We got DSL last month when it became available in our area because ds#1 said he'd pay the monthly fee. (which he did)

Now I find out he leaves his computer on all night downloading stuff. Grr. My electric bill went up almost $60 from what it should be this time of year from $80-$90 normally to $141. yikes!

So ds says he'll pay the extra $60 a month to run his computer all night. I said no, how about you turn it off EVERY time you aren't actively on it!

So now that I think about it, every time we shut down a computer by just letting it hibernate, how much electricity is that running up? Sure it's an inconvenience, but we have 3 laptops and 1 desktop. If they all hibernate, does that still use up electricity? What about our VCR/DVD/Digital tuner box?

Wow! I am shocked it would cost that much to leave a computer on all night. The reason I say this is that I have left my desk top pc on all night and I have left it off at night and there is never that much of a difference, but we only have 1 computer too. That makes me question whether I would want DSL or wireless internet access at all, let alone another computer. Yikes! 

I thought the whole idea of hibernation is that they will consume less energy than if they are up to full power, but if your son is downloading all night then the pc is not hibernating.

Sorry your electric bill went up so much. It makes my case to my hubby that my dd should not have a computer in her room, with or without internet access.

I have to say that in my experience completely turning off electronic equipment when not in use is a huge energy saver.  All my computer equipment is connected to a power cord.  When I'm finished for the day, I shut down and turn off the power.  I do the exact same thing with my television/DVD set up.  It ends up being no different than turning off a light switch.  I never use the hibernate mode even though I telecommute for my main job.  

Basically, any thing with a "wall wart", those little black boxes on your power cords draw unnecessary energy.  Anything that uses a remote control is using energy just so you can have that feature available when you want it. 

About a year and half ago I tried to go through my home and really think about how I was using energy.  I changed my light bulbs to CFLs.  Put my electronic equipment on power cords.  Started using side table lamps when needed instead of always relying on overhead lights.  I unplugged equipment that I never use, like the digital clock in the extra bedroom. Started using my toaster oven to bake instead of my stove.  Hung my laundry on the clothes line.  In the summer I open my windows first thing in the morning to draw in the cooler air.

I have found that these changes require very little effort from me, but do make a significant difference in my electric bill.  Last year my highest electric bill was $29 and that was with using the AC all the time because we were going through a heat wave. 

I know people tend to ignore the electronic device/power cord issue when working on energy conservation, but I really think it does make a big difference. 

Dear MichelleCinnamonHuskies, What I've heard recently is that ALL plugged-in appliances constantly draw current.  The only way to turnn them off is to (i) unplug tehm, or (ii) plug them into a surge protector, & then turn the s.p. off.  You'll need to power them dodwn (turn them off) before either unplugging them directly or turning off the surge protector.  this is what I've heard.  Yours in Him, Deb

 Everything that is plugged in is drawing power. 

I find it odd however that one computer being on all night would cause a $60 increase. I can see an increase in rate in addition to a rise in useage being the culprit.

From experience, laptops are cheaper to run as they use less electricity.

 

Something is not quite right about a computer left on all night would cost an extra $60 in electricity.  then companies who normally have computers on would pay huge bills.   We have a server that is on all the time plus a couple of computers that are on lots.  trust me it is not $60 a mth to run them. 

I agree that $60 for a computer sounds strange.  My husband and I leave our computers on all the time and the electric bill did not increase noticeably when I added my computer to his house.

I'd look for 1) a rate change.  The cost of power is going up frequently these days.  2) Check your meter against your bill.  Sometimes electric companies don't actually read your meter every month, they just estimate how much it should be this month based on the last month, and then reconcile when they actually go out to read the meter the next month.  If your meter reading is much lower than it says on your bill, then cal them and make them come out and take a proper reading.  3) Look for energy leaks.  Turn off the main breaker in the house (and the garage, if it's separate) and then look at your meter.  If it's still spinning, then the meter is broken and is "leaking" energy.  Call your electric company to come out and replace it and negotiate a lower bill.  You can also turn on everything in the house and stand outside and watch the dial.  Have someone in the house turn off things one at a time, either by breaker switch or by unplugging the major appliances and see if you notice a sudden drop in the meter spinning when one room or one appliance is turned off.  Refrigerators are a big source of electric use, especially after they get 10 years old.  If a gasket came loose around the fridge door, then you could be leaking a lot of cold air out and making it run a lot.  They say to shut a dollar bill up in the door of the fridge or freezer and pull on it.  If it slides right out, your seal isn't tight enough (ideallly you shouldn't be able to pull it out at all).  Our fridge and freezer doors both--all the way around--fail this test.    I want to get a new fridge as soon as we get the truck paid off. 

What you should be more concerned about, in my opinion is what your son is downloading all night.  More than one parent has been charged with copyright infringement and theft because their child downloaded illegal copies of music on a home computer.  Make sure your son knows that downloading illegal copies of anything--music, games, movies--can land you all in jail and with fines of $10,000 or more.  Those people are serious about it.  And yes, they can find you.

I'd have to agree that it sounds like the culprit is probably an increase in the rate on your electric kilowatts.  Its been all over the news here that electric rates are going up around the country because of increasing energy costs.  We run 2 cpus, 1 laptop, an additional computer that hosts a server and never turn these off.  In the height of summer with A/C on 24/7 our electric bill averages $75.  We have multiple game systems, TVs, DVD players and appliances plugged in also.  Granted we could bring down our bill with some concious effort, but we have our reasons for keeping our computers & their accessories on 24/7--one of them being so we can download things while we're sleeping like you're DS is doing.  Otherwise the computers would be un-useable because of how slow the downloading makes everything else.  Its nearly impossible to even check your email when you have a massive file coming down--it might even crash your computer.

I agree with the others, look for something besides the computer. $60 sounds like an awful lot. If you really want to know you can figure out how much it is using - look at the power draw for each of the components and then look at your electric bill and it should state the cost per kilowatt hour. Volts (120 in USA, 240 most other countries) x amperes = watts.

The "instant on" feature of your TV uses electricity even when it's off to keep components warm and ready to go and the infrared detector for the remote control uses some current. So does everything with a "wall wart" transformer. Even if the item isn't being used the transformer will feel slightly warm. That is heat from the electrical resistance in the transformer and that is wasted electricity, and wasted money.

The reason so many low-power gadgets use wall warts is that the transformer has to pass expensive UL testing, while the low-voltage things like a printer, don't since there is no fire hazard from the low voltage. So the manufacturers can make frequent changes in printer designs and not have the product introduction delayed for UL testing since they can use the same UL certified transformer.

We noticed that when my son came back for three weeks in Feb, that our electric bill spiked a bit, but not $60. In addition to additional computers being on more, he cranked up the heat, and took two showers a day. We read our meters every other month and the electric company reads it on the months we don't. They always read it a few days later in the month than we do. For example, we're told the reading from us has to be posted by the 13th yet they won't read it until the 17th. Some companies drive by and scan the meters from the road so I have to wonder how accurate that is. We track both sets of reading religiously. Add to that the cost of electric has gone up. A few other things may be causing this spike. You may have an older major appliance that may be starting to go. And yes, everything that is plugged in is drawing energy. I unplug everything like microwaves, coffee pots, tv's. We noticed a significant difference when we switched to new energy saving light bulbs. If you figure out the problem, let us know.