Monthly utility bill

[ageless]

OK gentleman, I need some assistance with an issue. Since July 2018 our utility bills have climbed to an astronomical amount despite no real change in our amount of time on the boat. When we leave we turn the heat/air down to merely lower the humidity amount throughout, not to maintain a comfortable temp. We have (1) 50amp that we use, that's it. We have four AC/heat units, the forward stateroom is almost never on, master stateroom kept a little cooler/warmer than elsewhere. We do very little cooking in the galley, mostly grill outside.
Our monthly bill was around $100-120/month, which I was ok with but then fall weather came in and the bill started reaching $150-160. November was $75, December/Jan/half of Feb $565, over $200/month.
What in the hell could be going on here? What are the average monthly costs others are seeing on there 55'ish boats?

[Passages]

We are in South Florida, live aboard, 63' MY. We pay $70-$90 per month.

Has there been a change in kWh consumption?

edit - Have you converted lighting to LED? That will save a bunch. My other thought is the AC air handler motor may be getting tired or encountering resistance leading to higher than normal amp draw.

Edit #2 - Just reread your post. This is a seasonal thing. If you are north of FL, you will pay dearly for electric heat or reverse cycle AC to generate some warmth.

[SEVEN]

OK gentleman, I need some assistance with an issue. Since July 2018 our utility bills have climbed to an astronomical amount despite no real change in our amount of time on the boat. When we leave we turn the heat/air down to merely lower the humidity amount throughout, not to maintain a comfortable temp. We have (1) 50amp that we use, that's it. We have four AC/heat units, the forward stateroom is almost never on, master stateroom kept a little cooler/warmer than elsewhere. We do very little cooking in the galley, mostly grill outside.
Our monthly bill was around $100-120/month, which I was ok with but then fall weather came in and the bill started reaching $150-160. November was $75, December/Jan/half of Feb $565, over $200/month.
What in the hell could be going on here? What are the average monthly costs others are seeing on there 55'ish boats?

Where are you located? I got lucky and have a berth that doesn’t have a meter. I get charged 25.00 a month for what ever I use. I’m so lucky. But then again we are only there 1 night a week.

[Walter P]

If it will make you feel any better my winter electric bills average in the low $200 per month. I leave
a couple of lamps on and the block heaters plus one oil filled electric heater in the galley area. I'm in
New Jersey in the water.

Walt

[oceanjake]

Battery chargers will suck it up too. Are you leaving any DC power on that the chargers must remain on to keep up with draw? When you are away you can turn off your water heaters too. They usually only take 15 minutes to get water hot when you return.

[SEVEN]

If it will make you feel any better my winter electric bills average in the low $200 per month. I leave
a couple of lamps on and the block heaters plus one oil filled electric heater in the galley area. I'm in
New Jersey in the water.

Walt

That isn’t bad considering you’re in the water. These babies have zero insulation.

[Naughty Lottie]

At one point in our marina, it was discovered the meters on the power posts at the slips were running a little fast. This is an ancidotal story, so not 100% on if it was true or not.

[carolinacoast]

are you billed from a marina or club? Check on the KW/hour charge. I had a marina raise the rate from $0.15/kwh to $0.25/kwh with a weeks notice in SC. I questioned the legality of that, and was quickly told that a neighbor had called the PSC regulator, who called the marina ownership, and they would be honoring the old rate. I left shortly thereafter.
as previously posted, meters and sub-meters fail. have it checked.

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

are you billed from a marina or club? Check on the KW/hour charge. I had a marina raise the rate from $0.15/kwh to $0.25/kwh with a weeks notice in SC. I questioned the legality of that, and was quickly told that a neighbor had called the PSC regulator, who called the marina ownership, and they would be honoring the old rate. I left shortly thereafter.as previously posted, meters and sub-meters fail. have it checked.

Which marina if you don’t mind? Marina meters are notoriously unreliable. For example: My bill went from about $200 to $14 when I changed slips in ‘16. Meter tested ok, but we all knew the amounts were ridiculous. Matthew destroyed that dock and my gravey train.

[Pete]

As another data point, our boat, behind the house just south of New Bern, NC, was using $1/hour of electricity during the unusually cold period a few weeks back. The dock service has a monitor on it and showed 7 KW/HR during the worst of it.

BTW, given multiple Pete's as members, I added signature info to help sort us out.