about fell over, electric bill!

[mudnuri]

Holy moly!

I called the new power company today- we're moving the 20th, to have the power turned over to our name on that date.

She went over everything, and then said- "does that house have electric heat?" I said- no its oil why? She said- the average consumption is 1300-1500 kwh a month, with the average bill at $250 yes, $250.00

I said- your kidding- she said no...... holy well, you know what I said!

DBF and I went over- to see how fast the meter was moving- there is nothing in the house- so......the fridge, stove and dishwasher are plugged in. The hot water heater is on- YES thats electric. I'm thinking, the meter spinner thing should not be moving all that much right? Um no it was obvious it was moving.

based on my research, the water heater should consume 400 kwh/month average, we will be dropping the temp to 120 on that, but holy crap thats a lot of electricity!

The rates are .15/kwh here, with no peak/off peak and no winter/summer rates, same .15/kwh 24 hours 7 days 365....

So......whats your average kwh usage a month? this is a 4 bedroom 2 bath, living/dinin/kitchen full basement cape...

Brandy

 

[staceyfe]

I pulled out a bill where the meter was read 5/8/07. Total KWH is 702. That's with little to no a/c and we have a gas water heater. But, we also have 2 refrigerators and a freezer. I try to line dry in the summer and have recently been turning off the power strip to the computer. I need to buy more strips for TVs. Our KWH is 8.88 cents for the 1st 600 KWH and drops to 6.04 after that.

 

[msmayor]

Even though the burner is oil-fired, if its a forced-hot-air system then you are still using electricity to blow the heated air through the vents.

If the house is poorly insulated or has areas of significant heat loss (leaky windows/doors) then it may require the furnace to run a lot, thereby using much more electricity than normal.

If its a forced-hot-air system and the furnace blower is more than 10-15 years old, then its less efficient than current models and will use more electricity to operate.

And an electric hot water heater is significantly more expensive than gas.

I average $260 per month for BOTH gas and electric, as I get a combined bill from my power company. I have a gas-fired furnace (forced-hot-air system), gas water heater, gas dryer, gas stove. Everything else is electric, including a central air conditioning system that is on continuously from about mid June to mid September.

Your electric rates are very high. I'm paying $0.0469/kWh for the first 600 kWh, and $0.051/kWh above that. Yours are three times that.

 

[merekc]

From last month's bill for the month of May, with a/c on (due to allergies). Our 4 bedroom two-level used 1156 KWH. This cost us $82.22. I can't find my per unit charge.

You could also see a decrease because you don't know how the former people were. If there were 4 ppl living there and now it drops to 2, that will make a difference. They also could have been the type to leave every light.

I wouldn't worry too much until you get in there. You can also install a programmable thermostat if there isn't one already.

 

[Forevryoung]

Ok, take a deep breath and listen to this one-

my mom called to turn the electric on at our new house (in July 1998) and they asked if we wanted to keep the same COMMERCIAL meter that the old owners had. Their bills were astronomical. They must have had every light on 24/7.

Our bills in the summer are higher because of the pool heater but are nowhere near what that lady told my mom. My mom nearly died when she heard how much electricity was going to cost her. But it's been ok.

Some people just don't care how much electricity they use.

 

[disneysteve]

Just checked.

May - 448
April - 593
March - 703

 

[mum4jenn]

Ok...y'all are going to freak over ours then.

From 5/11 to 6/12 we used 2739kwh. The charge is 0.014550 and we owe $279.00.

We have central air which is on 24/7, electric everything and a window air condtioner that we run at night and when dh is working night shift and is trying to sleep during the day.

The next few months will be even worse when the temps go up even more.

The lowest is when the fall and winter roll around but we are still over $100 a month. I remember one bill last year where it was over $300!!

 

[mudnuri]

New England has some of the highest electric rates- believe it or not, this is with a co-op!

I'm going to hold off until we get moved in to really freak! I knew, at our old apartment, with 4 window a/c units, it was no where near that amount of kwh! This house has no a/c, and we wont be using the window units...it's an average of 6' cooler there, than here (woods/fields/mountains)..

I did one of those 'calculate your usage' things on line and from what I gather, we should be using about 800 kwh if we use both washer and dryer...we wont be using the dryer at least during summer/fall!

I'm going to check on the water heater, though the house was renovated in 2002, with new appliances purchased then, new replacement windows etc.

Thanks guys

Brandy

 

[MaryKLady]

What state do you live in? Here in NJ our rates went up 13% last year. I have oil heat but all else is electric. My average bill is $230. In the spring and fall I can get it down to $100. Last summer when my MIL lived with us my highest was $450! That was when I decided we might need to be a bit uncomfortable and deal with the heat.

A few months ago I changed some of the light bulbs we use a lot to those new low wattage ones...my bill dropped almost $30 that first month.

I also looked into solar. My state was reimbursing about 70% but I hear now it's gone down to about 50%...I hope to be moving soon so I'm not sure I want to invest yet.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I live in SW Fl in a 1465 sf home. Our elec company is a co-op and my last bill was $250.00... that is what I average in the summer and that is without using a dryer... I keep my lights off during the day. I do have a pool. If that matters I think my bill is high, but from what they (elec comp) tell me, that is average... I jumped $80 from last month.. and mind you, I was gone 2 weeks of it...

 

[ceopamom3]

for a non-electric heat house, but as another poster said - alot depends on lifestyle. My home is oil heat w/supplemental pellet stove - electric HW heater and dryer and upright freezer. We have a gas stove. I use about 1100-1200 kWHs a month ... but, I have three children and do oodles of laundry. Probably 14 loads a week w/ bedding. In the summer, I hang laundry out and save a few hundred kwhs a month. I do try to conserve electric, and I still use quite a bit.
Your electric rate is high - mine is around 10 cents kwh w/ all included. All electric rates will be higher in time. Companies make electricity burning gas and oil (among other things). Their costs have increased just as ours have at the gas pump.
I would wait and see what your usage is in the home. It may be substantially lower. If not, look for a fautly HW heater that may be using alot of electricity; so can older, less effficient appliances. Often times there may be heat tape around pipes in cold places in the home that use some kWHs too.
Good luck!

 

[dcfromva]

I was recently analyzing our electricity usage after using the new LED Christmas Lights for Christmas season. (I was amazed that despite putting up tons of lights, electricity usage was down sigificantly from previous years:
Dec-04 700kwh Dec-05 804 kwh Dec-06 530kwh
Jan-05 1095 kwh Jan-06 926 kwh Jan-07 560 kwh)

But, anyway going back almost 3 years:
Average 897kwh, record low 378kwh (Nov '06), high 1719 (Aug '04)

Our house is 1620 SQ FT . We have central air, electric dryer, dishwasher, a couple of refrigerators, et'c. Gas for heating, HW and stove.

-DC

 

[me again]

Wow, I just don't understand how we're using so much electricity--without ac we used about 1300-1500 kwh month, with ac use around 2300 kwh.

We really, really do everything to conserve electricity, keep the ac no lower than 79, bump it up to 81 if we're going to be gone for a long time, turn off the ac at night and open the windows if at all possible/tolerable, power off the computers at night, unplug the tvs, stereos, microwaves, rechargers, installed energy efficient light bulbs, short of just unplugging everything I can't think of anything we can do to lower the bill any more than we have!

Our refrigerator is old, about 20 years old and runs a lot. Maybe we should look into replacing it? In the meantime I've "trained" the kids to not eep opening the fridge looking for non-existant snacks (they seem to think if they stare in it long enough some goodie will appear ), and I even keep frequently used items, like milk, mayo, margarine, jelly, etc in a seperate cooler to cut down on the number of times the fridge is opened a day. We're doing better than last year, but still we sure do use a lot of electricity. Probably because we're a family of four, I'm a SAHM, someone's always home, seems there's always a computer and tv running somewhere (like now), maybe we should all agree on a certain amount of tv watching and what show, then just watch the one tv for that program, rather than each curling up with his own set!

Also, dd is at the stage where she loves to style her hair constantly. She's forever using a flat iron or curling iron or both. I'm thinking of just taking those away--she doesn't need to style her hair constantly, she just goes swimming an hour later, anyways! BTW, we have all gas appliances, including gas hot water heater and clothes dryer, would hate to see the bill if they were electric!

 

[rentayenta]

This from May 11- June 13.


Basic Charge - 1P
2.00
or debit card (1-800-672-2405).

Energy Charge Summer 1st Block
400
kwh
0.0753890
30.16

Energy Charge Summer 2nd Block
600
kwh
0.0855620
51.34

Energy Charge Summer 3rd Block
364
kwh
0.1007790
36.68

Percent Interim Rate Adjustmnt for 20 day(s)
-0.0244000
-1.78
Customer Efficiency Services
0.0216000
2.51

Home Electric Lifeline Program
0.13

Clinton Franchise Tax
0.0400000
4.84

Municipal Energy Sales/use Tax
0.0200000
2.52

Utah Sales Tax
0.0375000
4.72

Total New Charges
$133.12


I feel like a dunce not not knowing how to interpret the bill but here it is.

We have 2 ac's, one for upstairs and one for the main level. The basement needs no ac. We have 2 fridges and a deep freezer and our ceiling fans run 24/7. I keep the AC at 78-80* and it feels perfect.

I thought our hvac guy was up in the night when he said that 2 ac's would have us money on the bill but I think he was right.

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

I'm not sure how our rates compare to all of yours, but my average during the winter is $50-60 per month. In the summer, with a/c only in our bedroom, it is $70-100. We have propane for a lot of things, but when it comes to the electrical things we do have, we are pretty conscientious about turning off the things that can be turned off - lights, etc. It really does make a difference. If you have electrical everything though, it's harder.

 

[CindyKansas]

I just looked at last months bill.

Electric Usage 1388 136.17
Fuel adj. 45.80
Water Usage 7 12.76
Water fee .17
Sewer 12.02
User fee 3.00
Trash 6.33
Landfill 5.10
Trash (not sure why twice) 6.63
Sales Tax 3.18

Current Bill $231.16

I looked at previous bills and the second trash listed was on last months and the previous months bill but not any of the older bills. I guess I need to call the City and ask why we get charged twice for trash.

Everything is electric in our home except our natural gas furnace (electric blower). All of our appliances are less then 2 years old, except the oven, but I rarely use it. When I purchased the washer and dryer I went with the Energy Star products (I think that's what it's called). We try to conserve as much as possible. Our square footage is 1100 single level home.

 

[mudnuri]

This house is in New Hampshire

I just spent awhile looking around and different companies in my area- basically we have deregulated electric here now, and I can 'pick' who supplies my electricity. The distribution rate is about 9 cents per kwh, then you add on the supplier fee. With the co-op they get a decent rate, because of the bulk buy. My supplier rate is about 8 cents per kwh. Basically, my distribution rate is cheaper than others- coming in at just under 7 cents per kwh. DBF said its cheaper because they have crappy maintenance - being he worked for tree company that does line clearing- he'd know LOL.

Anyway- back to the house.
Electric stove, dishwasher and fridge- new in 2002 when the house was redone. I'd have to guess the hot water heater was NOT replaced then. Why would you- it has nothing to do with a remodel etc... that will be our FIRST place to look.

She did also mention they may have heat tape- etc.. we will search out the cellar for that.

We will be cutting down on our electric use- by using power strips etc.

Off now to check out how much a new h2o heater costs!

But, to make it short, the .14995 per kwh is pretty low considering the other companies that supply and distribute here...

Oh- we dont have winter/summer rates or on/off peak hours- its 15 cents round the clock, round the calendar

Brandy

 

[2angelsinheaven]

Don't feel so bad we live in a 600sq foot one bed/one bath condo, two people and our bill last month was $130!! So $250 for a 4bd doesn't sound all that bad, bad but proportional.

 

[ah1126]

We live in a 3 bedroom 2 bath with 3 adults, about 1400sf. Last months bill was $135.14. Everything is less electric and less than a year old, except for the washer and dryer. We run the A/C year round. In the summer it is set at 74 during the day when no one is here, and 71 at night. We used 1305 kwh. For each kwh it looks like we are charged a fule charge (0.04973) and an energy charge (0.03959). Considering the temps have been about 95 daily, I think we are doing pretty good.
I don't think you will really know what your costs will be untill you have been there a few months. One thing that we have the option of doing with our company is budget billing. Doing this averages our bill out for the year so we don't have $100 bills in the winter and $300 bills in the summer. It is great for your budget! Good Luck and enjoy your new home!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I pulled out my bill from last month. Here is what the damage was:

Total Generation Charges 216 kwh x .126347 = $27.29
Fees and Distribution charges = $27.93
Total = $55.22

That's for a 765 square foot condo. I'm single, and am gone for most of the day. Gas water heater, rest of the appliances are electric. (hate the fact I don't have a gas stove). I run the dishwasher about once a week, and the washer and dryer about 2xs a week each. My a/c is broken but I do run fans at night. If I had the money to fix the a/c I still would have a hard time being able to afford running it.

Our rates here in CT have gone up 50% from last year since January. It's just scary how high the rates continue to go!