Hey /ck/ bros,
I just moved into my first apartment and obtained my first microwave. My first electricity bill just rolled in and I was shocked by how high it was. I only really use electricity for lights, tv, computer/gaming console, and air-conditioner. Then it hit me--the microwave.
I cook most of my meals in the microwave--breakfast and dinner at least, I usually go out for lunch. I mostly eat hotdogs at home and they require exactly 40 seconds to cook (30 seconds for the dog, 10 seconds for the bun). Times the number of hotdogs I eat per day, this means I'm running the microwave for 240 seconds a day.
So question number one: is 240 seconds/day enough to rack up the electricity bill? If not, my second question is whether I'm being charged for unused seconds on my microwave--like a track phone. I can only add 1 through 9 minutes of cooking to my microwave at a time, so I usually clear the remaining 20 seconds from the microwave when I cook my next hotdog.
Pic related is my microwave--its a sunbeam if that helps.
>>7770194
>so I usually clear the remaining 20 seconds from the microwave when I cook my next hotdog.
yeah, it racks up electricy usage while the timer is on. so even if you don't use all the seconds, you're still being charged
Or your rates went up or your ac is working harder with summer months rolling in?
>>7770199
Is it billed per minute then? How can I fix the over use?
>>7770194
2/10 since im answering this. how much is your bill?
>>7770204
It's a possibility, but it says it's energy efficient.
>>7770206
$246.75
>>7770194
its your aircon
put it on 70F and only have it on when its just far too hot
>>7770212
and this is yoru first month? i dont know where you live, but PGE in california will add a deposit to your first bill or two, but they should have told you, and it would be identified on the statement,
if thats not the case, somethign is wrong. i live in a 1 bedroom and run the AC nonstop during the summer and the bill comes about to no more than 75 a month
>>7770194
http://energyusecalculator.com/electricity_centralac.htm
The microwave is an absolutely insignificant part of your electricity bill.
I have assumed you pay 20c per kilowatt-hour.
240 seconds (0.06 hours) a day at 20c per kilowatt hour = 37 cents a month, $5 a year.
It's not the microwave.
>>7770258
Forgot to mention, I'm pretty sure your microwave is 700W, the calculations listed in my last post assume a 1000W microwave.
You could run a 1000W microwave 24 hours a day, and it would only increase your bill by $146/mo
is it an old ac unit? my bill halved when I got new ones.
you eat 6 fuckin hot dogs a day?
>>7770194
I can't tell, is that guy a troll - or is he really this dumb.
Microwave only runs for like 20min at most in the day. Your A/C probably runs from morning to evening, depending on where you live. If it's a window unit, it's probably designed to max out what the mains circuit will provide, which is around 1200w
There are other power hungry appliances - a microwave is one of them, but most of them only run for an hour or less. The one that runs all the time continuously, that's the one that will run up your bill.
>>7771210
>three for breakfast and three for dinner.
Jesus man have some dignity.
>>7771210
Most of your uses of energy in your home OP are for heating water (for showers, baths, cleaning dishes, & laundry) and heating/cooling your air.
https://www.sparkenergy.com/en/blog/archive/appliance-electricity-usage-guide/
Your puny microwave doesn't even scratch the surface especially compared with 24/7 big appliances like your refrigerator.
So the best advice is to washing your laundry on the cold water setting unless it's really soiled.
If you are desperate you also hand your clothes out to air dry as well.
If you don't have one, get a cheap Smart Thermostat that will keep your A/C cut down until right before you get home:
http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-thermostat/
Or just keep it set at 76F.
Also do unplug outlets of things that aren't in constant daily use.
>>7771210
watch this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmLpSY5w6u0
also
I do 2 hotdogs at a time for 50 seconds. If I buy the cheap buns and want to make them softer, I wrap each bun and hotdog together in a paper towel and only do it for 40 seconds. One dog + one bun at a time that way.
If you're hurting for microwave money, buy the better buns and cook your hotdogs together. Maybe a plate, with each one touching ends in an 'n' shape rather than all 3 next to each other.
>>7770212
8/10 trolling, OP.
You could have trolled more softly by leaving out the unused seconds part but autists still seem to be falling for it, so good job. Im surprised there arent more posts so far about you eating nothing but microwaved hotdogs all day, but autists DO love their math via the electric bill calculations. Bravo Zulu, OP.
>>7771443
Also making sure all of your vents are open and your Central HVAC's filter is clean will reduce the it's workload allowing it to run more efficiently.
Especially during the summer, it's better to run your clothes dryer and dishwasher at night where the waste heat that goes into your house doesn't push up the ambient temperature so much as during the day adding extra strain to your HVAC (and operating during off-peak hours if your utility uses them).
>>7771484
I'm not trolling. My parents have handled the finances forever and I was too embarrassed to ask them about this question because they laugh and make a goddamn show out of it.
>>7771499
How much do you pay per kilowatt hour?
>>7771499
OP have you contacted your utility? Usually they will offer what's known as a personal energy audit of your home at no cost if you ask.
>>7771505
Says 22.2 cents on my bill.
>>7771517
Damn dude I pay 8ยข and my bill on average is less than 50 bucks a month and I live in the south where it's always hot as fuck
Try to just run your A/C at night when you sleep and that should help, that's what I do
>>7771507
It sounds like my air-conditioner is my problem, so I'll take a look at it. I've been running it non stop because I think it's breaking. It was much better at cooling when I first moved in.
>>7771532
Don't run it nonstop because that's where most of your bill is
>>7771517
This is why your bill is high. 22.2 cents is rather steep. Also where do you live? I live where it gets hot as fuck so on very cool months my bill goes from being 100-150 bucks to 35. That's how much AC makes a difference.
>>7771610
OP is getting fucked
>>7771210
>three for breakfast and three for dinner.
You are one fat fuck aint ya
>>7771987
That's only 900 calories total from the hot dogs, not really that much. Most people need at least double that.
>>7771987
I'm lean skinny-fat. No man tits, no love handles, no thunder thighs, but I carry my fat on my stomach. Healthy BMI (23).
>>7770209
Even "energy efficient" AC is expensive - heating and AC are the biggest component of most people's energy bills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmLpSY5w6u0
>>7772086
If OP lives in a place that's both hot and dry in the summer, he may think about using an evaporative cooler instead. Instead of a compressor and some fans, it runs a water pump and one fan and uses less energy.
But you can only do it in a dry place, if the humidity regularly goes above 60%, forget it.
>>7770194
Im genuinely curious, how do you come up with these amazing stories?
