Wow, huge power bill (again!) - tips to lower it?

[Daisysmom]

I would do a couple of things like have your meter checked (free), lower the temp on your water heater (you can do this yourself), check your air conditioner filters (are you sure the unit has been serviced recently?), get on the budget plan with the electric company, and something I rarely see suggested any more, air dry some of those clothes. You can buy a cheap wooden rack dryer (folds open and shut) and put quite a bit on it. It can be used inside if you don't have an apartment patio or outdoor area. A trick to having soft and lint free air-dried clothing is to put them in the dryer for about 5 minutes, then put them outside to finish drying.

Remember, any appliance that heats up uses lots of energy. Use those appliances sparingly

Just a few ideas for you

 

[vhoffman]

Is your hot water heater electric? If so,its a real energy hog. I remember in my apartment days I could barely pay the electric bill. Then I discovered that the electric hot water heater was on my meter and the breaker box was inside my apartment. It took some experimenting to figure which breaker controlled the water heater, but I finally found it. A few other things were on it, just a few lights. I turned it off most of the day, just turned it on a few hours in the evening for shower, dishes, etc. Why do you need a tank of hot water all day if you're not even home? (I was single then). I found that little trick alone saved me about $30 a month.

 

[jennobrn01]

You can try the PowerKuff. Invented by a physician in my hometown. Family and friends have told me it truly works. We are putting ours to the test this month.

 

[PaulaSue]

Oh man, I freak when ours is over 100.

 

[merekc]

Some warnings about the even payment plan:
1. You may be required to stay on it for at least a year.
2. When you move, you are required to pay your account in full. This can hurt if your account is in deficit.

We were on even payment plans with our first house. We joined the electric plan in the winter and several years later moved in the summer. Our plan was counting on having several winter months to help even out our summer electric expenses. Since we moved before this could happen, our final bill came in about 8 times higher than normal. A huge ouch when we weren't expecting it.

If you don't plan to stay in your apartment long, I wouldn't recommend doing an even payment plan. More headache than needed.

I agree with some of the other posters. Ask your apartment people to service your a/c and check to make sure nothing else could be coming on to your bill.

 

[purplegirl247]

I agree with the other posts that say your AC or your meter itself may be malfunctioning. To give you an idea, I, too, live in Orlando. Our electric for this month was only $109, and I'm pretty sure that includes water as well (we have OUC, so they take care of stuff other than electric). We live in a two-story, 1200-square-foot townhouse. We turn the AC up to 82 before we leave for work in the morning, and turn it down to 77 once we get home. We run the dishwasher when full, don't use the heat/dry feature, and do laundry twice a week (if possible).

On a related note, I had never thought about all those other appliances sucking down electricity. As soon as I get home today, I'm unplugging all our random chargers and the VCR/DVD players in our spare bedroom! Thanks for the tips!

 

[dvcgirl]

Just looking at our bill, with OUC.... we are slightly under 3,000 sq feet and we keep our AC at 78 during the day, and 73 at night and the electricity portion of our bill was $321.67. We also have two computers and two laptops on at all times (in sleep mode when not being used though). We are pretty vigilant with lights and ceiling fans...off when not in use.

 

[tbelfonti]

We were on even payment plans with our first house. We joined the electric plan in the winter and several years later moved in the summer. Our plan was counting on having several winter months to help even out our summer electric expenses. Since we moved before this could happen, our final bill came in about 8 times higher than normal. A huge ouch when we weren't expecting it.

This is a very valid point.

We use the budget plan with our gas bill. It's a 10 month plan where we settle up in May - be it pay the difference or get a refund.

The first year we got hammered with a high bill in May. We learned our lesson and now we make sure that our payment covers the balance on the account so we're never socked with a high bill at once.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

Wow, my bill seems really high now compared to all of you! We are on budget billing, and it was at $225/month. The just reviewed it and as of next month it will go up to $248/month. Our air is on at all times (we have pets in the house during the day, one is an older dog who can't take the heat), we have a pool pump going for a couple of hours during the day (which is probably most of it), and the computer is in sleep mode as well. I'm going right now to unplug everything else!

 

[GoofyGirlnPrincessV]

and my bill came the other day and it is up too. I looked at the KW amount and we are down from last year. So the cost of electricity is up compared to last year.

I contacted FPL and did a survey online and it gave me some ideas on how to use less power. I also signed up for their "on call" program which means I allow them to shut the power off to certain things like the pool filter for short periods of time. So far it has saved our neighbors some on their bills and never noticed if they have shut the power off.

Here is a good link from FPL: http://www.fpl.com/residential/electric/highbill.shtml?id=alias

 

[shades]

Somebody already posted this, but - I'll repeat it because it can make a HUGE difference in how much you run your a/c and how much you pay for it...ensure the apartments change out your a/c filter at least every 6 months - every 3mos is even better!

Also, it's cheaper to keep the temperature steady 24hrs/day rather than trying to cool your apartment down in the evenings.

 

[hezreck]

Somebody already posted this, but - I'll repeat it because it can make a HUGE difference in how much you run your a/c and how much you pay for it...ensure the apartments change out your a/c filter at least every 6 months - every 3mos is even better!

Also, it's cheaper to keep the temperature steady 24hrs/day rather than trying to cool your apartment down in the evenings.

My dad sells and works on air conditioning systems and he has always told me to keep it running all the time at an even temp. and don't turn it off and on. It works harder and uses more electricity to keep trying to cool off a hot house. Keep it on all the time and the house doesn't heat up, so the air conditioner runs less. Makes sense. Also, clean the air filter often.

When we built our house 3 years ago, my dad installed geothermal for us. What a godsend! Our electric bill this month was less than $100. AC is on all the time. House is 72 degrees, perfect.

 

[goofyforlife]

We change our filters out monthly.... (they're only a couple bucks)

Anyway our bill this month was $75. (august has been our high bill for summer each year around $120)

We keep the A/C set at around 80 all day (sometimes higher if it seems too cool in the house.)

We have a 3 story 2,100 sf townhouse. My DD is forever leaving lights on, my DH leaves his computer running but screen off, and we usually do leave the TV on at night in our bedroom.

I guess we could trim a little more in places...

Is your apt on an upper floor? Since heat rises you might be spending more than say your neighbors below. I know when we lived on a ground floor of a three story building, we barely had to run our a/c since it was cool most of the time.

 

[nbodyhome]

The apartment generally changes the air filter monthly - that isn't a problem. I am surprised that it would be cheaper to keep the air going, it seems in the past that it has cost me more to do that. In the evening, I don't have to have the air on as hard because it's not so hot outside (like now its 90 degrees or so, tonight should be in the 70's).

We live on the bottom apt.

 

[purplegirl247]

I understand that if you turned your AC all the way off during the day (in Florida, your apartment could easily reach 85 degrees), then cranked it all the way down at night (to 70, for example), that such a wide range would affect your AC working hard. But if you only have a difference of a few degrees, I wouldn't expect it would do much damage, would it? Like nbodyhome said, before I turned the AC up when I was at work, our electric bill was MUCH higher...

 

[blanq]

... I also signed up for their "on call" program which means I allow them to shut the power off to certain things like the pool filter for short periods of time. So far it has saved our neighbors some on their bills and never noticed if they have shut the power off.

Here is a good link from FPL: http://www.fpl.com/residential/electric/highbill.shtml?id=alias

Our local utility provides something similar, it is called "savers switch". I would highly recommend everyone check to see if their utility provides something similar. I save 17% (15% for central air and 2% for hot water heater) on summer utility bills by doing nothing. Here is how it works:

Savers switch helps manage summer energy peaks by cutting back just a little on the time your central air cools your home. The switch is installed by an electrician (no cost to the homeowner). This small effort to conserve energy helps the utility to provide reliable electricity and preserve natural resources.

My savers switch gets activated 10 to 15 days at most each year. This cycles my air conditioner off and on at 15- to 20-minute intervals. However, the furnace fan stays on, circulating already-cooled air throughout your home. I don’t even notice when saver’s switch is activated. On control days, saver’s switch is typically activated during the afternoon into early evening – a time when many are likely to be outdoors or not at home.

Also, many utilities will provide a low cost home energy audit. My utility, Xcel Energy, provides a 2 hour audit for $35 and it includes:
Inspection of your home’s attic, insulation, doors, windows, furnace, appliances and other key areas. Analysis of how you can make your home more comfortable and maximize savings on your energy bill. Recommendations for the most cost-effective, energy-saving improvements.

 

[disneysteve]

My dad sells and works on air conditioning systems and he has always told me to keep it running all the time at an even temp. and don't turn it off and on. It works harder and uses more electricity to keep trying to cool off a hot house. Keep it on all the time and the house doesn't heat up, so the air conditioner runs less.

With all due respect to your father, this simply isn't true. It is an incredibly common myth. We actually had this same discussion here last year about setting back the heater, but the theory is the same for air conditioning. We actually had an engineer post a very clear scientific explanation of why this is true. And I posted info from the US Dept. of Energy. If I can find it, I'll post it.

ETA: Here is the thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=982641&page=2&pp=15&highlight=heat

 

[Busy B]

To DisneySteve:

During the day I have my AC set to 83 and in the afternoon when my DH comes home I bump it down to 79. 79 is as low as it ever gets in my house. So from what your saying, that is the best way to do it?

 

[disneysteve]

To DisneySteve:

During the day I have my AC set to 83 and in the afternoon when my DH comes home I bump it down to 79. 79 is as low as it ever gets in my house. So from what your saying, that is the best way to do it?

That sounds fine. My point was that it isn't necessary to keep the AC (or the heat) on the same temp all the time. It does not save energy. And it does not overwork the unit to raise the temp during the day and lower it when you get home - it actually saves energy. So what you are doing is fine.

 

[nuzmom]

I'd also have your AC checked (maybe the filter needs cleaning?) and vacuum your fridge coils, just to make sure you're running as efficiently as possible.

Haven't yet read the whole thread, but this is GREAT advice!!!! If you haven't yet, do this now.