Did a bit of research last night on electricity production.  I was trying to find out where things stand as far as electricity loss in transportation of electricity.  I found out its around 7.5% loss.  I thought it may be much higher approaching 20%.  I then looked at the DOE's report about electricity production from 1949-2006.  Its pretty surprising to me that coal fired production has absolutely skyrocketed every year pretty much.  What puzzled me looking at the charts is why has production increased 35% from 1988 to 2006? People are buying more and more efficient appliances and lighting.  Yet statistics still say the avg households kw/hr is anywhere from 700-950/month in a 4 person household.

 

Given the fact that whatever your spending in electricity a month directly correlates to production of coal powered electric plants, how are you controlling your electrical usage to decrease your bills and clean your air?

 

My avg kwh/month is 145 according to my latest First Energy bill.  I do have the latest in energystar appliances but obviously use them infrequently.  Shockingly I only have 3 lights out of a total of 45+ bulbs in my house are fluorescent.  I guess I realize enough to use those sparingly..

That's incredibly low, audidave.  I'm at 545/month.  But I have electric heat, and from looking at my monthly billing, it's obvious that heating makes up most of my energy use, with a smaller AC bump in summer.  In fact, in Jan/Feb, I topped 700kwh's.  My apartment isn't that big, though it does have high ceilings, and I don't keep the heat up very high.  My appliances probably aren't energy star certified.  As a renter I don't have alot of choice on that.  I'm switching out bulbs to flourescent as they burn out, but most of my bulbs are odd size/type bulbs and I don't know if they make flourescents that match.

400 kW*hour/month for two of us.  I expect it will go up because I started using a space heater in the bathroom.  It makes more sense than keeping the whole house heated. 

 

One thing that vexes me is that we have a microwave, coffee maker and three portable phone chargers, each of which consume electricity around the clock.  Products like that usually have inefficient stand by power supplies.  I have taken care of a lot of those loads by putting them on a "power strip".  Our entertainment systems are on a power strip that I can turn off when I don't need them.  I have a few battery chargers on a power strip, like for the electric drills.  I once calculated that those products could waste a month or more worth of electricity per year.

 

10 devices * 10 watts * 168 hours/week -> 16.8 kW*hour/week

16.8 kW*hour/week * 52 weeks ~= 800 kW*hour/year

 

Most Ohio homes use about that per month.  In the south, it's higher.

 

By the way, if you buy an Energy Star rated TV, it only consumes about .5 watts in standby mode instead of the 5 or 10 watts that an old, wasteful product consumes.

I think it helps that I don't have satellite, cable tv or a wii game system to have something always turned on.  I do keep my mini mac on plus my plasma is always running a low charge.  I'm thinking about getting an old style phone so I can use that if the power goes off.

  Yea I have gas stove, furnace, and dryer.  I take more of a hit in the winter on gas so I'm also thinking about getting a small electric heater to heat my upstairs bedroom.  I'd also attribute my low electric bill to not being in the house a lot.  This past month I had 200kwh besting my previous February of 217.

 

Thats a great suggestion Boreal about the drill chargers.  I had one small one on in my garage probably for a good 2 months now and just turned it off per your suggestion.

 

Also thought I'd make a suggestion on a solar radio/flashlight with a dynamo.  I listen to this radio in the summer.  Its on sale from the manufacturer for $20. Plus it can recharge certain brands of cell phones.

http://www.solarstyle.com/

I hope nobody minds me hopping on here and venting, but Energy Audit is exactly what I need for my house.

 

I have been rehabbing a house and have not lived in it since Novemeber.  The furnace is not hooked up, and I keep 2 lights on.  The hotwater heater is turned almost all the way down.  That is it, I don't even have a clock radio plugged in. 

 

So what is my bill for 1 month?  $680

 

If anyone has any advise on what steps to take with the electric company, please advise away.

I would verify that the electric co. is getting the correct information.  If you go check your electric meter tomorrow and its spinning quickly then you should realize you've got more on than 2 lights.  In the summer time my meter barely moves. 

  Short of hiring someone or getting too technical of gadgets, you could start by working the fusebox/circuit breaker and shutting things down and seeing what rooms in your house are making your meter spin.  My guess would be its an old refrigerator or 2 you have.

I have been rehabbing a house and have not lived in it since November.  ... So what is my bill for 1 month?  $680

..., please advise away.

The electricity company may be doing estimated reads and billing you based on last year's occupant.  When we replaced our poor gas furnace with a 92% efficient furnce, Dominion Gas skipped a read in mid winter.  We ended up carrying a $100 balance into summer.  Their normal interval was bimonthly, and they skipped one, so it was four months between reads.

My meter does not seem to be moving, or at least very very slowly.  But there is an update since the last post, now I just received a $384 water bill.  My water is shut off, I verified that.  The meter is not moving.  I have another neighbor that just received an $800 water bill.  I am getting a bit fed up with the utilities here and they do not seem eager to fix the problem and simply say the water must have gone somewhere.  My house would be flooded if that was the case.

 

 

I hope nobody minds me hopping on here and venting, but Energy Audit is exactly what I need for my house.

 

I have been rehabbing a house and have not lived in it since Novemeber.  The furnace is not hooked up, and I keep 2 lights on.  The hotwater heater is turned almost all the way down.  That is it, I don't even have a clock radio plugged in. 

 

So what is my bill for 1 month?  $680

 

If anyone has any advise on what steps to take with the electric company, please advise away.

 

Which electric company do you go through?

... now I just received a $384 water bill.  My water is shut off, I verified that.  The meter is not moving.  I have another neighbor that just received an $800 water bill. 

Contact the office of the Ohio Consumer's Counsel

http://www.pickocc.org/

Does anyone know if there are CFL bulbs that DON'T give off that ghastly white "hydroponic growing lamp" light? I bought one that said "warm daylight" - my @ss; if their idea of "daylight" is blue-nuclear winter light... :roll: I was half-tempted to spray paint it beige and see if it would work.

Jan 25 to Feb 25 used 1481 KWh at the cost of $112.11

We have an electric furnace and live in a 2BR town home.

^^I had the same problem:

 

The "bright white" "natural" or "daylight" lights give off that bluish looking tint (CCT 3500K, 4100K, 5000K, 6500K). Look for “soft white” or better yet, “warm white” lights (CCT 2700K–3000K). Be careful with the “soft white” as some give off a pinkish tint.

 

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls_color

 

Thanks - considering that fluorescent light is some of the most punishing for human flesh of any race, this is very important. I mean, ever been to a place with fluorescent lights placed directly over the bathroom/restroom sinks?? It brings out more crepe-ing than a street festival in Paris! :-o