Originally Posted by
A.C. Slater
Thanks, guys. I've contacted the power company and their first reaction was that it has to be an error, but then they looked at the numbers, had me do a meter reading with them on the phone, and everything seems consistent with 3,400 kWh used in 30 days.
We have one 2.4kw column heater that we use in the lounge and a 1.2kw heater that we use in our toddler's room while he sleeps. That one is turned halfway up for the duration of his sleep (12 hours). We do use the dryer quite a bit, maybe 3 times a week, as the clothesline area gets almost no sun. We both shower every other day. Our son takes a bath every other day as well. Our washer uses cold water only (there is actually no hot water input).
I really don't think we're living in excess, here. We're basically just trying to stay reasonably warm in an uninsulated, south-facing house. We have a log burner that keeps the place warm for sure, but at this time of year, it's way too much heat. We end up opening the windows. At $600/cord, that's not a very good use of money.
I'm really trying not to sound like a snotty American, here, but the lack of quality housing around here just drives me crazy. People complain about Wellington winters all the time, and I can't understand why. The weather here is beautiful. The coldest day we've had since we got here in July was 10 degrees. Most of the winter, I've been walking around in a t-shirt. That's not a nasty winter by any stretch of the imagination.
So why is it, then, that having spent most of my life in the frigid northeast corner of the USA, where winters were always below zero, that I'm colder here than I ever was at home? Because the housing here is deplorable. No insulation. Single-paned windows. Damp. Leaky. No sun. COLD. I'm really trying not to be entitled, here, but I can't stand when great places suffer from self-inflicted wounds. There is no reason for houses to be this cold on a 15 degree day. We can go on and on about electric heaters vs heat pumps vs gas, but to me, there's no worse form of heat than the one that is lost through the walls and windows. It's wasteful, impractical, and incredibly expensive.
We're in Vogeltown, up on the hill, by Brooklyn and Newtown. We're paying $500/wk. We want to move when our lease is up in February. Where are the warm houses? Where is the electric bill a bit more palatable, like, say, $950?