What is using so much electricity? - HUGE electric bill!

moonlitcoyote · June 24, 2012, 01:50 PM

I bought land and had my electric hooked up. Parked my Homebago here about a month ago and just received my 1st electric bill. $166 or 724 kwh. As I stated I know absolutely zero about electricity but it seems to me that that is ALOT of kwh to be using for lights, TV and refrigerator... Heat and hot water is propane and it has been too cold to run the A/C.

The 1st thing I did was to unplug the Homebago from the pole to be sure the meter wasnt running by itself. It came to a complete stop, so no problem there. The next thing I did was with the Homebago plugged in, was shut everything off that I could think of. TV,lights and fridge. The meter was barely moving then. (didnt think to unplug the microwave) I then turned the fridge on and WOW the meter started turning MUCH faster. So I turned the fridge down a bit and that slowed the meter down but not by much. (now my fridge is constantly defrosting and soaking everything inside, dont know if thats normal)

So I guess what I NEED to know is how to tell if my refrigerator is drawing more power than it is meant to and if there is a way to insulate it or something to make it run less due to the sun beating down on the side of the Homebago?

Also if anyone knows of anything else that I can check that may be drawing so much power, I am all ears. But please remember that I am a total dummy when it comes to these things and even reading about it confuses the heck out of me. The other problem we have is that ALL of our tools and belongings are still in Colorado, 2000k miles away.

JDxeper · June 24, 2012, 01:59 PM

Double check your refrig settings, if you have it set on 12 volt electric instead of 110 volt(shore power) than would use a lot on energy. I assume your refrig is a 3-way( LP, 12v, 110v).

moonlitcoyote · June 24, 2012, 02:03 PM

Yes my fridge is 3-way but there is no way to change what it is running on that I know of. Supposedly if I am plugged into shore power then the fridge is running on 110v and when I unplug from shore power it goes to 12v or LP.

DaveVA78Chieftain · June 24, 2012, 02:13 PM

Ahh, first reading.
Many power companies will only read meter once every 3 months and then average the value. They would have been guessing for first reading.

Here is an example page describing how to read meters: http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/WaterandLight/Home/meter.php

Does the beginning / ending readings match close to what you currently have on the meter? IE: Does your bill look close for amount used or is this an estimated average?

In my older home, I used 755KW Hrs during April
I used 1108KW Hrs in May (AC has been on some this year)

Are you using an RV Fridge (heating element) or a Home Style Fridge (Compressor based)?

Is your bill houshold or business based? (check power company website for rates)

Dave

DaveVA78Chieftain · June 24, 2012, 02:14 PM

Model name/ID of fridge?

JDxeper · June 24, 2012, 02:19 PM

OK, without a multi meter, locate the electrical distribution panel(breaker box) and see if you can find the breaker switch(110 v probably a 15 amp breaker)
for the refrig, turn it to off and see if the meter is still turning fast, then find the 12volt fuse for the refrig. One possible thing is the 110 breaker is turned to off.
I'll back out and let Dave have at it, He's da man.

DaveVA78Chieftain · June 24, 2012, 02:59 PM

Being your first bill and given you had bought some land and had electric service put in, Are you also paying initial setup fees?

Dave

Oz · June 24, 2012, 03:17 PM

Most of the 3 way refrigerators I've had or seen have a sliding button, usually in the upper right front, which says something like "LP - 12V - 110V" It should be set to the 110V if you have that switch. The make and model, as asked for will help.

OldEdBrady · June 24, 2012, 05:28 PM

I think Dave's explanation might just be the answer: Initial connections plus actual bill.

For the house and the Alfabago, one month, electric always to the trailer, fridge on 110V, our bill was $216.65 for 1970 Kw. (Plus taxes.) High usage is due to nothing in the house being on gas except the furnace (which we certainly aren't using with temps from 90 to 106).

I'd give it one more month, using normally, and see what the bill is then.

JDxeper · June 24, 2012, 07:18 PM

My electric $197.85 with 1840 KWH used and included a $8.55 security light monthly. My house is total electric, with private well. So that is the whole shooting match. There had to be some other charges besides the electric usage. Also included is a $20 ( insult fee) for service availabilty!
JD

moonlitcoyote · June 24, 2012, 07:23 PM

To answer your questions..

Fridge is a Dometic Royale RM 3800 and it only has an on/off switch

The meter reading looks correct

no I am not paying any set up fees, that has already been paid.

The bill is household based

I called the electric company when I got the bill and was informed that a "normal" household with washer/dryer and such would use about 750 kwh/month. That is without an electric hot water heater. And seeing as I do not have a washer/dryer or anything else, not even a well pump. I Just cannot see how my bill is so high unless something is drawing more power than it should.

I realize that electric costs are different everywhere, and my company seems to be extremely expensive. Thats why I am trying to focus on the kwh instead of actual price.

ibdilbert01 · June 24, 2012, 07:56 PM

Quote from: moonlitcoyote on June 24, 2012, 07:23 PM

Fridge is a Dometic Royale RM 3800 and it only has an on/off switch

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/20251491/Manual-Refrigerator-Diagnostic-Service-Manual

I did a quick glance through the manual and it says you should have a selector switch labeled DC / AC / GAS

Froggy1936 · June 24, 2012, 08:38 PM

Hi MJ There is definatly a switch for selection 12V AC or LP (unless someone has modified ) Another option is to run the fridge on Propane and see if the meter slows down (also i think the fridge uses less propane than the 110 V heater uses KW) Mine had a fuse problem and no 110 operation I ran it on propane constantly for 2 weeks and only used 1/4 tank of propane (10 gal tank) I dont know how you can switch it if you cant locate the switch other than unplugging the 110 plug It should be at the rear of the fridge Also leaving the outside inspection door open make the fridge work less (due to maximum air flow) Good luck Frank

moonlitcoyote · June 24, 2012, 08:49 PM

Quote from: Froggy1936 on June 24, 2012, 08:38 PM
Hi MJ There is definatly a switch for selection 12V AC or LP (unless someone has modified )

Are you SURE? From what I read and have been told, my refrigerator switches automatically. I suppose I could unplug it from where it is plugged in, in the back. But I really dont like running it on LP due to fire hazards. I know the meter slows down if I shut it off thats why I was focusing on the refrigerator being the cause of the high usage.

JDxeper · June 24, 2012, 09:06 PM

What I am thinking that it is running on 12volt instead 110v (the refrig has to have 12v for the switches) which would be an energy hog. If you could unplug the refrig that would answer that question.

moonlitcoyote · June 25, 2012, 12:22 AM

Actually, now that I have sat here and wondered what tools I need to get some kind of reading off the fridge to see if its pulling more power than it should. I remember 1 very important fact... I dont believe it CAN run off 12V as the wire from the ignition to the fridge is unhooked. That was a topic I had going before, my fridge doesnt work when driving down the road and LP is turned off.

HandyDan · June 25, 2012, 12:38 AM

I have a Dometic 1303 fridge in my old Holiday Rambler. It doesn't have a switch for power source. It is entirely controlled by the circuit board. If 120v is available, it tries that first. If unsuccessful it tries for 12v from the alternator. It that fails, it goes to propane. It still has to have a 12v source connected to make the circuit board work but the fridge itself doesn't run off the coach battery. The Homebago might have something similar. The operator manual says it draws 23 amps when running on 12 volts. It says there must be a battery in the system because a converter alone can disturb the control system. I don't know if any of this helps any, but it explains why there is no power source switch.

ClydesdaleKevin · June 25, 2012, 08:58 AM

An RV hooked to shore power is simply a big power hog, and that is that, especially the older ones.

We stayed at a friend's house in Georgia in the driveway for 8 weeks once, the very first time we ever did the GA Renfaire. We insisted on giving them 100 bucks a month, although they at first didn't want to accept it. They were glad they did! Their electric bill went up a hundred bucks a month...and it was a cool year and we rarely ran the AC.

Another time we stayed in the driveway for several weeks at a friend's house in Florida. Again, it was the winter and we were rarely using the AC, but the electric bill also went up over 100 bucks a month.

RVs draw a lot of power. The fridge draws a lot of amps set to 110. The heater element needs and uses the power...although they usually draw less amps than a household unit. The converter uses a lot of power as well, converting 110 to 12 volts.

About the only things you could do to shave off energy consumption would be to fix the fridge so it will run off of propane...which is safe by the way (check your fridge model and make sure there haven't been any recalls)...you could also add solar panels, a large battery bank, and maybe even a wind generator and run off of batteries most of the time, and only plug into shore power when necessary...ie your power use is higher than what the solar and wind generator can dump back into the battery bank.

Even still, your bill seems very high. I forget how to calculate kw per hour based on the bill and number of kilowatts used...my initial attempt makes it look like you are paying over 4.00 a kilowatt, which CAN'T be right...I've never heard of electricity being that expensive, and .25 cents is high by national standards...so I must be doing the math wrong...but that still seems darn high for 700 kilowatt hours.

Kev

moonlitcoyote · June 25, 2012, 09:53 AM

Is an RV that much different than a travel trailer? Before leaving Colorado less than a year ago I had my 27' Terry trailer that we left plugged in year round and we never even saw a difference in the electric bill. Definitely not the $100 you were paying Kev. And we had the same size fridge in that and also had installed a window A/C unit.

I think I will turn the propane on to the fridge today and see if it will run off that. ... May need to start a new thread to figure out how to do that though.

DaveVA78Chieftain · June 25, 2012, 01:48 PM

You are determined to keep this old memory working aren't you!

The RM3800 is an AES fridge (no transfer controls)
Removing 110VAC will transfer to propane operation. (As you said, you already have the 12VDC mode turned off with the ignition wire disconnected)
Manual indicates the 110VAC cable on the back of the fridge just plugs into a recepticle on the wall. If so unplug it.
If the fridge is on a seperate CB circuit (modern rig method), you can also just turn it off at the AC Distribution panel.

Dave

moonlitcoyote · June 25, 2012, 02:07 PM

ok, so here's what I did.

#1 hooked up the ignition wire but the chassis battery was dead (cant imagine why) so jumped it to my van. Then unplugged the fridge and yes it worked off 12v. But meter still spinning like there's no tomorrow.

#2 Turned off ignition and fridge kicked over to propane. But meter still running like a runaway train.

#3 Unhooked the ignition wire because I have NO idea why it was undone in the 1st place. Maybe alternator cant handle it?

#4 plugged fridge back into socket, turned fridge to off and meter slowed WAY down.

In conclusion, in seems that if I want cold food I have to pay an arm and a leg for it.

DaveVA78Chieftain · June 25, 2012, 02:18 PM

Your description indicates the 12VDC heating element may always be ON no matter what mode the fridge is in.
Refering back to pdf page 75 of the troubleshooting manual (http://www.gasrefrigeration.net/dom_techdata/AES_SM.PDF), the relay (top of schematic; has 85,30,86,87 on it) that feeds the 12VDC heater is most liekly stuck in the closed position. Either that, or the signal to it from the control board is always energized. That heating element should be OFF during 110VAC or propane operation. That could easily be your power hog.

Dave

moonlitcoyote · June 25, 2012, 02:33 PM

OK first question.. what do you mean pdf page 75?

DaveVA78Chieftain · June 25, 2012, 02:44 PM

LOL - top of screen there are 93 pages in that pdf file. please scroll to pdf page 75 of 93
or
on the left side of the pdf, there is a list of pdf icon pages. scroll down until you see "75" and then left click on it

For use old folks who still know how to read page numbers, thats page A-10-2 of the paper document.

Dave

moonlitcoyote · June 25, 2012, 02:53 PM

hm, maybe I didnt open it right, when I click the link it opens it in another window and it doesnt show any page numbers except for the onnes actually on the pages. BUT I did find page A-10-2...

OK I see the relay your talking about, now is there a way for me to check if it is stuck closed or always energized?