sure -- sometimes it's something you'd never have thought of, like heat going up the chimney or out the mailbox slot. Sometimes ceiling fans in tall rooms help circulate the heat too. Also, how big is your house? and your solar production? (I don't know what a "true-up" is, so I don't know if you're including what you produced or just what you bought from the utility co.)

Another possibility is lots of vampire electricity drain -- you can get a voltage meter thing and go around plugging various appliances into it to see which of them draw power even when you think they're off. Computers and TVs can be bad at this, but sometimes other things too. Last option is to convert electric utilities to gas, which are cheaper and often more efficient, but of course that's an up-front hole.

Our home was built in 1993. We put our solar in 5 years ago and paid for it in full. We bought house 10 years ago. Square footage is 3000 feet. True-up is your electricity bill at the end of the year. 2016 true-up was $2000. 2017 true-up was $3000. We are a family of four. Kill a Watt only works with the smaller appliances. Would like one for things like water heaters. We had a energy efficiency person in about three years ago and didnt really have much faith in her report. Suggested new windows. Our windows are from 1993 and have no condensation in them so while they are not as attractive as the newer models, believe they are doing their job.

Could you list some of your major appliances, etc.. along with pool items and what your schedule is? Climate - do you have A/C and run it a lot?

PG&E: What plan are you on - with baseline I am guessing it might be one of the newer TOU plan or standard tiered rates? NEM 1 or NEM 2?

HVAC: Type/Force Air, A/C or NO A/C

Pool: What type of pump(s) do you have, 1 speed, 2 speed, variable speed? What is your pump run time schedule(s)? What type of pool heater/spa heater do you have, how often does it run?

Water Heater: What type?

Appliances: Gas Stove or Electric. How many freezers (garage freezers can be huge energy wasters). Gas Dryer or Electric?

What is your middle of the night minimum Kwh consumption (say at 4am) when everyone is asleep and nothing is on?

Frigidaire double oven, Samsung fridge, Bosch dishwasher, LG dryer, Whirlpool top loader washer, Trane Heating/AC, Thermador Gas cooktop, Comfort Cooler whole house fan (30"), Bradford White Energy Saver Water Heater (large). Pool pump is 1 speed (going to run starting at 3 a.m. for 3 hours). Dont know middle of night consumption - never looked. Summer run a/c daily but starts running at 78.

Could you be running laundry or dishes a lot more than you used to? I.e., did your kids transition from little bowls of things to real food in the last year or two? Our energy and water use both went up during the elementary school ages for that reason, among others. Could one or another of your appliances be on its last legs and thus running inefficiently? Just trying to brainstorm with you. (I imagine this is crazy-making!!)

Thanks. I do 2 loads of laundry per day plus one dishwasher per day. My son has a stomach condition tho and he takes long hot showers (up to hour per day) as it eases the pain (dont want to crab at him for that)

Thanks for your answers.

Is your clothes dryer gas or electric? How about the Water Heater? We rented a house with an electric water heater and it cost us about $200 per month extra compared to a house with gas just a few blocks away...

Do you know which rate plan you are on with PG&E? How large is your Solar Array - what direction does it face? Any Shading issues?

A couple more questions :) - what type of inverter is on your solar setup, and do you have any ability to see what your solar production was according to the your solar equipment to compare it to what PG&E has "credited" you with? We have Enphase and can see hourly, daily, weekly, & yearly production amounts anytime we want down to the individual panel level. I know some other brands offer versions of this as well...

wow, that's a lot of everything! that could well be it (you're at 2-3x my usage of all appliances for our family of 3), especially if your water heater is electric! long showers mean heating a LOT of water. depends on whether any of that is new in 2017.

Our hot water is gas and our dryer is electrical.

Perhaps it is your solar panels. With some installations, the system is only as productive as the weakest panel.

Do you have old invoices, can you compare solar production over time?

How do you check for this? Invoices ... referring to our electrical company?

Invoices, yes the monthly statements from your utility provider. Those statements will show monthly production/credits and usage/consumption.

How many panels, how many kWh generated, and location.

FWIW, I reviewed a statement: 40 panels, generated ~270 kWh in a month, low to me, but there is literature documentating 20-40% “loss”

You could have a bad/weak panel. In the previous generation of panels, the system is only as strong as the weakest panel.

I am trying to verify if you are generating less, vs consuming more.

Do you have an independent electrician that someone recommends to you? Put aside $200 and get your solar system checked over. There are any number of reasons why your solar panels might not be working as intended: in our area, solar panels have been installed on north facing roofs and under the shade of trees and rats and squirrels have been known to gnaw at the cables. I'll try and be diplomatic now and conclude the post.

Apologize for my ignorance, but what type of electrician should we hire? Most willing to do this.

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

I just had a plumber install a heat pump water heater. My electric bills went from 155.00 a month to $56.00 a month. I can NOT believe the savings; I'm stunned.

In addition to what else has been recommended, I'd look at the electric dryer to see if the exhaust vent is clear and clean as a whistle. If it is jammed up with lint, the electric dryer will run longer and cost more. The pros who clean out dryer vents have equipment that gets out incredible amounts of lint. It flies out in chunks the size of dinner plates.

Our heater is gas as is our water heater.

I know very little about solar but do you regularly check your inverter? One of our neighbors has solar panels and their inverter turns it self off for whatever reason. After having their system checked they were told 'it's one of those things that can happen'. They only realized there was a problem when they received a higher than expected power bill and now check their inverter daily.

Most electricians in CA should be familiar with solar systems and inverters. Call a few and ask a few questions about their qualifications, experience with solar systems and try and evaluate whether they will provide an evaluation rather than try to sell you a new system. Ask around your neighborhood, work colleagues and/or talk with other parents of friends of our children and see what other people are paying.

Not equipment. You. You just waste a lot of energy and the price has gone up. Lots of wasteful behavior needs to be modified. Hvac, lighting, water heating, are the Big 3, and you have a pool. You gotta pay the costs to be the boss.

Reduce your consumption and the bill will follow.