rising natural gas bill

Christian · 03-03-2009, 02:20 PM

Hello,

I'm going to call my gas company on this issue as well...but I want to do a little research first...

December: Gas bill: $81
January: Gas bill: $179
February: Gas bill: $248

We have a gas stove, furnace, hot water heater. I know my house isn't insulated wonderfully, but I haven't changed any habits (thermostat at 65 during the day, 63 at night) over the past few months and my bill is skyrocketing! I could see a slight increase b/c of the cold weather in January...but it was warmer overall in Feb. than in Jan...and my bill went up almost $70! The readings are all ACTUAL.

My question is...our hot water heater has been acting funny recently. The drain pipe running down the side of the heater has flowed water twice now...can someone explain why that is? Also, is it possible for the thing to be acting up and running a whole lot more and running up my bill? It's the oldest appliance in my house...new around 1995 I think.

Also, the actual energy usage has increased as the bill has increased. I really need to understand why!!

Thanks all for the info.

Christian

travelover · 03-03-2009, 04:46 PM

I doubt that the cause of the increased gas usage is the water heater - it would be boiling the water full time if it was stuck on. More likely it is the cold weather we have been having (I'm in SE MI). My bill have been north of $300 and I keep the thermostat at 68 day / 60 night in a fairly well insulated home. Your utility may have Heating Degree Days listed online for the months of interest that will shed some light on the effect of the weather.

jdougn · 03-04-2009, 01:18 PM

Your hot water heater thermostat is broken. This may be a dangerous situation. Water only flows in the drop pipe when the pressure in the hot water tank is dangerously high. The water flows out through a pressure relief valve to prevent the tank from exploding.

If you this is what your water heater is doing then turn off your water heater immediately and call a plumber! This may also explain why your gas bill is higher since the hot water heater may be running constantly.

hth, Doug