Oh, and with the fridge, IIRC, it depends on whether the fridge compressor is running or not. Peak draw for a fridge may be somewhat high. But if the compressor only runs at fairly rare intervals, average usage may be quite reasonable.
Guy at my office bought a little house, and his first month in he got hit with a $900 electric bill. He unplugged everything, turned off all the lights, and his meter was still just spinning free. He ended up hiring an electrician to come in and investigate. Turned out one of his electric baseboard heaters, though not turned on and not doing anything, was malfunctioning somehow and sucking up just ridiculous amounts of electricity.
Later in an unrelated story he mentioned how he bought the house without having an inspection and I was like, no shit?
This is anecdotel but I know when my daughter is home our electrical bill takes a jump. What does she do? She sits in front of a TV with her laptop plugged in almost 24/7.
I doubt an inspector would have caught that. Maybe, but I don’t know what would have led him to conclude there was a problem.
When my dad died we turned off everything in the house, except maybe a water timer and his fridge (as he hadn’t emptied it yet). His monthly bill was $10.89 cents. Of course nobody was opening or closing it either. My grandma’s entire bill (in the early 90’s) was under $10. Fridge’s aren’t the worst offenders.
Everything turned off/unplugged and the meter going nuts would have been a clue.
duh :)