Ridiculously High Electric Bill

Submitted by Big_Project8852 t3_10pg0lx in jerseycity

I live at the Morgan in downtown JC which is a luxury building with floor to ceiling windows. The unit is heated by electric heaters that we like to run at 72 degrees. During the day the heat doesn’t even turn on because of how hot it is from the sun.

We just received a bill for $500 from PSEG. Has anyone received a bill similar to this? I almost fell out of my chair when I read the total price. We had a high bill last month and made sure to turn off the heat when we leave the house and at night.

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nick_nuz t1_j6l4pv5 wrote

Few observations:

  1. Your temp is on fairly high. With that said, heat to what you are personally comfortable at, but just know that its pretty high. I feel like most eco temps would be around 64-66 during day and then 66 at night that creeps up to 68 during waking hours and then dips back down to 64-66 during day for energy saving.
  2. Youre losing heat through weak points. I’m not so sure if its an insulation issue, and depending on where your unit is situated within the building, I doubt its a wall/ceiling leakage issue, rather, you have large windows and you’re likely experiencing heat escape. Still, if it was bad, you’d probably be seeing condensation on your windows and since you didnt mention that, it’s hard to determine if thats the issue or not. You may want to consider insulated curtains (they help with both sound and climate)
  3. You may want to ask for a reading. PSEG gets it wrong occasionally, and if you truly feel this isnt matching usage, call them. My brother in Law in NYC had freakishly high bills and knowing his heating habits, it was clearly wrong. He called, they came out and it was sorted out. His situation was different though, he had his heaters off majority of the time and the usage wasnt making sense. It was easy to isolate.
  4. Reach out to a contractor friend or potentially someone in building management for a thermal gun to find weak points if thats something you can get your hands on.

And the final and most important one: 5. Listen to the advice people are giving you without your snarky condescending attitude. People are trying to help you and your outrageous and childish remarks and uncalled for. You probably are using more energy consumption than you’re aware of. You also may be losing heat through windows which is a very easy fix. Instead of name-calling in your replies (i.e. calling someone a ‘miserable f&&k’ or being sarcastic about water freezing), maybe dig deeper and figure out your estimated/actual energy usage compared to similar tenants. PSEG provides all this….just call them. Also, finding out the wattage of your unit is easy (even if installed by building), ask for brand/model and look it up.

Or dont…its your energy bill after all. What do I know, I only reduced mine (even with energy rate hikes) by over $250/mo by monitoring heating habits and getting thermal insulated curtains.

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6l7i4i wrote

Seriously thanks for the input. His comment about high school chemistry pissed me off.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j6l91pu wrote

I can ask an 9 year old what temperature is freezing and they know 0C/32F.

You can't possibly be as stupid as your trolling and pretending to be.

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nick_nuz t1_j6lrnm7 wrote

I get it. Another suggestion: try using a more energy efficient personal heater (I use a dyson cool + hot ). You could still figure out the wattage of your in unit heater and compare the savings to a personal heater, but this is an easy way to forecast your monthly usage and cost. I worked out a good blend of using my personal heater and vented heat to maximize comfort and cost.

I would explore this once you speak with PSEG and rule out an incorrect reading.

Bonus: They sell crypto mining heaters now and I’ve heard it covers the usage of the heater (one of my friends just got one which made me think of it, but personally I like my Dyson)

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6l6od3 wrote

If someone leaves me a snarky comment and insults my intelligence I’m going to respond to them with the same type of energy. But thanks for your opinion!

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Cuprunnethover2022 t1_j6kja68 wrote

You are keeping the heat sort of high, 72 is going to make that electric heat just run and run! I'd start putting them at 68 and see how it goes.

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6l6wbh wrote

I’m going to freeze! I’m already cold at 72 but if I want to keep my bill down I’ll just have to wear additional layers unfortunately.

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monrebentibus t1_j6lbhe2 wrote

Hey-oh - fellow Morgan resident here! We literally just had the same thing happen to us. This was the second winter in a row so we were pretty sure something must have been screwy with our insulation, having done the whole meter song and dance last year to no avail. We had the maintenance guys take a look this year. As it turns out, those floor to ceiling windows? Really difficult to close so you're almost guaranteed a draft. (The two maintenance guys who looked like strong dudes even had trouble closing them - it was a team effort.) I'd have maintenance roll through to see if that's an issue for you too and that might make a difference.

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6ldpeo wrote

Would you say your bill was in the same price range too? Where the window closes I don’t feel any draft but it is noticeably colder in that area. Other than the high heat bill and elevators I love it here.

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monrebentibus t1_j6le1uk wrote

Yup, it was definitely in the price range. We haven't gotten our next bill yet so it's unclear how much of a difference it makes, but the apartment feels less drafty after the fact so anticipating it will make a difference

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PowerfulCobbler t1_j6l3dou wrote

that is a very high bill… it’s possible that you were previously underpaying and they finally read your meter or something. I’d ask PSEG for more details. 72 is a totally reasonable temp btw

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6l3q2i wrote

Yeah I called and complained and they are having me check the meter. I thought 72 was reasonable..before I made this post. Some people are making it seem like I have it on 80 with the windows open lmao

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michael_scarn17 t1_j6lbv63 wrote

I literally keep my apartment at 75 during the winter my bill was $150 for the month of December. It’s likely your meter is picking up the hallway or elevator usage

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6lcv67 wrote

You are living my dream sir, I hate you.

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michael_scarn17 t1_j6lecx5 wrote

I find it hilarious that people are hating on you for keeping your apartment in the low 70’s. They sound like my dad who refused to turn the heat on in the winter.

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6lfdz6 wrote

Haha I was getting a lot of new balance with high white sock vibes from some of these responses 🤣

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heygoldy t1_j6khadq wrote

It’s probably an estimate but that’s insane

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PsychologicalAd1153 t1_j6k89rq wrote

What's the wattage of the electric heaters? And how long do you keep it on?

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6k8ue3 wrote

The heaters are wall units that were installed by the building. They don’t have any info listed on them to identify the wattage.

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NCreature t1_j6kopsd wrote

That's insane. Have them check the meter. I live not too far away from there in a five year old 1br and I set my wall unit at 76. My bill is only $93 for January.

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Stillill1187 t1_j6kd8st wrote

Do you run it that high at night?

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6kdhz5 wrote

At night I typically go to 70 degrees because I like sleeping in the cold. My room is basically freezing lol

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Stillill1187 t1_j6ke0cc wrote

These are high temps fyi. Maybe not to you, but like- compared to averages. It sounds like you may be running your heat way more than you realize.

For context- I have big windows too and leave my heat at 64 during the day and it almost never goes on, 66 at night. I mean- I wear a sweater.

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6kexys wrote

If I left my heat on 66 I’m pretty sure any leftover water would freeze lol. After talking through this I’m starting to think the unit is poorly insulated and I lose a ton of heat through the windows.

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me_oleksii t1_j6ko8xe wrote

Water freeze temperature is 32F. Is the temp sensor in the thermostat Ок?

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Stillill1187 t1_j6kf304 wrote

Yeah they sounds like a major insulation issue.

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RebeccaLoneBrook29 t1_j6kgwvy wrote

Lux buildings usually find some level of insulation issue, between the windows, between walls. My thermal imaging usually shows gaps around the window frames at work.

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bodhipooh t1_j6kjhb5 wrote

>If I left my heat on 66 I’m pretty sure any leftover water would freeze lol.

I guess basic, high school chemistry was not your thing.

The Morgan was built quite some time ago, so there is good historical data for what previous tenants in your unit were consuming in terms of energy. Reach out to PSE&G and ask about previous usage in terms of kWh and see how you compare. But, based on on your other responses, I think you are using way too much electricity by keeping your heat way too high.

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Big_Project8852 OP t1_j6kl4mk wrote

No I was more focused on coding, you miserable fuck.

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bodhipooh t1_j6m4tqc wrote

You mad, bro? I mean, I guess I would also be mad to be too dumb to be a coder who can’t Google basic shit.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j6l8llr wrote

For those not in the know:

Some european power companies put campaigns out on social media to mislead customers about low temperatures and pipes freezing, or mold problems or safety (long enough time and any temperature < 70 can cause frost bite).

Their profit is a % based on power usage. If people cut back due to high costs, their profit tanks. These companies are hurting this winter as people cut back on usage due to energy costs.

Of course it's grossly misleading, and anyone who finished 4th grade knows it doesn't make sense, but some people like OP fall for social media bullshit.

Water doesn't freeze until 32F, and humidity not temperature causes mold problems. And given cold air holds less moisture, it's actually very unlikely to get mold from keeping your home cool unless you've got condensation building up, which is somewhat hard to accomplish. In the summer however, if you don't have the AC on OR windows open for proper ventilation to correctly keep air moving you will get a mold problem, especially around here.

They shamelessly prey on the elderly with this crap to make sure they get their money.

Of course you can put on a sweater and use a blanket. You won't suffocate overnight (seriously, some elderly people now believe this because infants aren't supposed to have blankets).

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jakkyskum t1_j6l1gah wrote

Those are high temps. Maybe consider some heavy curtains for your windows

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fulanita_de_tal t1_j6mswks wrote

I live across the street at 90 Columbus. We noticed there was a little draft coming through the bottom of our PTAC unit and got some adhesive foam strips to seal the edges and it helped. Running your heat in the 70s is really high.

Edit: This is what we bought Amazon link

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JCY2021 t1_j6kia0f wrote

I live in a different lux building and find my pseg bills increasing each month! same situation—everything is electric..and it’s not an estimate reading ..they come read it every month! what is happening?!

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psarahaha t1_j6kvb01 wrote

No that bill is insane!?!! Have maintenance or even PSEG come and check that the meter on the bill is actually for your apartment. You probably also need better insulation. I don’t know why everyone is telling you to turn the heat down… that temperature is fine.

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research-grilling t1_j6l7f61 wrote

It’s possible that PSEG haven’t been able to access the meter for several months, and so they have been charging you based on an estimate. Then when they finally gained access to the meter they realized they were under-charging you, so now they are charging you the difference. That happened to me and the bill was also around $500.

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Morkitu t1_j6ldyfn wrote

Check your physical bill for any other company names other than PSE&G...you could be paying a totally different company for your energy supply.

Once I had an extremely high bill from PSE&G, and there was this weird company name on it. Turns out I had been switched to another private energy supplier. They can charge whatever they want, and can even raise the price of an average kilowatt hour at any time.

Not saying this happened to you, but wouldn't hurt to check. Also, know that those wall mounted combination heating and cooling units that come with many luxury buildings are very inefficient and costly. In the winter and summer months, you have to run them constantly, and they gobble up energy like a Pac-Man pellet! Best wishes! hopefully it was a misread of your meter.

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RainIsOnReddit t1_j6ledmg wrote

i know a lot of buildings downtown are just not well insulated. I think someone posted something similar about a building in Newport. I run my heat very warm when im in the house (its 76 rn) and i sleep at a 70. My bill has never been more then 100$. Really depends on your building I think. I have a 1 bed with 4 very large windows, but not floor to ceiling.

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read_eat1 t1_j6lm0nn wrote

Ask your neighbors how much they’re paying?

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wallfacer6 t1_j6lyy4y wrote

Add those window insulation plastic sheets to block draft. Also keep your blinds up during the day to get more sunlight into the apt for warmth.

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mooseLimbsCatLicks t1_j6ns05g wrote

That’s not a normal bill. And I’m with you on 72. My people are not built for cold.

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Mysterious_Truth t1_j6lopq1 wrote

I've heard other people say JC heating costs are ridiculous... used to live in a 700 sf apartment outside of JC and never spent more than like $100 on heat.

Currently live in a 2500 sf house (further from JC) and we keep it around 70 and we pay less than half of your bill in the winter months.

Something is wrong.

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