Outrageous Power Bill Stuns Couple

ABINGDON, Va. – Carolyn Ball was stunned when her December power bill arrived from Bristol Virginia Utilities.

Rather than just complain about the $419 charge, she and her husband, Brad, took action. They cut back the thermostat on their electric furnace to 64 degrees, opted for two forms of supplemental heat for their 12-by-52-foot mobile home, installed plastic sheeting over most of their windows, sealed openings, unplugged unnecessary items and installed energy-efficient light bulbs.

"It was a shock. I previously had AEP [American Electric Power] and my bill was high, because we lived in a 2,800-square-foot house, but this," Carolyn Ball said, pausing to find the right words. "I sat and cried for 3½ hours."

Some of those changes resulted in only a 200 kilowatt-hour decline on the couple’s January bill.

So, at that point, they asked BVU to perform an energy audit of their Astor Road home. The

Herald Courier tagged along as BVU’s Claude Blankenship spent about 90 minutes assessing the energy the Balls use and offering suggestions to reduce it.

Comparing that day’s meter reading to their previous bill, Blankenship said their changes were noticeably reducing their consumption.

"The two biggest things are the furnace and the water heater," Blankenship said after completing his work. "They have an electric furnace which, even though it’s almost new, that is the most inefficient way to heat. If they planned to stay there for a long time, I would have strongly recommended installing a heat pump."

Ball said the couple considered a heat pump, but plan to eventually build or buy a house.

"We bought this place in March [2008]. We’re trying to get on our feet. We looked at a heat pump. If we were going to stay here, I would definitely want to invest in a heat pump, but this furnace was installed new two years ago," she said.

In addition to lowering the thermostat, the couple uses a small kerosene heater in the living room, and a wood stove to heat a cinder-block den addition on the side of the trailer.

She estimates they’re spending $100 a month for kerosene, while wood for the stove is provided at no charge by a family member.

The electric bill’s other major contributing factor, Blankenship said, was the temperature setting on the electric water heater.

After a couple of minutes, running water at the kitchen faucet measured about 134 degrees, which is well above the recommended 120-degree setting.

"I sometimes find them up to 130 or 135 degrees," Blankenship said. "Sometimes they’re cranked all the way up. But the higher that setting, the more electricity it uses."

Ball said their heater was set above 120 because her husband owns a roofing business and "needs a scalding hot bath" each day.

"That is one thing we both agreed to compromise on. That we would turn the hot water heater up and go from there. I can’t go without scalding hot water myself," she said.

Blankenship still urged Ball to reduce the temperature setting.

"A water heater is nothing but a big electric heater," Blankenship said. "It has two elements in it and each of them is 4,500 watts. It can use a lot of energy, especially this time of year. The water you use to take a shower is replaced with cold, outside water. It’s like putting an ice cube in a cup of hot coffee. The incoming water is so much colder than the temperature in the tank, it brings the tank temperature down and the water heater has to come on."

According to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Energy Right program, reducing the water heater temperature by 10 degrees can result in a 3 percent to 5 percent savings in energy.

TVA also recommends an insulating jacket to help the water tank retain heat while deflecting cold air. A precut water-heater jacket costs about $20 and can result in a 5 percent savings, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

In other matters, Ball said the couple uses a new, energy-efficient washer and dryer, but air dries clothing when possible.

"With my old dryer, it might take 45 minutes to dry a load of clothes. With my new one, it takes about 17 minutes, on average," she said. "The main reason we bought them was because they were energy efficient and used less water. It saves time, it saves money and eventually it will pay for itself."

During the audit, Blankenship also urged the couple to:
- Block off an unused heating duct that was allowing cold air to enter through the floor in a bedroom.
- Seal more tightly around an outside vent for the kitchen stove.
- Seal a small air leak around the front door.
- Use the microwave for warming or preparing food, rather than the electric range.
- Wash full loads of clothing only in cold water and air dry when possible. If using an electric dryer, run items continuously to take advantage of heat already built up in the dryer.

Carolyn Ball called the audit process beneficial.

"I’m definitely going to talk to my husband about lowering the water-heater setting," she said. "I’m definitely going to close off that one duct. And I didn’t know that about the microwave."
Blankenship said the biggest difference between performing an audit on a mobile home, compared to a traditional house, involves insulation, because mobile home walls and ceilings are sealed.

"It depends if it [house] has an accessible attic. I would go up there and check on the insulation. There are sometimes some issues up there," he said. "If you can get into the basement or crawl space, I would check the water pipes. But looking at a house is pretty much the same. Sometimes I can find some things to help them and sometimes I can’t."

Brian Bolling, BVU’s vice president of customer service, said the utility provider frequently performs several free audits each month.

"A lot of times he finds a smoking gun. Sometimes he doesn’t," Bolling said. "But most of the time he can provide good information that can help people. He also does our heat pump inspections, so that all works together."

The key to any audit, Blankenship said, is learning how people live, their schedules and the times and ways they use energy.

He also urged Ball – and every other customer he talks with – to regularly check the electric meter and write down the usage.

"The first thing people need to do is read their meter – whether they read it once a day or once a week – and read it at the same time so they can quickly pick up patterns of usage. Then, they can see how much energy they’re using," Blankenship said.

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