Electric Bill kWh usage is double what I usually use in new apt

I moved in mid April to a new apartment. All of my personal appliances are the exact same. Square footage in apt is almost identical. We have not installed our AC units yet– However our kWh is saying we use over 300-400 kWh per month! Over the past 2 years we’ve used on average 175 kWh during this time of year. We are out at work almost all day 5 days a week. We pay for our hot water- but those charges are with National Grid. Is my fridge/dishwasher in this apt sucking excess electricity? Why is it so high? I’ve never paid over $100 during this time a year without running an AC.

Should I hire an electrician to come and measure all my usage to see where the spike is coming from? Anyone have any ideas what it could be?

Thanks in advance!

shribanke

in General Discussion 5 years and 11 months ago

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shribanke

in General Discussion 5 years and 11 months ago

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Roger on unplugging. Will do.
Haven’t checked the bulbs- not to sound all crunchy but we have amazing light and we only turn on lights at like 8pm. Regardless will check.

I know about the rate. But the kWH usage is double- so something is sucking up electric

GreenThinker | 5 years and 11 months ago

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It’s better to unplug everything manually in the apartment, since if anything is hooked up outside the apartment you’ll be shutting it off with the breaker. If you still see the meter spinning, then you can start flipping breakers to see what shuts it off.

Gas water heaters don’t use electricity, verizon fios equipment probably amount to a max of dollar a month. Did you check your light bulbs? Your landlord might have installed 100 watt incandescent/halogen bulbs.

I also heard Coned is or wants to increase rates, so that could also be a factor.

shribanke

in General Discussion 5 years and 11 months ago

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Actually… I also have Verizon fios now as well. Not sure if their equipment sucks more electric?

shribanke

in General Discussion 5 years and 11 months ago

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Actually… I also have Verizon fios now as well. Not sure if their equipment sucks more electric?

shribanke

in General Discussion 5 years and 11 months ago

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Thanks for your responses! The first reading for mid April- May was $100 (estimated reading) I called them twice and they lowered it to $64. Less than 20 days of usage ( we use average $54-$65 in 30 days in non ac weather, so in my opinion $64 for 20 days is significantly high still.

Our meter was read June 12 and we got our bill today for $110.28 for 396 kWh (in the past, non AC weather we used 175 kWH on average) This is insanely high! No AC and no PC server. All that is different here is a Frigidaire Gallery fridge, dishwasher and microwave. We run the dishwasher 1nce a day Max. The building is a small 3 floor building with one apt per floor, in Park Slope.

Our meter is outside, not a smart meter yet… ConEd said they are working on installing this in Brooklyn soon. I even did the estimate your appliance usage on Con Ed’s website and it estimated around $55-60 a month (not counting AC usage) which sounds right to me.

I will try cutting off all breakers this weekend and check the meter. Does that make sense? Or is it better to just unplug everything?

I’m se riously considering paying an electrician to do a usage reading. Something is fishy. Is it possible the fridge/dishwasher to be doing such usage? Or the water heater pilot?

Thanks again!!

shribanke

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I will try cutting off all breakers this weekend and check the meter. Does that make sense? Or is it better to just unplug everything?

I’m se riously considering paying an electrician to do a usage reading. Something is fishy. Is it possible the fridge/dishwasher to be doing such usage? Or the water heater pilot?

Thanks again!!

GreenThinker | 5 years and 11 months ago

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First check if these are Estimated Bills or Exact. If this is a new apartment, contractors could have been running tools for the past few months or even the previous tenants could have been using more and if coned hasn’t gotten access to the meters, they’ll estimate use from previous months. If these are exact bills, it’s highly likely your meter is hooked up to more than just your unit, you can check this by unplugging everything in your apartment and checking if the meter is still running.

namahs | 5 years and 11 months ago

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Do you know what the ConEd reading was when you moved in? Is smart meter installed for your unit? If you log in your ConEd account, the real time usage will be displayed if you do have smart meter. It would make it easier to spot with usage spikes with smart meters.

That does sound like a higher than normal bill if you don’t have any high appliance (AC, pc server) running. This is a multiple unit building? Try management company? or ping ConEd directly.

Electric Bill kWh usage is double what I usually use in new apt

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Electric Bill kWh usage is double what I usually use in new apt

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