We just moved into this apartment. Learn from my mistake and contact the electric company and ask what the average bill looks like in the winter. Also don't rent an old porrly insulated 2000+ square foot house with electric baseboard heat.
This is what we have so far for keeping the next bill down that I compiled from this sub:
-keep temp at 60° (or 55° in less used rooms) -wear warm clothing/socks/slippers around the house -get plastic for the windows -thermal curtains -electric blankets in living room and bedrooms -carpets on hardwood floors in living room and spare room -switch to all LED bulbs -draft blockers under doors -turn down water heater temp (it's already too high anyway) -get a kill-a-watt to check outlets -hang laundry to dry instead of using dryer -unplug unused electronics/use surge protectors for 'always on' devices -open curtains when it's sunny and close them when the sun goes down to trap the heat
We contacted our power company and they assured us their reading is correct. They are going to walk us through a breaker test. Is it possible that old/poorly done wiring could contribute to such a high bill? There are a few outlets that have 6 plugs instead of the usual two. There are random switches throughout the house that go to nothing and an ancient high security system. One of the outlets has burn marks coming from the slots.
Is there anything else we are missing? I cannot afford $1,000 a month in electric bills for 5-6 months a year.
ETA: I live in the northeast. It's not uncommon for it to get below zero
March 11, 2019 at 03:13PM
