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Excess home electricity usage help
Posted on 10/11/20 at 7:15 pm
Posted on 10/11/20 at 7:15 pm
My parents own a house down the street from me. It is often unoccupied. They only visit a few weekends a month. Their electrical usage in the last 2 months has been more than mine (in excess of 7100 kWh). My dad feels like it’s the meter measuring incorrectly but I doubt that.
Is there a way to read the draw across each breaker and determine which circuit is pulling so much juice? I’m handy and an engineer but don’t know enough about electricity to do this without consulting a pro.
My other plan was to shut of all the breakers except for his AC then monitor the daily usage and add one circuit back each day until we find the culprit. Then we can find what is on that circuit and hopefully find the item causing the outsized draw.
Is there a way to read the draw across each breaker and determine which circuit is pulling so much juice? I’m handy and an engineer but don’t know enough about electricity to do this without consulting a pro.
My other plan was to shut of all the breakers except for his AC then monitor the daily usage and add one circuit back each day until we find the culprit. Then we can find what is on that circuit and hopefully find the item causing the outsized draw.
6
Posted on 10/11/20 at 7:34 pm to ScopeCreep
quote:
(in excess of 7100 kWh)
7100 kwh over two months is a lot of power unless it is a mansion. That's more than 6 months at my house. Have yall compared the meter against what is on the bill to rule out reading errors?
Posted on 10/11/20 at 7:38 pm to ScopeCreep
If you take the front cover off you should be able to measure the output of each circuit with a clamp meter. Be VERY careful. I can’t think of anything that might be running like that. Has to be an HVAC issue.
ETA: There are several on Amazon for under $100
ETA: There are several on Amazon for under $100
This post was edited on 10/11/20 at 7:42 pm
Posted on 10/11/20 at 7:43 pm to GoldenD
Yeah my normal is 3000ish in a month during the summer and down to 1000-1500 during the winter. His house is comparable to mine in size and they’re about the same age.
Thanks, I’ll look into a clamp meter. I’m capable of being careful.
Thanks, I’ll look into a clamp meter. I’m capable of being careful.
Posted on 10/11/20 at 7:45 pm to GoldenD
And yeah we checked against the bill. It’s one of those newer remote-read electronic meters tho so I’m sure they’re getting the same data.
What sparked all this was his electric bill jumped from 50-100 (depending on how many weekends they spent at the house) to over 400. And demco can’t explain it other than “here’s what you used and here’s what you owe us”.
What sparked all this was his electric bill jumped from 50-100 (depending on how many weekends they spent at the house) to over 400. And demco can’t explain it other than “here’s what you used and here’s what you owe us”.
Posted on 10/11/20 at 7:49 pm to ScopeCreep
Only thing drawing that amperage unknowingly would be a Calrod heater stuck on, or a large compressor with failing windings. Even then they would be 24/7 to get that abs either would fail.
Buy a clamp meter, pull the cover off your breaker panel and clamp the amperage meter on every single power wire and see which are drawing power. You can also buy a "kill-a-wat" plug adapter. And try that on your fridge, dryer or oven.
The only things that can draw that power would be a major appliance or hvac.
Buy a clamp meter, pull the cover off your breaker panel and clamp the amperage meter on every single power wire and see which are drawing power. You can also buy a "kill-a-wat" plug adapter. And try that on your fridge, dryer or oven.
The only things that can draw that power would be a major appliance or hvac.
Posted on 10/11/20 at 8:12 pm to ScopeCreep
Sometimes the relays that start the electric heaters in sequence in your ac fail and will keep one of the heaters on.
Other than that go buy a cheap ac clamp from Lowe’s and check each breaker for high usage.
Maybe another thing to check is the water heater, perhaps one of the thermostats is stuck on.
Other than that go buy a cheap ac clamp from Lowe’s and check each breaker for high usage.
Maybe another thing to check is the water heater, perhaps one of the thermostats is stuck on.
Posted on 10/12/20 at 8:45 am to ScopeCreep
have the a/c unit checked, i bet the electric heater is running with the a/c the whole time, seen it before
Posted on 10/12/20 at 9:13 am to ScopeCreep
If it's only being used part of the time, could the neighbor be stealing power? If you cannot find any other reasons for the increased usage that may be something to consider.
My great grandmother complained for years that she could hear water running in her pipes when it shouldn't have been running and that the neighbors were stealing water. Her kids thought she was being a paranoid old lady, but after she died they found the pipe going over to the neighbors house.
My great grandmother complained for years that she could hear water running in her pipes when it shouldn't have been running and that the neighbors were stealing water. Her kids thought she was being a paranoid old lady, but after she died they found the pipe going over to the neighbors house.
This post was edited on 10/12/20 at 9:16 am
Posted on 10/12/20 at 9:18 am to skidry
quote:
ETA: There are several on Amazon for under $100
Any models/features to look for? I've wanted one for a while.
Posted on 10/12/20 at 4:09 pm to Napoleon
Many thanks!
I had dad order a clamp meter and I’ll check each line. Iirc the water heater is gas so that shouldn’t be an issue.
I’d bet it’s HVAC but I’ll need to verify. He’s got an ecobee thermostat so im gonna have him check his data and see if it looks funky.
There’s almost zero chance someone is pirating their power. Dad has security cameras all over the place.
I had dad order a clamp meter and I’ll check each line. Iirc the water heater is gas so that shouldn’t be an issue.
I’d bet it’s HVAC but I’ll need to verify. He’s got an ecobee thermostat so im gonna have him check his data and see if it looks funky.
There’s almost zero chance someone is pirating their power. Dad has security cameras all over the place.
Posted on 10/12/20 at 4:22 pm to ScopeCreep
quote:
I’d bet it’s HVAC but I’ll need to verify. He’s got an ecobee thermostat so im gonna have him check his data and see if it looks funky.
It would be a lot easier just to turn the AC off when they aren't there and see if the bill dropped. If they are there 2-3 weekends a month to run it that's probably more than adequate, maybe throw a dehumidifier in there to keep it dry.
I'd consider just calling an HVAC tech to have them look at it also. You will have to most likely anyway if that's the issue, and then you can have the problem solved quickly.
Posted on 10/12/20 at 8:05 pm to Kingpenm3
Sorry. I don’t know enough about them to recommend one. I have a fluke but it’s almost $300.
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