Bill spikes $200 with arrival of 2.3ghz PM

[eAspenwood]

So, I was expecting a slight increase in my utility bill with the arrival of my dual 2.3ghz PM. I had expected it to be around $20 from another posting I read here. But I was suprised to see it spike $200 the first month the PM arrived. I think its highly unlikely that this is attributable to the PM. More than likely some other factor is the main culprit, but I just wanted to check if anyone else had encountered ludicrous increases in electric bill with the purchase of the latest PMs.

Note: Yes, the time of year is factored in. This is $200 above the average summer bill.

-- J.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

uhhhhhhh........

could be the Texas summer and your air conditioning bill?

 

[CanadaRAM]

Yeah, what I was thinking. PM arrives, gotta use it (BTUs ensue). Gosh it's hotter in here, gotta turn up that AC. Double whammy.

> Bill spikes $200 with arrival of 2.3ghz PM

And here I thought the thread was gonna be about Gates getting a G5 and losing a bet or something. Ah well.

 

[TBi]

Maybe this is why Apple is going to Intel... to get more performance per watt and lower electricity bills

It's why i went to AMD from Intel... couldn't stick a processor constantly running at 60C :S

 

[eAspenwood]

No, I factored that in already.

Average summer bill = $185.
July 2005 = $400.

The highest it has ever been before last month was around $200.

 

[BlueT]

Call your electric company. It sounds like an incorrect meter reading. Only an A/C or broken refrigerator could cause that amount of damage.

 

[mkrishnan]

No, I factored that in already.

Average summer bill = $185.
July 2005 = $400.

The highest it has ever been before last month was around $200.

It sounds like you need to have your AC, water heaters, etc, checked out. I don't think you can easily generate that kind of hit with anything short of that.

What is the cost per kilowatt hour? Is it like $0.10? If that's right, then ...

There are approximately 30*24 = 720 hours in a month.

If you assume the culprit ran continuously, all month (in which case the average power consumption is the lowest possible figure), then

$200 / ($0.10/kwhr) = 2000 kw-hrs

So if you spread that over the 720 hours in the month, the culprit device was consuming 2700 W continuously. I don't think it's possible for your PM setup, all accessories inclusive, running full bore, to consume much more than ... half that.

 

[joecool85]

Not even that, as far as I know, it only has a 700watt Power Supply. Maybe 600 actually.

 

[eAspenwood]

Thanks mkrishnan for that analysis. Makes sense. I'm about to get the next bill, so if its up again I will definitely have someone come check it out.

 

[combatcolin]

Time for Solar panels?

 

[Ja Di ksw]

Our electric company estimates the meter reading every other month. Sometimes if the weather is very extreme the assume that people will use their A/C a lot, and "estimate" that you would have a huge bill and send it to you.

Lazy *******.

Only way to get around it is to go read the meter yourself and call them and tell them before they send the bill.

 

[mkrishnan]

Not even that, as far as I know, it only has a 700watt Power Supply. Maybe 600 actually.

Right... So even if you have a big CRT, which consumes power, and perhaps some accessories, not much more than 1 kW is likely. (But presumably, you have an LCD, and even the ginormous ones consume not much more than 150W). Laser printers have a big amperage draw, but the average power consumption is low, unless they're printing constantly all month.

Most likely to be a major appliance / device. Even a refrigerator or stove suddenly using 2kW of extra power is hard to imagine. So I suspect things like the AC or water heaters, because they run a lot and make up a big part of your electricity bill.

Either that, or someone's hacked your matrix or they're mischarging you, etc....

Have you requested an in-person meter reading yet? You should do that. That's the first rule out -- that it wasn't just a billing fluke.

 

[mpw]

...But I was suprised to see it spike $200 the first month the PM arrived. I think its highly unlikely that this is attributable to the PM. More than likely some other factor is the main culprit...

Here's a possible scenario:-

New Mac & 30" display arrives > this is a revelation to you after using just you 15" > you start to spend a lot of time getting it set up just so with all your accesories etc. > once set up you spend more time enjoying the extra power & perfomance > so impressed by the wonderful new Mac you start spending an increaseing amount of time using it > you're neglecting your wife/girlfriend > she's resorted to 12" mains powered ....er...'stimulator' > this is a revelation to her after using just a standard 6" > she starts to spend a lot of time getting it set up just so with all her accesories etc. > once set up she spends more time enjoying the extra power & perfomance > so impressed by the wonderful new 'stimulator' she start spending an increaseing amount of time using it > she has now forgotton she's left the iron on.

In summary, have you checked the iron's not been left plugged in?

 

[CanadaRAM]

....In summary, have you checked the iron's not been left plugged in?

LOL

 

[Jekyll]

Make sure that your previous bills weren't "Estimated" bills and that this one isn't an adjustment bill after a meter reading. As a couple have said above, the electric company doesn't necessarily check your meter every month. They'll estimate your bill based on the weather, your past usage, etc, and then once they get around to actually reading your meter, they will bill you for the difference. That's at least how it works for me in NJ. Every now and then (in particular the summer months), PSE&G will be totally off in their predicitons (or it'll just have been a long time between meter readings) and I'll have a considerably lower or higher bill.