Six Unexpected Reasons Your Utility Bills Are Huge

Owning a home is great, except for the utility bills that come along with it. The average cost of gas and electricity in the U.S. is $206.22 per month, and if you're eager to pay less, you’ve probably done the obvious stuff—conserving your use, sealing (or replacing) your windows and doors, or even using your appliances at off-peak times.

But if you’ve covered the basics and your bills still seem too high, it’s time to dig deeper. Sometimes the reasons behind an unusually large utility bill aren’t obvious at all, and have nothing to do with your behaviors or usage patterns. Here are six unexpected—but not entirely unlikely—causes for a higher bill.

Your appliances are older

If your electricity bill has been rising steadily, investigate the appliances in your home. The efficiency ratings on that sticker that came with your new furnace or water heater are for an appliance in brand-new condition. Unfortunately, appliances age pretty rapidly in a lot of ways—in just two years, for example, a refrigerator’s electricity use can climb by 11%.

That doesn’t mean you need to replace your appliances every other year, but just because they're still working doesn’t mean they’re doing so efficiently. If your utility bills are getting fatter, consider the “useful” life of those appliances—as they get older, they will pull more energy to get the same job done.

• Refrigerators: Refrigerators typically last an average of 14 years, but the seals around the door will start to wear out after 8 years or so. As its efficiency falls it will pull more power to compensate, bloating your bills.

• Dishwashers: About 10 years.

• Washing Machines: About 10 years.

• Dryers: About 13 years.

• Microwaves: About 9 years.

• Ovens, Ranges, and Stoves: Gas models can operate efficiently for as long as 15 years, but electric models have a slightly shorter lifespan, about 13 years.

Another consideration? "Vampire" appliances. You can (and probably should) unplug countertop appliances like coffee makers when they’re not in use, and if you’re going on a long trip, you should consider unplugging stoves, televisions, and other devices that continuously sip on your power, driving up the bill.

Inefficient interior design choices

The layout and design choices in your house can have a big impact on your utility bills, because they can make it harder to heat and cool your home. Even if you set your thermostat to a reasonable temperature and schedule, if your furnace, boiler, or air conditioning system has to work overtime to maintain those temps, your utility bills will skyrocket.

A few considerations when remodeling or rearranging furniture:

• Exposed beams. Those rustic beams exposed can add a lot of charm to your space—but also add heating and cooling costs. Exposing beams means there’s no insulation up there, so heat and cold will just transfer through your roof, and your utility bill will rise.

• High ceilings. Even without exposed beams, high ceilings make it harder to heat and cool your space, simply because your HVAC system will have to work harder to cool or heat a larger volume of space.

• Layout. If you’ve got furniture blocking heat sources or HVAC vents, you’re making your system work twice as hard to heat and cool your home. Similarly, long window treatments that cover radiators can drive up your bills. Opening up your layout as much as possible by removing ‘breaks’ like bookshelves or tall furniture can help cool and warm air to flow freely, making it easier for your systems to control the climate.

• Exposed brick. No matter how thick your walls are, brick is not a great insulator. The R-value (a measurement of thermal resistance) of brick is just 3, but exterior walls in most homes need an R-value of at least R-13. Exposing that brick will look amazing, and drive your utility bills skyward.

Your water heater setting

When you install a new water heater, chances are good the default temperature set by the manufacturer is 140ºF. This is pretty hot—hot enough for the water to cause serious burns with just a few seconds of exposure. From an energy perspective, it’s just not an efficient setting, as much of that heat gets lost, forcing your water heater to work harder. You probably won’t notice much difference if you turn it down to 120ºF. This isn’t just a safer bet, it can also save you as much as 22% off your utility bills.

Defective wiring

Defective wiring—whether due to incorrect installation or simple age—can leak electricity, meaning you’re paying for power that you’re not using. Old wiring can also overpower appliances and light fixtures, pumping more juice to them than they need. This not only raises your utility bills unnecessarily, it can stress your appliances and shorten their lifespan.

You've got a freeloader

Another possible reason your utility bills are so high? Someone might be stealing from you. Water, electricity, and even your internet service can be diverted and split, leaving you to subsidize someone else’s usage. A few tell-tale signs are extension cords plugged into exterior outlets, mysterious digging around your property, and rogue hoses attached to your exterior spigots.

Cryptocurrency mining

No, really: Depending on where you live, cryptocurrency companies might be driving your utility bills higher. Cryptocurrency mining requires a lot of energy, and many crypto companies have made sweetheart deals with local utilities to get discounted electricity rates—with the costs sometimes passed on to regular consumers. In Texas, for example, residential consumers saw their electric bills rise by almost 5% because of subsidized rates for local crypto enterprises, and there are similar scenarios in New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arkansas.

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