Problem with my power bill/real estate.

[3vXT]

Something is wrong with my power.
Got a massive Energy Aust bill yesterday ($260 verses the normal $115ish) so i called them up and they've told me that for a little while my place has been using an average of 35.5kwh (verses 9kwh for the same quarter last year).
I have been home a little more, so i've probably been using my small electric heater for several hours every night instead of 4 nights a week last year but i doubt that would make the power quadruple.
Anyway, Energy Australia told me that their meter thing is working perfectly, which it seems to be, so the problem must be somewhere in the house (like the hot water system or something). They also mentioned that my real estate should cough up the difference between this bill and last years if its something like that.
So i dropped in to the real estate yesterday and showed the secretary woman the power bill (which she photocopied), asked her if they could get someone to come check out the place to find out what the problem is, told her is was very urgent but didn't mention anything about getting the bill taken care of. I was on my best non threatening behavior because a busted hot water thing or whatever it is, isn't really their fault.
Hadn't heard anything from them or their electrician so i just called them again today, spoke to the actual agent and he reluctantly agreed to send out a electrician but mentioned that i might have to pay for something (i think he is worried that i want them to pay for the whole bill or something).

Just wondering what to do if their electrician doesn't find anything broken etc...?
if i have to go through a whole quarter at 35kwh a day my next bill will be $460 or something ridiculous like that.

Also if it is the hot water system or some other issue that isn't my responsibility, should the real estate pay the extra amount on the bill or are Energy Australia full of it?

[The Yeti]

Arrrrrrrr $460 a 1/4 how good would that be my bill for this next 1/4 will bee arround $700 if it is simular to last year,

think about it, your home more so the heaters on more so's the lights the TV your probably cooking more using more hot water etc you could jsut be using more, those little heaters really chew the power

[MotherNatureVer2]

It is possible that its your fridge or washing machine .... Do you have a water bed ????? (not a personal question really ... they run up a bill )

I have had this problem before and it worked out to be the old fridge .....

Mind you as The Yeti said ... I would love your bill .... do you want to swap by chance :P

[3vXT]

Originally Posted by The Yeti

Arrrrrrrr $460 a 1/4 how good would that be my bill for this next 1/4 will bee arround $700 if it is simular to last year,

think about it, your home more so the heaters on more so's the lights the TV your probably cooking more using more hot water etc you could jsut be using more, those little heaters really chew the power

9kwh to 35kwh is about a 400% increase.
i'd have to be home 16 nights a week

I dont have anything new that i didn't have this time last year, all my major appliances are reasonably new (most 2 or 3 years old). I probably have used stuff more but not 4 times more.
Imagine if your $700 bill turned into a $2,800 bill. I honestly cant work out how i'm using that much power if something isn't buggered somewhere, even if i had a reason to bullshit Energy Australia or the real estate i've got no reason to lie to you guys.
Energy Aust. asked me about how old the house and appliances were etc... and they suggested it could be the hot water system. I did lose power for 6 days during the storms, so i thought that could have stuffed something.

[DoreSlamR]

Mate you better sell some of your hydroponic 'tomatoes' to pay for your bill ;)

[3vXT]

Originally Posted by DoreSlamR

Mate you better sell some of your hydroponic 'tomatoes' to pay for your bill ;)

If my next bill is going to be up near $500 i will need to supplement my income somehow

EDIT: that was a joke, nothing like that going on here

[robbo_yobbo]

if your heater is a bar style heater, then that would definiteley be the problem. but $115 power bill???? WOW, I dont even come close, the best I can do is $300 in a good quater, and $115 is a distant dream for me. in comparison, when we use the bar heater, power bill jumps up to $900 odd, put it away again, and it dropps back.

[sexr6tasy]

Its personal id say jesus hates you

[henry 351]

ken2903, have you got a house or flat/unit????

Sometimes older flats share water and power meters and you just get lumped with your percentage share, rather than your percentage used... if you catch my drift.

If you have a new electric hot water service, could the thermostat be set too high?

[RG]

Energy Australia!?!?! RUN, RUN NOW!!! They are rip off merchants, the type of people that pressure old people into joining up with them and they charge astronomical rates per unit. Also speak to the owner of the lines not the people who charge you quaterly, down here it is Powercor, as the provider can't tell you if the meter is working. The owner of the lines is also required to loan you free of charge a meter to hook up to your electrical appliances to see if they are the problem and they are not allowed to charge you, the bill must be placed on hold, until the cause of the problem has been found. My parents recently went through the same thing and it turned out that one of the needles was moving the template every so often showing a false higher reading.

[3vXT]

Originally Posted by henry 351

ken2903, have you got a house or flat/unit????

Sometimes older flats share water and power meters and you just get lumped with your percentage share, rather than your percentage used... if you catch my drift.

If you have a new electric hot water service, could the thermostat be set too high?

its a unit (an old house thats been converted into 2 units anyway) but there are separate water and power meters.
Got a call from the real estates electrician half an hour ago, he said he'd be here by 5 so i'm not as cranky as i was if it turns out to be something i'm doing wrong i'll just have to pay it and use less lights or something.

[gz1]

[QUOTE=ken2903]Something is wrong with my power.
Got a massive Energy Aust bill yesterday ($260 verses the normal $115ish) so i called them up and they've told me that for a little while my place has been using an average of 35.5kwh (verses 9kwh for the same quarter last year).
I have been home a little more, so i've probably been using my small electric heater for several hours every night instead of 4 nights a week last year but i doubt that would make the power quadruple./QUOTE]

I assume you mean 35.5kwh per day.
Electric heater is normally around the 2400W mark, i.e. 2.4KW per hr.
So running this for 6 Hrs a night is 14.4KW Hrs.
the difference you are sang is 35.5 -9 = 26.5 KW Hrs. For this to have been caused by the heater it would mean that the heater has to be on for about 11 Hrs per day.
Now if your hot water system got a stuck thermostat, that would stay on 24/7 and if it only used say 1.2 KW, that would mean about 26 KWhr per day.

Most likely though it could be a combination of things, like thus:
normal use 9kw/day
add heater 14kw/day
add extra lights tv etc cause it get darker sooner and you are at home more, say another 4 kw/day
add extra cooking if you have electric stove, making toast coffee etc another 4 kw/day
add some extra load on the hot water due to cold, using more etc another 4 kw/day.
It totals up to about 35kw/day

So in all likelihood it appears not too far out of the ordinary.
Still worth checking though, most likely causes would be hot water thermostat stuck on or fridge stuck on.

[3vXT]

^^^not what i wanted to hear but thanks
i thought 35kWh per day was massive (for me anyway) but when you put it like that it makes sense.
i'll get the electrician to check the normal things, thermostat etc and see what happens.
stay tuned

[Yellow_Festiva]

There is a simple electronic device that can be wired into your connection to actually display what you are using in real time.

Don't spose you bought a new plasma? They chew around 3 times the power of a CRT TV. (or was it the LCD that did this??) Nah think plasma...

[3vXT]

i've got a big lcd and home theater setup but i've had it for 2 years.

[4.9 EF Futura]

I use 35kwh/day during the september quarter, up from 20 to 25 for all other quarters... this is the reverse cycle heating in action.

But that's two 26 year olds who like their TV on, lights on, PCs on etc etc etc. But then... we both work all day every day so its only nights/weekends when the meter really gets spinning.

BTW if its a standard rental agreement, you'll prob be charged a callout as its not an emergency situation (i.e. busted tap = free plumber).

Very interesting post there GZ1, interesting to see how it all works.

[3vXT]

Problem solved.
There is an small space heater in a shed full of junk (not my junk) that is in my backyard. Someone has turned the bastard on and its been running 24 hours for god knows how long supplying heat to a little shed i go into maybe once a month during winter.
I've never even seen the heater before today. Its only a crappy little heater but as soon as it was turned off the little spinning thing in the meter slowed right up. I never leave the shed unlocked cause it has my tools and BBQ in it and i have no idea who turned the heater on or how they did it.
thanks everyone

[[Tonko]]

Originally Posted by ken2903

Problem solved.
There is an small space heater in a shed full of junk (not my junk) that is in my backyard. Someone has turned the bastard on and its been running 24 hours for god knows how long supplying heat to a little shed i go into maybe once a month during winter.
I've never even seen the heater before today. Its only a crappy little heater but as soon as it was turned off the little spinning thing in the meter slowed right up. I never leave the shed unlocked cause it has my tools and BBQ in it and i have no idea who turned the heater on or how they did it.
thanks everyone

I think you need an Exorcist now...
Polar ghosts...

[3vXT]

Its very strange. No one except me has keys for it, i put a new padlock on when i moved in. The real estate cant get into it and the owners live in Darwin and haven't been here for years.