High energy bill

10 years ago

Could a blower motor that was improperly installed cause my energy bill to skyrocket? Ac Company claims it was a bad relay switch which caused the hike in energy but I think the motor wire was being shorted which cause my energy bill to rise. Any information on this is greatly appreciated.

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rwiegand

10 years ago

It would take a pretty heroic blower to cause an electric bill to skyrocket. Most furnace blowers are fractional horsepower I believe-- even if you assume an inefficient 1 hp motor consuming 5A at 240V that's 1.2 kWH/hour or maybe 900 KWH in a month, less than a hundred bucks most places at the worst. I'd be looking for something with a heating element left on-- ice melt cables maybe?

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Comments (7)

tigerdunes
10 years ago
Possibly but doubtful...of course blower motor could be faulty from the factory...was it new to the equipment, direct OEM replacement, or a third party brand replacement...however you will only know if tech takes readings with a voltmeter to see if it is operating within normal parameters...

IMO
PRO
Austin Air Companie
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Highly unlikely. How big was your electric bill? What part of the country do you live?

And what is the rate per KWH that you pay for electricity? Also how big is your house? Pool? Freezer in garage? Water heaters how many and are they electric or gas? What type of HVAC system do you have and how many- Gas / Electric or Electric heat pump?
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mike_home
10 years ago
Does your thermostat have a "auto" and "on" selection? The on selection means the blower motor runs continuously even when the furnace is not running. Operating in that manner will use quite a bit of electricity. I assume you did not have the thermostat in the on position.

If the thermostat is set to the auto position, then the blower motor only runs when the furnace is operating. The thermostat turns the blower motor on and off by sending a low voltage signal to a relay in the furnace. It is possible, but unlikely, that the blower motor relay was stuck in the on position so that the motor ran continuously. Usually when a relay fails it is in the open position. It is also possible the connection from the relay to the blower motor was installed improperly and this caused the blower motor to never turn off. The installer ma

Verify if you hear the blower motor turn on and off. If it does not, then you still have a problem.
PRO
Austin Air Companie
10 years ago
my suspicion is failure to renew electric contract via electric provider and they jacked the rates.

# waiting with anticipation
nerdyshopper
10 years ago
I have lived in our current house for 13 years. I immediately set the fan to run continuously because the air handler had an Aprilaire filter system which does little good unless the air is flowing through it. My electric bill is not from the fan; the compressor and water heaters do most of the damage.
dadoes
7 years ago
The question was posted 3-1/2 years ago ... unlikely the OP is still around looking for solutions, LOL.