Home Power Usage Seems Too High - Advice?

L6079 Smith on 11/08/2023 - 17:02
Last edited 11/08/2023 - 17:06

Hey Brains Trust

Needing a bit of guidance, I've stated managing my mum's electricity supplier to help her keep on top of recent price rises and I've noticed that her power usage is wayyyy higher than it should be. It's always seemed high but I know she feels the cold and has had some people living in her granny flat so I've just dismissed it, but this week she's been in hospital and I can't reconcile the numbers and am wondering if her smart meter is not accurate.

Average Daily Usage over the past week has been about 34kw but what's getting me is around 14kw every night for Off Peak which Globird in NSW seem to count as 10pm-7am. Given it's only my grandmother staying there and there's no heating being used during those times I can't figure it out.

Property has a moderate size solar system (maybe 7-9kw) and seems to be exporting on average 15kw/day. Hot Water is on a controlled load. No pool.

Am I missing something major or is there a possibility that the smart meter is wrong? How does one go about checking ?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/08/2023 - 17:10
    +6

    hidden crypto miner?

  • SBOB on 11/08/2023 - 17:13

    Is the hot water you say is on 'controlled load' shown on the meter/readings independent to the off peak readings so definitely not within those values?
    Separate hot water system in a granny flat?

    • 6079 Smith on 11/08/2023 - 17:15

      Only 1 hot water system on the property, and yeah it has a separate rate. At least I assume it's the Hot Water on the CL rate, although unsure what else it would be.

  • AustriaBargain on 11/08/2023 - 17:22

    Is she using a space heater?

    • 6079 Smith on 11/08/2023 - 17:33

      Nope, 2 reverse cycle and neither of them were on while she was in hospital

  • Drakesy on 11/08/2023 - 17:27
    +1

    Only a fairly large air con or a couple of heaters would be capable of using that much electricity each day.

    There's something awry methinks. Is the hot water heater on its last legs and the coils coated in crud?

    • 6079 Smith on 11/08/2023 - 17:35
      +1

      That would only impact the Controlled Load usage tho wouldn't it? It seems to hover between 4-9kw a day which is a bit high but not extreme I think.

  • Top G on 11/08/2023 - 17:28

    Could be a power leak somewhere, look for loose loads

  • soan papdi on 11/08/2023 - 17:36
    +4

    Download her usage from the distributor's website and see if you can spot a pattern when usage is highest.

    • 6079 Smith on 11/08/2023 - 17:57

      Great tip, I've now got a spreadsheet of 5 min increments which doesn't have any hard and fast patterns but it does show a few stretches in between 2-4am when she's used 3.5kw/h when there's only been one person in the house and no heating going.

      • GordonD on 11/08/2023 - 18:20
        +3

        OK, now you know how to do that, cut the main power to the premises for a while, and record the time. Then download the power usage and see if it went to zero for that period. Note that sometimes the meters aren't on your local time, they are on electricity supplier head office time, and they don't adjust for daylight savings.

        Bizarre things happen. You can be paying someone else's bill if the meter numbers aren't correctly matched to the premises.

      • avoidfullprice on 11/08/2023 - 19:33

        Mind sharing the spreadsheet (with identification details removed) for us to download?

        Let us know if thats on the day she is in hospital or at home

        • 6079 Smith on 13/08/2023 - 13:09

          https://www.dropbox.com/t/s6EpB5JpaoeYAWRv

          She was in hospital the whole time, had my grandmother sleeping there only (was at hospital all day with her for the most part) and no heating on overnight. Had friends staying there over the weekend so I have bolded the times they were there.

          I'm most curious about the off peak but it's all very high. eg 2:45-4:45 am on the morning of 3rd August. Why was the usage so high?

  • Protractor on 11/08/2023 - 17:39
    +1

    Next door tapping into power AH to charge his Tesla?

    Look for bar and fan heaters going around the clock

  • Iwantthebestprice on 11/08/2023 - 17:40
    +1

    Has she hit the boost button on her off peak water system? I know when you hit boost it almost continuously heats. Her daily kWh is huge. Average would be max 20 kWh.
    I suggest, go take a reading on the smart meter, or better yet if your energy retailer has an app that provide usage every 30 mins (I know Energy Aus and AGL do) turn off all appliances for 30mins, then turn on just the fridge, then turn on some other appliances etc and do this until you see the spike.
    The cost to have your meter checked is like $500 and if no fault is found, which is likely the case, you cop this charge.
    Do complete checks first on usage and readings and process of elimination before going further.

  • GordonD on 11/08/2023 - 17:43
    +4

    If a "7-9 kW" solar system is only exporting 15 kW/day, that means the premises are consuming about quite a number of kWs of its output during the day. So the real power consumption is the 34 she's being billed for consuming from the mains plus quite considerably more.

    A faulty electric water heater could do that, but you say its separate, so forget that.

    A fridge with seriously faulty seals or a door that's not closing properly, can run continuously. But even running continuously it wouldn't chew through that much power.

    With someone living in the granny flat there's the possibility that its not well insulated and they are running an electric heater continuously and don't realise or don't care what its doing to a power bill that they aren't paying.

    You could try turning off the various circuits one at a time for a while to see if one of them off cuts the power usage substantially, then investigating what's on it.

    They can test your meter. If its not faulty I expect you'd be billed for them doing it. And its not likely to be that far out. But when the bill is that high is probably worth it.

  • trustnoone on 11/08/2023 - 18:00

    Does the Solar Panel have a battery? I wonder if something is faulty, anyway to check for differences in usage before and after installation? Or if you can see the history in the site from before the tenant arrived?

  • GordonD on 11/08/2023 - 18:12

    Actually now I think about it, how confident are you that your numbers are right?

    My bill actually tells me my average daily power usage. Doesn't hers? Does that number correspond to what you got?

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 11/08/2023 - 18:42
    +2

    Check to see if your neighbours are using any outdoor power points to power a lamp or a blender, or to power an portable cooktop to cook risotto

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 12/08/2023 - 09:32
      +1

      Or grow 'tomatoes' hydroponicaly?

  • ozbargainsam on 11/08/2023 - 20:14

    I need to look into this for my parents. 60kWhr/day for 29 days (and 55, 50 the preceding months). Two people and they're out using us with 5 people and we're running the aircon all the time.

  • avoidfullprice on 11/08/2023 - 20:17

    How many fridges and freezers? Swimming pool or outdoor heater?

    • 6079 Smith on 11/08/2023 - 20:42

      Just 2 and even if they were running full pelt with the doors open they shouldn’t be burning through that much. Nothing outside.

  • Worf on 11/08/2023 - 21:54
    +1

    Are the people in the granny flat still there? Could they be using a plug in heater? Those plug in heaters can chew up electricity (e.g. a 2000w bar heater for 5 hours = 10kwhr). Is she in a cold part of nsw?

    • 6079 Smith on 12/08/2023 - 08:35

      Granny flat is empty and she’s on the Central Coast so not too chilly. If she was home I’d put it down to ineffective heating for sure but she wasn’t there last week.

      • Worf on 12/08/2023 - 08:53
        +4

        Nah mate, 14kwh over night… 34khw average 24hr period with solar 5kw inverter (overclocked to 6.6) is definitely not right for single person. Especially when she’s in hospital (drain would be negligible, and I’d expect account to be in slight credit for those days due to solar F.I.T … might export 15-20kwh on a good day in winter).

        Do what that other person said and kill main switch for an hour and see what shows on the usage/consumption app. Sounds like your mum’s getting someone else’s bill.

        If usage app is correct (i.e., shows 0kwh for the approx hour of killed main switch)… then periodically switch things on to test drain… could either switch on periodically from wall sockets/appliances, or alternatively, from the circuit breaker (I.e., various circuits such as lights, stove/oven, hot water, GPOs, etc)…

        I’d probs do from the circuit breaker first (to isolate the culprit circuit)… then from inside… to identify the specific appliance, light, etc.

        But seriously, sounds like someone else’s bill / mismatched meter… which should be super easy to test.

        Can you let us know how you go. Kind of invested in how this story pans out

        • 6079 Smith on 12/08/2023 - 14:51
          +1

          I’ll keep you updated, now I know I can get such detailed incremental usage data I’m keen to have a play around over the coming days and see what I can uncover

  • BuyoTheCat on 12/08/2023 - 00:55
    +5

    quite a few years ago, I noticed a HUGE increase in my electricity bill. it was for quatar that i wasnt home as much. it turned out I was getting billed for a different meter.

    Long story:
    I raised an enquiry with the power company and they sent someone to do a meter reading and charged me for the check, saying that it is all ok. I complained to the ombudsman and the power company organised another reading. I told them I wanted be there when they did it. A guy called be that morning and told me he was doing a reading. I answered that I will go get the garage opened for him. I went outside and couldnt find anyone. I called him and he said he had taken the reading. I asked how he got into the carpark. At that time, we both looked across the read and saw each other. He was reading a meter from the apartment block across the road from me.

    • Worf on 12/08/2023 - 08:55
      +1

      Holy smoke… so who was getting your bill? Did they reimburse you

      • BuyoTheCat on 12/08/2023 - 11:02
        +1

        Sorry I left that out. I do not know who was getting my bill.
        it was all very strange. the power company didnt have my meter ID on their record. Eventually I started receiving power bills. It would be good if they didnt.

        They refunded me for 3 quarters (I think. It was quite sometime ago). that is the limit of their obligation/liability under some legislation.

  • bloom on 12/08/2023 - 05:45

    Saturday/Sunday is off peak
    I have a lot of off peak usage for the weekend

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