POLL...Do You read your meter each month and HOW much power do you consume ?
 

..............I'm curious as to how many members actually read their meter each month . Some folks simply don't KNOW how to read a meter which I'll explain alittle later . And , IF you can read the meter then you'll beable to track your power consumption during the month . fordy... :hobbyhors :shrug:

Yes, I read it every month (and sometimes in between). We are an all electric home which includes everything but water to the house.

You post yours and I'll post mine! :)

...............Ok, I used 186 kw's last month but , I'm already Up too 302 this month due to the excessive heat.......fordy... :shrug:

i don't read my meter, but just trust that the bill is correct. i typically use 100 or so kwh/mo. That's for the standard water pump, regular refrigerator, compact flourescent lights and the regualr tv/vcr (rarely used) and radio and the ARC welder.

Fair enough Fordy. I had a little trouble with the poll - as in up to 1600 I'm rich. Far far from it. So anyway here it goes. Last month was 2410. Have you fallen over on your face yet? No? If not let me tell you it includes electric water heater, freezers, electric stove (my biggest user as I am a scratch cook), micro , computer, power to outbuildings and shop with power tools, all lights, TV (on usually 1/2-1 hr to watch videos -no other hook up) and heat pump. The bill was $132.27 which includes taxes and a $10 service charge. In summer we run $40 to $60 a month.

Personally I consider that real good as I live in the Dakotas. In fact right now we are under a winter storm warning for up to 60mph winds and 3-6 inches of snow so the heat will be on again. I'm not as tough as I was when I was young. :shrug: Oh, and unless you live in or near the Black Hills forget burning with wood - this is the Great Plains - as in no trees.

Although I'm not in your lowest category, I used 432 kwh last month which came to $43.89. I think that dollar amount is reasonable. I'm not sure that even using a lot less kwh if the bill would be proportionately smaller as there is a regular customer charge of $9.84. I have day/nite different fees and used 38.2 percent onpeak which is probably something I could reduce. I have no a.c., electric heat, dishwasher, washer/dryer, etc. and use florescent lights. I have 4 small freezers, a refrig, micro and a fan for the greenhouse which runs 24/7. Usually either the computer or the tv is on most of the time (tv keeps the dogs from freaking out during storms or when I am away.
Ann

We are around 650kwh for a bill around$75 in ME

2adults 3 kids (homeschooling)
3freezers, 1fridge, dishwasher, washer, pc and we line dry all clothing
fan pushes woodstove heat
HWBB just for hot water (boilermate)

We dont have AC in the summer just fans....

..........Barb , your electric provider must be subsidized in some context . That is only 5.5 cents per kw if my division is correct . As a contrast , my latest bill is for 183 kw and the charge is 33.12 . So 33.12\183 = 18 cents per Kwh . 2410 down here would run.....2410 x .18 = 433.80 . You'd get rid of that ALL electric Muy pronto I'll just bet. :happy: . fordy... :)

We average about 600-700 kwh per month here. March's bill was 613 kwh for $68.06.

That's in Michigan, 2 adults and 4 kids (lots of laundry, high efficiency washing machine :nerd: ), two fridges, a big chest freezer, occassionally an upright freezer (couple months after fall hog butcher and deer hunting season until it all fits in the chest freezer again), microwave, computer, double ovens, well pump. We water 2 dogs, about 2 dozen chickens and 12 rabbits, plus our own drinking and bathing water. Dryer, boiler/water heater, and stove are all gas.

Our electric company is a COOP and has apparently made some wise investments but they have announced we will go up this summer. How much we don't know.

Get rid of what Fordy? I'm willing to listen. We don't run the TV only for the short time I mentioned. Nothing else is run all day like a radio ( usually just short time in the morning for local news) or stereo. We're in bed about (9pm and the heat is shut down well before that. I cannot burn wood plus gas, oil and coal are even more expensive. Solar is a possibility but way beyond the budget right now. Never more that one light is on at night unless it is absolutely necessary. I try to do baking all at once while the oven is already warm but canning consumes a lot of wattage. AC is never on unless we are going to be in the high 90's or 100's.

A new heat pump is going in his spring (Insurance is paying for most of it as we had terrible hail damage last summer) and we put more insulation in this fall. We have caulked or foamed every crack and are in the process of replacing all the windows (plastic in on those we haven't gotten to). We put storms on the basement window and draft dodgers at the doors. People think we are never home because when the TV is on there are no light burning and we look very dark. We bought a more efficient water heater last fall and just picked up a more efficient freezer yesterday for the 1/2 buffalo that we bartered for and will use our old one only for backup (even though it is pretty efficient already).

As far as the cost per kilowatt goes we pay less for heat than regular use. We have a heat meter to the heat pump to keep track and we read both meters every month. No discount for AC though heat discount only applies in the winter months. We also have two other meters to wells that are seasonally read. These supply water to the cattle. As of last fall the house is on Rural Water.

Time to turn off the computer and save some money- back later

1614 KW here for total electric including shop, only other utility is phone. Bill was $109 and change for power.

Last month we used 1527kwh. At .1389 per kwh, our bill was 212.25. That was a light usage month. Only had to run the heater a few days.
The month before was cold. We used 2479 kwh, for a bill of about $335!!
Rich? No, we're on our way to the poor house. The air conditioner ran today and yesterday. It shouldn't be on for at least another month, but here we are in the nineties in April.
We are all electric, in an old home obviously in need of new windows and insulation.
mary

............Mary , I didn't mean it literally , rarther , I suppose the meaning was that , that anyone who consumed that many KWh's would have the moola to pay a large electric bill . But , some folks are still paying a very low electric rate per Kwh it seems and so the rates vary all over the landscape depending upon where a person lives . fordy... :)

Well, now I'm feeling bad. 768 here last month, bill $81, and we're on gas heat and gas stove. And our average is 896 (which includes running the A/C in the summer). I do have a tendency to leave lights on around the house while I'm home, but I've been trying to be better! And we've already replaced most of our bulbs with the high efficiency ones. There are just two of us here, and we have a big fridge/freezer, another freezer, a 55gal fish tank, a couple tvs and computers, microwave, various kitchen appliances, use washer/dryer for about 10 loads/month, run dishwasher about 4 times/month, and.... That's all I can think of that would run electric. I do leave a radio on all day for the dogs to keep them company, and I'm running a few extra fluorescent bulbs now for my seedlings.

How can I find out if my hot water is run off gas or electric? I do take kinda long showers--like 10 minutes. My fiance grew up in a house where you turned the shower on to get wet, then turned it off to lather up, then turned it back on to rinse. That's too severe for me! A steaming hot shower is a simple pleasure I allow myself, and besides, if I turn the water off, I get cold!

Just go out and look at your water heater. :) I also enjoy a hot shower, and a few months ago I turned the water heater down so that I can run it straight hot. lol Figured we don't need it to be heating water hotter than that. (No one in the family likes it as hot as I do. Everyone else still turns on some cold.)

We have four kids at home, three of them teenagers, so we use a lot of hot water, including doing a lot of laundry. I try to hang out clothes as much as I can, except for one or two loads of dress clothes a week. (Otherwise, I'd have to iron, and that'd use electricity, too.)

Fordy, I was not offended that you thought that kind of use would indicate wealth lol, just saying.

mary

We have wind electric plus PVs and buy between zero and 120 kw-hrs a month. We use about 300 a month, including what we generate. Heat with passive solar and wood, gas cooking plus wood, gas hot water. Two freezers and two refrigerators, full shop with table, radial arm and chop saws, drill presses, planer, jointer, wood and metal lathes, welder, etc., etc. Five adults, sometimes more, usually at home. No air conditioning and no need for it 350+ days of the year, have lots of shade, insulation, and good ventilation.

From experience, I know that anyone can cut their power usage IF THEY WANT TO!!

No I don't care. I know I use plenty in the winter right around 1200 kWh. But that is because i have animals and use those tank water heaters in that are 1500 watts each in usage. and sometimes I have 3 of them going along with my car being plugged in on those cold nights which also is a 1500 watt tank heater. In the summer time I may drop down to 700 per month depending on how hot it is and how much I run the AC :)
So don't care if I read the meter or not. In a few months we are going to a New type of electric meter anyways. Where they read it electronically from the head office. Cool~!

Solar for me and not that much of it with 365 watts in panels. My biggest power user is the laptop cause I have it running a lot. We have no fridge, freezer, fans, t.v., electric lights, or most of the conveniences mentioned :) During the winter we heated with propane and I am doing my best to eliminate that need this year by finishing the wood fireplace.

Last bill was 899 kwh for 98.95
Feb 1533 kwh for 160.87
I have been trying since last month to lower our electric. We have propane heat (no choice). I shut off the tank heaters as soon as it is above freezing during the day. And am drying on a line. Trying to do as much as I can. I hate paying things like the electric bill and phone company that increase all the time and give us little to no choice other than going without it. I know there are alternative energy plans out there but at this time there are none that we can do. I would love a wood stove, but my hubby is a fire inspector and won't have it.

We read ours each month & submit our readings to the hydro company online. Our usage last month was 1200kw, costing us $143. Our home is very well insulated. We heat with wood. We try to keep our usage down as much as possible. AND to top everything off we have been notified that our hydro costs will go up 6% next month. (some places it will be going up 15%).
How do the poor ever manage?

Ours used to be low, but it has doubled since my ma moved in. How can one person, registered in the green party, supposed to care about the environment use as much power as a family of 5? :soap:
There is a big difference between doing and talking....

This is an very interesting thread...

For March we used 917 main and 1451 OP1.
Total kwh hours 2368 and $144.60.

This includes our heat, appliances, lights etc. Feb was cold here with many nights dropping below 0 with one night of -22! We use propane as a backup heat but it is too expensive to use as a primary heat- I know lots of people who heat with fuel oil, natural gas or propane and they had skyrocketing heating bills this past winter.

I am wondering (just asking) about those of you who have low kwh usage and have other heating types why you go with gas appliances? Isn't electric easier to convert than gas?

I dont read my electric,I trust them not to surprise me.

But the gas I watch like a hawk.
They didnt read for months last winter and way underestimated,then hit me with a 1200 bill.

Had I had a clue,that usage would have been cut way back.

This winter my highest monthly was 150,and with higher cost to boot.

Pays to know what you are using,good thread Fordy.

BooBoo

My light bill for the 179 kwh at the house totaled $18.82
Now the dairy barn used 1163 kwh for a total cost of $99.29
I do my best to conserve!
Highland

Ooops! yes I have to read the meter once a month. Farmers RECC checks the reading once a year I belive.
Highland

................I have a 500 gallon propane tank that I only fill UP once a year ,......BUT our winters down here in texas are relatively mild compared to say Iowa or Minnesota . I use propane for a 40 gallon water heater and for heat during the winter . At night I turn the propane stove OFF completely , then I will employ an electric blanket if I need additional heat . My living quarters is very insulated and normally it won't drop below 56f or so even if the outside temps drop to the mid 20's . I don't use a large propane stove to cook with as it is just me , myself and I so we use a Toaster oven and a 2 burner electric hot plate I bought at WMt. for 21.95 . I don't leave ANYthing plugged IN except the computer and frig. During the summer I use 2 window units of 6k and 8k Btu for Air . As the temps go UP I'll probably try and cut my window units usage to a minimum .
...............Why gas for cooking(relative to others) , because heat is instantaneous whereas electric is slow to heat . If I had a wife\kids it would be a different story I'm sure but each family has their own personal preferences . fordy... :)

Me, no meter to look at....been living without it for 11 years now...sometimes I miss it...a little.........but don't miss the bills.....now that I have the place paid off, I'm gonna look into some alternative power sources. Am leaning toward wind, as I'm on top of a hill....but am not locked into that just yet....I heat with wood in the winter, and take my showers at work. In the summer, I use a small battery powered fan, and if I cook[which I don't much, am a huge bachelorette for now!], I have a propane coleman that I do that on, and heat up my water, to take my showers with, which I do outside, weather permitting................

I can't vote, because the only alternative energy you have up there is solar. :shrug:
Anyway, the answer to the 2 questions is no and not much :) . Less than a killowat.

I am using now about 30 kwh a day. i could use less if I tried.

yeah, I read the meter all the time and chart it in a calender to keep taqbs on the power comapny.

Wow, I'm kinda bummed - I thought I was doing okay until I looked at everyone else's.

I used 701 kwh last month at a cost of $.03873/kwh so about $27 in electric plus distribution, sales and taxes and my bill comes out to $57/month.

I do have electric heat, though. But I don't go around leaving lights on or anything. What's using all my electricity?? The computer?

Lower bills
 

I was really surprised when my electric bill arrived yesterday and it had dropped considerably. I normally use about 300 KWH per month.

I recently went to full time employment instead of part time and my electricity usage dropped to 188 KWH for a month. I also get furnished and laundered uniforms so that may have dropped my bill in addition to my not having the computer and television on so much.

With all of the add on fees, etc. my bill was $21.94, which pleased me.