Reef Central Online Community - View Single Post - Is it possible my electric bill is this high?

keh9qd · 08/04/2011, 01:49 PM

I am hoping to receive some input from you all regarding my electric bill. I would love to hear from some A/C techs as well.

I live in a 1200 sq/ft town home and use Ameren electric. My winter bills not running A/C were $60-$75. At that time I was running a 28g HQI nano cube and a 20g long with a 2 bulb t5 light. I wont go into much details on that, but the past 2 months since the A/C has been running our bill has tripled +++.

The way Ameren charges is $.075 kw/hr for the first 750 kw/hr and .05 kw/hr for any consumption exceeding 750 kw/hrs monthly usage. In the summer the flat rate is .10 kw/hr so the summer rates increase.

Right now I have 2 energy efficient setups. The first is a 90 gallon that consumes (according to the tank electric calculator) 275 kw/hrs max which is $27.50 a month and the other is 100g and identical at 275 kw/hrs max. My total monthly tank electrical cost should be under $60 at $.10 kw/hr.

my consumption this summer has gone from 600-1000 kw/hrs tops to over 2,000 kw/hrs the past two months. That means our electric bill has gone from $60-$75 in the winter to $230-$250 in the summer in a small town home. The increase in consumption is expected with the larger aquariums, A/C running, and the increased rates Ameren has, but $250 a month?

My neighbor has an identical town home with identical floor plans and has only paid $100 a month while Im paying $250. Both of our A/C units are the same and are 20 years old. Granted he not running an aquarium.

My question to you all is what is causing our electric bill to be so high?

1. Is it the 2 100g aquariums which means the reefcentral tank electrical calculator is not accurate?

2. Is it the A/C drawing 800 kw/hrs a month? This means there is an issue with the A/C that is causing it to draw way to much wattage. (For the record I keep the thermostat set on 75-77)

My best guess was that there was an issue with the A/C and I mentioned it to my landlord. He played it off as if the increase rates and hot weather was the issue. This makes no sense when my town home is costing $150 more a month that the other 4 identical units in the same weather conditions.

What would you do?

08/04/2011, 01:49 PM	#1
keh9qd Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 301	Is it possible my electric bill is this high? I am hoping to receive some input from you all regarding my electric bill. I would love to hear from some A/C techs as well. I live in a 1200 sq/ft town home and use Ameren electric. My winter bills not running A/C were $60-$75. At that time I was running a 28g HQI nano cube and a 20g long with a 2 bulb t5 light. I wont go into much details on that, but the past 2 months since the A/C has been running our bill has tripled +++. The way Ameren charges is $.075 kw/hr for the first 750 kw/hr and .05 kw/hr for any consumption exceeding 750 kw/hrs monthly usage. In the summer the flat rate is .10 kw/hr so the summer rates increase. Right now I have 2 energy efficient setups. The first is a 90 gallon that consumes (according to the tank electric calculator) 275 kw/hrs max which is $27.50 a month and the other is 100g and identical at 275 kw/hrs max. My total monthly tank electrical cost should be under $60 at $.10 kw/hr. my consumption this summer has gone from 600-1000 kw/hrs tops to over 2,000 kw/hrs the past two months. That means our electric bill has gone from $60-$75 in the winter to $230-$250 in the summer in a small town home. The increase in consumption is expected with the larger aquariums, A/C running, and the increased rates Ameren has, but $250 a month? My neighbor has an identical town home with identical floor plans and has only paid $100 a month while Im paying $250. Both of our A/C units are the same and are 20 years old. Granted he not running an aquarium. My question to you all is what is causing our electric bill to be so high? 1. Is it the 2 100g aquariums which means the reefcentral tank electrical calculator is not accurate? 2. Is it the A/C drawing 800 kw/hrs a month? This means there is an issue with the A/C that is causing it to draw way to much wattage. (For the record I keep the thermostat set on 75-77) My best guess was that there was an issue with the A/C and I mentioned it to my landlord. He played it off as if the increase rates and hot weather was the issue. This makes no sense when my town home is costing $150 more a month that the other 4 identical units in the same weather conditions. What would you do?