what can we do to find out why our home uses so many KWH?

There should be a pressure reducing at the base of the water heater. If that's leaking then the hot water element will be going all the time. If it's a mains pressure system then the valve will be at the top of the pipe that goes through the roof. What I'm saying is check to see you not loosing hot water.

If your electricity company had done the check properly they should've connected another meter up and compared the reading of the two meters after a twenty four hour period.

I presume the electrician checked the voltage at your place. If that's down you would get a higher bill. The lower the voltage the higher the amps. The hot water amps seem about right but the other two seem a bit high. A heater pulling pulling 6.8 kilowatts must a big heater. And the dryer should dry the clothes in only a few minutes with that amount of heat.

There are several things you can check...I've heard stories of people finding a fan in their garage, a pump in their driveway, etc all running without their knowledge. The best thing to do is to find out if there is anything running that you don't know about---the power company can walk you through how to go through your circut breakers to figure this out.

Also when you call the electric company find out if they provide energy audits. These can help identify changes to make to help make your home use less energy.

Your meter is probably working fine as long as you are getting steady higher readings--in fact a brand new meter may be the equivalent of getting a brand new appliance that will work super efficient whereas the one you have now may run a little slower and actually to your benefit.

Have you actually seen your neighbor's bill or is this just what you were told? Maybe your neighbor pays $150 throughout the year because they are on a budget plan and $150 is the average due to lower summer bills. Maybe your neighbor has double pane more energy efficient windows? Maybe you have a dehumidifier hooked up to your furnace that runs automatically while your neighbor does not. Electric usage is individualized to appliances and users within the home.

One more thought....when you moved into your house there are a couple reasons why that first bill ran high---doors constantly open while furniture and boxes are being moved in making heating/cooling system run longer, an empty refrigerator consuming more electric, an empty house consuming more electric, etc. BUT there is one thing to look into for your benefit-- check if there was an actual meter reading done on the day you closed on the house and what the meter reading was prior to that. If an estimated reading was given then you may have ended up getting the previous guy's electric usage tacked onto your bill! If that is the case then request the electric company to prorate that first bill for you. good luck.

Well the first thing I noticed is that all your major appliances are electric. While not uncommon, it isn't the most efficient way do something like generating heat. When gases are burnt at a power generation plant, it creates heat and steam. Half the energy goes into the steam that actually turns generators and makes electricity. The other half is wasted as heat that leaks out during the process and heat that wasn't enough to boil the water.

so you are burning a fuel and getting half electricity and half waste heat, then you are transporting the electricity to your house and turning it into heat too. This is why it's better to just burn the fuel in a natural gas or propane water heater/furnace, less energy is lost.

also start with one of the big consumers of power, lighting. they might not draw as much current as your dryer, but they are usually on a lot more often. Buy some compact florescent bulbs and replace incandescent ones. CFL's have come a long way in recent years. Also turn your water heater down to 110.