This debate rages in my house daily.
Rayman, what is your Beachcomber costing you? I know there are SO many factors that determine it, but my latest foray into this exact issue is interesting.
We recently had a traveling neighborhood Christmas party. At this party I cornered a good neighbor who is an engineer at SoCal Edison (SCE). I told him of my concern: Our bill is around $230 a month now! The latest one, which just arrived, showed we used 1000KWh in a 29 day period. I complained enough to him that he agreed to schedule an auditor to come out and check the house (I know bonni says that's a joke, but...)
My suspicions are numerous: I drained the spa in August when we went to Boise for the US Regional soccer championships. It was powered OFF for 12 days, and we weren't even home for 9 of them. Our next bill went down about $20. I also talked to another neighbor, one who has the same number of kids about the same age, who did a remodel and addition with the same contractor as me (approximate same footage, appliances, lighting, etc.) He SHOWED me his bill, and it was $80!!!! He says it never gets higher than that! I then talked to my neigbor right across the street. He has four kids to my two, has a two story house to my one, and HIS bill averages about $70 a month!
I have yet to get the auditor out, but I can't see that my Beachcomber is costing me between $2-$3 PER DAY. Hopefully the audit will reveal a faulty meter that will yield me a $50,000 rebate from Edison.......