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Message |
    
david rojer
Citizen
Username: Drojer
Post Number: 1
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 3:08 am: | 
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 I saw that the archives (/discus/messages/3131/26419.htmldo) do have a post of similar nature but I was wondering if this year was any different? My PSE&G bill in dec was $600. This month it will be close to $1000. Granted I have an old 1920 4B colonial home with 3 kids and 3 adults + lots of drafts, and everything (boiler, 30G water heater, dryer, stoves) runs on gas but STILL, $1000 a month seems a bit excessive. How do I get a second opinion from a monopoly provider??? |
Amie Brockway-Metcalf
Citizen
Username: Amie
Post Number: 147
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 8:18 am: |
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David, are they doing estimated readings? From that thread I decided to call in our old readings, which they were basing on the previous owners (who, we suspect, gave up the house after a year because they couldn't afford it. ) Our readings were over a thousand whatevers off! We can't wait to get the replacement bill, which should be negative.
We also have a drafty 1908 colonial and the new windows have made a huge difference in the bedrooms, allowing us to freeze the rest of the house at night. |
drojer
Citizen
Username: Drojer
Post Number: 2
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 10:17 am: |
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Unfortunately, the readings are my own. I called in the readings from the past 2 months so they are real. I wonder if my meter is funky or if I have an extra pipe going out to Linden? We already installed new windows in most of the house. The kitchen and downstairs remain very drafty though. I was just interested if anyone else had crazy bills like this? My property taxes are neck and neck with my gas bills- oy vey- It would be cheaper to live in Manhattan! |
witness
Citizen
Username: Witness
Post Number: 13
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 10:25 am: |
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Every December PSE&G estimates our gas bill, usually at two to three times our actual usage.
Every month we call in our meter reading, or enter it in on their web site. But for some strange reason, every December we get slammed for an exaggerated estimate.
With half a laugh, we suspect they do it to close out their year with an artificially big month.
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tulpen
Citizen
Username: Tulpen
Post Number: 1
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 5:31 pm: |
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There is certainly something frustrating about having no way to shop around or find out if the whole gas bill is a mistake. $1000 in a month seems a bit high for any basic utility used in a home setting. |
cmontyburns
Citizen
Username: Cmontyburns
Post Number: 629
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 9:29 pm: |
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Well I'm happy to say that after a year of estimated payments, we finally get some relief. We moved in last January, and PSE&G estimated our payments based on the prior owners. We paid $325 a month, all year. Then last week I got a letter saying we had overpaid for 2004 by... $1,000.
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doublea
Supporter
Username: Doublea
Post Number: 841
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 20, 2005 - 9:41 pm: |
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By way of information, you can ask PSE&G to change the type of meter so that an actual reading can be taken from the outside of the house. I don't recall if there is a charge for this, but at least you get actual readings each month instead of estimated. |
papayagirl
Citizen
Username: Papayagirl
Post Number: 296
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 1:28 pm: |
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Yes, there is a charge for the outside meter. I don't recall what it is, but it's enough to piss you off that you'd be expected to pay that amount to make their jobs more convienient. (And enough for us to opt against it.) |
argon_smythe
Citizen
Username: Argon_smythe
Post Number: 510
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 1:48 pm: |
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But the issue in this case is not inaccurate or estimated readings. David said he's been doing his own meter reading and reporting. Therefore the correct question is not "why is he paying so much?" but rather "why is he consuming so much?"
Finding the answer(s) is going to require some detective work. First, reading monthly is not enough to figure it out. I would over the course of a few days, maybe a full week, take readings several times a day. If you work and are out of the house, say morning before you head to work, evening when you get home, and night before you go to bed. Keep the data in a spreadsheet along with exact time of the readings. Is consumption consistent during the day or does it peak and valley? Could hold some clues if you align with what's running at those times, and/or if you have a programmable thermostat set to different temps at different times of day. Maybe for instance you reduce the temperature too low during the day while you're gone, and the cost of heating the place back up for the evening is greater than if you'd maintained a more consistent temperature, or vice versa.
Another possible tack is to identify everything that burns gas, and get an idea (by reading the meter again) how much each of those things burn to get the job done, by running each thing through a cycle or for a specific time. Does one of these things really blow through the gas far more than the others? Do you run that thing very often?
The third thing is to really go around the house identifying those drafts. Use a candle and be very thorough. As the difference in temperature between outside & inside increases, the cumulative effect of those drafts increases (probably) exponentially.
Good luck, IMHO it appears you're consuming enough gas to comfortably heat one and a half of your neighbors' houses in addition to your own.
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kevin
Supporter
Username: Kevin
Post Number: 416
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 2:19 pm: |
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In regards to remote meters...
I happened to be off work one day and the PSE&G guy rang the doorbell to read my meter.
After inquiring about the remote meters, I was told that PSE&G is now merging with a company called Exelon and the rumor is that they will start to convert all meters to some sort of remote monitoring system and that I should just wait.
It sounds good, but I won't be holding my breath.
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ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 3269
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 4:07 pm: |
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david rojer- We have an old house too. Center hall and 6 bedrooms (2 on the 3rd floor don't actually have radiators ) and our Dec bill was $365. We have blown in insulation from previous owners; I guess it works! |
david rojer
Citizen
Username: Drojer
Post Number: 3
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Friday, January 21, 2005 - 10:21 pm: |
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I appreciate all the great feed back. Yes, the conclusion is we do use an insane amount of gas, but it's probably legite. Argon, I appreciate the great advice- but that would take way too much time to figure out that I have too much stuff using up too much gas. It's clear that although the bill is high, it's probably correct given my use. 3 kids and an adult in the home all the time will do that. Maybe I'll keep my kids outside in the winter- then I could shut all the gas off. Or maybe I'll just PAY THE MAN..... |
hgstephan
Citizen
Username: Hgstephan
Post Number: 11
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 8:27 am: |
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ffof - Our house sounds like it is similiar to yours in size ... but we do not have the blown insulation. Our first bill (we just moved in at the beginning of December) was about double yours! Is your blown insulation in all of the exterior walls as well as the attic? As I said, we have no insulation (not even in the attic) and are going to have something done. I'm trying to determine whether just to do the attic for now or to do all of the exterior walls at this time as well.
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argon_smythe
Citizen
Username: Argon_smythe
Post Number: 512
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 12:45 pm: |
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David,
True, especially keeping in mind that doing the work I recommended will only result in more work still -- once you find out what needs to be "corrected." FWIW, though, I've got 2 kids and an adult home all the time, steady 70 degrees on the thermostat day and night, gas heat, gas water, gas range, gas dryer... and last month's bill was about $360. I think it's more than just usage, something really inefficient seems to be going on at your place, unless your old 1920 4B colonial home is 3 times the size of my old 1920 4B colonial home.
:-)
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Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 4781
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 5:03 pm: |
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David:
The draftiness is a large part of your problem. From the sound of it, your house is leaking heat. A number of years ago, we arranged for a free inspection by PSEG. They sent someone out to the house who pointed out to us a surprisingly large number of ways in which we could make our home more energy efficient without making significant structural changes. Some were very intuitive. Others, such as putting plastic caps on unused wall outlets came as a surprise. Try contacting your gas supplier (assuming it is PSE&G and see if they still have this program and if you would qualify.
In the meanwhile, a number of major gas and electric utilities have extensive energy saving tips on their website. Try a google search and see if you can apply any of these ideas easily.
Good luck and stay warm. |
ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 3271
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2005 - 10:26 am: |
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hgsteph- yes, insulation was blown in all the exterior walls and attic space.
drojer- definitely sounds like you're leaking heat somewhere. We keep our house at 68 in the day and down to 59-60 at night and we've got 4 teenagers who love long hot showers and the washer/dryer is going constantly.
I think Jan usage is up over December since it got colder. I'll report the bill as soon as we get it! |
Mr. Big Poppa
Citizen
Username: Big_poppa
Post Number: 36
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2005 - 11:45 am: |
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blown in insulation? Sounds like a dream! Does anyone have any idea how much that costs for a 3 bedroom 19020 colonial? |
Crazyguggenheim
Citizen
Username: Crazyguggenheim
Post Number: 752
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2005 - 2:26 pm: |
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Call me crazy, but a 19020 colonial sounds uber-modern! |
Amie Brockway-Metcalf
Citizen
Username: Amie
Post Number: 149
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2005 - 4:12 pm: |
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Big Poppa, my 5-bedroom (smaller than it seems) 1909 colonial was quoted $3400 for the basement, attic, and exterior walls by Divine. They're starting tomorrow and I'll post updates. |
Local_1_crew
Citizen
Username: Local_1_crew
Post Number: 351
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, January 23, 2005 - 4:16 pm: |
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i live in a 5 bedroom colonial built in 1924 and my pse&g bill was 350. |
Spqr
Citizen
Username: Spqr
Post Number: 14
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 24, 2005 - 5:21 pm: |
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My 3 bedroom colonial costs $3000 to have insulation blown in to the exterior walls and to have a crawl space insulated as well. It would have been an additional $1000 to have the attic insulated, but they discovered it was already well insulated when they arrived to start the job. |
Earlster
Supporter
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 901
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Monday, January 24, 2005 - 6:21 pm: |
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We just had insulation put in our attic when we got a new roof in December.
Our upstairs is suddenly so much warmer then the downstairs, it used to be the other way around. It is also obvious that the furnace is burning a lot less, haven't checked our meter yet, but I'm sure our heating bill this winter will be a fraction from last years. Now I'm really just thinking about the blown in insulation thing.
Also, I spent some time last winter weatherstripping doors, getting an insulated mail slot, etc.
It made a huge difference right away, the whole house immediately felt less drafty. |
ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 3277
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, January 24, 2005 - 6:49 pm: |
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uh-oh...new bill for last 30 days...$635!!! |
Daniel I. Goldberg
Citizen
Username: Dig
Post Number: 36
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 4, 2005 - 10:12 am: |
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Just got my December/January bill, and it was too low to be true. As it turns out, it was an estimate. My question is why am I getting an estimated usage if my meter is outisde of my house. At my old house in S. Orange, they read the outside meter every month. Could it be that they were unable to read the meter with all of the snow? |
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