My house daily electricty is around 40KWH per day = $10 per day.
Is it possible that neighbour is stealing electricity?
Fyi.
- I turn on split system 12 hrs per day during winter.
- Family of 4.
High Electricty Usage. Is It Excessive?
hentabara on 29/07/2022 - 20:01
Comments
how exactly is your neighbour stealing your electricity?
Plot twist, the public BBQ guy is OP's neighbour
The neighbours also claim I have been stealing their electricity and I am being threatened with eviction because of it. Once or twice I have plugged an extension cord into an outlet that is near their pool equipment
hilarious ! Jail Hilary !
"…and occasionally for a bath - all water from the nearby public tap of course…saving over $300 a year.."
God I love reading that post every time.. haha.
Would you rather save a few dollars a day or would you rather live in a comfortable temperature home?
It doesn’t make sense to be walking around in T-shirt’s in the middle of winter. Be sensible with the heating and cooling and save some dollars. Running AC 12 hrs a day doesn’t really tell us wether OP is being sensible with their usage.
I think feeling comfortable in winter can make sense. $10 a day now, now whatever his non heating usage is maybe $2 a day, so $8 a day on heating. That doesn't seem like a whole lot of money. 50 cents per waking hour, 33 cents per hour of it also keeps the home somewhat comfortable while sleeping if it's insulated well. Across four people that's 8 cents per hour.
Depends on your circumstances. There’s comfortable for $240/month ($8/day) or perhaps and extra $100/month on healthier food and wearing slightly more clothing around the house. You can break it down to 8c/hr if you want, doesn’t sound like a lot until you add it up for a month.
Many of us probably grew up without AC pumping all day and managed. If it’s the difference between struggling with a power bill and being a bit uncomfortable, I’d go for a little less comfort every time. Save the AC for extremes in climate.
If you’ve got the money, it’s not a real concern. If interest rates are biting and money for food is more important then the AC can get switched off.
@Euphemistic: Why not spend $340 a month on both heating and good food. Many of us also grew up being beaten with jumper cables, doesn't mean anyone should choose to endure it today.
@AustriaBargain: Maybe you don’t have $340/month?
Despite the perception here that you can actually afford anything you want ‘if you put your mind to it’ there are plenty of people that live payday to payday and can not afford to burn extra money on air conditioning. The simple observation that the OP is asking about their energy consumption is enough for me to consider that they are trying to cut down.
You might be comfortable enough to pay $340/month but others aren’t.
Many of us also grew up being beaten with jumper cables
Eh? Something tells me this is not the norm…
FYI, 1800 333 000 is the number for Crimestoppers.
Many of us also grew up being beaten with jumper cables
I am so sorry to hear that. It's not the norm though, mate.
@CocaKoala: Getting beaten with jumper cables is something of an internet joke.
https://amp.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/reddit-users-share-biza…
It is when you get use to it…
The trick is to get use to putting on more clothes…
Amazing right
I have this attitude now but something is seriously wrong to need it running 12hrs daily unless they aren't dressing sensibly. Sounds like an investment into fixing up their crappy insulation or whatever it is will pay off much sooner.
40kwhrs is pretty normal in winter for your household. Maybe see if there are better electricity plans in your area or if you can improve savings by getting a better hot water heater (if you have electric hot water) or putting it on a timer. I have an electricity plan that gives me cheap off peak and try run washing machines, do vacuuming etc when electricity is cheapest. Since I have solar the cheapest time for me is to do it all when the sun shines.
But really, electricity is a bargain. We pay $10 for a bottle of wine, or $10 to drive 50kms,.. so having the magic of heat, hot water and light… for $10 per day is actually quite a good deal. Imagine how much you'd be prepared to pay if you were out in the mountains in a tent on a cold night….
about tree fiddy
I would imagine OP don't go on mountainous hikes as his neighbour steals most of his tenting and hiking equipment
I sprayed my switchboard with descaler and significantly improved its performance 👍
Split system - 2.2kwh x 12h = 26.4kwh
Rest of house - 13.8kwh (pretty normal)I have no problem in accepting my monthly electricity bill of $60.00 but couldn’t bear the monthly gas bill of $230.00 in this winter season. Any advice ? Which provider in Victoria provides the cheapest rate. I am an aged oldie.Thanks .
If you own your home you could invest in insulation and double glazing. It could pay itself off before you die in energy savings.
Use that to compare the cheapest Gas and electricity options for your area. For me, globird is the cheapest.
This is when you know you are using too much electricity
Hi Op, haven’t seen you in a while. We’ve been trying to reach you about extended warranty for your car.
My house daily expenses are about $1000 per day.
Is it possible that neighbour is stealing money?
Fyi.
- I play pokies 12 hours a day.
- Family of 4.Teenage son? See if he is growing dope in the attic.
I budget so well my household expenses are an income, or at least they were until the cops started watching us.
“No, officer, the tinfoil on the windows is to stop the aliens getting in”.
I thought our family of 4 was high at 25kWh a day, which according to our bill is above the average for a household of 5
We used to be about the same though have brought it down nowadays, I guess with more efficient lighting and devices.
At least one person home during the day and usually between 16 and 25, but at the lower end for most days. Solar generally supplies at least 30%, my last bill had daily units from the grid at just under 11.
AC rarely used for heating or cooling, but server and bunch of gear running 24/7.
Apart from room heating/cooling, old fridges are energy vampires too.. my old beer fridge died and replaced with a bigger one with inverter compressor, uses barely more than a camping fridge now (which I also run as a chest freezer when at home)
13.22 kwh/day on my last bill, which was the highest usage since summer. 2 adults and a toddler in a unit, a least one of us WFH on any given day.
Is your heater run on the gas or electricity bill?
Water heater i presume you mean - gas.
Gas for stove and water.
Average 7kWh a day here but we don't run a split system 12 hours a day.
The only people you can compare prices with would be someone who also uses a split system alone or electric heaters. There's a few replies here with people with low electricity usage who could have a gas bill that carries the load of the heating costs.
In your situation:
Split system kw per hour usage ~3kwh
Electricity cost per kW - ~$0.30
Cost per hour - $.90
Cost to Run 12 hours a day - $10.8
Checks out."High usage" depends on what you or the family considers is normal and what you're willing to spend to feel comfortable.
If having the house at 22 degrees is what you need to be comfortable, then you're paying the normal price for it.
Personally I prefer to wear a jumper, thick pants and socks in the house and have the heater off during the day and set to 19 in the evening when the mrs comes home and complains it's cold and off at night when sleeping.
Daily heating cost is about $3 for me in winter.It is possible the ASIO surveillance monitoring equipment is consuming a high load.
Help, I saw this thread, so I checked my electricity bill, and it says my electricity usage has gone up an explained huge 2.5% from 2.16 kWh/day last year to 2.21 kWh/day this year. From 90W to 92W. Are my neighbours stealing those 2 extra watts of power through my wifi!
Even with the theft… that’s pretty frugal. How do you do it? Are you never home?
Mine is 5.1 kWh/day, down from 5.72 kWh/day this time last year. Am I stealing electricity from my neighbour?
I'm going to assume you
a) use gas heating which doesn't contribute heat costs on your electricity consumption
b) work outside of the home on weekdays
c) don't have children
d) all of the above😁
👍
a) No gas and no heating for me
b) correct
c) correctDang. No heat at all? That's impressive
Install a 6.6KW solar for $4000 and you should be able to decrease your power bill:
By 30% in the Winter and 40-50% in the summer when you run ACSolar has gone up a little depending on the area, so you won't really get a 6.6kw system for 4k unless it's super budget 5 year warranty stuff, but yes, it's worth it.
yes
We use 70kwh per day. That's with:
one house plus a granny flat (granny flat is not measured so it's an unknown variable)
one split (8kw) on 20hrs a day
4 splits (2.5kw) on 14hrs a day
1 wall AC (2.5kw) running near 24hrs a day. But that room is very well insulated
500w (measured at wall) mining PC running 24 hrs
3 kids gaming and doing school work most of the day
2 fridges, 1 upright freezerSomeone is stealing your electricity or you have a dodgy power metre.
Holy cow! You need to hand in you ozbargain ticket.
Badge?
Noooo, ozbargain savings help me fund the lifestyle!
In all seriousness, up until May last year, we had one AC and one gas heater in the lounge room. Winter the bedrooms would be ~18deg and kids would be restless and cold despite the layers of clothing and summer ~28deg and again restless kids and feeling of discomfort.
I was fortunate that a change in circumstances that meant I could make a positive change to the comfort in the house and honestly it's one of the best decisions I've made in my 32 years on earth.. I cry a little when the power bill comes in each quarter but knowing we can provide year round comfort, the kids and we get a better sleep and that home is a pretty nice place to hang out while we wait for some normality to return to the world is a pretty great feeling and offsets a lot of that.
Sounds like you need to stop shrouding your kids in cotton wool, that's astronomical.
At least can you get PV panels to offset it?
@Drakesy: If I did wrap them in cotton wool I suspect I wouldn't need to spend so much on heating.
We try and cut down on usage using timers but timers are flawed in that you need to have a buffer either side to try and factor in sleep ins and late bed times (lately one toddler has taken a liking to refusing bed time!) so there is waste there usually. I think one of the biggest culprits toward higher usage is the 30 plus year old blow in insulation that's well and truly settled and won't be anywhere near as effectient as it once was. I know you can get it all sucked out and replaced, but I'm wondering how much of a redneck ozbargainer I can be with this and perhaps go up with a respirator (never know what's up there) and just use a plastic rake to turn the insulation a bit to aerate it. I could find nothing online (there's probably a good reason for this!) about this method but in theory it makes sense in that the air between the material is what provides the insulation.Regarding a solar array, we have a 1.5 - 1.6kw system on a north west facing side as that's the best they could fit on the roof which does alright in summer, but it's near useless in winter and barely generating 4kw in a day. I want a larger system but you'd then end up having to wrap panels around the roof and i'm told that won't do much in the way of increasing the output thanks to at least one part of the system then always being in the shade at any given time.
@MrKnowItAll: I'm that redneck ozbargainer who did exactly that with his blow in insulation. First, I used a rack and put it in garbage bags. Then used a wet dry vac and got all the left over junk. I of course store a mask and one of those white throwaway outfits. Once removed I put R5 pink batts in. The rafters weren't all the same width so I had to cut at least half of it to fit. The job was a huge pain in the arse and I honestly can't believe I actually did it myself.
Next, my walls are besser blocks so in winter the house is cool but in winter half the house that doesn't get direct sunlight was a freezer, condensation on walls in the rooms if you switched on a heater. Again, I diy put insulation on and internal walls up. Only the kitchen and two bathrooms are not insulated. Huge difference, so happy I did it, took forever and not easy.
Finally, I put some floor insulation in. East as or house is partially high set. I don't know if it did much but was cheap and very easy to install compared to my other work.
Seriously, look at fixing up that roof insulation and any other insulation. It is totally worth the effort and if you diy it'll save you heaps.
Unfortunately, only rich people can afford to heat/cool their entire homes now. Electricity has become so expensive because of all the climate cultists in the ALP/Greens/LNP. "Manmade Global Warming" is pure economic warfare waged by the rich against the poor, designed to lower the living standard of the poor.
Eh? I earn money heating my home with mining rigs.
Not looking forward to summer though…
So it only gets hot because of "manmade global warming"?
And not because, you know, seasons like summer?
I'm at 22kwh per day currently because of the cool temperatures, running some electric heaters
Can't figure out how much my vented dryer is using each time and therefore how long the payoff would be upgrading to heat pump
We have a typical Simpson 4kg vented dryer. On the warm setting it uses approx 2000W. Dunno about hot cycle as we don't use it.
My medium sized AC for my 4 bed home uses about 4kW. So honestly it sounds like you're doing pretty well at only 40kWh a day with 12 hours of AC usage.
Keep the split system off for a day and then compare the usage. I think it's fairly obvious that your split system is the cause.
Op are you being serious? You have aircon on for way too long, that's why you are spending that much (which doesn't seem too bad, since you have aircon on all day). Have you thought about having solar installed? Also you could just wear extra layers and hoodies, that would help. I don't think that having the aircon on that much it's healthy either, not to talk about the environment.
You have aircon on for way too long
I wouldn't say its too long. I have the heater and split system of my house on from the time my daughter gets up (around 7am) to bath time (around 7pm). Most of the time that only applies to the weekend because she is babysat throughout the week. But I WFH and mainly just have the ducted heating on during the day. I don't have it on as high as I normally do when my daughter is home. But its still on and I can use about to 30kWh a day during the week vs 35kWh a day on a weekend.
Have you thought about having solar installed?
Whilst I have solar and it is great (especially in summer), it doesn't always help in the winter. I still use 35kWh with solar in winter.
Average use has been 35-45 last few weeks and have had highs of 60 for the worst few days in June/July.
Western Sydney.
1 split (7kw) running for about 10hrs a day
Both units (both 7kw) running for about 4-6hrs
Temperature set at 23-25
Household of 4I know this is high usage, but this due to an elderly person living at home, and after a recent hospital visit they are unable to layer up easily, so we’re making the house as comfortable as possible for them.
Not our normal usage for winter, but after having solar installed in Apr, not too fussed as net cost per day is around $7.
I’m however vigilant about checking that windows are closed, blinds shut and unnecessary doors are closed where possible to maintain as much insulation as possible.
Would expect to be net profitable over spring and into summer.
God damn man, family of 5 here. I just checked my bill. 21kwh a day. And I work from home.
Jokes aside OP about your neighbour stealing electricity, if you are only using split system for room or house heating (without gas ducted heating), thats quite reasonable amount I'd say in winter for a family of 4 :)
The usage is coming mainly from the split system itself. Try some tactics to keep the house and body bit warmer instead of fully relying on external heat source. Cheers!
Who the hell runs their home AC for 12 hours a day?
There is this fantastic “free” stuff outside your home called fresh air.
Strongly suggest you try itSeriously? They are saying they are running it during winter obviously to keep the house warm. I don't see what is wrong with that?
Not sure what state you are in. But maybe you need a PowerPal. I have one (I am in VIC) and its great. I have solar so it helps to know when you are buying power or not.
I use about 35kWh per day and that is with a solar system (it was a cloudy day) and that was with gas heater + split system running to keep the house warm.
Thats pretty high. I use the same amount of electricity in a week.
That is about the same amount of electricity I used at my office of 3 people. Each quarter would be around $900-$1200.
The problem is that most offices are designed so that you need to keep the air conditioning on all the time because there was no natural ventilation except for the door, or else there would be some unusual odor that VIP clients might complain of, which would lead to us going to the local cafe instead. It was not like we were doing anything that important, but that impression matters.
Think of the money you saved in travel and buying lunch as going towards offsetting the costs of heating/cooling your home during WFH.
It makes me believe that the environmental impact of WFH is actually worse than getting people to commute to work. It is false economy.
The second you said VIP clients I thought em you were talking out of your a**.
It was pretty bad because I was both the Admin/Legal Assistant and I was the closest to the switch. Every client had networth of over $10m. Apparently there were some billionaires and they are a joy to work with as long as you are sensitive to their needs. One of the work experience students turned down an offer for them to pay for lunch and boy, aren't the younger ones stubborn! I had to apologise and write a formal letter explaining that was only someone on work experience… Once they can get past that, they are understanding too.
I got scolded at one point with the air-con issue, but would not change it, as the firm itself is doing some really important things on the global scale. Everything has since gone WFH, but I got demoted big time as I asked for some time off. I am basically only a consultant now, although my contract is still intact and I'm still on the payroll.
I did learn a lot about what is happening in the global environment whilst working at that organisation.
You could have just said ‘clients’. Saying VIP is a pointless bignote.
The heating could easily be costing most of that $10 per day.
You can do a few tests even with an old analog meter.
Unplug everything you can and go outside and check how fast the meter is spinning.
Now turn on the hearting and check again.
My house daily water usage is around 50,000L per day = $300 per day.
Is it possible that neighbour is stealing water?
Fyi.
- I empty and refill my swimming pool everyday because we don't like to swim in old water.
- Family of 4.Don’t lie, you don’t have a family of 4
Fun story - My very first water bill was astronomical, around $400 in under a month.
They claimed I had used it and initially wouldn't budge on reducing the charge, as they claim they did a manual reading before I moved in (the meter was pretty buried still, so I don't believe it).
I ran some tests and not only was the water usage ridiculous for <20 days (over an Olympic-sized swimming pool), I couldn't even use that amount of water in that period even if every tap was left on the entire time since I had moved in.
It is possible your neighbour is stealing your electricity, even if it's unlikely. Best accuse them first and then come back here for further advice.
its not the size that matters its how you use it
Unless your house backs onto a park with a council BBQ it is highly unlikely anyone is stealing your electricity.
You bastards just bent this guys over and ran a train on him. He won't be back
$10 a day is cheap during winter
First and foremost. Switch all lights to LED. Next check for standby appliances and open switches. Make sure you turn off all non essential appliances. Standby consumes electricity.
Computers, consoles, TV switch all off the wall.
Next is any chest freezers or wine fridges. If not needed turn off or replace with a better energy rating.
Replace the kettle, toaster and any older small appliance or turn off at switch.
Remove small appliances away from the WI-FI router if possible.
Next monitor usage at the meter and see if there's a difference.
Check for old fuses and check the house wiring.
Next is the AC…. 12 hours a day…. Why?
I'm thinking it's set at a high temperature on the thermostat or something and it's a small split system for a four bedroom.If that's the case probably not going to work that well and it's taking ages to heat the house because of this. Hence why it's on all the time.
Might be time to change over or upgrade because it will cost more $$$ to run than replace.
Look at your window seals and check for leaks. Use a door draft stopper.
Consider solar depending on your location.
Modern standby items use bigger all in standby. There is an industry standard amount of power with is insignificant in the scheme of a household consumption.
Why replace the kettle and toaster? Both are unlikey to have any residual/standby current and a kettle is hardly likely to be inefficient. I’d the kettle is reasonably efficient it’s going to use exactly the same amount of energy to make he water boil. The best way to make a kettle efficient is to ensure you aren’t boiling significantly more water than you need ie don’t film it then only use a cup full.
In OPs case the big contributor is likely to be the AC, anything else is probably only going to make a few % difference.
People retain those items the longest and keep them on standby. If they are faulty they can draw alot of power. I'd also say check the microwave and hairdryer.
Remove small appliances away from the WI-FI router if possible.
Can you please explain the purpose of this?
Potentially the interference from small alliances could mean your WIFi router has to up power to compensate for interference?
It’s gonna make stuff all difference whatever the reason.
Just wanted the commenter to explain their recommendations (or admit they're proposing voodoo science).
Hair dryer seems like it will be rather pointless to look at as well - the energy efficiency differences (if any) are likely to be outweighed by the replacement cost given hair dryers are not turned on all that much, unless you're drying a golden retriever or using it as a space heater.
what alternate reality do people live in which they consume 50+kw/day?
Sometimes there's a faulty appliance or lack of knowledge and the above.
Then there's a possibility of a meter fault which is difficult to prove.
You can't assume it's the user 100 percent.
I've worked at an electricity retailer and it was very surprising what caused these issues.
We run ducting for 1-2 hours each night, normally at 8pm, and run a el cheapo kmart $70 1KW oil heater on eco mode 21c for 3-4 hours due to young child.
I normally open all the blinds and curtains in the morning when I wake up, and house heats up after 30mins or so.Total usage from heating is 5-6Kw, according to our xiaomi sensor, sometimes gets down to 16-17c but never ultra cold.
Get you smart meter data and put it into MeterKloud. It will give you a breakdown of when you use your electricity.
Time to confront your neighbours.
Your bill is too high…. someone must be stealing your power.
I am back. Thank you all for suggestions, kind words and not so kind words. Will try your suggestions.
CheersPlease let us know the outcomes.
18kWh a day average over the year, all electric house (3 x split system aircons, heat pump HWS, induction cooktop), Canberra area, 2 of us in 4BR, well insulated, house. We run at least one, sometimes two, split systems for the rooms we are currently in 24/7 @ 18C winter and 24C summer. I use either my gaming PC or PS5 for around 8 hours a day on average. Home theatre system also used 8 hours a day.
I use either my gaming PC or PS5 for around 8 hours a day on average. Home theatre system also used 8 hours a day.
Do you even work? Thats a lot of game play.
neighbour stole his computer so he can't reply