Air conditioning bill................

[rentayenta]

Hi all. This is our first summer in our new home and I am freaking out at how much the potential power bill could be for the air conditioner. We built a 2 story with full basement and put in two ac; one to control the upstairs temp and one to control the main level temp. The basement stays very cool thus far.


It's 100* here today and I have the ac set on 78*, not cold by any means.

What temp do you set yours at and what's your average summer bill (if you feel comfortable sharing)?

Any tips on how to lower the bill?

 

[rentayenta]

Either I am the only one with an air conditioner or the only who worries about the bill?!

 

[Homer Simpson]

This was a long thread here a week or so ago about a/c temps. You might be able to find it if the search feature is up and running.

 

[rentayenta]

This was a long thread here a week or so ago about a/c temps. You might be able to find it if the search feature is up and running.

Thank you!!!!

 

[Muushka]

I missed the other thread, so I'll bite!

We have a 2 story 1800 sq ft in Raleigh, NC area. We keep the A/C set at 78 when we are up and around. I have it set to go up to 81 after 11 pm till 6:30 am. Our biggest electric bill was $90. We have gas hot h2o though, and I rarely use my electric dryer. We cook with electricity. And we have a new system which helps a lot. I check and change the filters often also. Good luck!

 

[rentayenta]

I missed the other thread, so I'll bite!

We have a 2 story 1800 sq ft in Raleigh, NC area. We keep the A/C set at 78 when we are up and around. I have it set to go up to 81 after 11 pm till 6:30 am. Our biggest electric bill was $90. We have gas hot h2o though, and I rarely use my electric dryer. We cook with electricity. And we have a new system which helps a lot. I check and change the filters often also. Good luck!

That's great! It seems to be working for you as $90 during the summer for that much square footage seems really low.


Our home is 2500 square feet finished and the basement is an additional 1500 unfinished. My friend who's home is 3000 finished plus basement got her first bill last summer and it was over $400. That would be the end of Disney as I know it!

 

[ducklite]

I keep mine set to 79 or 80 depending on the humidity, and my highest electric bill in this house to date was $183 for one month (that was during the heat wave last August, every day was over 90*). I have 2950 s/f under air with 10-14 foot ceilings in a single story. I cook with electric, my HWH and dryer are gas.

We have a radiant barrier in the roof that we feel saves us hundreds of dollars a month in the warmest parts of the year, and ceiling fans in most rooms to circulate the air.

Anne

 

[Muushka]

It is low because of all the things I do! Really, I am very energy frugal. No computers running all day long, compact flourescent lighting pretty much every where, energy efficient appliances, curtains drawn at windows facing south and west and so on and so on........

 

[dismom24]

We just got our bill and it was only $200. We keep it very cool - around 74. We have 3 units and alomost 4000 sq ft. Ours are only 2 years old, so I think the newer ones are very efficient.

 

[Karenj2]

DH and I just made the decision to actually turn OFF our air conditioning, of course, it's not hot enough to need it yet in our area... Our house is 3,000+ SF, and we only have one AC for the whole house (unfinished basement stays cool year round).

Unfortunately, DH pays the bills, so I don't know what our utilities are, but we figured that was the best way to keep the bill down.

Talk to me when it's 95 & humid, and see if I still think it's a good idea...

 

[Cheshire Figment]

My house is about 2300 sf on one level and I keep the AC set at 78. That is also the temperature I keep the heat to in winter. It is an all-electric house and in 2½ years I have never had a bill as high as $200.

 

[tikilyn]

Gosh, everyone seems to have really low electric bills. Wish mine were. Last month my bill was 278.00! I have an 1851 sf two story home with no basement. Everything is electric. I keep my ac set at 76 degrees.

I think what makes mine expensive is that all my windows in the downstairs are facing east and west as with my upstairs.

 

[CarolA]

A couple of suggestions.

If you have an attick look into a vent fan. I did not have a working fan the first year I lived here and got it fixed later. Makes a HUGE difference in the amount of A/C run time.

Ceiling fans. I have one in my master bedroom which allows me to "feel cooler" at a higher temp while sleeping.

I have a two story condo with one unit which means 'heat rises" LOL! So keeping the upstairs cool is a bigger issue IMHO!.

 

[Friendly Frog]

Gosh, everyone seems to have really low electric bills. Wish mine were. Last month my bill was 278.00! I have an 1851 sf two story home with no basement. Everything is electric. I keep my ac set at 76 degrees.

I think what makes mine expensive is that all my windows in the downstairs are facing east and west as with my upstairs.

Another Texas girl.

2950 sq. ft home but the top story ( aprox. 800 sq of it) we close off the doors and vents and do not heat or cool unless we have a guest who will stay up there.

We keep the temp at @ 78 degrees. In the heat of summer the bill can be close to 400.00. I think last month was low 200.00. Our Ac unit is older.

Oh and the hot water heater is gas.

 

[luv2nascar]

my husband likes it cold. We fight to come to a happy medium on the temp in the house. I have been keeping it at 72 but he would like it lower. I pay the bills and fret over the electric bill. 4 people in 1950 sq two story with another probably 1000 sq unfinished basement. Our bills average 150-200 month. They just raised our electric in PA so we'll see. I hope they don't go over 200.

 

[Snow_White]

Our house is 2500 sq ft and our basement is about 1000 sq ft. I'm really, really scared of what our next electric bill is going to be....rates just went up by 50% here in MD I have a feeling the bill is going to be at least $300 and that is with us keeping the thermostat at 80 degees! Egads.

 

[kangareaux]

We don't have basements here, so I've always wondered about them. And after visiting MIL up north and being in her cool (with NO AC!) basement in August...I have to wonder if there's any way to use a fan to circulate some of that cool air up in the summer.

We went to a cave called Squire boone caverns. Obviously deeper than a basement, but they used the air from the cave (Cool in summer and warm in winter...in relation to the outside temps anyway) to heat and cool their gift shop. No AC or Heat! So I have to wonder if blowing that cool basement air up into the house would help out any.... I know not as much, but anything that helps the AC at all is a BIG plus in the pocketbook.

 

[Muushka]

Speaking of basements being cool, here is something I figured out this year. Because we wake up to a warm house (82 or so), I put on the fan portion of the AC. That will force the air thru the ducts in the basement (which is cool) and into the house. It lowers the house by at least 2 degrees. We are going to finish our basement and take advantage of that warm in winter and cool in summer enviorment!

Just curious. A few people have included the sq footage of their basements even though they are not air conditioned. Why is that? Do you feel that it is a factor in figuring out your AC bills?

 

[DisneyAprilFool]

Coming from the land of 120 degrees...

I feel your pain. Even worse, our power company seems to check the meters on whim- some months, they do it- other months, they average everyone's bill out- which would be great, except we are TRYING to be energy efficient.

We live in dry heat so we have an in-wall swamp cooler that goes 24-7. The electric company told us it should run us $35 a month. When it is running, we don't turn on the AC- the first month, we ran it- our bill was $80- the next month, we ran it- for some reason, our power bill was $260? We have an old meter on our house- we are going to request a digital meter because it makes no sense for the bill to change like that when nothing was done differently!

When we DO run our AC, we don't run it all month- and we still see $400 bills! We can't pay those types of bills in the summertime- my husband works a seasonal job and summertime, we exist off of our savings accounts. So we end up paying the extra $200-$300 once his work picks back up.

I have just recently added THICK curtains over all of our windows (we have huge ceiling-to-floor windows in our kitchen and a patio doorset)- although I miss the sunshine, it does seem to cool the house by an extra 1-2 degrees. We also have fans strategically placed to blow the air from the swamp cooler from the front of the house to the back.

This all works great- until the storm systems move in around August- then we HAVE to use the AC and I cry every night thinking of our bill! (Okay, I don't- but when the bill comes, I definitely cry real tears of frustration!).

To top it off, our power company has hiked the rates at least 4 times in the PAST FIVE YEARS. Yes, yes, they have. Hogwash, I say.

 

[arminnie]

42 year old house, 2800 sq. feet - bill was $72 last month.

It wasn't all that hot in May plus my dad will keep the thermostat between 80 and 85 (or higher). I've seriously considered a window unit for my room.

I just checked - it was $122 last July. Everything but the water heater is electric.