Definitely not the AC, this was done in January/February - we actually double checked to see that the AC wasn't doing anything at that time....we also suspected something.
WHat about the gas furnace fan? Could that be doing this much?

The only double breaker we have is for the AC, and it is not/wasn't on during these dates.

 

You have a load, I've highlighted below, that is drawing power on both graphs, which means it is a 240V load. This load is drawing about 25-30A as best I can tell. 25A-30*240V = 6,000W-7,200W. As best I can tell, the graph ends @ midnight, so this load appears to come on in the middle of the day. Therefore I assume it is your Air Conditioner. According to this page, a typical central AC consumes about 3,500W, or about half of yours. Considering the largest consumer of power in a typical home is AC, if your AC were consuming twice the amount it should, it could very easily double your bill. You might want to investigate your AC. If the radiator isn't kept clean, it will draw extra power.
View attachment 86016

How did you edit this??

There is a liquor store on the same transformer pole that runs really loud/several cooling units - would those cause something like this?? Maybe I should go and look at his electric bill!!!

 

You are a staff member..how can I edit my documents to take out personal info/?

Done.

 

Done.

Thankyou!

 

Neighbor, who is an electrician just drove by while I was out scouting the lines...we looked at the breaker box again. There is a 60 amp, we shut it off. It goes to the garage, underground...there is pipe on portions of the line, however, he thought maybe the wire may have been chewed, just enough to be grounding, but with the 60 amp, it isn't setting off the breaker. Which is why we have dismissed this as potential problem....maybe time to start diggin.

So, another waiting game, I will check the meter now, leave off the breaker for the day, check the meter again.
Turn the breaker back on, check the meter, wait the same amount of time, check the meter again......

UGGHHHHH!!!!!!

 

The only double breaker we have is for the AC, and it is not/wasn't on during these dates.

I was wrong, there is a 40 that covers the AC, there is the 60 which covers the garage and there was one more, a 30 that was for the water heater...

 

Post your electric bill. You can blank out the name, address and account number, but I would like to see your kWh and rates...

Sorry didn't catch this post, do you still want to see the bill? I have no way to scan one, what info are you looking for, I can give that.

 

I still think there is something else wired into your circuit at that pole.

Sorry but you should ask your electrician to have a butchers (British for look see).
Shouldn't take long.
Your electricity company will deny everything until you have some sort of proof.

The other thing you can do is find a time when the consumption logs are at a max and turn off everything of yours for 2 hours.
The pain of this will be small compared to the gain if your meter still records consumption.

This is much more certain than trying to tot up all your usage.

 

If its at the pole it should be before his meter and will not register.
Max.

 

Can YOU see what the meter is reading?

Does it show just accumulated usage or does it give at least some indication of immediate energy consumption (the old mechanical meters here had a wheel that rotated at a rate proportional to the present average power draw).

I can't get real time, it pops up a number every 10 seconds, the monitor the power company installed (see reports) was the answer to this. After begging for the help with it. I have found that to see any significant alterations in a days use, I need to check the meter every hour for a day (12 hours). I am doing this now, with the 60 amp breaker shut off to the garage.

 

How did you edit this??

I used a program called SnagIt. It is to grab screenshots, but also has a nifty editor better than MsPaint.

 

Sorry didn't catch this post, do you still want to see the bill? I have no way to scan one, what info are you looking for, I can give that.

My utility gives cost breakdown per kWh, total kWh used per month, daily averages, comparison to last year, etc, etc.

 

Just want to say thank you for the rally of ideas!

I will post later today what I find for the days kilo's without the garage circuit on. I will check meter at 4 pm. and 10 pm. then again 4 a.m. and finally 10 a.m. THen I will turn circuit back on for another round and compare. Important to get the night when the sensor light would go on.

Would a ground be affected whether anything is on on that line..i.e. motion light?

 

Is cabling between your meter and breaker panel vulnerable to abrasion or damage by animals (squirrels, rodents etc have a tendency to chew cable insulation)?

 

If its at the pole it should be before his meter and will not register.
Max.

If evrything is correctly wired, yes.

But the in example I originally gave the street lights were siamesed with the consumer's supply.

 

Is cabling between your meter and breaker panel vulnerable to abrasion or damage by animals (squirrels, rodents etc have a tendency to chew cable insulation)?

Yes, there is tubing/pvc on the majority if the line to the garage, but there may be a bit exposed...hoping after shutting down garage for the day I may see some change in the daily usage...

 

Yes, there is tubing/pvc on the majority if the line to the garage, but there may be a bit exposed...hoping after shutting down garage for the day I may see some change in the daily usage...

No evidence of infiltration of animals near the breaker box/wall with meter

 

In places like the UK, with the installation of storage heating units in various rooms, they would switch on in off peak Hrs during the night, this would store the heat and release it during the day when they would power off, a separate meter would record this lower Kw rate.
Max.

Those are OK if you also have an off peak meter - but then you have to have outlets wired in for them.

Some "smart" meters are dual tariff, so you need good accurate time switches that you don't have to keep going around re-synchronising to the meter. Otherwise there's a risk of them powering up on high tariff, or not heating when the cheap rate is on.

 

Those are OK if you also have an off peak meter - but then you have to have outlets wired in for them.

Some "smart" meters are dual tariff, .

Probabally things have changed since I was involved in it.
I know in one older residential neighborhood we were required to put them across 3 phases in balance the load.
A 3ph service was supplied to each residence just for this.
Max.

 

Alright if anyone is still with me...here are the results for the meter after shutting down the circuit to the garage (double 60's) to check for a ground...

10 a.m. - 10 a.m. = 53 kilowatts - breaker shut off!

10 a.m. - 10 a.m. = 43 kilowatts - breaker back on....................??????????

Thinking there is no ground in the line. What do you all think?


now, I had asked but it may have been missed, can a ground still draw energy if there is nothing 'on' on that line? Or if the circuit is shut off...I assume no to the second.

The troubleman that checked and changed the connections to the house, did so on the house, above the breaker and on the pole to the house. He DID NOT check anything on the pole that has the transformer....COULD there be a wire screw up there that could affect this???

Here is my theory::

We have normal stuff, even maybe a little less than normal stuff running in the house.
I feel like even though they feel they are providing the correct amount of power to the house, it is too much
SO, when I turn on my 60 watt bulb or my dryer or what ever, it is drawing more power than necessary, causing in essence a doubling affect on the meter.....just not too much power, so that I am melting my laptop, but more than we need.

Responses Please -