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Okay, here is the scoop: I live in central New Jersey, in a 1200 sqft apartment, 2 bedrooms with loft, built in ca. 1982. I rent, and the heat is electric with a sizeable heatpump that seems to be 4-7 years old (I think it's SEER 13). The insulation of the apartment is standard, with double pane windows. It's an end unit that is on the top floor.
Now in January we have used ~2200 kwh of electricity (= $380), and we tried to cut back a little bit. For instance, we lowered the heat from 70 t0 68, and we turn off most things when we leave the house (including cable boxes and wireless routers!). In addition, when away during the day, we lower the temp to 65. Other than that, we don't really do anything that takes up a lot of electricity. We try to use very few lights, and those have mostly CFL bulbs.
Now I looked at out power meter and I estimate that we will still use ~1400 kwh in February (= $250). Looking at the meters, our spins awfully fast, while the neighbors' meters are all much slower. Especially my neighbor below (900 sqft, 2 bedroom, also heatpump but much smaller than hours), he seems to be using less than 1/5 of the power we are using. Even when his heat pump is running, his meter's disc is not even moving, while ours seem to at least spin slowly all the time (it stops when all the breakers are thrown, though).
Now my questions:
- Is 2200 kwh in NJ in January for an apartment of hour type expected, or does this seem too high?
- Why is my neighbor's consumption so much lower? Could he be leeching power of me, or is he just lucky and has a bad meter? (I threw out all the circuit breakers, and our meter stops, without the lights going out in the neighbor's apartment.)
- Is it worth contacting the power company (PSE&G) and ask them to check the meter?
You've got outside air on top of you. Your neighbor below has your nice warm apartment on top of his apartment. That's why your neighbor is using less electricity.
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You should compare with the same type of apartment that you have, same sq footage, second floor, same size heatpump, etc.
It's possible that the heatpump may need to be serviced. You can always have the power company check the meter though you may have to pay them to do it. You should address your concerns with the landlord.
One suggestion to lower your bill even more .. at night or before you leave for the day turn the breaker off to the hot water heater. Those things use a massive amount of power and you can see a fairly large savings by cutting the power to it when you won't be using it. The savings outweigh the short time hassle you would have in waiting for the water to heat up when you wake up in the morning or get home in the evening.
You've got outside air on top of you. Your neighbor below has your nice warm apartment on top of his apartment. That's why your neighbor is using less electricity.
Typically, a second floor apartment is warmer than a first floor apartment because the heat from the first floor rises and keeps the floor warm on the second floor. The heat from the floor of the second floor apartment radiates upwards.
In addition to checking if the heat pump is working properly, I would check for drafts that are letting the heat in your apartment escape upwards into the attic or around the windows or doors. If you can feel cold air coming in around windows or doors, that's a problem. Also check if you feel cold air coming in around the hatch door opening to the attic, if you have an attic hatch door. If you have a hatch door, get a step ladder and a flashlight, have someone hold the step ladder, open the hatch and look in the attic. Is there much insulation in the attic? If not, that is likely a big part of the problem. You should have a thick layer (at least 8") of blown in or fiberglass mat insulation covering the whole attic.
You might contact the power company and ask them to compare your usage with that of the previous tenant for the same months. If your bills are higher that indicates it could be your usage.
Also, if there is any common hallway lighting, try turning that off for a minute while you run check your meter, then turn them back on, and see if you notice a change. I once rented in a place where I found that the hallway common areas were tied to my meter.
If you don't already, consider getting a power cord for you electronics and turning the power to them off when you leave your apartment for the day for work.
Previous poster mentioned attic hatch door. You could take temporary measures to insulate it if you have one to keep your warm air from escaping into the attic.
I've been able to lower my electric bill by about $30/mo. by just turning my water heater off on weekends when I leave town.
You've got outside air on top of you. Your neighbor below has your nice warm apartment on top of his apartment. That's why your neighbor is using less electricity.
I understand that, but that can't make an 80% difference in power consumption. And as somebody else has mentioned, his heat should actually be traveling up to me.
Typically, a second floor apartment is warmer than a first floor apartment because the heat from the first floor rises and keeps the floor warm on the second floor. The heat from the floor of the second floor apartment radiates upwards.
In addition to checking if the heat pump is working properly, I would check for drafts that are letting the heat in your apartment escape upwards into the attic or around the windows or doors. If you can feel cold air coming in around windows or doors, that's a problem. Also check if you feel cold air coming in around the hatch door opening to the attic, if you have an attic hatch door. If you have a hatch door, get a step ladder and a flashlight, have someone hold the step ladder, open the hatch and look in the attic. Is there much insulation in the attic? If not, that is likely a big part of the problem. You should have a thick layer (at least 8") of blown in or fiberglass mat insulation covering the whole attic.
Insulation is standard. The windows are sealed tight, and we have a good layer of insulation in the attic. I don't know if it is 8", but I won't mess with that, since I am only renting.
You might contact the power company and ask them to compare your usage with that of the previous tenant for the same months. If your bills are higher that indicates it could be your usage.
Also, if there is any common hallway lighting, try turning that off for a minute while you run check your meter, then turn them back on, and see if you notice a change. I once rented in a place where I found that the hallway common areas were tied to my meter.
If you don't already, consider getting a power cord for you electronics and turning the power to them off when you leave your apartment for the day for work.
Previous poster mentioned attic hatch door. You could take temporary measures to insulate it if you have one to keep your warm air from escaping into the attic.
I've been able to lower my electric bill by about $30/mo. by just turning my water heater off on weekends when I leave town.
There is no common hallway light, and I already use power strips. As somebody else has suggested, I will turn of the water heater and see if that makes a difference.
But I read somewhere else on the Internet that a heat pump uses up to 15,000 watts. Since it has been really cold here lately and the heat pump runs a lot, that could explain the power bill. But that still does not explain why my neighbor only pays that little.
Maybe they turn their heat waaay down. My house temp is 64. I notice when it's set to around 60 it doesn't run at all on all put the coldest of nights (20F).
His heat might go up some but your place is already warm, so it acts as insulation as well. Plus the guy below him is always losing heat to the second floor. Basically the second floor is the best place to be as far as an energy standpoint is concerned, and IMO the top floor is the worst.
First - ignore that advice about turning off the water heater. That is an old wive's tale from the 1970s "energy crisis" that is no longer valid (if it ever was). Do a thread search in city-data and you'll see how we did the math (in detail, and beyond the shadow of a doubt) to show the MAXIMUM savings from this is about $20 per YEAR.
Next, do another thread search in this or the house forum on heat pumps and you will find a thread where I cover the concepts of heat pump efficiencies at various temperatures, and why it may be better at low temps to skip the heat pump.
Then, do as I suggested to another poster. Buy a non-contact infrared thermometer and a box of incense or punk sticks and wander around the apartment looking for cold spots and drafts. Even a tiny opening can be significant.
Also, realize that your tap water may be much colder at this time of the year. Heating water takes a lot of energy. Shorter showers, efficient dish and clothes washing, and other water saving measures like low-flow showerheads are much more important in cold weather. A dripping hot water tap can be a real energy waster.
2200 KWH does seem too high, but don't compare to neighbors. Everyone is different. My brother is comfortable at 54 degrees and I require much more heat to stay warm. Keep a daily or even hourly log of meter readings and you may be able to figure out what the big users are.
One comment does trouble me - "Even when his heat pump is running, his meter's disc is not even moving." If that is literally true, then there could be some circuit shenanigans going on. While his heat pump is running, cut your main breaker off and watch what happens to his heat pump and to your meter. If it is tapped in before your main, the meter will run with the breakers all off. If it is tapped in after the breaker box, you will stop his pump and be able to turn it back on with one of your breakers.
Last edited by harry chickpea; 02-15-2010 at 08:37 AM..
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