Finally bought my first home but have no idea if my electricity use is normal or not, it seems off to me. Any electricians out there that can suggest if it seems normal?
My electricity provider says that we typically use 30-40kwh per day with some days up to 80kwh. I have no idea why the usage is so high. Almost all of the lighting is LED, and almost every appliance is natural gas. The only appliance that is electric is the clothes dryer.
Natural gas furnace, fireplaces, hot water tank, stove, etc.
It seems to be higher usage in the winter despite having three r2d2 air conditioners running in the summer time and almost all of our heating being natural gas in the winter. We have one plug in oil filled heater outside in the detached storage / workshop area.
We do have a well for our water system and that involves a water softener and UV filter and whatnot. Not sure how much power a well pump uses.
Does 30-40kwh average use with up to 80kwh sound normal or on the higher end?
I worry that something on the property might be siphoning power or something. We also suspect the previous owners of the property were probably growing pot, the outdoor workshop has a 200amp service and a breaker box with like 20 empty breaker slots that were filled in with just 3-4 remaining for the lights and plugs.
Any info appreciated!
40 is absurdly high for 2-3 people who do not use electric heating.
We do on average 20kWh a day with 2 people and that’s already crazy high. According to the monthly energy usage report I get from the energy company that’s about a normal usage for a familiy of 5. It’s that high because I have a lot of computers (servers), a home cinema with a large TV and a big amplifier driving 11 speakers and multiple subwoofers. In addition to the normal stuff like 2 electric ovens, a Quooker (basically my kitchen faucet keeps a 7 liter vat of water at boiling temperatures 24/7 so I can have instant boiling water from the tap) an induction stove, dishwasher, dryer and washing machine. Also in-floor heating which while gas powered means there’s an electric pump running 24/7 to keep the water circulating.
Me and a few colleagues are a bit obsessed with tracking energy usage, we all have solar panels and home batteries and with variable pricing you can make a little money buying electricity when it’s cheap and selling it back when demand and prices are high. We’re talking a few euros a day, not really worth the effort but it kind of became a game.
Just to say, we discuss energy usage a lot at the office. One colleague who lives alone in a regular size house uses about 2-3kWh a day. Another colleague who has a large house with full electric heating (heat pump) and who drives an EV may do 30-40kWh/day in winter, and that’s with a wife and 2 teenage kids.