ELECTRIC BILL

[rlyndecker]

I know this will sound bad but especially if you live in California, do you remember how much your electricity bill went up after you started using the CPAP on a regular basis? I can't "see" my bill yet but it tells me the amount due. The amount due is $180 MORE than last month. The only real difference is the last month I have used the CPAP on a regular basis vs. I didn't have it very long last month.

I just want to know if that's somewhat normal, normal or totally outrageous (which is my guess).

THANK YOU!

[jedimark]

I know this will sound bad but especially if you live in California, do you remember how much your electricity bill went up after you started using the CPAP on a regular basis? I can't "see" my bill yet but it tells me the amount due. The amount due is $180 MORE than last month. The only real difference is the last month I have used the CPAP on a regular basis vs. I didn't have it very long last month.

I just want to know if that's somewhat normal, normal or totally outrageous (which is my guess).

THANK YOU!

You can get nifty power meters that show how many watts a device is consuming..

I can tell you a CPAP machine doesn't chew all that much power.. (I have the same machine as you, I'll check and get back to you when I find where I put my meter..)

It's mainly the humidifier that eats a little power.. the rest is just a fan and basic computer circuitry.

[ozze_dollar]

I cant believe it would be that much. My guess is $30 qtr.

[billbolton]

do you remember how much your electricity bill went up after you started using the CPAP on a regular basis?

Actual power consumption will depend on both your specific CPAP machine and whatever settings you are running on.

As a rough approximation, its probably something like this.....

• Power consumed per hour of operation (assume 150W per hour, or 0.15 KW/h)
  
  Number of hours used per night (assume
  
  Number of days in a billing period (assume 30)
  
  That would give 0.15KWh * 8h * 30d = 36KWh of power consumed for the month

I don't know what your actual KWh power rate is in CA, but assuming its about 20 cents per KWh, that would give a cost of running the CPAP at 36 * 0.2 = $7.20 for a month.

Cheers,

Bill

[indyzoom]

I know this will sound bad but especially if you live in California, do you remember how much your electricity bill went up after you started using the CPAP on a regular basis? I can't "see" my bill yet but it tells me the amount due. The amount due is $180 MORE than last month. The only real difference is the last month I have used the CPAP on a regular basis vs. I didn't have it very long last month.

I just want to know if that's somewhat normal, normal or totally outrageous (which is my guess).

THANK YOU!

Electric bills don't just go up $180 for no reason, and your CPAP can't possibly use that much electricity. For comparison, I have electric heat and my bill went up around $100 from fall when I was not using much A/C or heat to winter when I have my heat on a lot. I would ask them if there's a mistake first of all, they are known to misread meters once in a while, and if not a mistake, maybe get an electrician out to see what's going on, because with all things equal, that's not right.

[Slinky]

Does your state have any regulation on how many months the power companies can estimate a bill before sending someone out to do an actual meter reading??

Last year our first month of actual cold wintery weather our power company estimated our use and the second hard winter month they again estimated. Both estimations rocked us!!! Unbelievable increase. The third month they HAD to do an actual reading and we didn't owe them a thing that month. And even had a small $3-$4 credit remaining for the next month. Those two estimates took our breath away tho!!!

Another time, years ago, when electric rates were a lot cheaper than now, we had several months of unusually high electric bills tho not the drastic type you've mentioned. We insisted they come out and check the meter, etc. And it turns out we did have a bad meter which they replaced. They got away w/not giving us any credit tho for the unusually high usage reported by the defective meter. We didn't presss the issue or contact the Public Service Commission as we should have. If we had it to do all over again we'd push it to the limit to get an adjustment. But hindsight is almost always better than foresight.

[Kody]

I doubt it's got anything to do with your cpap machine. PG&E out here in Northern CA where I live have been ticking off customers with the new "Smart Meters" they have been installing. People have been complaining that their bills have gone up a substantial amount since the forced switch over. A person I know said she gets a discount from PG&E every month for her Cpap machine use, maybe you could check into that as well. However sounds like you have something else going on with that large of a jump, unless it's a lot of extra heat usage I would ask for an audit.

[imsleepynomore]

I would suspect a miss reading ,estimated bill if this rules out consider your hot water heater if it is electric or if you live in the country on a well a faulty well pump check out if something is happening different in your home . My husband just started cap this august and we didn't notice any signifent change in our bill with both of us on cpap hope you find the cause that's a big increase

[RocketGirl]

About a year ago I had a jump like that in my electric bill. It turned out that the through-the-door ice dispenser on the fridge had broken and the flapper wasn't closing. The thermostat was sensing the higher air temperatures, so the freezer was running full blast 24/7 to try to cool it back down.

Usually with a jump that big, it's either the meter itself, or a misreading, or it's a malfunction in some high wattage appliance that either heats or cools.

[ameriken]

Agree with the others, I think the CPAP was barely a blip on the bill. I'm a little more concerned about the O2 concentrator that kinda sounds like a machine that would use a bunch.

[chunkyfrog]

I agree that it could not be the CPAP.
If you want to check other appliances, Harbor Freight sells Kill-a-Watt meters.
I'm not sure how high a wattage they will handle, though.

[Tigger]

I was talking to my sister about my cpap therapy and she told me a co-worker of hers had trouble paying her electric bill and had her service suspended. Since cpap is a medical device, her service had to be re-connected. I assume she worked out something with the electric company and possibly got reduced billing.
Has anyone heard of this? Do electric companies give reduced rates for required medical devices?

[ameriken]

Good question Tigger. I don't know about where you live but here is what I found about Colorado.

Xcel Energy in Colorado just passed a 'tiered billing' in 2010, which doubles the KW rate for anything over 500 KW. The medical equipment issue was not addressed, but the company says it will "work with customers who have medical issues". Here's an article:

Is Xcel's Tiered Rate Program A Surcharge On Disability?

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/money/2 ... etail.html

I found this too about the tiered rates:

What about people who have medical conditions?

The Colorado Legislature passed a measure this year that allows the PUC to consider creating an exemption from tiered rates “based on a customer’s medical condition or use of an essential life support device.” The PUC expects to undertake a rulemaking to gather information on how tiered rates affect customers with medical conditions and how eligibility for an exemption would be determined. All stakeholders will be invited to provide input about this issue. However, rules creating a medical exemption, if adopted, would not be implemented until at least 2012.

In the meantime, Xcel Energy has indicated that it is prepared to work with customers with extreme medical conditions on a case-by-case basis. Such customers are encouraged to contact Xcel Energy.

http://www.dora.state.co.us/puc/Tiered_ ... ml#Medical

[Elle]

I didn't notice any difference in my bill. I tend not to notice anyway if it is a couple of dollars difference (I only know ballpark what I pay) but nothing stood out so it couldn't have gone up more than a couple of dollars.

[Bookbear]

With Southern California Edison, you can get a special 'Medical Baseline Allowance' if you use a cpap or other life support device; or have special heating or cooling issues due to a medical diagnosis (such as MS). Note that this does NOT reduce your electric rate (which is tiered); what it does is give you more kilowatt/hours at the first (lowest) tiered rate before moving you to the next higher tier/rate. If most of your usage is in the lower two tiers, this can save you a substantial amount; less, if your usage is regularly in the upper tiers. Your doc must fill out a form (available on line or by mail from SCE), and the doc (not you) has to mail it in to SCE. Thereafter, your doc will need to re-certify every two years. Check into it. (And yes, the increase sounds WAY too high to be accounted for by just a cpap.)

Good luck!