Before you start buying equipment to try to figure out individual circuit electrical usage, let's start with the basics. What was your electric bill electric usage (kWh) and cost for the same billing period a year ago and what is it now? Colder weather, differences in billing period lengths, time-of-day rates, and rate increases are causing a lot of people to also be concerned about increases in the size of their bills.

I recall that in November you ran electrical to heat your new greenhouse -- don't you think that has anything to do with it? :)

I wouldnt buy any of the equipment. Just give it another month or two. With all the record breaking cold everywhere, bills are higher, and everyone I talk to is complaining. Those bills from December usage are coming in now, and a lot of people are in shock from the huge utility bills.

Usually, bills will separate useage from price. An increase in price combined with an increase in usage can result in a big increase in the bill. I'd do some analysis of your bills before buying a gizmo.

Assuming you have LED bulbs throughout, the likely issues are the high amperage uses - long use of heat strips on a heat pump, electric water heater, or pool/fountain pumps, lots of Tesla charging, etc. A client just discovered that their 2 kids' daily use of the steam shower (large 50amp draw) increased the bill a bunch.

This time of year, it's almost certainly heating. Heat pumps are very expensive to operate when temps drop below 20F.

What was your electric bill electric usage (kWh) and cost for the same billing period a year ago and what is it now?

Dec 14 - Jan 13, 2022: 2520 kWh

Dec 13 - Jan 12, 2023: 5220 kWh

Here's the chart for the last year:

There are three likely variables.

First variable, last year the lowest temperature was 18F while this last billing cycle the lowest temperature was 3F.

Second variable, I had a guy drop a tree on my house on Sept 29, and I still have a hole in the roof :-O It's covered with insulation board and tarp, but I'm still probably losing a ton of heat through it.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the chart, but November was up 16% from last November, even though the Average Temp was warmer this year and the Low Temp was the same. That was before the heater to the greenhouse was installed, so the only change here would have been the hole in the roof.

Third variable, I installed a 240V heater with a max 30A for my greenhouse at around November 22. I know that this is a big user, which is why I was thinking about an independent meter to be sure. I was expecting an increase, but not a 100% increase!! Surely this heater doesn't use as much electricity as my entire house?? Confirming exactly how much electricity this uses would guide me on how to improve it.

How many watts is your heater? I have a 240V, 5000 watt heater on a 30A breaker in my shop. When it is on full blast it costs about $0.60/hour to operate. If I ran it 24/7 full on it would use about 3600 kWh and cost me about $430/month to operate. In a cold climate, your heater for an uninsulated greenhouse could be running a good part of the time and easily result in that large increase in your usage and bill. I doubt you need to do any more sleuthing...

It's listed at 7500W, but I keep it on Low which is supposed to be 6250W and 26.1A :

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-Tough-Black-7500w-240V-Hard-Wired-Digital-Ceiling-Mount-Electric-Garage-Heater-with-Remote/291402131

It has a built-in thermostat, which I have set to 74 degrees because I have some plants in there that shouldn't be too far below 70. I rarely hear it on during the day; so I THINK that it mostly just comes on at night.

You all have definitely helped me clear this up in my head! I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that the hole in the roof is responsible for about 15-20% of the increase, and the greenhouse heater is the rest. So next up is trying to find ways to make the greenhouse more efficient :-/

@User, thanks for the tip! I'd been researching using compost, but this is something I could do immediately...

I would think the hole in the roof would be main priority.

Haha, you would think!! LOL I had a contractor out the next day, but it took them until about 3 weeks ago to get a quote to me for the tree guy's insurance company.

I just now got the money, but they took so long to get the quote that I've lost faith in them so I'm having other (read: more reliable) contractors give me quotes.

Maybe some neighbors Tapped into your power and steeling it? Your first suspect would be the guy who drives a Tesla.

Pretty clear its the 240v green house heater - that's installed in an R-none insulated enclosure.

240v draws are your largest users in residential, due to large amperage pulls over extended time.

AC units, all ele heaters, ele ovens, old large pool pumps, steam units, ele car chargers

You're lucky its not more. Our utility uses progressive rates, so at a low expected usage, the rate is cheapest per KW, high users pay more per KW, even more during peak hours. Watch for rate changes due to soaring natural gas costs used to generate electricity.

I'm in NC, and our rates are regulated by the state. Duke Energy just went to the state and asked for an 18.7% increase!

It's obviously BS, but state Congress all own stock in Duke Energy so they'll get that increase.

I'm seriously thinking about installing solar panels. $20k now would finance to $300 /month for 6 years, which would be about the same as my "normal" bill but no rate increases. And in 6 years it would be over, instead of paying for the rest of my life.

Incredible. lol

I’m jealous of your electric rate. My bill is just shy of $400 for 800 kWh.

Ouch!! But to be fair about it, average income in my area is $24,764 /year

If you're thinking about panels, think a battery bank also. DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse - YouTube

kevin9408 Maybe some neighbors Tapped into your power and steeling it? Your first suspect would be the guy who drives a Tesla.

ROFLAO . Not laughing at you Kevin,with you because i actually had something like that to happen. While looking after a couple's home in Dallas Tx as they spent Summer in Colorada escaping Texas heat,they got a water bill larger than my family home. I went over expecting a leak but didn't find any sign and meter check confirmed it. I call water co and gave them address and reading. They said there was no doubt over 4k gallons of water went through meter but for this long time customer they would switch meter out. I didn't give more thought until I dropped by to leave supplies the owner had shipped to me for securty reasons. Sprinklers were running in a 1/2 acre garden two doors down with garden hose in alley leading to my friend's outdoor hydrant. When I started rolling the hose up the thief came in the alley saying he called cops to report his hose being stolen. I thanked him and said if they get here before I'm finished they can help me roll it up. I remember it every time I use one of the expensive hoses.

Going down that same road, about 25 years ago I had my first business in a commercial storefront. All of my displays were 12V and ran on deep cycle batteries, so the only electricity used was heat, air, a 12V battery charger, and a mini fridge. And I rarely turned on the heat or air.

But the electric was rarely under $700 /month.

Then one December we had a major snowstorm and ice, so I was closed for the entire month. I had everything turned off, even unplugged the mini fridge. Boy, wasn't I surprised when I got a $950 electric bill!!

I was friends with a restaurant owner (think grill and deep fryer running all day), her electric was never over $400!

I could never prove it, but I am 100% convinced that the landlord (who had a store next to mine) was using my electricity. Shoot, I was probably paying for 3 or 4 business's electric!

Get a meter like the one below that does 110-240V and see your usage. Cheap. You might need a small extension cord for the 220V

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Wattmeter-Consumption-Frequency-Electricity/dp/B0828QWQZP/ref=sr_1_2

Update to the thread that I thought you all might find interesting.

My thermostat emails a monthly report, comparing heating and cooling usage for the month to the previous year.

It looks like I spent 117 hours more on heating this year than last year! 133 hours last year, 250 hours this year.. That would just be the heat pump, not the greenhouse.

So I think that the hole in the roof may have had more of an impact than I thought.

Either way, the contractors are working on the roof today, so I guess I'll find out on the next bill :-O

"I could never prove it, but I am 100% convinced that the landlord (who had a store next to mine) was using my electricity. Shoot, I was probably paying for 3 or 4 business's electric! "

Whether intentional or by mistake it isn't uncommon due to wires sharing trays,conduit and raceways on exterior walls in strip centers. It isn't a simple diy unless one has a considerable amount of electrical experience but an electrician can figure out whether neighbors are tapped into their meter IF WIRES INCOMING to meter are exposed (not in conduit). Turn all lights out,hvac and other equipment off then look at spinner on meter. More precise is to clamp an amp meter onto meter feed. Electronics on some of your equipment might pull 1 or 2 amps combined for clocks and timers while in off mode but if feed shows more than 5amps make another sweep to make sure everything is off. If wires from utility to meter and/or wires from meter to your breaker panel are in raceway or conduit,locating source of high amprage draw requires opening them which might require permit. If both feeds are exposed,it's much simpler and no permit is required to trace from inside panel. Once you are sure all equipment is off and high draw persists, move clamp to each breaker and flip those off with draw. If all your equipment still works,leave breakers off and seal or lock the panel. Fire code in some jursidictions forbid panel being locked but I don't expect a week will land anyone in prison. If some of your equipment doesn't work,look for double lugging on breakers that were turned off. If it isn't critical having electric power when not in building AND wires are expose as in last scenario ,skip the above and simply tripping the main in panel when you leave will flush scofflaws out if there are any..

Good info, where were you 25 years ago? LOL

At one point we did unplug everything, and still saw the meter spinning like a top. I don't think that I flipped the breakers off, though; at that age, I probably didn't know that was an option.

I called out Duke Power and they said that they didn't see anything weird, but I was too broke and naïve to call out an electrician for a closer look.

I wouldn't fall for that nonsense today! Live and learn, I guess.

I had a similar situation when my mother's (small) condo was vacant while she was in a nursing home. Her electric bill was suddenly higher than for my home - even though the heat was set at 50, all appliances and lights were unplugged etc . After 2 months of this I called the condo's manager to ask how this could be happening? The bill dropped immediately. The next time I was able to check in (it was about 150 miles away) I noticed that there were crumbs on the counter.

I later learned that he had been allowing some of his employees into "vacant" units.

Jason- Maintaining an uninsulated and probably drafty greenhouse at a temperature of 74F in your climate is also roughly equivalent to having a hole in your roof!

Right you are kudz and asking houzzers to analyze how much they contribute to power consumption only results in ball humping.