MY power crisis!!!
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Topic: MY power crisis!!!
Posted By: peanut butter
Subject: MY power crisis!!!
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 5:26pm
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I am still having palpitations over this one! Last month our power bill was $325!!!
This month I made a concerted effort to turn off lights, not use the dryer so much and weturned the nightstore off..brrrrr! Our reading was an estimate this month and I expected that it would be over estimated. So I went out to get the reading so that we could get our bill corrected (lower)....WRONG!!!! It was higher...so high that our bill is now $530!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Replies:
Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 5:41pm
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Sounds like you might have something leaking.
Do you have an oil heater? If you do, do you leave it on or turn it off each night/day? The reason I ask, is that heating the oil is very expensive. ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3) 
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Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 5:47pm
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Wow! I've been hearing about power bills this high! I thought $128 was high. Eeek!
How many people in your house?? ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: ginger
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 5:47pm
That does NOT sound right at all nzpiper. We have a 4 bedroom house and running a spa, and last month ours was around $200 (which was a shock because it's normally around the $150 mark), so the spa got turned off, but we've still been running the dehumidifier and the dryer ( weather). I'vew been having really long showers too because it helps wiht cramping wiht No. 9. Admittedly we have a wood fire for heating and it's the only heating we use.
I'd ring someone and get it checked out. Even if you have to get someone in, if it brings your power bills down significantly, it'll be money well spent. By comparison, my boss has a huge house in Remuera, outside lighting, underfloor heating, a heated spa etc etc etc and his bills are around the $600 mark. ------------- Cuinn Lachlan 23.1.09 - 22:00 Antonia Helene 4.8.11 - 09:41 |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 5:50pm
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Um that doesn't right. i know my bill this month is going to be big but I am glad that it is in credit at the moment. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 5:57pm
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With the 5 of us and kids who don't turn off lights after they've left the room two convection heaters ours was $191. Next month will be higher because of the heat pump and getting that up and running to the temp we like. ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3)
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Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 6:00pm
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I rang Contact Energy and the girl thinks it is most likely heating. We run 2 oil heaters (one is 5 fin and on most of the day in Toms room) the other is a big one and we put it on for a few hours in the morning until the fire gets the lounge warm enough. Mind you we have been using the fan option on that too so maybe that makes a difference. We had a dehumidifier on for a couple of weeks but I got too lazy to empty it (now I think....not our house, screw the dampness).
otherwise we have the usual, TV, vid, DVD, amp, fridge, freezer, microwave, oven, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, baby monitor, phones, computer, printer, modem. I cant imagine that these things make that much difference. Apparently our day consumption has doubled in the last 34 days! They suggested turning everything off and then turning each appliance on and seeing how fast the meter spins to get an idea of what is using the most power.
The main thing I can think of is this house has light bulbs for africa! And you turn on one switch and about 6 lights come on....a mixture of tungsten, halogen and weird ones. I have been reluctant to change to energy saving ones as we dont know if we will be here for long and I cant imagine the savings would be huge....mind you right now I think I need to look at the little things.
Anyother ideas???? |
Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 6:01pm
| We have 2 adults and 1 baby who cant turn things off (or on yet) |
Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 6:03pm
Thats where I think your problem lies. Its turning the oil heaters on and off, the electricians at work think they are the worst things invented, they get people all the time. What about ditching the oil heaters and getting convection heaters that run on thermostat. They don't use alot of power. Or get a heat pump. ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3)
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nzpiper wrote:Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 6:04pm
| I would love a heat pump but its not our house. WE dont turn the oil heater on and off, just on when we get up and off a few hours later. What are convection ones? |
Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 6:06pm
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We use oil fin heaters - one in the lounge for a few hours each night and one teeny one in Elles room at night but our power bill as never been over $160?? ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: AnnC
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 6:08pm
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Oh my that IS a big bill!
Ours got estimated last month at a ridculous amount but under it was $100 we adverage around $170 so i paid $150 so not to get a shock when they do the actual reading. we use a oil heater in Rhyleys room at night on the lowest but it keeps it warm as he is they type that will not stay under the blankets. ------------- Ann 
Also Mum to Josh (15) and Brooke (10) |
Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 6:21pm
Ok, the heater is still having to heat the oil up (which is the expensive bit). They should just be left on, and then put onto thermostat... This is what I found on the Energywise Website Convection heaters A convection heater warms the air rather than surfaces. Most have an element and a fan. These are a good choice for a medium-sized room. They steadily warm the air by convection and provide background warmth. Their surface temperatures are relatively low, which makes them safer than hot radiant heaters. Note that they can be tipped over by children unless specially designed. To work out how much a heater costs to run for an hour in cents, take the capacity of the heater in kilowatts (1 kW = 1000 Watts) and multiply by 20 http://www.energywise.org.nz/yourhome/heating/electric-heaters.html#1 - Energywise ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3)
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Posted By: MissAngel
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 6:30pm
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Did you get your hot water cylinder checked?? they can suck the power away like you wouldnt believe. GEtting a wrap for it also saves a LOT of power. Also get your fridge tested - sometimes they can suck the power too - something to do with the thing on the back. ------------- Alex, Thomas and Lily http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 7:20pm
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Nikki, our bill was that this month too. I dont know why. So far we have used $300. I worked it out from the metre. ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 7:29pm
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They told me that the aveerage oil heater uses 40c/hour. Tom's is on 24/7.....thats $300/month. I think we have found our problem. But what is the solution? His room gets too cold otherwise. At this rate the nightstore mightbe cheaper and then using the oil heater just overnight. Bloody power bills huh?
Oh and Mel, oil heaters ARE a type of convection heater. Where you meaning something specific? |
Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 7:41pm
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You can get electric convection heaters - I think that's what she means. They have heating bars in them (sort of like toasters do) and the heat comes out a vent in the top.
We run an oil heater in Rowan's room for 12 hours a night - hmm maybe we should switch to the convection heater we have in the lounge.  -------------  
 
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Posted By: catcase
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 7:46pm
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Another thing to check is old fridges/freezers as they can be a huge drain on teh power if the seals etc... are going and they are icing up. Hope this help as I know how tough it is when you have a huge power bill you were not expecting ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 7:51pm
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I would get the water heater tested too, a dodgey one can cost you heaps!!!!!! I would call your landlord/estate agent!!!
Not a bad tip from the girl at contact energy.. if you can be bothered. -------------   
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Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 7:56pm
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I'm not sure of a solution for his room
Our convection heaters arent oil. They are electric. One has a fan though which makes the heat spread faster. The other is just a thermostat one. God I hope I'm calling them the right thing. They aren't bar heaters. ETA: Just checked with DH, they are definitely Convection. ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3)
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Posted By: KH25
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 8:08pm
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What about running the dehumidifier in Tom's room during the day (when he's not sleeping of course)? We do this for Ashleigh's room, with the door closed, and it is amazing how warm her room feels when she goes to bed. Then we have a 3 or 4 fin oil heater on a timer which comes on at 1.30am and off again at 7.30am. Our power bill was $150 this month. ------------- Kelly, mum to DD, 19Jun06 (26wks 1lb15oz) DS1, 24Oct10 (32wks 4lb11oz) and DS2, 31Dec11 (32wks, 4lb11) http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: monikah
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 8:15pm
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wow that is all really full on. me and DH own a 4 dbl bedroom house and its huge. we have high ceilings as it is a real old house. i have the heater on on our room or tara's all the time and we turn it on and off every few hours. on top of that we have 7 computers and 4 extra adults all living with us having showers and cooking seperate food. our power bill normally hits $80 - 120 and we are hopless with power and lights and stuff. i would be really suprised if the oil heater is 40c an hour as we have ours on all the time and i think 2 of the guys have oil heaters in their room too. id go with the idea to turn everything off and back on slowly to watch ------------- 
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Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 8:23pm
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When I was flatting we had a powercard thingy where you recharge your power usage (prepaid). My flatty had to put an extra $25/week on it just to keep her oil heater going 24/7 for her kittens (I know..!). They are a big waste of money. The consumer website says they use something like between 18-24c per kw per hour I think.
Electric convection heaters are a better form of heating as they're cheaper for better heating. Still, take away the oil heater and its still a huge power bill. I have a 5mo and his room doesn't get heated during the day or night at all other than the logburner going most of the time (but will get a convection for him soon). Is your house really warm? Cos babies are pretty tough, they only need to be in temps of like 15-16 degrees most of the time. |
Posted By: AnnC
Date Posted: 10 June 2008 at 8:45pm
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ok I went on to the consumer website (as I am a member) and it recommends this heating:
Choosing a heater updated 13-Mar-2007 Which type where? Lounge/family room areas need background warmth. Heat pumps are the best long-term choice, but panel and other convection heaters are also suitable. You might also want some specific spot heating, say if you're watching TV or standing at the kitchen sink. A portable fan or radiant heater will do the job. Bedrooms require less heat than living areas: you only need to keep the chill off. Choose from a panel or oil-filled column heater with thermostat and maybe a timer. A night-store heater in the passage is also an option. Service or workshop areas are best heated by portable fan or radiant heaters. What are the key features? Thermostats help maintain an even temperature and conserve electricity. Timers allow you to turn a heater on to warm up the kitchen before you get up, or to turn a heater off after you have gone to bed. Fans help a room warm up faster and distribute the air more evenly, by preventing heat build-up near the ceiling. ------------- Ann
Also Mum to Josh (15) and Brooke (10) |
Posted By: yummymummy
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 5:00am
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We run an oil heater in our room (where Emma is) 24/7 - we only switch it off if it gets really hot inside on a sunny day and then it's only for a few hours at a time. We also run the oil heater in Gina's room at night and the heat pump in the lounge during the cold parts of the day - mornings & night. Our power bill just arrived for May and it's $200.
Mind you we have gas for water and cooking. Do you cook a lot? Do you have your water cylinder temp too high? $500 sounds like waaaay too much to me 
BTW we pay around $30-40 for gas a month ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: yummymummy
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 5:12am
Do you maybe run the heater on too high - have you got a thermometer? I find that the temp has to be around 26 deg before it feels hot to me and it's way too hot then. We keep the temp around 20 deg. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 9:51am
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Yeah it doesnt make sense does it? I looked on the contact energy website and they have a break down of what appliances cost to run and oil heaters go from 22c to 43c/hr. The one in Tom's room is small but we have to have it on high. Even on high, his room will only be around 15 overnight! Without the heater it sits around 12! And we dont have it in our room brrrrrrrr!. In the lounge we mainly have the fire and a big oil heater just to boost the temp up while the fire gets going.
Our hot water is not high....I can hold my hand under it (for a short time). I guess we will have a good play with things over the weekend. |
Posted By: ohanlon82
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 10:20am
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we run our dehumidifier 24/7 and what a difference it makes.. i normally only have to change it once a day... leave it in the lounge and living area in the day and move too hall way at night time and put on to silent... it makes our house so much warmer and drier you can feel it when walk in from work then quickly close curtains etc and all snuggly :)
power bills - grrrrrrrrrrrrr something else going up ------------- http://lb2f.lilypie.com/TikiPic.php/RPaODBg.jpg |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 10:31am
| We have a 5 fin oil heater which runs 24/7 on a low setting in Daniels room. Our power bill was $170 last month and I used the drier more than normal that month as well. |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 10:33am
| When Tom's heater is on, do you keep his door/windows shut all day so the heat stays in his room? We have Daniels on the 2nd lowest heat setting and his room is constantly at 15-16 degrees all day and night. |
Posted By: Bumble
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 11:27am
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What about these as a solution to heat bub's room...
http://www.econo-heat.co.nz/ - Econo heat ------------- formerly known as "Bee" Ethan ~ March 2003 Big 6 year old school boy! Micah ~ Aug 2008 ~ Smiley pants who loves telephones! |
Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 1:04pm
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They look great Bee. I have emailed them to see how easy they are to uninstall as we are renting and would need to take it away when we leave without leaving too much mess on the wall
I am still struggling to believe it is heating when I hear about all of you and your heaters. Unless we are getting charged some crazy amount for electricity here. |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 1:14pm
I'd def be getting someone in to check stuff if I were you and I 'd be getting the landlord to pay for it! There are 6 people living in our house, I do 2-3 loads in the dryer every day (coz I am lazy  ), we have 2-3 baths a day on average (Willie has one after work, the kids have one and I often have one at night) plus Mona and I shower, and I run an oil fin heater in the gremlins room overnight between about 6pm and 7am. The highest bill we've ever had has been $260.
I wish I had some power saving tips for you but pretty much all we do is turn lights off when we're not in rooms and that's only coz of the power crisis, before that we never bothered. But everyone else seems to have some onto it ideas! -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 1:17pm
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Anyone know who you contact to get someone to come and have a look? An Electrician? or something else?
I've almost got a bald patch now from scratching my head.....got me really stumped |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 1:20pm
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Cuppatea might know, she is/used to be an electrician? ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 3:46pm
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Nikki, we just put on of those econo heaters in Spencer's room, you just need to mount it on the wall and then it plugs in. So you would just need to repair the wall after you leave, but no worse than if you hang anything else on the wall. We only put it on at night as we have the heat pump running during the day and it only takes the chill off the room it doesn't actually heat it.
The oil fin heaters as far as I am aware are radiators not convection heaters. Basically any electrical heater apart from a heatpump is going to sting you big time cos all of them eat electricity like the lakes are at full capacity. Switching the one in your lounge on for a few hours in the morning will really hurt you as you waste a load of energy on it heating the oil up before it does anything. They are normally more efficient if you run them all day on a lower heat as that way they are only keep the oil at temp not heating it from cold (does that make sense?). Unfortunately i'm an industrial electrician and i don't know that much about domestic stuff or I would offer to come and have a look at your appliances for you. But hey if you ever have a three phase motor blow up i'm you girl  ------------- 
 
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Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 5:37pm
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Well I did some experimenting today (can we all say Geek!) I turned everything off except Tom's monitor and the microwave (cant reach the switch) and then went and stood in front of the meter and watched the disc spin round. It took 7 min. Next I went and turned on Toms heater....10 sec!!!!! Heater in lounge 6 sec!!!! Heaters off, deep freeze on.....1min45 heaters off everything else on including lights.......22sec.
So heaters are were its at. Now we just have to work out what to do about it. Do the oil heaters get worse with age? Maybe we would be best with the night store on to heat up that end of the house. |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 6:34pm
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I don't think they get worse, but then again perhaps the oil can degrade over time making them harder to heat (just guessing though).
Nightstores are quite expensive as well, what about a gas heater? I was thinking about your lights as well could you just remove some of the bulbs? If one switch turns on 16 lights you might be able to remove 6 of those bulbs and still be able see perfectly ok. The other thing is you could buy eco ones but keep the old ones and then when/if you move replace their old bulbs and take your eco ones with you. Eco bulbs are usually around 11w compared to 60w or 100w for the standard bulbs and halogens are quite bad for eating power as well (thats those little down lights), we only have two of those in our house and we try not to turn them on. All our other lights are eco ones, except Spencers room as he has a dimmer and they blow eco bulbs up. (unless you buy a special dimmer). With the amount of lights you have it should make a difference changing them. The other thing I would try and check for is if you have any hot water leaks anywhere as then your hot water cylinder will be working overtime heating water that is just leaking out somewhere. -------------
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Posted By: Mum2ET
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 8:11pm
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I got told that some brands of oil heaters (in particular it was mentioned ones from the warehouse) do get worse over time- i.e. 1st year works at 100%, 2nd year 75% and so on. I would be careful about gas heaters, I have also been told that they aren't so good when you have young children as they release cardon dixoide (I think?) in the air which settles on the floor where the kids spend most of their time. We also use ecobubs and they have made a difference to our power bill. ------------- Mum to Ella (5) and Tom (2) |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 11 June 2008 at 9:56pm
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Yep you are suppose to use gas heaters in a ventilated area, or have them flued. Carbon monoxide is also something you need to watch for which you can get from faulty heaters. Not sure if you can get them here but in the UK you can buy alarms that work the same as smoke alarms. They also let out a ton of moisture so would need to be run with a dehumidifier going as well. -------------
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Posted By: Jennz
Date Posted: 12 June 2008 at 1:47am
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Those econoheat things bee mentioned are great. My grandparents (being old biddies) used them in winter in their rooms and they raved about them- they really really feel the cold so they must be pretty good!
------------- Jen, Charlotte 7 & Kate 3 
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 12 June 2008 at 11:46am
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OMG I just got my power bill and I knew I had the reading done a few days ago and so was expecting a huge bill as I have been dryer happy but no!!!! $169 for the month power and gas I am so happy!!! I have the oil fin going all the time in Josh's room (it is a freezer) and the computer and TV going almost all day. I don't know what is up with that. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |