Rob wrote:

I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

Use the utility meter. Switch everything but the fridge
off for one hour . Read the meter at start/end of period
to get the KWhr used by the fridg.

With the bill you have, the avg consumption must be
around 2 KWhr every hour.

Jim

In article , wrote:
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Yes, there are such devices. However, I would use your existing
electric meter. Most give an immediate indication of the actual
usage in real time, typically with a spinning metal disc. Even
without that, you can read your meter for a period of say 1
hour (with fridge on and then off). With a methodical approach
it shouldn't take long to figure out what's causing the bulk
of the usage.

If it's not the fridge you could try turning off one quarter
of the breakers on your panel for 1 hour -- take meter readings
before and after. Repeat for the other three quarters of the
breakers. Again, it shouldn't take long to zero in on the culprit.

Disconnecting the fridge for short periods shouldn't be a
problem, unless you get bored and keep opening it every
few minutes for more food/beer ;-)

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rob wrote:
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob


Get yourself a KILL-A-WATT meter and run the fridge through it. Much
easier than running back and forth to you utility meter and having to
shut other stuff off.

If you shop around you can find these meters for under $25.

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.

I fogot to paste in the link:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/7657/

Jeff
--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.

Rob,

There certainly are devices that you can use to do just what you are
looking for. I recently purchased a device made by P3 International
called the "Kill A Watt" Meter" around $25. As long as your fridge is
rated 120v you just plug the meter in the wall then the Fridge into the
meter. It has a digital readout that shows voltage, Current, Wattage,
Frequency and the Kwh used since the unit was plugged in. I recently
bought one to measure several devices around my house such as PC on
normal and in power save mode. etc. If you do a simple search on the
net for the Kill A Watt meter it will come up.

Good luck,

Darren

Rob wrote:
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

Rob,

Opps, I just saw Jeff was typing up the same response as mine at the
same time.Too Funny.

Good Luck
ddecoste wrote:
Rob,

There certainly are devices that you can use to do just what you are
looking for. I recently purchased a device made by P3 International
called the "Kill A Watt" Meter" around $25. As long as your fridge is
rated 120v you just plug the meter in the wall then the Fridge into the
meter. It has a digital readout that shows voltage, Current, Wattage,
Frequency and the Kwh used since the unit was plugged in. I recently
bought one to measure several devices around my house such as PC on
normal and in power save mode. etc. If you do a simple search on the
net for the Kill A Watt meter it will come up.

Good luck,

Darren

Rob wrote:
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

In article ,
Rob wrote:

I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement


Some cut.

What are the electric rates at your new place? My parent's
bill is consistently about twice mine. It's just a matter of the
electrical supply coming from a different utility.

Dean

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

"Rob" wrote in message
...
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere with
a bill over $80 for a single month.

I see you were already told about the Kill A Watt meter. Aside from that,
read you own meter for a few days or so to see what is going on with use on
a regular basis. The first reading may have been inaccurate or a longer
period also, depending on when it was read at the transfer of accounts.

FWIW, my typical bill is about $130 a month. Two refrigerators, freezer,
dryer, computers, etc. We pay 17¢ a kW

Rob wrote:

Unfortunately, it is a
built in one, with very nice cabinetry all around and wood on the doors.
Not sure how easy it will be to get a new one and have it look as nice
in the kitchen.... I'm gonna confirm what is causing the large draw
though first.

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post! All of your answers are
very much appreciated!!

Rob

If it is the fridge, do or get some maintenance, clean coils, etc.
Might help.

In article . com, "Sev" wrote:

Rob wrote:

Unfortunately, it is a
built in one, with very nice cabinetry all around and wood on the doors.
Not sure how easy it will be to get a new one and have it look as nice
in the kitchen.... I'm gonna confirm what is causing the large draw
though first.

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post! All of your answers are
very much appreciated!!

Rob

If it is the fridge, do or get some maintenance, clean coils, etc.
Might help.

And check/adjust the thermostat too. Maybe it's just set to
the coldest possible setting.

And, since you mention it's wrapped in cabinetry, I'm
wondering if the fridge has sufficient ventilation. If
it's totally enclosed with no place for the heat to go,
you're gonna have large bills and short life on the
fridge.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Take a look at the bill; does it cover only the period since you've been
in the house? Maybe you're paying for the last tenants.

Rob wrote:
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

Jeff Wisnia wrote:

Rob wrote:
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

Get yourself a KILL-A-WATT meter and run the fridge through it. Much
easier than running back and forth to you utility meter and having to
shut other stuff off.

If you shop around you can find these meters for under $25.

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.

Harbor Freight carries them now. A very handy little meter.

Pete C.

Bennett Price wrote:

Take a look at the bill; does it cover only the period since you've been
in the house? Maybe you're paying for the last tenants.

Rob wrote:
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

Along the same lines, it is an electronic remote read meter or an old
style visual read meter? With the visual read ones it's not at all
uncommon for the reader to misread a digit which if an upper digit can
make a very noticeable jump in your bill. Fortunately it's self
correcting with the next correct reading since it's a cumulative
reading.

At a previous location I had several meter reader screw ups of this type
in the year or so before they installed the remote read meters. I guess
they cut the reader force and hired the cheapest people they could get.
In each case I just called in to the utility with the current reading
from the meter and they adjusted the info in their system and gave me
the corrected bill amount to pay.

I had one really funny occurrence on a service at another location that
was not in use for a few months (main breaker off). This was a remote
read meter as well so you'd expect accurate readings. What happened was
that the meter mechanism was apparently teetering right at the
transition point of the lowest digit.

One month the reading came in 1 kwh lower than it read the previous
month. You'd think the utility's computer would flag this massive KWH
used reading, but instead they sent a $15K bill. When I called them the
CSR got quite a kick out of it and of course the bill was corrected to
the ~$5 base service charge and 0 KWH used.

Pete C.

I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

Rob wrote:
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob
Did you read the meter when you moved in? and then
read it about every 3 days so you could check it
with the bill?

You may have excessive electric usage and you may
have a previous owner that misread the meter when
he moved.

Another possibility is that someone is stealing
electricity via a hidden connection.

The answer to the question is that yes you can buy
a device to measure usage of plug in appliances.
Others here will give you a link to watt meters.
Very handy for figuring out how much electricity
various appliances actually use.

Dean Hoffman wrote:
In article ,
Rob wrote:

I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement


Some cut.

What are the electric rates at your new place? My parent's
bill is consistently about twice mine. It's just a matter of the
electrical supply coming from a different utility.

Dean

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Nope, even at the most outrageous electrical rate,
the 3 named appliances operating normally could
not run up a monthly bill of $150.

On Mon, 01 Jan 2007 20:07:42 -0800, Rob wrote:

I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

You don't need to wait an hour to get your usage. Just turn on the
appliance and count the rotations of the wheel in the city meter.
Call the utility and tell them what meter you have and they will give
you the usage per rotation.

Time to get a new fridge. The new side by side use a fraction of the
power that my old one did.

All my lights are florescent, too.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Rob" wrote in message
...
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere with
a bill over $80 for a single month.

I see you were already told about the Kill A Watt meter. Aside from that,
read you own meter for a few days or so to see what is going on with use on
a regular basis. The first reading may have been inaccurate or a longer
period also, depending on when it was read at the transfer of accounts.

FWIW, my typical bill is about $130 a month. Two refrigerators, freezer,
dryer, computers, etc. We pay 17¢ a kW




I looked at my bill just now and it looks like I pay 13 cents per kwh.
There definitely seems to be something that is using way too much power
based on that. I have one fridge, no freezer, a lower rate than you but
a higher bill. I think it must be the fridge. Unfortunately, it is a
built in one, with very nice cabinetry all around and wood on the doors.
Not sure how easy it will be to get a new one and have it look as nice
in the kitchen.... I'm gonna confirm what is causing the large draw
though first.

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post! All of your answers are
very much appreciated!!

Rob

On Tue, 02 Jan 2007 03:52:11 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:


Along the same lines, it is an electronic remote read meter or an old
style visual read meter? With the visual read ones it's not at all
uncommon for the reader to misread a digit which if an upper digit can
make a very noticeable jump in your bill. Fortunately it's self
correcting with the next correct reading since it's a cumulative
reading.

Self-correcting if the recent reading was too high. NOt if the first
reading was too low.

And yes, to another post. Definitely clean the fridge, the coils, and
make sure there is adequate ventilation, or maybe just measure the
temp back there. Don't just jump to spend 500 dollars on a new
fridge, when maybe adjusting or a new thermostat would fix it.

At a previous location I had several meter reader screw ups of this type
in the year or so before they installed the remote read meters. I guess
they cut the reader force and hired the cheapest people they could get.
In each case I just called in to the utility with the current reading
from the meter and they adjusted the info in their system and gave me
the corrected bill amount to pay.

I had one really funny occurrence on a service at another location that
was not in use for a few months (main breaker off). This was a remote
read meter as well so you'd expect accurate readings. What happened was
that the meter mechanism was apparently teetering right at the
transition point of the lowest digit.

One month the reading came in 1 kwh lower than it read the previous
month. You'd think the utility's computer would flag this massive KWH
used reading, but instead they sent a $15K bill. When I called them the
CSR got quite a kick out of it and of course the bill was corrected to
the ~$5 base service charge and 0 KWH used.

Pete C.

I had a similar thing happen some years ago. It turned out to be my
septic pump was running continuously because of a faulty switch in the
pump tank. Try turning off all your breakers and see if the meter disc
is still turning. If not, turn the breakers back on one at a time to
see which circuit is causing the disc to turn.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

"DK" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 01 Jan 2007 20:07:42 -0800, Rob wrote:

I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

You don't need to wait an hour to get your usage. Just turn on the
appliance and count the rotations of the wheel in the city meter.
Call the utility and tell them what meter you have and they will give
you the usage per rotation.

Time to get a new fridge. The new side by side use a fraction of the
power that my old one did.

All my lights are florescent, too.

A new fridge is probably a good idea, but as an interim measure, OP may want
to get the current one serviced or cleaned. Those built-in ones often
collect a whole bunch of gunk (dust, cooking grease, etc) on the coils. Also
need to do the 'dollar bill' test on the gasket- it may be getting tired.
The freon may have leaked down a tad, as well.

Of course, if OP has to pay someone to do that, it may be a significant
fraction of the cost of a replacement. Standard logic about repair costs
versus expected remaining lifespan, compared to replacement costs and
increased energy efficency, apply.

aem sends...

I have a similar meter bought at Canadian Tire for less than C$20 on sale
that does the same thing. It is a Model EM100 Energy Meter from UPM. Measure
instantaneous amps and KW draw as well as accumulated power usage.

So for a fridge that has an on-off cycle, you would want to leave it
connected for a day or so and calculate the average draw. I have used it for
that purpose on my boat refrig unit just to see how overall power usage
compares with instantaneous current draw (Provides a measure of how well the
icebox is insulated)

Graham



"ddecoste" wrote in message
oups.com...
Rob,

There certainly are devices that you can use to do just what you are
looking for. I recently purchased a device made by P3 International
called the "Kill A Watt" Meter" around $25. As long as your fridge is
rated 120v you just plug the meter in the wall then the Fridge into the
meter. It has a digital readout that shows voltage, Current, Wattage,
Frequency and the Kwh used since the unit was plugged in. I recently
bought one to measure several devices around my house such as PC on
normal and in power save mode. etc. If you do a simple search on the
net for the Kill A Watt meter it will come up.

Good luck,

Darren

Rob wrote:
I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

Demane your power company check the meter and refuse to pay your bill
till they do.

On Mon, 01 Jan 2007 20:07:42 -0800, Rob wrote:

I recently moved into my house and I got my first full month's electric
bill and was floored. It was almost $150! I have never lived somewhere
with a bill over $80 for a single month. On top of that, this house does
not have some of the common big time electric drawing appliances. My hot
water heater, dryer and home heating are not electric. The only electric
appliances that run often are the fridge, the sump pump and a portable
dehumidifier in the basement

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is in
this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I don't
have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a month and
see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not find
any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an option...

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

Rob wrote:
....

Anyway, I want to see if I can determine what the primary culprit is
in this very high meter reading. I am thinking it might be the
refrigerator. The fridge is an older, built-in Sub-Zero model which,
while nice seems to run a lot. Long story short, is there a device I
can purchase to put between the fridge's plug and the wall outlet that
will measure it's electric usage over a period of time, say a day? If
not, what is the best way to guage the usage of this appliance? I
don't have a backup fridge to use while I turn this one off for a
month and see what next month's bill looks like, so I'm looking for an
alternative.... Also, I looked up the model on the web, but did not
find any info on it related to electrical usage, so that is not an
option...
Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Rob

You have received a lot of good advice. I will add that the
dehumidifier can be a heavy user and if you are living in an old swamp, even
a sump pump can use a lot.

Don't forget to compare usage with usage not $$ with $$ rates vary
greatly. Also you may have a bad meter and or the billing period may
include time other than when you owned the home and or some sort of start up
fees.


--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

On Tue, 2 Jan 2007 09:12:03 -0500, (---MIKE---)
wrote:

I had a similar thing happen some years ago. It turned out to be my
septic pump was running continuously because of a faulty switch in the

Yes, not electric, but the company I worked for had an enormous phone
bill. I think that might have been what caused them to install
not-cheap software to monitor every extension and see which ones were
calling long distance.

It turned out to be the Coke machine. The coke machine was designed
to call the supplier when it was about to run out of syrup or soda or
cups. But it broke and it called constantly, 24 hours a day, day
after day. I guess the supplier was in the next country or far enough
away for it to be a toll call.

pump tank. Try turning off all your breakers and see if the meter disc
is still turning. If not, turn the breakers back on one at a time to
see which circuit is causing the disc to turn.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

mm wrote:

On Tue, 2 Jan 2007 09:12:03 -0500, (---MIKE---)
wrote:

I had a similar thing happen some years ago. It turned out to be my
septic pump was running continuously because of a faulty switch in the

Yes, not electric, but the company I worked for had an enormous phone
bill. I think that might have been what caused them to install
not-cheap software to monitor every extension and see which ones were
calling long distance.

It turned out to be the Coke machine. The coke machine was designed
to call the supplier when it was about to run out of syrup or soda or
cups. But it broke and it called constantly, 24 hours a day, day
after day. I guess the supplier was in the next country or far enough
away for it to be a toll call.

pump tank. Try turning off all your breakers and see if the meter disc
is still turning. If not, turn the breakers back on one at a time to
see which circuit is causing the disc to turn.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

They had to install software to track all the extensions to figure this
out? One look at a detailed bill would show all the calls to a single
number and looking up that number would pretty well isolate it.

Pete C.

Malcolm Hoar wrote:
In article . com, "Sev" wrote:
Rob wrote:

Unfortunately, it is a
built in one, with very nice cabinetry all around and wood on the doors.
Not sure how easy it will be to get a new one and have it look as nice
in the kitchen.... I'm gonna confirm what is causing the large draw
though first.

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post! All of your answers are
very much appreciated!!

Rob
If it is the fridge, do or get some maintenance, clean coils, etc.
Might help.

And check/adjust the thermostat too. Maybe it's just set to
the coldest possible setting.

And, since you mention it's wrapped in cabinetry, I'm
wondering if the fridge has sufficient ventilation. If
it's totally enclosed with no place for the heat to go,
you're gonna have large bills and short life on the
fridge.



It is one designed to be built in so it has stainless slant venting
above the fridge built into the cabinetry.....

Rob