Frustrated with electric costs...what's your average bill?

how long do you have to wait until you can do the "budget billing"? I am guessing a year so that they have something to go off of....
 
how long do you have to wait until you can do the "budget billing"? I am guessing a year so that they have something to go off of....

probably depends on the electric company. I know when we bought our house 9 years ago, the electric company offered balance billing. It was based off the previous owners usage. We declined at that time.

Our summer bills average $400 to $450 per month. Our winter bills are very low. we started the balance billing a few years ago. It is about $240 to $260 per month. they adjust it 2 times a year, I think.

Our home is only about 1600 sq. feet with all new appliances, but we do have a pool and I love my a/c!
 
We've only been in our 15 year old, 1600 square foot home a few months, and when we moved in we bought new appliances and got the ones that qualify for energy rebates (low water/energy usage). We discovered the previous owners put in some fantastic windows, and did a great job insulating it (plus its in an area that gets a good breeze). We've had a few days over 100 degrees outside but inside my house it hasn't gotten over 65 so we haven't turned on the A/C yet. When I moved in in the winter it was getting down to high 40's at nights but inside it stayed about 60. Gas stove and water heater.

Our electric bill has averaged between $40 and $50/month. The insulated windows are the key I believe (along with the architecture, lots of airspace). For any Californians, you can also sign up for SmartRate during the summer which reduces your rate in exchange for having a higher rate on a dozen pre-selected days ... PG&E's way of trying to balance the grid's usage.

In our previous 600 square foot home on Maui, for about 5 years, not using A/C very often (just a window unit), with our water heater on a timer so only on for 3 hours a day, our bill averaged between $120 and $150/month. The house was 30 years old with 30 year old appliances.
 
We got our bill today, $299.50. That also includes water and sewer. I consider any summer bill below $300 to be a miracle.
 

$250-300 per month, it makes no difference if we use heat or air (we use both as needed), we have 3 saltwater fish tanks and a terrarium with plants.
 
I live in a one-bedroom apartment (1st floor) and I pay around $38 a month on average, regardless of the month. I thought it would go up once I started using the A/C in the summer, but it's stayed steady. I have a wall unit for my A/C and gas heat.

I moved here from a two-bedroom, two story that we paid around $120 a month for. That had central air and we also ran an air purifier 24/7.

I live outside of a major city in the Midwest.
 
Geez, prices seem so random!

I guess I shouldn't complain, I think I'd have a stroke if I got a $200 bill! Keep the prices coming, AND tips to lower your bills! I'd love to go all solar, but too $$$$ for me!
 
/
We live in Northwest Florida, so we run the a/c most of the year. Our house is pretty well-insulated, though, so we can keep the thermostat about 80* in the summer and be comfortable. In the winter, we keep it around 72* or so. (Yes, I realize that gives those of you in cold climates heart failure, but I can't stand to be cold and I do not want to wear multiple layers indoors.) Last month's bill was about $260, typical for summer. If it's really cold (many days with lows in the 20s or 30s, highs in the 40s), our winter bills are similar. When we have milder temps like in the Spring and Fall, our bills get down around $130. Our house is almost 2800 sf, built in the mid-1990s, brick construction. The original a/c-heat unit is still working, so I'm sure that when we replace it, a new one will be more energy-efficient.

Our electric does not include our hot water heater, which is gas (and that bill runs about $35-40 year-round).
 
$125 monthly for our house, equal billing (for the first 11 months....with the 12th being our reconciliation month).

We have a small bungalow (about 1200 square feet) with a full finished basement. Central air conditioning, and an electric fireplace insert in our basement rec room. Gas heat, and gas heats our hot water ($76 per month equal billing). Family of three.

We have "time of use" pricing for electricity here in Ontario, so we try to do as much as possible (laundry, etc.) during off-peak hours to keep the bill as low as possible. I also hang almost all laundry on the line from April to October to avoid using the dryer.
 
We have an old three bedroom, two bath house and our gas and electric runs about $120 a month for two humans, one dog and six cats. My dh is retired and ends up spending lots of time at home on the computer or ham radios.
 
$125 monthly for our house, equal billing (for the first 11 months....with the 12th being our reconciliation month).

We have a small bungalow (about 1200 square feet) with a full finished basement. Central air conditioning, and an electric fireplace insert in our basement rec room. Gas heat, and gas heats our hot water ($76 per month equal billing). Family of three.

We have "time of use" pricing for electricity here in Ontario, so we try to do as much as possible (laundry, etc.) during off-peak hours to keep the bill as low as possible. I also hang almost all laundry on the line from April to October to avoid using the dryer.

Yep.. good old time of use billing here too. If I have to do laundry on a weekday (and I pretty much have to do one load a day if I don't want to use a whole weekend day doing it), it has to be after 7pm. I run the air conditioner all night and I turn it off before peak hours in the morning and it keeps the house cool all day:). All lights off during the day, I unplug any small appliances not in use, computer on a power bar etc etc. By using all these little tricks my bill for June was $156. $60 of that is a delivery charge.
Our home is 3000 sq feet and 6 years old so pretty energy efficient.

ETA) I have a gas dryer so that doesn't go on the hydro at least.
 
My tiny one bedroom apt in California runs about $80 in the winter and $130 in the summer between gas and electric. The gas bill is like $5 in the summer for cooking, and goes to about $30 in the winter for a few months for heat. I also do much more cooking in the winter than my bf does in the summer. There's no insulation and the bedroom get the afternoon sunset, so summers are miserable. Thankfully, I spend them in Texas.

My aunt keeps the house at a constant 78 degrees year round. Any cooler and my grandmother thinks she's living in the artic. Her bill averages $250-$300 for electric, water, and trash. Although, there's been a spike in water since installing the sprinkler system. I think it needs some tweaking on the water times and moving the rain guage to a better location.
 
We have a 2000sq foot house and our bill averages $95 a month. We have a 2.5 yr old daughter and I am a stay at home mom who also works from home. In the summer it can be as high as $150 with AC.
 
Average 200.00 as high as 270.00 . 1600sq ft . 15 yod house in need of new windows. Too many computers and a DW who likes the temp to be 70 yeAr round....
 
We use the average billing where our bill stays pretty much the same most of the year. I think right now we pay between $160 and $180 per month.

Before average billing we had bills as high as $220 and bills as low as around $140. But usually never below $140.

Our bill use to be higher in the winter.

Our house is all electric.
 
Our electric bills are about $95-$125, depending on time of year. Our house is 105 years old, 2000 sq.ft. (about 800 of that is only 20 years old), in Maine. We have oil heat and added insulation in the attic. No air conditioning, but for the past week or two we have been running 3 ceiling fans and three floor fans 24/7- we've been having a heat wave! On a regular basis, we have two refrigerators (maybe 20 years old?), two computers, one TV, a sump pump, and a dehumidifier. I run the dishwasher twice a week, and we do 2-3 loads of laundry a week, and we are pretty good about turning off the lights when leaving a room. Just slightly more than half of our bill is a "delivery charge" which always interests me, as I've NEVER had anyone show up at our door with a bucket of electrons on a regular basis!
 
how long do you have to wait until you can do the "budget billing"? I am guessing a year so that they have something to go off of....

Our electricity company offers that after you have been in your home for 1yr or more. However, we like having lower bills in the summer so we didn't go for it.
 
Geez, prices seem so random!

I guess I shouldn't complain, I think I'd have a stroke if I got a $200 bill! Keep the prices coming, AND tips to lower your bills! I'd love to go all solar, but too $$$$ for me!

After we got a huge bill in the middle of last winter (about $700 for 2 months!!!) we made some changes and have brought our consumption down.

-unplugged all appliances that are not being used (we unplug small ones like coffee makers/toasters, etc when not in use)
-turn off all lights if they are not necessary
-shut doors to keep heat and/or ac from circulating in places where you are not using it
-use eco or low settings on appliances such as the clothes dryer and dishwasher (or better yet, hang your clothes to dry if you can)
-use cold water setting on your washing machine when possible
-install a programmable thermostat for your heat and a/c if you don't already have one

They seem like small changes but they made a big difference to our bills.
 
Oh and my husband changed a lot of our bulbs to LED. I know it's more money upfront, but in the long run it saves a ton of $$ too.
 
-unplugged all appliances that are not being used (we unplug small ones like coffee makers/toasters, etc when not in use) I could start doing that, but I admit I have not.
-turn off all lights if they are not necessary
I try and do this, DH is less likely to.
-shut doors to keep heat and/or ac from circulating in places where you are not using it no AC or heat that uses electricity
-use eco or low settings on appliances such as the clothes dryer and dishwasher (or better yet, hang your clothes to dry if you can)I only use the dryer in the event of prolonged rain. Outside line in the summer and inside racks by fire in winter
-use cold water setting on your washing machine when possible Never wash in anything but cold
-install a programmable thermostat for your heat and a/c if you don't already have one No thermostat pf any kind to program

I answered in red. That's my frustration. I just don't see a lot of areas where we are "wasting" electricity and I feel like we are above the curve on a lot of things but it doesn't translate in our bill.
 


/











Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE














DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Back
Top