Electricity

[Kay Rock]

I have a studio attached to my home that I rent to a young couple. They have been living there 4 months and the electricity bill has gone up 200%. I know it's summer, so we use more, but since they have moved in they haven't turned off the window unit AC. I've if they could turn it off when they're not at home, and was told that they won't turn it off because the studio will take too long to cool down when they get home. What can I do?

[Account Closed]

Kay, 

Hello, I personally don't think I would put another meter in , what I would look into is the unit itself . Is it older ? Has it been cleaned recently ? Do you have the right gage wire ( electrical outlet ) for it ? If you use the wing wiring it can cause over draw and be a fire hazard. Is the unit big enough ? ( might be why it takes to long to cool )  If it's a older unit or to small then I would research and then buy a new one that can handle the sqft and make sure it also has a digital timer. My electric here in Ocala area for 5/4 total 2600  with 3/2 on one side and 2/2 mother in law on other side, both on same meter, normally runs around $220-260 in the middle of summer with my younger brother and his wife next door ( granted we have central air, one for each side but on the same meter ) with out them there my bill was never over $140 AND THEY LIVED RENT FREE ..LOL  I know, quit yelling ! Hey , they are family and they did pay the difference for electric and spilt the cable bill. I was helping them get settled and established here in Florida. I can tell you this this year I had a ac problem and while waiting for parts ( I fix my own units ) I ran a portable that I have as a emergency, well it was one, lol. Anyway, my bill almost doubled that  month but I have to account for the temp being higher that month so I figure for those 4-5 days it costs me around $30-40 bucks running it constantly. I hope this helps.

Good luck and God Speed