My electric bill has dramatically increased

[54seaweed]

I want to live were you guys are living. Our electric bill here is never under $200. That is with trying to keep everything unplugged when not in use and using every method we can to lower cost. That doesn't even include heating. We heat with natural gas. We got hit by a tornado last year and after the power company reset poles and run new line, we got hit with a large increase.

I try not to use furnace much in winter since it's lp gas and that alone is a pocket killer
it's also a electric hog
we use space heaters when it gets real cold but mostly our wood burning fireplace since all the wood we need is free on our property we must go through 12/16 cords of wood each season

 

[Autumnsky]

Space heaters are the number 1 culprit, and heat tape if you use it for your plumbing pipes. (Not including crazy displays of Christmas lights left on all night long)

My daughter decided her room was too cold for her bird and she added a space heater, which ended up costing and extra $100. per month to run it (for 3 months), it kind of ruined the "lets keep the furnace temp down to save money" thing we thought we were doing.

The heat tape for keeping the pipes from freezing added about $40.-$50 per month it seems.

When we called the electric co. that was what they told me, yours could probably help you figure it out. Leaving a clothing iron on or curling iron on all day can cost you too. Also you can switch out your incandescent bulbs for CFL in the ones which get left on/used the most. Helps a lot.

When we bought a house a long time ago, the contractor had used all 100W bulbs every where. When we changed them to CFL, we saved almost $100 from the first month's bill!!!

 

[wildroseofky]

The house I am living in is a 100+ year old family home place. It started out being hand built by my Great Great Grandfather. Each generation added on. I just spent the last two years completely rebuilding the first floor, ripped out the bathroom to the foundation and rebuilt, redid electrical work up to code, insulated, and I am now working on the second floor. Before all this work, ice would freeze on the bedroom walls. Termites and time just about did it in. We live out in the country in a very rural area. I am working on a tiny home and really want to incorporate a wood fireplace. I have been cutting and storing all the downed wood on my property for just that purpose.

I have tried to keep an eye on aquarium equipment and bought the best energy efficient things I could. I keep my tanks temp at 77 degrees, lights are T5 and CFL for the small tanks. Lights are on timers. My average room temp is 78 degrees and my tank heaters do not come on that much unless our outside temp drops really low.

 

[Cactuspixie]

My heater is on nearly the whole time, every time I look, it's on. I am keeping the temp for my community tank around 27c. What temp would you recommend???

I keep mine 25.5C-26C in winter, in summer I can't get them below 28C (without heaters in).

 

[BillD]

My heater is on nearly the whole time, every time I look, it's on. I am keeping the temp for my community tank around 27c. What temp would you recommend???

It of course depends on the type of fish, you have. Some fish like discus absolutely need warm water, around 84 F. Any live bearers I have are kept between 19 C and about 23C depending on time of year. I have also kept some Malawis at those temps

 

[Delapool]

The tank temp usually shows 23C over winter. The heater is set to 25 but is on the other side of the tank.