I just got a huge power bill from BC Hydro, for my Hudson Island log home. The bill comes every 2 months, which unfortunately is a long time for a problem to go undetected. $1288 for two months electricity at a log cabin?
My friends Dan and Janet have been living there, working on renovations. They arrived January 20th and left by May 1st. In March and April, the consumption was about 200 kWh per day. After they left in May, with the log house being empty, the power was still consuming 80 to 100 kWh per day.
Here’s a graph of power use in March and April. Click to zoom in for details. 100kWh per day in May is huge for a house with no people in it.
My first ideas were:
a) Is it the new electrically-heated new floors, where were supposed to be low-power usage?
b) Is it a power leak in the underwater cable?
c) Did someone tapped into the line, a neighbor, or a grow-op somewhere on Thetis island?
d) Is it the new internet antenna to Beacon wireless (which receives and transmits)?
e) A new power meter that is incorrect? (See below.. it might be this!)
And I wonder why the power consumption dropped on approx May 10th? Was there a long power failure that day?
Dan and Janet are electricians, and they’re going back to the Island to start an investigation. My BC Hydro account is for:
STEVEN B HALLS
P27 FOSTER POINT RD
THETIS ISLAND BC V0R 2Y0
account number 8053 755
Meter number 4628351
Lets look at the history. Throughout 2012, the monthly consumption was around 1000 kWh per month. (33 per day) It began climbing steadily in November 2012, (when nobody was there), reaching 3000 kWh in January, and 6500 kWh in March 2013.
Looking closer at January and February 2013, something changed on January 20th. Perhaps that was the day they turned on a daily Smart-Meter recording.
Hmmm. After January 20th, the daily consumption is 100 to 150 kWh per day. Kind of similar to May 2013, and unusually high. If it IS Jan 20 is the start of Smart-Metering, it looks like the new meter immediately raised the consumption by double.
By way of comparison, my aircraft hangar in Camrose has 2 carpenters using powered woodworking tools all day long, 5 days a week, and in 2012 their average monthly power use was about 800 kWh per month, and in 2013 their average monthly power use is about 1100 kWh per month. How on earth could Dan and Janet consume 6500 kWh in March?
May 25, 2013 update. I bit of Googling revealed I’m not the only one whose electricity consumption doubled (or much more than doubled) after a BC Hydro smart meter was installed. See this article. At stopsmartmetersbc.ca there is a long list of people noticing their bills have doubled, or more.
June 2, 2013 update. Dan returned and took these pictures of the meter.
I’m told that the lower box only contains an On/Off disconnection switch.
The location of my power box with meter.
Dan looked up the electric floor specs, which claim the electrical floor will use 12 watts per square foot, times 24 hours if run constantly, divided by 1000, to give daily kilowatt hours. My floor is approximately 1655 square feet, so 476 kWh. AAAAHH. That’s a big number, and over 30 days it would total 14299 kWh. So I guess if the thermostats were ON 50% of the time, then 7000 kWh per month is an explanation. My goodness! That electrical floor has got to be controlled better, and heat loss prevented by better insulation. Crawlspace and Attic insulation boosting, and IR reflective window films are in my future out there on the island.
July 2, 2013 update. My late June bill arrived, and it was more reasonable, about $550 for 2 months. I’ve ruled out leak in the power cable. Inspecting it, it is in great condition. I’ve ruled out the Beacon Wireless antenna. The electrical floor is the probably cause.
November 27,2013 update. Looks like the electrical floor heat was turned on in September. My recent 2 month bill was $572 dollars.
February 6, 2014 update. Here’s a photo of the label on the transformer on the island. A 25 kva transformer with equal primary and secondary coils, not step up or step down.
So I guess if I’m looking for more current, I need to find it on Thetis Island.
March 5, 2014 update. For the record, my bill has been, during the winter months this season: July – Aug 2013 = $323.49, Sept – Oct 2013 = $571.96, Nov-Dec 2013 = $1323.47, Jan-Feb 2014 = $1488.59.