Electric bill shocker...

[Halbleib1]

To some of the people that have already posted their electric rates, and to those that have not, if you think about it, put the sq footage of your house in your posting so there is a little more information to compare.

We haven't gotten our bill this month yet; it doesn't come until the end of the month. Our June bill was $130 . We have a 2400 sq ft house and keep our A/C on 80 degrees.

Lately, to try and lower the cost, we have been turning off the A/C and opening the windows in the evening when the outside temps have dropped to lower that 80 degrees. We then turn the A/C back on in the morning.

I work for a homebuilder and saw the invoice today for one of our model houses. It was $1001.16.

Our June bill was $123.08 for 987 kilowatt hours used. We live in a 3 story townhome that is just under 2000 sq ft. We have kept our a/c set at 68 for the whole summer so far. Our electric company puts on the bill the kilowatt hours used on a daily basis for the current months bill as well as for that same month the year before. June 2009 we used 33k per day and June 2010 we used 33k per day. They also put the average daily temp. which for this June was 72 and last June it was 67.

Our July bill will probably be higher since we had many days in the 90s and 100s. We save some with living in a middle townhome. We only have windows in the front and back of the home which makes a big difference for cooling and heating. Our home is also insulated well. We lost power one day and the temp. did not go up more than 2-3 degrees in the 4-5 hours it was out. The temp. outside on that day was in the 90s.

 

[loxie]

We pay between 270-310 EVERY mth & have for the last 6.

 

[nmrgrl55]

I was just complaining about mine but I guess I will be quiet now after reading these high bills! Mine was $100 last month and after having the AC running most of the month (DH is a big baby and can't stand the heat ) it only jumped up to $170. It has been cooler the last few days and I keep the AC off most of the day so hopefully next month goes down a little bit

 

[wdwfan16]

A/C at 78 could definitely cause high bill.

But 215 is not that bad. ITs not uncommon for us to have 250-300+ in summer with A/C set at 87 during day 85 from 8pm to 1pm(cheaper times of day on a plan we have) it drops to like 82 later at night for cooler sleeping temps though. A digital thermostat you can program is a great tool that can save tons. Some people thing turning it off when they go out saves but I don't believe that. Its only at 87 during the day because I am home and we have pets(2 cats) that are here and we gotta keep it decent for them anyway. 87-90 would probably be where I would set it for an away form home hours. It takes less to cool it back up from there than if you turn it off and it gets in the high 90s inside your home.

Of course this place is not well insulated either. I miss my nicely insulated place in Florida where all through summer I paid no more than $129 and that was including my sewer and water bills too.

That is not even refreshing. We have somebody home everyday. The A/C is set at 72 day or night. We had temps from 90 - 103 last month. Our A/C bill was $244. That is the highest it has ever been. Our home is 3950 sq feet.

How could you bill be higher than mine?

 

[brerrabbit]

If you live in a area with a municiple owned power company you are lucky, if you are facing deregulation any time soon in your area good luck! We live in the Houston metroplex and around 1999-2000 the state of Texas allowed the DFW and Houston metroplex service areas to deregulate electricity costs in order to provide Texans a choice. Well that choice has been between suffering through heat indexes of +100 degrees in the summer or $500 plus bills. If you don't commit to a two year rate plan and let the price float you will pay 17 cents per KWh in the summer and since ac's run 24/7 here it is very easy to use 2,000 KWh a month, and thats $340 a month. Take my house at 2,900 sq ft with two cetral a/c's (one up, one down) a pool and an extra refridgerator and the bill is $500 easy. At the same time over in Austin (the state capital) there is no deregulation and the municipal power company sells power for 7.5 cents a KWh. They need to remind me why deregulation was such a good deal for me.

 

[bettymae1121]

Our central A/C doesn't work, hasn't since we moved in 5 years ago (so much for the home inspection ). We have other things we wanted to renovate first, so we just got two window a/c units - one for the bedroom and one for my office as I work from home full time. We use box fans and/or ceiling fans for other rooms. Between the fans and the window units, our highest summer electric bill in the last five years has been $118. Usually it's right around $100. We find that we are comfortable most of the time, the only problem I have is using the kitchen on really hot days, that can be a killer so I try to plan to grill outside on those days, or whine at my DH until he takes me out to eat!

Anyway, this works so well that even when we do eventually get the central air fixed, I think I'll keep doing it this way unless there is a really bad and really long heat wave. We're comfortable and the electric bill is cheap, so why change?

 

[surfergirl602]

That is not even refreshing. We have somebody home everyday. The A/C is set at 72 day or night. We had temps from 90 - 103 last month. Our A/C bill was $244. That is the highest it has ever been. Our home is 3950 sq feet.

How could you bill be higher than mine?

I was thinking the same thing! Why even turn it on, just open a window! lol Having the a/c set at anything over 78 just seems silly to me. We have temps so far around 104 every day. We keep ours set at 75 because we have a newborn. Our bill has always been under $115.

So to those of you that do have yours set in the 80's, do you find it refreshing and cool? I'm very curious, in all honesty. We have central air, so maybe that makes a difference? I'm a stay at home mom with 4 kids, and we find having the a/c at 76 its hot in here. My hubby is gone right now, but he usually keeps it even lower. ha ha. Ours runs pretty much all day long.

 

[tar heel]

I'm not sure if I'm more shocked at how low your bills are or how high you set your thermastats! My DH would get a hotel room if our air was set on 79 much less 87.

Our electricity, water and sewer are a combined bill. If we manage to stay under $400 in July and August, I'll be happy. I doubt that we will, though. Last bill was $330 something. House is an open two-story with around 3,000 square feet and two A/C units.

 

[TxRabbit]

We keep ours set at 75 because we have a newborn. Our bill has always been under $115.

So to those of you that do have yours set in the 80's, do you find it refreshing and cool? I'm very curious, in all honesty.

Ours is currently set for 82/83 during the day. I turn it down to 78 at night. We have a two story, just under 2500 sq ft, so only one unit. Considering that the temps are in the upper 90s with a heat index well over 100 with super humidity outside, yes, my interior is cool and refreshing. It's a 20 degree differential to the outside. I dress for the weather and turn on the ceiling fans. Honestly, anything else starts to feel COLD and makes me think I need to be wearing more than the sundress or shorts and tank that I have on.

I'm keeping it more conservative until we get our first electric bill, we just moved into this house. Our last house was very inefficient, smaller at just under 2000 sq ft, we kept it set at 78 in the day and 75 at night, and the latest electric bill was almost $300.

 

[aprilgail2]

Its only at 87 during the day because I am home and we have pets(2 cats) that are here and we gotta keep it decent for them anyway. 87-90 would probably be where I would set it for an away form home hours. .

OMG I would DIE in there at 87 degrees--I would never be able to sleep!
Why even HAVE A/C if you have it at 87- just open the windows!

I guess I'm in the minority here. Yes, it sucks to see your bill hugely increase from the previous month's, but has anyone considered signing up for a Level Payment Plan? We do it and it is so nice knowing each month how much my electric bill will be. No surprises in the summer. Yes. I suppose it would be nice to pay less in the winter, but with Christmas lights, etc., our bill isn't always that much cheaper in the winter.

:

I do the same thing- I have a budget plan where I pay the same every single month- don't are if its summer and the A/C is at 60 that month is the same as Januarys bill- no surprises! I am not going to sit and swelter in an 80 degree house because I am afraid of the summer electric bill!!!

 

[pilesoflaundry]

If you live in a area with a municiple owned power company you are lucky, if you are facing deregulation any time soon in your area good luck! We live in the Houston metroplex and around 1999-2000 the state of Texas allowed the DFW and Houston metroplex service areas to deregulate electricity costs in order to provide Texans a choice. Well that choice has been between suffering through heat indexes of +100 degrees in the summer or $500 plus bills. If you don't commit to a two year rate plan and let the price float you will pay 17 cents per KWh in the summer and since ac's run 24/7 here it is very easy to use 2,000 KWh a month, and thats $340 a month. Take my house at 2,900 sq ft with two cetral a/c's (one up, one down) a pool and an extra refridgerator and the bill is $500 easy. At the same time over in Austin (the state capital) there is no deregulation and the municipal power company sells power for 7.5 cents a KWh. They need to remind me why deregulation was such a good deal for me.

I feel so bad for all of you in TX. Dh wanted to retire there but I nixed it because of the electric bills. Here in GA they deregulated gas so we could have choices but the original company charges crazy service charges so we can use their pipes. I only used $6 in gas this month for hot water/the stove but my bill was over $30. All fees.

 

[Sparkleshine]

Why even HAVE A/C if you have it at 87- just open the windows!

Well when it's 113 or 111 like it was yesterday opening the windows isn't the greatest idea 87 feels OK when it's that hot out!

I personally set mine at 78 or 80 depending on who's home but many people keep their AC's set in the 80's here in AZ.

 

[disney1990]

OMG I would DIE in there at 87 degrees--I would never be able to sleep!
Why even HAVE A/C if you have it at 87- just open the windows!





I do the same thing- I have a budget plan where I pay the same every single month- don't are if its summer and the A/C is at 60 that month is the same as Januarys bill- no surprises! I am not going to sit and swelter in an 80 degree house because I am afraid of the summer electric bill!!!

Ours is set at 80. Why would I open the windows when it is 95-99 degrees outside and extremely humid. Maybe some people can afford $300 electric bills, but some people cannot.

To those people that have A/C that is set at a low temperature, what do you sleep under. Even at 80 degrees, I get chilly at night and have to sleep under a sheet or a light blanket. Why would I want it any colder?

 

[Halbleib1]

That is not even refreshing. We have somebody home everyday. The A/C is set at 72 day or night. We had temps from 90 - 103 last month. Our A/C bill was $244. That is the highest it has ever been. Our home is 3950 sq feet.

How could you bill be higher than mine?

Depends on what state you live in and what electric company you have. Some states electric prices are very very high while in others they are low.

 

[Halbleib1]

Many of the people setting the temp. to 80 or higher seem to live in states with low humidity. Which makes a big difference. Today it was 95 here with 99% humidity. Even right now it is 85 out with very high humidity still. I was saying to my husband as we went out earlier tonight I would take the desert right about now over this heat. The desert at least cools down at night. So those that live there get some relief at night at least.


Those that are setting their temps. to 80 or higher that live in higher humidity states are at least removing most of the humidity from their homes which will make it feel cooler. Although I agree I could not live and esp. sleep in those temps. Our central a/c has been set to 68 since it got warm here in April. Some days even that is not cool enough for the pregnant me.

 

[TxRabbit]

If you live in a area with a municiple owned power company you are lucky, if you are facing deregulation any time soon in your area good luck! We live in the Houston metroplex and around 1999-2000 the state of Texas allowed the DFW and Houston metroplex service areas to deregulate electricity costs in order to provide Texans a choice. Well that choice has been between suffering through heat indexes of +100 degrees in the summer or $500 plus bills. If you don't commit to a two year rate plan and let the price float you will pay 17 cents per KWh in the summer and since ac's run 24/7 here it is very easy to use 2,000 KWh a month, and thats $340 a month. Take my house at 2,900 sq ft with two cetral a/c's (one up, one down) a pool and an extra refridgerator and the bill is $500 easy. At the same time over in Austin (the state capital) there is no deregulation and the municipal power company sells power for 7.5 cents a KWh. They need to remind me why deregulation was such a good deal for me.

Exactly why ours is set in the 80s during the day...living in Clear Lake area over here...we did commit to the 2 year plan...but we are only at 11 cents per KWh here, which IS a bummer in the winter months...but what can you do? I can't handle the bills in the summer.

For all of you with the plans to pay the same every month. Very nice for you and where you are. It isn't an option here. You just have to figure out a way to deal, which involves that 80s set temp during the day...

 

[Halbleib1]

Ours is set at 80. Why would I open the windows when it is 95-99 degrees outside and extremely humid. Maybe some people can afford $300 electric bills, but some people cannot.

To those people that have A/C that is set at a low temperature, what do you sleep under. Even at 80 degrees, I get chilly at night and have to sleep under a sheet or a light blanket. Why would I want it any colder?

I sleep under a sheet and a light blanket. We also run a fan in our bedroom at night as by morning our bedroom is usually pretty warm from the morning sun shining through. I feel bare without my sheet and blanket on. Although some nights the blanket is folded at the end of the bed or is only covering up to my waist. Just depends on how warm I feel. I can not sleep in a warm bedroom.

If you are comfortable with your temp. settings than that is all that matters. Everyone has different comfort levels.

Luckily our electric is pretty reasonable compared to others on this thread. At least for now. We will see what happens when the caps come off at the end of the year.

I am with you though if our electric goes up so high that we have 300.00 bills than it will be time for a change of some sort as that is just not in our budget either.

 

[herdtoDisney]

I'm just LOL at the idea of having a set temp in the house in summer : )

Like many homes here, I don't have central AC. This house came with a window unit in our upstairs master bedroom, and we found another one in the shed, that we put in a living room window. I'm really really cheap so I try to avoid running them, but with the heat wave we've had, I had to-I am totally dreading getting the bill! It's usually around $180.

I do stuff like open windows/doors in evening and morning, shut curtains during the day, run ceiling fans...but truthfully, our indoor temp really depends on outside temp. The AC's help, but can't keep this whole house at one temp.

I usually see summer as a time to get a break on the electric bill-I also use a clothesline in summer-but this month is just going to hurt, with the heat.

 

[Sorsha]

I'm just LOL at the idea of having a set temp in the house in summer : )

Like many homes here, I don't have central AC. This house came with a window unit in our upstairs master bedroom, and we found another one in the shed, that we put in a living room window. I'm really really cheap so I try to avoid running them, but with the heat wave we've had, I had to-I am totally dreading getting the bill! It's usually around $180.

I do stuff like open windows/doors in evening and morning, shut curtains during the day, run ceiling fans...but truthfully, our indoor temp really depends on outside temp. The AC's help, but can't keep this whole house at one temp.

I usually see summer as a time to get a break on the electric bill-I also use a clothesline in summer-but this month is just going to hurt, with the heat.

I agree with you - in the summer, my inside temp is what my outside temp is. No one in Montana has a/c - maybe only 5% of the population, if I had to guess? We just open windows, close curtains, and turn on fans. Then again, for us, a hot day is about 85°, our humidity hovers around 22% usually, and at night we still get down to about 50°. Since my heat is turned off for the summer, and my windows are always open, I still have my flannel sheets on my bed! My summer electricity bills - what it takes to run the rest of the house - everything in it is electric and we have a LOT of gadgets and freezers and STUFF - is about $120.

Now in the dead of winter... daytime highs around 20 degrees, wind chills below 10 degrees, constant wind, 2 feet of snow, you know... JANUARY . My highest bill then, when the heat is turned on and set at about 72°, is usually about $320. YUCK... I don't even want to think about it.

FWIW I have a small house, 1500 sq feet, and I have in-floor radient hot water heat - the lines are encased in a cement slab floor and the whole she-bang is powered by an electric boiler. The house is divided into "zones" - each bedroom, the living area, the garage, etc - is its own zone, and can, theoretically, be heated to a seperate temp.

Also FWIW the concrete builders screwed up and did not provide an adequate thermal break between the thermal zone in the house and the thermal zone in the garage. The long and the short of it is that I always have to keep my garage heated to the same temperature as my house. Otherwise, if the part of the cement slab in the garage is cold and the part of the cement slab in the house is warm the temperature will try to equalize. The house zones will work and work and work harder than necessary and transfer the heat out into the garage to try to create a thermal balance within the slab. Makes the power bills shoot WAY up there. When we figured out why our power bills were SKY high boy were we PI$$ED. But there isn't a darn thing we can do about it, short of ripping up the house and re-building the slab. So, the garage is always a toasty 70-72° in the winter.

 

[trip]

I don't use the level payment plan for gas or electric. The 3 worst summer months (electric) are about the same as the worst 3 winter months (gas) so I have "extra" money in the fall and spring.

Everyone plays budget games in their own way.