Anyone worried about summer utility bills?

[Aisling]

With the price of gas for work commutes killing my family's paycheck, and also price increases in just about everything else, I'm starting to worry about the electric bills for air conditioning this summer. We have window ACs in every room of the house and we especially need it lately at night to sleep. I'm thinking we're all going to have to sleep in one bedroom to save on the bill! My kids are older and won't like it, and neither will DH.

Should I invest in air mattresses or will someone please tell me the electric bills won't be outrageous this summer???

We have a good income, but this bad economy has taken a toll.

Anyone else here concerned about this?

 

[scrapquitler]

With the price of gas for work commutes killing my family's paycheck, and also price increases in just about everything else, I'm starting to worry about the electric bills for air conditioning this summer. We have window ACs in every room of the house and we especially need it lately at night to sleep. I'm thinking we're all going to have to sleep in one bedroom to save on the bill! My kids are older and won't like it, and neither will DH.

Should I invest in air mattresses or will someone please tell me the electric bills won't be outrageous this summer???

We have a good income, but this bad economy has taken a toll.

Anyone else here concerned about this?

What temperature do you set the a/c at? Try setting it a few degrees higher than whatever you usually do and that will save some $$$. You don't need it set at 70 degrees, set it at 75, that will save a lot, and it will still be cool, but not AS cool....better than sleeping jammed in one room.

 

[sarah4770]

.

 

[minnie1928]

try running fans, you'll be able to set the AC temp a bit higher.

 

[hpfan100]

here are some tips I use in my house to help with out heat.

Fans!, ceiling and high power box fans
set AC at 77 or 78 during day and run fans
at night turn AC down to 75 or so to cool it down more
keep windows closed
use window coverings (we have mini blinds and curtains on all bedroom windows)
don't run your oven, use the toaster/ mini grill/crock pot etc.

call your utility company and see if they offer a discount for time of use or your profession/address etc. I have time of use and it is great!!!!!



hope these things help and hang in there hopefully the heat wave back east will be over in a few days or weeks

 

[Aisling]

What temperature do you set the a/c at? Try setting it a few degrees higher than whatever you usually do and that will save some $$$. You don't need it set at 70 degrees, set it at 75, that will save a lot, and it will still be cool, but not AS cool....better than sleeping jammed in one room.

Ok, I'm ashamed to admit I didn't know the temperature setting affected the cost. I always thought it doesn't matter, 64 or 70 was the same price. Thank you for that.

try running fans, you'll be able to set the AC temp a bit higher.

Another shameful ignorance on my part: I thought running fans while the AC is on makes it warmer because it disperses the cool air too much. I guess that's just a myth.

I'm so not used to worrying about money like this. Things have always been easy to pay for. I wish there was a support group for people like me who are practically going from riches to rags and learn how to adjust to the higher cost of living, especially living in NYC. I don't want to be a whiner; I'm generally a positive optimist, but I'm truly concerned that I've been taking our paycheck for granted (cruises, many WDW trips etc) and not mentally prepared myself for hard times.

Thank you for letting me get this out.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I'm so not used to worrying about money like this. Things have always been easy to pay for. I wish there was a support group for people like me who are practically going from riches to rags and learn how to adjust to the higher cost of living, especially living in NYC. I don't want to be a whiner; I'm generally a positive optimist, but I'm truly concerned that I've been taking our paycheck for granted (cruises, many WDW trips etc) and not mentally prepared myself for hard times.

Thank you for letting me get this out.

I totally hear you on that.

 

[spiderdust]

I am *very* worried about this.

Last summer we installed ceiling fans and insulating film on the windows in hopes of keeping our house cooler more efficiently and affordably. Unfortunately, the electric company replaced all the meters in our town with their new "more accurate" SmartMeters and our bill went UP -- to the tune of $600/mo!!!!!

Since then, we haven't used the A/C at all and barely used the heat this past winter. We're miserable during extreme temperatures.

I may have us go to the mall on crazy hot days... pack snacks, bring books, and sit on benches and enjoy their free air conditioning. I'd prefer to go to the library, but they don't seem to have much A/C on either.

 

[Aisling]

I may have us go to the mall on crazy hot days... pack snacks, bring books, and sit on benches and enjoy their free air conditioning. I'd prefer to go to the library, but they don't seem to have much A/C on either.

My problem with this is I have a dog, so I can't go to all those cooler places and leave him home in the hot house. Even the park has been brutal for him the last few days.

God help us all.

Where'sPiglet, thank you so much for the hug. I needed that. I'm working myself into a panic and can't sleep. I think I'll pour myself a glass of wine to get sleepy. At least I don't have to spend money on the bottle; we have a few here in the house.

Thanks again!

I have a feeling I'm going to be bothering you all here on the BB more and more as summer really gets here. Please forgive me in advance.

 

[Beezle2]

Boy do I hear you on that! We have had 2 years of "adjustment' and it has been so hard to go from just paying for life to thinking about every little thing. It is really amazing what we have given up, but we have adjusted and learned. Stay focused on whats good and make the cuts where you can.

 

[eliza61]

Does your electric company offer budget billing? My electric and gas company every year analysizes my usaged over the entire year and then averages them out. So lets say my July and August bills go up every year due to the a/c, instead of getting hit really hard for 3 months, it's averaged out.

 

[beansmom]

we have a huge fishbowl of a house...lots of big windows, tons of skylights...nice for a New England winter but summer...not so much. I bought a couple more box fans and put them right over the vents on the floor to blow the cold air out instead of just letting it drop to the floor where it comes out. Yesterday was the first day with them and we had record high temps...mid 90's...and the fans really help immensely. We'll see how they do today.

If you put people on air mattresses, they're likely to be just as miserable as the plastic always makes me hot when the weather is hot.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

We have a programmable thermostat and it is set at 77 during the day and goes down to 75 at 5:00. It was 92 degrees here yesterday and I was off work and I have to say the A/C did not kick on all day until 5:00! I had the ceiling fans running. I also have a fan sitting at the bottom of the basement stairs and I use it to force the cool air from the basement up to the first floor. We have a two story house and our electric bill is always $70 - $75 a month. I close of rooms we don't use and shut off the registers in those rooms.

Also when using a ceiling fan remember cold air lays close to the floor. To get that cooler air moving make your to flip the switch on your ceiling fan so that it is drawing air upwards not down wards.

I suggest OP to talk to the kids about opening/closing the door too much. That effects the temp inside a lot.

I would install black out or thermal curtains and keep them closed during the day.

Change your furance filter so the furnace does not have to work as hard.

OP if your temp is set at 64 you can expect a very high bill. You are trying to cool your house to 20-30 degrees cooler than it is outside!

Drink lots of ice water. It will cool your body temp. Stay away from pop even when you are in your home and not out in the heat.

Don't run the washer/dryer and A/C all at the same time it drives your electric bill up even higher. I hang a lot of our clothes up in the summer and they dry quicker than in the dryer!
Take advantage of the cool temps in the morning and open the windows and put fan infront of the windows to draw the cool air in.

When showering use the bathroom exhaust fan to suck out the hot humid air. But besure the bathroom door is closed all the way otherwise you will be sucking the cool air out of the rest of the house.

I use my gas grill a lot in the summer so the kitchen does not heat up. I make salads at least 2 times a week.

 

[holden]

This is our first summer with our new pool, so I'm dreading the first bill that will include running the pool!

Our AC is set to 76 and we use ceiling fans upstairs b/c the AC doesn't cool it down as much up there (we have one zone AC).

We are bracing ourselves for the next bill.

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

Do laundry at night. Keep the laundry door closed and try to hang as many loads as possible. Hand wash the dishes and let air dry. If you do use your dishwasher (run at night only), do not use the heat setting.

 

[ilovemk76]

With the price of gas for work commutes killing my family's paycheck, and also price increases in just about everything else, I'm starting to worry about the electric bills for air conditioning this summer. We have window ACs in every room of the house and we especially need it lately at night to sleep. I'm thinking we're all going to have to sleep in one bedroom to save on the bill! My kids are older and won't like it, and neither will DH.

Should I invest in air mattresses or will someone please tell me the electric bills won't be outrageous this summer???

We have a good income, but this bad economy has taken a toll.

Anyone else here concerned about this?

How old are your window A/Cs? The older ones are very inefficient. Are they correctly sized for your rooms?

Before I bought air mattresses and made the family all sleep in the same room (yuck) I would invest in more efficient window A/Cs or look into an efficient whole house A/C. Good air mattresses can be hundreds of dollars.

We have a ground source A/C until and it is very efficient. Not worried about the electric bills. Our Christmas light bill has always exceeded any cooling beill we get.

 

[herdtoDisney]

With the price of gas for work commutes killing my family's paycheck, and also price increases in just about everything else, I'm starting to worry about the electric bills for air conditioning this summer. We have window ACs in every room of the house and we especially need it lately at night to sleep. I'm thinking we're all going to have to sleep in one bedroom to save on the bill! My kids are older and won't like it, and neither will DH.

Should I invest in air mattresses or will someone please tell me the electric bills won't be outrageous this summer???

We have a good income, but this bad economy has taken a toll.

Anyone else here concerned about this?

It's hot today, but it's supposed to be much lower this weekend We had the kids who wanted to, sleep in our room last night-we have an ac in there. We have one downstairs also but we don't run that at night. After today, it should be much better. I think ac's in all our bedrooms would make my circuit breaker explode

Do you have fans in the bedrooms? Our house has ceiling fans and they are on all the time-probably until Labor Day. We really don't use the ac's unless it's mid-90's or above.

 

[angierae]

Does your electric company offer budget billing? My electric and gas company every year analysizes my usaged over the entire year and then averages them out. So lets say my July and August bills go up every year due to the a/c, instead of getting hit really hard for 3 months, it's averaged out.

This is what we do. The gas and electric are averaged over the whole year, so there's only one time of year it adjusts - at the end of the 12 month period we either get a slightly bigger bill or a credit. But other than that we know exactly how much the gas and electric are going to be every month.

We keep our A/C at like 75-78 though, so I don't worry all too much.

 

[QVCshopper]

OP, please don't worry too much. I'm lucky and grew up broke, so I've been living way below my means for at least 20 years. It's really not a bad way of life. You just have to change your thinking and habits. If anything, we should be worrying more about the environment than the economy. But I digress.

Anyway, here's what I do with the AC. First, I turn it on only if the temperatures are about 85 and up and/or incredibly humid. I open the windows at night and close the windows in the morning to trap in the cool air. We run the ceiling fans and regular fans as needed, they are much less to run than AC.

When I do put the AC on, it's set at 78 degree, with all shades drawn. Sunlight heats your house quick. The fans still run as needed. Don't run the oven much, instead use the microwave and toaster oven/crockpot. Hang laundry to dry.

And, for anyone in PA with Peco and central air, they are offering $120 back on your bill (one time credit at the end of summer) if you sign up for a plan that lets them shut your air down if there energy usage is very high. It won't affect you much and is free to sign up.

Good luck to the OP and everyone else. Whether AC or heat, these threads pop up every year. I just met a lady who was paying $800 a month to heat her home with oil this winter. Now that's bad!

 

[Jakesmom504]

We also use the equal payment plan so I won't be crying until September when our new adjusted bill comes in! It has been so hot here and we need new windows so badly which I think is contributing to the heat in the house. We started using the air back in April because we couldn't sleep at night even with the fans on. We have cathedral ceilings upstairs and there is about a 10 degree difference between the 2 floors. DS and I get migraines and DH has horrible allergies, to the point of me not being able to keep the windows open even when it was nice out, so we broke down and would put the air on at night initially just to sleep. We really need to just invest in ceiling fans, but with the cathedral ceilings I'm guessing they will be really hard to get in. Apparently it is difficult to even reach the area where the fan would need to go from the attic according to DH. I hate to even admit this but our AC is constantly set at 72 and 71 at night! I'm so afraid of what our new bill will look like!