Has anyone had any errors in their electric bill?

[BRN_RI_FL]

Monthly charge excluding connect fee for period 6-28 to 7-30 was $186.19, 1,580kwh used. We were there for 4 days at the beginning of the month when we had our stuff moved from a vacation condo in Sarasota. When we left to go back to RI on July 10 we shut off the hot water and set the air at 78 and left the living room ceiling fan on low. The electric company is Seco Energy. We are driving from RI to our place at Phillips Villas next Monday. Are we going to have a $300 monthly electric bill when we live there? The electric company is supposed to come out to re-read the meter soon. Anyone else dispute their electric bill? Do you agree that my bill seems really high and, if so, what should I do next?

[stevebotts]

Last month our bill was $200.00. We were hardly at home and had the air up so thought it must be an error. However we decided to wait another month so paid the bill. Sure enough, this month the bill was $20.00. will see what happens on the next bill.

[CWGUY]

Monthly charge excluding connect fee for period 6-28 to 7-30 was $186.19, 1,580kwh used. We were there for 4 days at the beginning of the month when we had our stuff moved from a vacation condo in Sarasota. When we left to go back to RI on July 10 we shut off the hot water and set the air at 78 and left the living room ceiling fan on low. The electric company is Seco Energy. We are driving from RI to our place at Phillips Villas next Monday. Are we going to have a $300 monthly electric bill when we live there? The electric company is supposed to come out to re-read the meter soon. Anyone else dispute their electric bill? Do you agree that my bill seems really high and, if so, what should I do next?

:22yikes: Had the same thing a couple of months ago. Had Chuck Farrell put in a complete new A/C system. The first full months electric bill was the highest we have had in over 12 years. Called SECO - they were great. Said they would have a person re-read the meter. Called the next day and told me it was read wrong and they made the correction.....over $100 less. :thumbup: Great customer service! Last bill was 1/3 less than same time last year and this year was hotter. A/C paying for itself already.

[thelegges]

Monthly charge excluding connect fee for period 6-28 to 7-30 was $186.19, 1,580kwh used. We were there for 4 days at the beginning of the month when we had our stuff moved from a vacation condo in Sarasota. When we left to go back to RI on July 10 we shut off the hot water and set the air at 78 and left the living room ceiling fan on low. The electric company is Seco Energy. We are driving from RI to our place at Phillips Villas next Monday. Are we going to have a $300 monthly electric bill when we live there? The electric company is supposed to come out to re-read the meter soon. Anyone else dispute their electric bill? Do you agree that my bill seems really high and, if so, what should I do next?

New or preowned. Ours when we leave (82) runs about $60. A month for 2000 sf It jumped to $128 one month while we were gone, the capacitor on the air conditioner was not working and caused it to run constantly. Home watch person ran over had sunkool come out and fix it. Next month back down to 60

[Villager Joyce]

Monthly charge excluding connect fee for period 6-28 to 7-30 was $186.19, 1,580kwh used. We were there for 4 days at the beginning of the month when we had our stuff moved from a vacation condo in Sarasota. When we left to go back to RI on July 10 we shut off the hot water and set the air at 78 and left the living room ceiling fan on low. The electric company is Seco Energy. We are driving from RI to our place at Phillips Villas next Monday. Are we going to have a $300 monthly electric bill when we live there? The electric company is supposed to come out to re-read the meter soon. Anyone else dispute their electric bill? Do you agree that my bill seems really high and, if so, what should I do next?

This is our full time home, and We keep our air on 79 or 80 during the day and 77 at night. 78 is not cnservative in Florida in the summer.

[villages07]

My last bill was 266 after previous bill was 124. I checked the meter reading and it was off by a thousand so they misread it. I have an old dial meter which requires a human reading. I think the digital meters are read with a device. Seco re-read and fixed the bill. I do have gas for HWh, dryer, and stove. If OP is in a new all-electric CYV, it would be best to compare with others with similar setup. 78 seems a little low for an unoccupied home...82-84 should be fine imo. 186 did not seem that high and it was more than 30 days.


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[BRN_RI_FL]

Thanks everyone. I'm feeling a little better. This is a new courtyard villa. We probably should set the air at a higher temp when we are not there. Just learning all this stuff. My wife thinks that they might have misread the meter by a 1,000 as was stated above. From what I have heard from everyone, the electric charges are pretty reasonable in the Villages.

[wdonze]

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago where my bill was much higher than usual. I found that the current meter reading on my bill was considerably larger than what the meter displayed on the outside of the house. I called SECO, they re-read my meter, corrected the bill, and all was well in no time. We keep our 2-person, all electric, designer at 80 and the bill is very rarely over $100, mostly $80 to $90.

[JSR22]

We keep the AC at 74 and have a poll. Electric is about $200

[Allegiance]

Monthly charge excluding connect fee for period 6-28 to 7-30 was $186.19, 1,580kwh used. We were there for 4 days at the beginning of the month when we had our stuff moved from a vacation condo in Sarasota. When we left to go back to RI on July 10 we shut off the hot water and set the air at 78 and left the living room ceiling fan on low. The electric company is Seco Energy. We are driving from RI to our place at Phillips Villas next Monday. Are we going to have a $300 monthly electric bill when we live there? The electric company is supposed to come out to re-read the meter soon. Anyone else dispute their electric bill? Do you agree that my bill seems really high and, if so, what should I do next?In my opinion 78 when out of town wastes electricity.

The best A/C settings for seasonal customers | FPL Blog (http://www.fplblog.com/featured-posts/the-best-ac-settings-for-seasonal-customers/)

"FPL recommends programming thermostats at 72 degrees for just two hours each morning before sunrise and at 88 degrees the rest of the time. This will help prevent mold by removing moisture from the air during the cooler hours, when relative humidity (RH) is highest and your A/C runs most efficiently."

Highly recommend an Internet accessible thermostat so you can get warnings if humidity levels rise.

[BRN_RI_FL]

In my opinion 78 when out of town wastes electricity.

The best A/C settings for seasonal customers | FPL Blog (http://www.fplblog.com/featured-posts/the-best-ac-settings-for-seasonal-customers/)

"FPL recommends programming thermostats at 72 degrees for just two hours each morning before sunrise and at 88 degrees the rest of the time. This will help prevent mold by removing moisture from the air during the cooler hours, when relative humidity (RH) is highest and your A/C runs most efficiently."

Highly recommend an Internet accessible thermostat so you can get warnings if humidity levels rise.

Thanks Allegiance! Good info!

[BRN_RI_FL]

The problem was a malfunctioning heat strip that will be replaced on Monday. I'm not very knowledgeable about this stuff yet but I guess this heat strip was drawing power constantly. Thanks for eveyones comments. We'll be sure to set the air at a higher temp next time the place is unoccupied.

[rubicon]

SECO AND TECO A OK but water utility slowly I turned and step by step........................:D

[Barefoot]

In my opinion 78 when out of town wastes electricity.

The best A/C settings for seasonal customers | FPL Blog (http://www.fplblog.com/featured-posts/the-best-ac-settings-for-seasonal-customers/)

"FPL recommends programming thermostats at 72 degrees for just two hours each morning before sunrise and at 88 degrees the rest of the time. This will help prevent mold by removing moisture from the air during the cooler hours, when relative humidity (RH) is highest and your A/C runs most efficiently."

Highly recommend an Internet accessible thermostat so you can get warnings if humidity levels rise.
We have a humidstat on our thermostat. We leave all ceiling fans on when we're gone for the summer.
The air conditioning doesn't come on unless it's high humidity.
I don't have SECO bills with me, but I think it's 35/$40 for hydro each summer month.

[Wiotte]

Munn's will gladly sell you a humidistat and install it right next to the carrier thermostat they installed that has dehumidification capabilities. They refuse to tell you that it does have that capability, not even their techs will.



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[vintageogauge]

When we bought our home the tech. Told us when leaving for an extended period to set the temp at 82 and the humidity at 55. I'm assuming at this poin that it will stay dry while we are gone. I don't think I would trust leaving all the fans on in case one of them would malfunction.

[Barefoot]

I don't think I would trust leaving all the fans on in case one of them would malfunction.We have a great home watch company who informs us of any problems, runs the dishwasher, checks everything for us.
We've been using the same home watch company for the past ten years.

[Wiotte]

We have a great home watch company who informs us of any problems, runs the dishwasher, checks everything for us.
We've been using the same home watch company for the past ten years.



2 minutes after your home watch closes the front door anything could happen. And they wouldn't know it until they came back, 7 days later.
A homewatch may give piece of mind, your home insurance gives you real piece of mind, the kind you can rebuild upon.



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[Barefoot]

2 minutes after your home watch closes the front door anything could happen. And they wouldn't know it until they came back, 7 days later.
A homewatch may give piece of mind, your home insurance gives you real piece of mind, the kind you can rebuild upon.
I know all about home insurance and real peace of mind -- don't get me started.
We had a house fire January 9 and the Insurance Company still doesn't have an Occupany Permit for our house.
We depend on our home watch company to be our eyes and ears when we're not in The Villages.

[justjim]

Thanks everyone. I'm feeling a little better. This is a new courtyard villa. We probably should set the air at a higher temp when we are not there. Just learning all this stuff. My wife thinks that they might have misread the meter by a 1,000 as was stated above. From what I have heard from everyone, the electric charges are pretty reasonable in the Villages.

As soon as possible check the accuracy of your thermostat because they are not always accurate. SECO is very good but that doesn't mean mistakes can't be made. Not everybody in TV has SECO. I know some have Duke Energy.

[Toymeister]

For all the reasons listed above I have installed remote energy monitoring. It intentifes appliances, hvac units, etc and gives data on usage, even alerts. For 300.00 it was worth it to me. No monthly subscription cost. Sense energy monitor. Ok I admit to being a bit of a home automation freak, but you almost have to go be sure your home is ok or you aren't getting ripped off one way or another.

[bobnyce]

I suggest a Honeywell WiFi thermostat as long as you leave your WiFi on you can see what the temp is inside your house. Maybe you miss set it. WiFi alows you to switch from heat to cool and adjust temp four set times a day and to make chanes to the schedule anytime from your iphone or other mobile device. Gives me peace of mind to know what goes on when I am away!

[VyAllen]

Our last bill was $183 and we weren't there the entire month but we do have a pool. I think The Villages electricity is really high. We've had the house for two years and I still can't come to grips with the high utility bills.

[John_W]

Our last bill was $183 and we weren't there the entire month but we do have a pool. I think The Villages electricity is really high. We've had the house for two years and I still can't come to grips with the high utility bills.

You didn't give any details, size of home, masonry or stick built, age of home, do you run the pool filter all the time, electric company? Our last bill was the highest we've ever had and it was $91.96 and we were here the whole time. It's a 2BR 2BA masonry CYV that is six years old with SECO. This is the cheapest electric we've ever had in Florida or anywhere. When we had a pool a few years ago the pool filter added $1 a day to our bill, but we felt the $30 a month was worth it for keep the pool clean and the chlorine just right. What is your thermostat set at? Ours is 83 and the home is very cool. Do you leave your thermostat turned low when you're not even home?

[tikigal]

My electric bill ran $199 for the most current bill, this includes a pool, and having to run two 24 hour cycles for a chemical issue in the pool.
I keep my 2100 sq foot home cooled to 76 in the day and 70 at night. :024:
mostly my bill runs about 160 a month and about 135 in the winter. This includes the pool. My heat is solar.

[Toymeister]

Really without a whole home energy monitor all of you are just speculating on individual causes of consumption of energy. I know, for example, that yesterday I used 55.9% of my electric energy in cooling, 6.2% in water heating .9% in stovetop and so on.

[genobambino]

We have a new house in Pine Hills, leesburg elec supplies our electric...highest bill in a year so far $105..[includes hot water heater and stove].you can't keep that temp set down to 74 or 75 or you will be paying $200 a month....when we leave we set it on 82...also the new homes have a built in humidistat, you should have that set at 65 percent and not worry about the temp. so much. you can have a humidistat installed on any home that doesn't have one, there a valuable asset

[OhioBuckeye]

:22yikes: Had the same thing a couple of months ago. Had Chuck Farrell put in a complete new A/C system. The first full months electric bill was the highest we have had in over 12 years. Called SECO - they were great. Said they would have a person re-read the meter. Called the next day and told me it was read wrong and they made the correction.....over $100 less. :thumbup: Great customer service! Last bill was 1/3 less than same time last year and this year was hotter. A/C paying for itself already.

You know I'm not so sure the power co. (Seco) is that dumb. When we lived up north our power co. when they would get an unusual high bill they would always catch it when they looked back on past bills & see that we've never had a bill higher in X amount of yrs. & it would throw up red flags & they would come back & double check without us complaining about it. Don't know why Seco wouldn't see red flags & say why is their bill 100 to whatever & say something isn't right here. My bill for this period was $116. our high in the last 5 yrs. was in the range of $70. but we ran the air conditioner more this yr. & we stayed here this yr. Don't know what to tell you other than have them come back & recheck it. You know I honestly think everything here is charge what they want because were all old or we come from parts of the U.S. where things are higher. I don't think TV do enough to help the 120,000 plus older citizens here.

[Barefoot]

You can have a humidistat installed on any home that doesn't have one, there a valuable assetAbsolutely!

[coffeebean]

In my opinion 78 when out of town wastes electricity.

The best A/C settings for seasonal customers | FPL Blog (http://www.fplblog.com/featured-posts/the-best-ac-settings-for-seasonal-customers/)

"FPL recommends programming thermostats at 72 degrees for just two hours each morning before sunrise and at 88 degrees the rest of the time. This will help prevent mold by removing moisture from the air during the cooler hours, when relative humidity (RH) is highest and your A/C runs most efficiently."

Highly recommend an Internet accessible thermostat so you can get warnings if humidity levels rise.
We have a humidity control device on the wall underneath our thermostat that works "hand in hand" with the thermostat. We keep it ON when we are home. When we go away for any length of time (we were seasonal for three years in this home with the humidistat), we set the humidity control device to 60. When the humidity in the house rises to 60, that kicks on the air conditioner. The A/C does not kick on for a temperature setting, just the humidity setting.

The house can get very hot as long as the humidity is less than 60. This works like a charm. When we were seasonal, our electric bills for our designer home were about $40 in the middle of the summer. We would come back every January to find a perfectly clean home with no odor at all. Great device!

[coffeebean]

We have a humidstat on our thermostat. We leave all ceiling fans on when we're gone for the summer.
The air conditioning doesn't come on unless it's high humidity.
I don't have SECO bills with me, but I think it's 35/$40 for hydro each summer month.

I just now read this post after I posted about the same exact device! LOL.

[coffeebean]

When we bought our home the tech. Told us when leaving for an extended period to set the temp at 82 and the humidity at 55. I'm assuming at this poin that it will stay dry while we are gone. I don't think I would trust leaving all the fans on in case one of them would malfunction.

As a seasonal resident for 7 years (we are full time now), we were instructed to leave all ceiling fans on low. Our fans stayed on for 9 months straight when we were gone. Never had a problem.

[coffeebean]

You didn't give any details, size of home, masonry or stick built, age of home, do you run the pool filter all the time, electric company? Our last bill was the highest we've ever had and it was $91.96 and we were here the whole time. It's a 2BR 2BA masonry CYV that is six years old with SECO. This is the cheapest electric we've ever had in Florida or anywhere. When we had a pool a few years ago the pool filter added $1 a day to our bill, but we felt the $30 a month was worth it for keep the pool clean and the chlorine just right. What is your thermostat set at? Ours is 83 and the home is very cool. Do you leave your thermostat turned low when you're not even home?

We keep our thermostat at 76 all the time when we are home. We leave it at that temperature when we go out because in this intense Florida heat, we are afraid the A/C will have a difficult time catching up to cool the house down to the comfortable (for us) 76 degrees.

[John_W]

We keep our thermostat at 76 all the time when we are home. We leave it at that temperature when we go out because in this intense Florida heat, we are afraid the A/C will have a difficult time catching up to cool the house down to the comfortable (for us) 76 degrees.

That's a big part of your high electric bill. To my wife and me, we would freeze at 76 degrees, I would experiment with something warmer, at least try 80 degrees and leave it there home and away. Also ceiling fans can be your friends, hot water heater can be set at 120 degrees if not already. Keep curtains, blinds, shutters, whatever on the side facing the sun closed. We have plantation shutters on all our windows, although not on our 3 sliding glass doors, which only have vertical blinds. We have a custom made 14' retractable sun shade on the lanai facing the setting sun from RK Shades, it looks like this but is dark brown color. Our average electric bill is between $76 and $86, we did buy a 75" TV so I think that's one reason our bill went up somewhat to $91.

http://northsolarscreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ext_buckwheat1.jpg

[Toymeister]

Here are some measured facts:

A hot water heater set at 140 uses 4.9 KWH per day actualy experienced here in TV, or $.56. It is on an average of 8 minutes and 32 seconds for a household of 2. If you are after increased efficiency add reflective insulation to shave 4-7% off of that.

On the the the low cost ceiling fan myth:
A standard Villages grade interior 52" ceiling fan set on low 24/7 for a month draws 14.4 KWH or $1.66 each. Chances are you have several fans. While less than two bucks isn't expensive, as others have noted it is not helping humidity.

[Odysseus]

First off, 78 degrees is way too cold to set the thermostat for when you are away. I live here year around and keep my house at 78 and the A/C kicks in quite a few times during the day. Set thermostat to 82 or 84. Also, don't leave the fan on. It only moves air around, it doesn't cool anything.

[JSR22]

We keep it at 74 24x7 and we don't feel cold. We do not keep the fans on. We received our SECO bill today for 166 and that includes our pool running 8 hours a day and a split running AC on the lanai about 4 hours a day. IN NJ for the same size home without a poll it would have been 500 this time of the year.

[Ross]

Set thermostat around 84 when you are away for days at a time. Turn off fans when not at home. 21 years in the Villages