A half hour a day isn't much. I have all mine plugged in continuously and I my bill is no where near $400.

This time of year I'd lean more toward colder weather than 30 mins/day of a game.

Stick an ammeter in the panel with everything on and turn it off and that will tell you.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-power-consumption

But then again Could the space heater...

Sometimes i leave my firepower on all day several days a week with no change to electric bill

Landlord was probably on a adjustable rate energy plan. Lots of customers have had their energy bills skyrocket due to electric companies deciding to change the kilowatt hour rates. It is totally legal and many people have been trying to get local government to regulate the rates. We have all been hearing horror stories of people getting 500-700 a month electric bills. To answer your question no you playing one game for 30-40 minutes a day should make little difference in the overall bill. If you would leave it on all the time then yes it would be a issue.

No, there is no way a half hour a day of Firepower is going to be noticeable on your electric bill. We've had an insanely cold winter. the home's heating unit working overtime is likely to blame for the bill. definitely not the pin.

REPLACE THE GROUND ASAP! YOU NEED GROUND!!!

this. it's not related to your electric bill issue, but replace it ASAP.

Yeah all kidding aside this thing should be grounded. Don't want to spill a beer on it and get electrocuted.

Dude you are in NY here on the east coast where snow and freezing cold temps have been the norm for over a month now.....my electric bill went from $180 to over $300 bc of the heat running non stop. Tell your landlord DUHHHHHH....it's the reality of a very cold and crappy winter.....electric bills are going to be ridiculous!

Highly unlikely it's pinball related.

I agree. My two pins average about 120-130W each - a little more than a 100W incandescent light.

A 150W light on for 30 minutes a day is not going to significantly affect your electricity bill. It's got to be something else...

You can always buy a kill-a-watt: http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4400-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/
and find out exactly how much electricity everything in your house uses. Though it won't measure the biggest power hog in many households - the electric clothes dryer. I just measured mine and it was over 5000W...

The energy companies always charge big in the winter months imo.

The OP's question was "Any ideas guys, is my FP to blame here?", I can't imagine he's interested in what your energy bill is. For Christ's sake.

My bill last month was $755..F'n Electric Heat!! My therm was set to 67 all day. Almost had a heart attack when I opened the bill.

I agree. When I got my Nascar pin recently, someone had cut the ground off.
As soon as I plugged it in at home and you leaned on a metal part like where the glass holds on, you got a little tingle.
If I were to touch something else at the same time I'm sure that would have given me a nice shock. $2.99 fix. Get er done!
But probably not effecting the power bill.

I know of friends of friends in the NY/NJ area that have $700 electric bills this month. Lots of people in my area have $400+ electric bills. It's the cold. I can run 7 pinball machines off one breaker and not blow it, and have never seen any change in my electric because of the pins.

Reduce power usage by using LEDs in your pins

electricity included?!?!? GET MORE PINS!

Gas heat here, and with a few dozen games, have never had a *combined* gas/electric bill over 400. Your FP probably swallowed maybe $10 worth of power. Well, maybe $30 at the stupid rates it seems the east coast has

Interesting note: hold a tournament, and you suddenly have electric and bio heat.. no need for natural gas for a day or two

It's not the pins, it's PSEG, Long Island's new power company. My bill went from $35 to $99 from December to January. No explanation. My bill was so low because my condo is pretty small and I strictly leave everything off when not in use, but proportionally speaking, that's quite a jump.

Some other club members were complaining of random price jumps this month as well...

-BB

not sure it's the rates per se -- it's been insanely cold all winter on the east coast. like, around zero or below for weeks at a time. and that's "down south" here in Virginia. I imagine NY has been even colder.

I would highly recommend initially only looking at kwh to compare usage. Next, look at the rate (cents/kwh) to see if that changed - depending on the rate structure, there may also be a fuel surcharge. Looking at just the total bill usually leads to a misinterpretation of what is going on...

</electricity market pro>

That's for sure.

Even if you heat with NG or Propane, your furnace motor (or circulation pump for those with radiant floor heat) is probably running 100% of the time trying to keep up with this years crazy cold weather.

Thats nuts! Ive had all my xmas lights on, all my house lights on, all my machines on, people over watching tv, etc, etc all at the same time for 2 days and had nothing near that jump. Hes messing with you.

I just thought of a new mod for my Metallica...

You're an Expo veteran

I guess you're all on electric heat? Seems that gas hasn't fluctuated as much.. most of the utilities here locked in good rates when it was dirt cheap earlier in the year. As for electric, Ohio allows competition among utilities, and also allows local government to enter into aggregation deals... and it rocks. 5.8c per KwH when national average is around twice that, and locked in til 2017

http://springfieldtwp.besavvy.egovlink.com/electricaggregation.cfm

Mines still around $20 a month.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/i-just-got-my-electric-bill

Also don't leave it plugged in all the time. If there is a surge it could damage the game.

we're gas.

I purchased a ventless gas stove before Christmas and my heating bill was 75 last month. Love the stove, 100% efficient. Works when the power goes out also!

I have electric heat and ours last month was $450. My wife and kids just love leaving stuff on when they leave in the morning. In the summer my bill gets as slow as $75 a month.

I have 6 pins in a 1 bedroom apt, on the top floor (2 flights of steps)..... and my bill is usually around 130-150, but the last two months it has been 230-250. My machines stay plugged in unless there is a storm going on, and I play my games 1 hour a night. Gotta be the cold.

Pinball machines use very little electricity. None that will make a noticeable difference on your bill. Especially if you turn them off when you are done.