Why is my electricity usage up so much?

[smokey 21,911]

You had the meter installed before or after the last reading?

before 

[littlejohn 164]

Well they want us to put in a new smart meter. Could they have toyed with the electric quality trying to force people to buy them?

[Skywalker 19,177]

I'm having difficulty following your comments concerning the quality of the electricity.

 

The kids are all on holiday, in my house this means the televisions are on a lot more.  And just as significantly, the fridge and freezer doors are being opened MUCH more often.

 

A/C is a current user, but so is a fridge, especially if it's not working properly, or the door(s) are being opened constantly, meaning the unit is having to consume a lot more electricity to keep the interior cool.

[littlejohn 164]

Well I'm no expert on the subject but I've been told that if the voltage and amps fluctuate a lot it can cause higher readings. Perhaps someone that knows more about that can comment?

 

 

 

My income on the internet cafe was down from 50k to 26k our boarders are down from 15 to 2 and our electric bill went from 16k to 15.5k it should have been down at least 5k probably more.

 

As I stated before my friend who sold his cafe computers and went from 22 computers down to 5 his bill went UP! No other changes neither of us use aircon.

 

From everyone we have talked to this seems to be the norm this month. Its not just a few people but a general thing.

Edited May 5, 2015 by littlejohn

[Jawny 4,617]

When I get an electric bill, or rather a receipt for the payment, it is quite lengthy with a detailed description of each charge. The bottom line is most important since that is what I pay. However, sometimes, the bill is high, even while my usage is lower than previous months. In effect, I am using less, but paying more for it. I guess like the price of gasoline for a car. My mileage and efficiently remains the same, but the price of the fuel changed.

 

Some months the "line loss" cost is pretty great. Overall, I use more or less the same amount month to month. The cost varies enormously thoug.

[Woolf 8,550]

littlejohn

 

do you have a lot of fans running ?

[littlejohn 164]

Always lots of fans but less this month as some quit and we cant afford to replace them yet.

[Woolf 8,550]

Veco is supplying electricity in the area I live in the philippines

I have noticed that the voltage they supply to my house is 240 +

 

If your area have been supplied with a lower voltage before like 210

and they now raised it to 220, 230 or even 240

your Kw/h usage will go up

 

For fans and other equipment with motors, the extra Kw/h

will just heat up the motors, and is really of no use to you

 

If you use filament light bulbs, same thing and the bulb will not last as long

I do not know about fluorescent bulbs, but probably  same thing

 

I am just speculating here, but I do not think I am too far off

and I do not know if your line voltage was raised

[littlejohn 164]

Well it was raised a couple years ago I was talking about troughs and spikes ours isn't very stable. Don't know if their was a general trend upward recently really have no idea.

Edited May 5, 2015 by littlejohn

[Woolf 8,550]

My comments in post above, was general speculation

 

I avoided talking about noise/spikes on the line voltage

because I have no idea how that would influence the meter

[Thalcoozyo 284]

Little John... how did this all settle out?  I'm curious, as it was interesting why your bill was worse but electric usage was less.

[littlejohn 164]

Three months of inexplicably high bills no explanation yet. This month again stayed the same (actually a couple hundred less) even though I should be using a bit more than the last few months, so maybe things are improving. Like I said what the meter said seems to have no relation to what we actually use. However its still more than I have been using the last three years. Only got his high on Our busiest months before.

 

As stated before its not just me but everyone in the region I have talked to.

[ozboy 6,594]

These bills always confuse me.....In the Phil. our Veco bill was usually between 5500 - 6000 peso/month. of which A/C would prob be the primary factor.

 

I just got my bill today in Oz.....5,371.29 pesos....the fan on gas heater i assume would be the main culprit...

 

Average daily usage is; 19.80 kWh.