Thread: How much electricity costs?

Originally Posted by OldGrain

Just wondering how much or approx fellow woodworkers pay. There`s only me & a dog & with the machinery most here have probably seen from my posts which doesn`t get used that much my current bill is $700. My last was just over a grand. Had the meter checked & was said to be working fine.Had my bills read for discrepancies but none found. So it comes down to the bill corresponds to the amount used or what else? Wonder Dog mucking about with machinery/power? Got me beat.Any thoughts/ideas? Thanks gordo.

Are those costs per month, quarter ????

Do you leave machines on?

Some people just throw their mains switch at their shed breaker box when they leave but I often have something running like batteries charging or electrolysis etc so I have a current monitor on my shed breaker box and this tells me if I have left something I've left something on. Sometimes its a soldering iron or welder which are silent so I can't tell by ear if they are running or not.

Hi BobL. Thanks. Billing is per quarter. All machinery is unplugged. Only thing that runs during day is Off peak water heater/fridge. Radio for the pooch! Anything else is always unplugged like microwave/washing machine.I`m thinking the house being 60 y o the wiring needs replacing or there`s some other type of leakage. Four person house one side has pool pump going 24/7. Bill - just under 400. Other side,4 adults using $350 worth.Annoying & a mystery.

I live by myself and the only pets I have are the ones which escaped the traps and fly spray. My electricity bill from 22nd April -> 21st July (91 days) was about 300bux. It worked out to be 8.31kwh/day. To be honest though, i have been incredibly lazy of late and the machines barely run for 30hrs/week, and mostly just the 3hp dusty.

In the evening when it is dark, i only turn the lights on when eating dinner so i can make sure there isnt any bugs in my food. other than that it is dark in the house with just the computer and TV running. And I cook dinner using the oven maybe 40 times/year...usually get maccas or kenchucky.

Switch off / disconnect everything. See if the meter is still turning.
Something may be using power without your knowledge.
Underground cable leakage, next doors pool, etc
Try putting one one thing at a time back and see what power each draws.

Hi Mate,

It's unlikely that you have 'leakage'. Just have a look at your meter when everything is off, if it's still clocking up the kilowatts then something is wrong.

But I'm guessing that you use halogen lights in your workshop?

I have LEDs throughout and my bill is only 100-150 a quarter. Each is 15 watts, bright as a flouro. But I have one Halogen lamp in the shed, it burns the same amount as all the lights in my house at once.

Turn everything off, everything, and check the meter .. it shouldn't be moving at all. Get rid of any halogen lights. Replace any old style lighting with modern efficient and I am sure you will see a remarkable difference. (I'm a sparky)

Greg

Originally Posted by OldGrain

Just wondering how much or approx fellow woodworkers pay. There`s only me & a dog & with the machinery most here have probably seen from my posts which doesn`t get used that much my current bill is $700. My last was just over a grand. Had the meter checked & was said to be working fine.Had my bills read for discrepancies but none found. So it comes down to the bill corresponds to the amount used or what else? Wonder Dog mucking about with machinery/power? Got me beat.Any thoughts/ideas? Thanks gordo.

I installed an electricity monitor, it sits in the family room and displays the usage at that time, refreshes every 30 seconds or so. With one of these you can see your background usage (tv on standby, pcs, modems etc) and then as an appliance starts you can see what it costs. Can be set to show cost, kWh, and other things, cost is the most relevant.
You should also look at what your supplier is charging you, there are lots of discounts around. Look at click energy.

My usual 90ish day bill is a little over $200, but I work offsite most of the time. (2 people, no dogs). (But we make a point of not wasting energy.)
TM

Thanks folks. Apparently i`m using 29.79kWh per day! Fluros & incandesants throughout the house. Shed is only fluros. No 3 phase at all. And the cutesy pics the elec co put on the bill indicates i use that of a 4 - 5 person household - 2.532kWh. The radio mostly on during the day uses 300W as per mnfg specs. No TV as anything i want to see i find on the computer. I`ll get a mate over to help check what power is being consumed at any given time an appliance/switch is on. Little wonder my planned move to other regions is forthcoming.

Check your off peak usage. Is your hot water running all night?

Originally Posted by OldGrain

Hi BobL. Thanks. Billing is per quarter. All machinery is unplugged. Only thing that runs during day is Off peak water heater/fridge.

Off peak water heater shouldn't be running during the day -- it should only run late at night

how old is the fridge?
is the compressor running 24/7
do you have a "smart" power meter? One that stings you big time if the lights are on between 4 and 8 PM?

Knowing that you average over 29kw/h per day is excellent info to help find the problem. And that's a god awful amount of electricity. Your hot water may be a big chunk of that, and should be charged at an off peak cheap rate .. so I think it would pay to check that out.

Once you have cracked that nut, I would also look at your rate / rates.

Not sure about NSW, but down here, it pays to shop around, and its reasonably painless, because its only the name on the bill. Poles and wires remain the same.

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So heres pics of meters taken yesterday. 2 & 3 were replaced a year or so back & i didn`t know till i went to replace a blown fuse wire one day. I mentioned the off peak water heater before as i felt it must have some constant power going to it to at least keep water warm before kicking in & heating the water? Its hmm,five years old.Fridge? Big 6`tall Whirlpool Multiflow f/freezer. Probably 15 years old. Looks modern & works better than any other fridge i`ve owned. Helled if i know if the compressor runs 24/7.I do know it switches on/off at various times. Might be time to get the malleys ice box & bunsen burner out of retirement!

off-peak hot water is supposed to heat water overnight when power is cheap and store the hot water for use during the following day. The unit is supposed to turn itself on and off in response to a coded signal sent down the line by your power retailer.
Most storage units have a supplementary heater that cuts in if the store of hot water drops below about 25% of capacity -- if you have a 350 litre system, you would have to use around 270 litres of hot water for your morning shower for the supplementary heater to cut in during the day.

Your electricity usage equates to a 1000W heater running 24/7, plus "normal" household usage.
I'd be looking for a fault with the hot water heater. If it's running 24/7 you should be able to hear the water bubbling around the heating element.

We're a 2 person household and we use ~18 kWhr per day in winter and ~25 kWhr per day in summer
We have gas for hot water and the forge )

Energy usage depends on whether SWMBO is home or off with the horses.
When she is home the telly and air con runs non stop.
In summer I also have a air con going in the shed but I converted to LEDs