Oops – its not very Powersmart is it?

An average home (whatever that is) uses 31 kWh a day. On my last BC Hydro bill, it says that we used on average: 123 kWh a day. Same period last year for us was 73 kWh/day. My last BC Hydro bill was over $730! I’m still in shock!

We live in a older townhome, 1600 square feet, two levels, two adults, one toddler and one infant. We use electricity for hot water and baseboard heating and in the kitchen. Since moving in over two years ago, we’ve tried to be good, by replacing to all energy saving light bulbs and updating to energy efficient kitchen appliances and baseboard heaters. I’ve also installed programmable switches for the baseboard heaters. We also replaced most of the windows and glazed sliding doors – how’s that for Power Smart activities?

However with the same power consumption constants as the previous year, what has changed in the last 2-3 months?? We had another baby! In order to accommodate her, we had to turn the heat up in the third bedroom (as previous years it was left off). The heat in the room is left on 24/7, as she is may or may not be in her room throughout the day. More laundry cycles, of spit clothes and blankets; staying home to eat more (use of stove top or oven and other kitchen appliances); an extra bath (more hot water for electric hot water heater). We’ve also had probably a few more visitors around, and since sleepymom is on maternity leave for the year, we had to keep our home warm throughout the day. In addition there was the one or two weeks of exceptionally cold freezing weather in vancouver in January.

Abnormal consumption is defined as any residence that uses more than 93 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per day (the average home uses 31 kWh a day). Homes that exceed 93 kilowatt-hours per day are flagged at Hydro as a potential grow op.

We’ll see who’s knocking on my door soon.