Electricity Bill: Oh My God!!

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

I received my 3 month electricity bill yesterday...$1059,98!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

What makes it worse is the fact that the house has solar hot water, low energy globes, and gas heating! This is triple what it was last year.

 

I am stunned. This is half the cost of a solar power installation.

I am waiting to receive another bill for a house that uses electricity as heating.

OMG indeed!

 

Tamara

[jo_marnes]

And that's why we have gas! EEeeek, wouldn't fancy a bill like that xxx

[cliffy]

Did you read the article in the paper at the weekend about being charged for the electricity your solar system puts into the grid if you don't have the right meter installed? Maybe you should query it, it does sound a lot and I would certainly read the meter myself to make sure. Also, have you checked the meter for house by turning off all appliances and seeing if there is still any movement.

I hope ours is a lot better, it is similarly set up but we don't have solar water heating.

[Guest Guest5035]

http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/barbie/19525-leccie-bill-omg.html

 

i started a similar thread yesterday, my bill was a quarter of yours...:D:D

 

stevo

[Guest kerfumph]

I received my 3 month electricity bill yesterday...$1059,98!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I am waiting to receive another bill for a house that uses electricity as heating.

OMG indeed!

 

Tamara

 

 

$750, R/c aircon for heating, gas hot water,electric cooking, 4 people, 2 home all day.

 

However, I know lots of people with older Air con units and their bills were $1000+

[Guest caoimhe]

That can't be right, you really should query it. We have and old aircon in 1 room and a new system in another, there are 6 of us and last summer we had the ceiling fans on all night, we have 2 computers that are NEVER switched off (O/Hs an IT engineer), 4 laptops, 4 xboxes, a playstation 3, a Wii and everyone has either an Iphone or ipod all charging overnight and 4 kids who don't know that it is ok for lights to be switched off :arghh:and my dearest bill was $680...........oh and electric cooking but gas hot water!!!

[scooterdan]

3 Months Electric = 2 R/C Air cons used for heating, electric cooker, 3 laptops always on, huge tv, ps3, xbox 360, surround sound, iphone charged every night and a wife that cant find the off switch for lights........$199!

 

I was very happy with it!

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

I have checked the meter and it's right but i think that I have discovered the problem(s)

 

1. Tumble dryer

2. Thermostat set on 70 degrees (electrical backup for the solar and there's been no sun!). Now set at 50 degrees.

3. Oil filled heater left in the house.

4. Gas furnace unplugged. Half the house is heated with a gas furnace. If you turn it off the pilot light goes out. Apparently it was turned off and has been off for weeks.

5. Cheapy (to buy but not to run) electrical heaters being left on as a substitute for the gas furnace!

 

I am still waiting for the other bill where the heating is totally electric!

 

Tamara

[Moosh]

Oil filled and electric radiators are the culprits I'm afraid! We too had no choice but to use our electric radiators and received a $750 bill for the winter.

[Guest ninaperks]

Our electric bill was double compared to this time last year! We had to use a few electric heaters to keep us warm as in our rental the gas heater had broken this year...so I'm guessing thats why the expense! Getting a house built with gas ducted heating, which I'm hoping will be cheaper!

[sueoc]

Yes i can believe it.Ours was $871,must be the oil filled radiators and 1 fan heater.What can you do though?A freezing cold house is seriously uncomfortable week in week out in the Winter.

[Guest Trakki]

Our last electricity bill was nearly $900, the only gas we have is the hot water and cooker hob. We have the split air con things in 2 rooms although we have tried to only use one (especially after getting the bill!!!) and we have had an oil filled plug in radiator in the babys room. My tumble dryer and washing machine are on the go non stop and there are 7 of us. It is about $200 more than normal but I was quite shocked when I got it. Hopefully when the warmer weather starts and I can hang washing out etc my bill will go down! And they say that electricity is only going to get more expensive!

[Guest katsmajic]

OMG i'm gobsmacked at your bills.

I was peed off that my last electric bill was $260 my highest yet!

3 adults and 2 kids, 1 adult home all day, pc/lappy's always on, my mum leaves the radio on for the cats when she goes out???? and the usual masses of washing etc...we have an electric wallheater but only used it about a dozen times as its in a room we dont use in the evenings.

The gas was $160 - water and cooking.

[Guest Guest5035]

Just seen the MONTHLY bill for where i work.....................$63,000......

now thats a bill !!

 

Stevo.

[Diane]

Going from the work and the home bills you get Stevo, it's obvious you spend too much time at work and not enough time at home! (I have visions of your poor family sitting at home huddled round a lit match to keep warm while you bask in tropical heat at work during the winter now!! )

[Guest Guest5035]

had another nosy at january to march bills, anywhere between $78,000 and $115,000, we use a bit of leccie in the product we make, those months are our busiest.

 

stevo

[Guest seasalt]

We've just had our bill in Port Noarlunga and it was $300 more this year that last. Last year the r/cysle was broken and we survived on 2 oil filled heaters. This year the heater was fixed plus its been a long cold wet! winter for drying clothes (tumble dryer) and the children don't like a cold bathroom so they tend to forget to turnoff the heater lamps. Have read the riot act and they uderstand if they leave anything on they will be paying for it!!

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

This has been a shocking year for the cold and wet but the $1060 bill was a total shock!

 

I changed the house over from Aurora prepaid electricity (averaged around $150 to $200 per month) as I want to put solar electricity into the house and prepaid doesn't allow this. This is therefore my first bill will AGL.

What is a real shocker is the fact that all the heating is gas! There are two Rinnai gas heaters and a Vulcan gas furnace. The hob is also gas and there's a gas hot water heater as well as a solar hot water heater. All the light bulbs are low energy. There's not a lot else I can do to reduce the bill (except take away the dryer and make sure the furnace doesn't get turned off!)

Oh well...time to get the solar electricity panels and inverter rigged up!

With the price of electricity due to rocket I hate to think how much it might be in the future!

 

Tamara

[Guest tpgc03]

Tamara, thanks for putting your electricity bill up, although bet it was hard to swallow when you saw the bill!! that sounds incredibly high? Has made us consider our options when we finally come to buy!

 

Not long now for us 21 days now and counting!! will see you soon.

Nick, Ali and kids

[Guest guest3462]

blimey, our bill was $290 and we used the tumble dryer anf R/C heating everyday!!! Glad i dont live in your house!!

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

I also have another bill for $550 for the house that I have been living in.

In this house we had insufficient heating and were running three oil filled heaters, one wall aircon heater, a large tumble dryer, electric cooking etc and the bill was half of the other house!

Don't let it influence you...i think that it's a blip (i hope so!) as the bill for the previous 2 years for the same house were less than half!

It's a shocker alright but maybe just the incentive I need to get the solar system installed and start feeding back into the grid (and my pocket!) during the sunny summer months.

[Guest Trakki]

To be honest ours would normally not be that high but due to Kian being little we have probably had the heating on more than we usually would so would normally be less. I do have the oven on alot doing the cakes and it is ancient so probably not very energy efficient but can't do anything about that while renting!

[RockDr]

Just for information, the electrician told us when we blew the fuse due to the oil/fan heaters plus hoover and oven and breadmaker all going at once, that the reverse cycle aircons are the most efficient form of electrical heating. The OH had forgotten that the aircon had a reverse cycle... We checked the wattage on it, and it uses about a quarter to a third of the electricity of one little fan heater, and can heat the whole upstairs, rather than just your feet. So basically, if you don't have gas, and have to use electricity for heating, use/install the r/c aircons.

Unfortunately we only have the one upstairs, so it's still been freezing downstairs all winter. Ah well, keep saving to get out of the rental place I suppose.

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

I have just received my account for the other house;

 

This house is entirely heated by reverse cycle inverter electricity...

 

ANOTHER WHOPPER....$1191.70!!!!!!!!!!

 

I will have to get a second job to pay the electricity bills!

 

Tamara

[Diane]

I have just received my account for the other house;

 

This house is entirely heated by reverse cycle inverter electricity...

 

ANOTHER WHOPPER....$1191.70!!!!!!!!!!

 

I will have to get a second job to pay the electricity bills!

 

Tamara

 

 

Are utility bills like that tax deductible as it's a business?