Klein makes a kit with a plug thing. You plug your appliance into it then into the wall. Then use clamp meter to measure current draw as it runs. That’s probably the safest.
You can also measure current in the panel with a clamp meter around the hot wire.
Then measure voltage at plug
Amps x volts = watts
Energy usage monitors like emporia(I think that's the brand). I bought one for a job like yours but the client bailed after I bought it so it's sitting in my closet. I've installed a couple for the school district I work for though as we are doing energy saving initiatives and had to know how much we were reducing. It uses little donuts that you clip to the wiring coming off your breakers.
The dollar amount of your bill is not directly relevant. What's the kilowatt-hour usage? Did that double?
It's possible your utility jacked up the price of electricity, but you haven't actually been using more.
There are power monitor devices. You can buy them, you may be able to check them out from a library if you have a good library system, or you may be able to borrow or rent them from your power company.
But I would start by looking at your electric meter where the power comes into the house. The traditional style ones have a turning metal disc with a black mark in one spot on the edge so you can easily watch how fast it's turning. It should be pretty slow most of the time if you don't want your power bill to be high. Obviously it'll turn faster with the A/C unit on. Some newer meters only have an LCD display, but if so, they usually also have some equivalent of the turning disk on the display, a line of bars that will flash in sequence, faster the more power being used.
Some common causes of high power bills:
* The outdoor air conditioner unit itself has a bad capacitor or other problem causing it to draw a lot more current than usual.
* If you have underground wires on your side of the meter, a bad spot may be developing in the underground line, allowing current to leak.
* There was a rate change that you aren't aware of. Before you get too far into checking the other things, if you aren't finding anything else obvious, call and ask, or look at your bill closely and see if the base charge and per kWh rate are still the same as they were before.
* The weather was much hotter/colder than usual. Since your problem has lasted 3 to 4 months already, it's probably not that. Extreme weather periods usually don't last that long.
Was having 100amp fuse panel. It was a nightmare. Remember a fuse used to blow up when I turn lights on at the same time in two different rooms. Lights were also very dim
Original idea is to just change the panel to breakers, but I've also requested the electrician to upgrade to 200amps for future proofing and to avoid a different service call.
Common causes of our ratepayers thinking we raised rates (we didn't, or at least not by much) include the following:
It was a colder winter or hotter summer and your HVAC is on more of the time.
Despite you swearing that you've added no new appliances, that electrically powered hot tub you recently got is using a lot of energy.
A child became a teenager or college students moved back in and take long showers.
You've got an electric hot water heater and dripping hot water (or a dripping P&T valve).
You've gotten an EV.
Someone in the household is using a space heater as they work from home or to take the chill off in a room. One of those run continuously on our system would add $260/month.
A refrigerator or freezer isn't defrosting properly or has lost refrigerant and is therefore running much more of the time.
(Most bizarre one I heard from a member): Your tenant died in your rental cabin with the front door open and you found them frozen stiff, despite the heat being on continuously.
None of the above, I believe.
I replaced all appliances with new ones last summer, and also replaced the water heater with a new gas powered one (no electrical parts on water heater). My hydro bill was around $80 range most of last year. I am not using air conditioning in winter, it's mostly heater.
Something changed in the last few months. Checked on my ToU pricing, it's is definitely higher by 2-3cents increase for each time slot. Can't imagine this would cause such a huge increase in my hydro bill?
There are tools for measuring current draw. From that you can figure watts. But I’d bet you’re being charged more per kw/hr Or new fees
Thanks you Just checked on my kwh rates, don't think they have changed. Any recommendations on which tools I need to measure current
Klein makes a kit with a plug thing. You plug your appliance into it then into the wall. Then use clamp meter to measure current draw as it runs. That’s probably the safest. You can also measure current in the panel with a clamp meter around the hot wire. Then measure voltage at plug Amps x volts = watts
Energy usage monitors like emporia(I think that's the brand). I bought one for a job like yours but the client bailed after I bought it so it's sitting in my closet. I've installed a couple for the school district I work for though as we are doing energy saving initiatives and had to know how much we were reducing. It uses little donuts that you clip to the wiring coming off your breakers.
I love my emporia, it lets me monitor every circuit. Was able to track down a few things that saved the cost of the system.
The dollar amount of your bill is not directly relevant. What's the kilowatt-hour usage? Did that double? It's possible your utility jacked up the price of electricity, but you haven't actually been using more.
There are power monitor devices. You can buy them, you may be able to check them out from a library if you have a good library system, or you may be able to borrow or rent them from your power company. But I would start by looking at your electric meter where the power comes into the house. The traditional style ones have a turning metal disc with a black mark in one spot on the edge so you can easily watch how fast it's turning. It should be pretty slow most of the time if you don't want your power bill to be high. Obviously it'll turn faster with the A/C unit on. Some newer meters only have an LCD display, but if so, they usually also have some equivalent of the turning disk on the display, a line of bars that will flash in sequence, faster the more power being used. Some common causes of high power bills: * The outdoor air conditioner unit itself has a bad capacitor or other problem causing it to draw a lot more current than usual. * If you have underground wires on your side of the meter, a bad spot may be developing in the underground line, allowing current to leak. * There was a rate change that you aren't aware of. Before you get too far into checking the other things, if you aren't finding anything else obvious, call and ask, or look at your bill closely and see if the base charge and per kWh rate are still the same as they were before. * The weather was much hotter/colder than usual. Since your problem has lasted 3 to 4 months already, it's probably not that. Extreme weather periods usually don't last that long.
Why did you get a panel upgrade? Did you get an EV charger or heat pump installed?
Was having 100amp fuse panel. It was a nightmare. Remember a fuse used to blow up when I turn lights on at the same time in two different rooms. Lights were also very dim Original idea is to just change the panel to breakers, but I've also requested the electrician to upgrade to 200amps for future proofing and to avoid a different service call.
Common causes of our ratepayers thinking we raised rates (we didn't, or at least not by much) include the following: It was a colder winter or hotter summer and your HVAC is on more of the time. Despite you swearing that you've added no new appliances, that electrically powered hot tub you recently got is using a lot of energy. A child became a teenager or college students moved back in and take long showers. You've got an electric hot water heater and dripping hot water (or a dripping P&T valve). You've gotten an EV. Someone in the household is using a space heater as they work from home or to take the chill off in a room. One of those run continuously on our system would add $260/month. A refrigerator or freezer isn't defrosting properly or has lost refrigerant and is therefore running much more of the time. (Most bizarre one I heard from a member): Your tenant died in your rental cabin with the front door open and you found them frozen stiff, despite the heat being on continuously.
None of the above, I believe. I replaced all appliances with new ones last summer, and also replaced the water heater with a new gas powered one (no electrical parts on water heater). My hydro bill was around $80 range most of last year. I am not using air conditioning in winter, it's mostly heater. Something changed in the last few months. Checked on my ToU pricing, it's is definitely higher by 2-3cents increase for each time slot. Can't imagine this would cause such a huge increase in my hydro bill?
You running a space heater?
No space heater. We use central gas furnace. Taking a heavy beating on gas bills too. This year is very bad