High electric bills shock homeowner

Q: I need help! We have a 1,750-square-foot house and very high electric bills, despite installing a solar water heater and a solar system to heat the pool. We have replaced almost everything to help with the consumption. All lights are fluorescent, and we put Icynene spray insulation in the attic. The air conditioning unit was replaced but is only a 10 SEER, and I know this does use some electricity.

Maybe you can recommend an electrician to check to see if there is anything that is taking loads that aren’t supposed to be there? Our neighbor has a 2,600 square-foot house, and his electric usage is 300 kWh less than ours. We both have four people in the house and both have pools. — Paying Through the Nose in Virginia

A: While I can’t recommend a specific electrician, I do recommend that you contact a professional certified by a recognized organization such as Independent Electrical Contractors ( www.ieci.org) and licensed to operate in your state. The electrician can do an energy-use survey and check all systems in your home to make sure they are wired up correctly.

Locating the cause of high kilowatt usage can sometimes be very difficult, but you may be on the right track in looking at high-usage systems such as the air conditioner. I experienced a similar kilowatt-usage issue last year that turned out to be a problem with the heating unit. Contact the company that installed your air conditioner (or an independent A/C contractor if necessary) to make sure this unit is working properly and was installed correctly.

Review your power bill for the past year or longer, paying specific attention to the kilowatt-hours used each month. While these numbers tend to jump during very cold or very hot months, look for very big jumps in usage or unusual upward trends. Contact the electric utility about any unusual usage. It can recommend additional steps to take, typically offer a free energy-audit kit, and can assist with paying prohibitively high bills.