How much is your heat/electric bill?

[fkj2]

I called my heating company and after like 6 months of super high bills they said the meter was giving false readings. How can our bills be this high?

You might also want to review some of your appliances. I have an elderly cousin in Pittsburgh who had monthly electric bills of $130--for just one person in senior housing. I insisted maintenance come to check her refrigerator to see if it could be draining power. It turns out she was using a microwave her family had owned since the 1980s.

I sent her a new microwave and for the next TWO months, she had no electrical bill at all. (She'd been paying on a budget plan.) Made me ill that an entire year had passed before we figured out what the problem was.

 

[rockundergirl]

my heat is 395, and electric is 80-100.

I'm in new jersey

 

[kidshop]

In FL, gas heat and water; last months bill was $100 (the one before that was $30). We got a new furnace and all new hurricane windows in the last year, but it has been colder this year than last. the house is 2 story and about 2500 sq ft. Electric was about $100, too.

I keep the heat at 66-67

 

[I Believe In Magic]

Wow thanks for all the responses. I guess my bill is semi-normal. I talked to a rep today and she really recommended the heavy drapes, but the worst room is the dining area of the kitchen and it is a bay window with wood blinds. Drapes would look weird. She also said to keep the house warmer than the freezing temps I have it at now because it works harder to keep it warm. She said if I cranked it up 5 degrees and left it alone my bill would be cheaper. Hmmm....

Stay warm everyone and dream of Disney where it's (usually) warm!! lol

 

[PrincesCJM]

I haven't read all of the responses but I would suggest having an energy audit done. I would want to know where the heat (and my money) is going. Be proactive!

 

[leahjade]

[I can't turn the heat down because we have a five month old./QUOTE]

My doctor said babies don't need the heat to be 68-70. They have blanket sleepers and can get overheated. I always have had my heat at 64 and never had sick kids.

 

[Colleen27]

We've experienced a huge range in the time we've lived here. Our summer electric bill (no a/c) is around $100/mo and our gas bill is $20/mo.

Winters are much higher, because we live in a 130yo house in a cold climate and haven't been here long enough to put anything into weatherproofing yet. Our boiler went out at the start of the heating season, and for the month we were all-electric waiting on the fireplace we ordered, the electric bill shot up to $350. Gas remained $20. Now we're heating with a combination of gas (main floor) and electric (upstairs as needed) and our most recent bills were $150 gas & $130 electric.

I really can't complain because I expected MUCH worse given the age of the house. Next year will be better, because we've only replaced a handful of windows and haven't added any insulation yet. We'll be tackling some of that over the summer so we'll be in a better position come next winter.

ETA: This is for an 1800 sq ft, 1880 Victorian.

 

[edk35]

The bill I just paid this week for previous month was 293....electric only. I was SHOCKED It was under 300. Our bills in the hot months and cold months are always over 300. It has been very cold so I hate to see my next one. I have kept it on 69/70..

 

[Jodijo]

I can't feel sorry for you - our gas/electric is $500 a month, 12 months out of the year ("budget" plan). Our home is almost 100 years old, 1800 square feet. We've gotten new storm windows and doors, and had insulation blown into the first floor, and insulated the attic. I don't know why gas for heating is so expensive here, since gas prices for vehicles is one of the lowest in the country.

I am with you!!!! Our houses are about the same size. We have also made many energy saving improvements. We even tinted our windows, got a tankless H2O heater, and got energy saver appliances. Still we average $500 a month in the winter and $850 a month in the summer. It is crazy. We just don't have a big house or use the heater or air conditioner much. We freeze in winter and roast in summer. I wish I knew why it is so bad!

 

[mjkacmom]

I am with you!!!! Our houses are about the same size. We have also made many energy saving improvements. We even tinted our windows, got a tankless H2O heater, and got energy saver appliances. Still we average $500 a month in the winter and $850 a month in the summer. It is crazy. We just don't have a big house or use the heater or air conditioner much. We freeze in winter and roast in summer. I wish I knew why it is so bad!

What the heck is with CA and NJ?! Why are things so financially different in these two states?!

 

[Jodijo]

What the heck is with CA and NJ?! Why are things so financially different in these two states?!

I was told by the PG&E that our state took an typical apartment in a city and averaged its electric use for one month. Then, all of the homes (no matter the size) in the state were allotted that much electricity each month. If you go over the allotted amount, you are penalized. In the summer, we are penalized by paying up to 4 times more for each watt of energy we use. We turned off everything but the refrigerator for a month in the summer and still went over the allotted amount of electricity. (Not to mention that it almost killed us.)

 

[Jennia]

Our house was built in 1903, is about 3800 sq feet, and our heating bill last month was 170 (and we weren't even here for part of December!). Electric is combined with gas and trash pick up, and it was around 360. I start to get a little queasy when I think about how much money goes just to bills.

 

[angwill]

I'll ask, but I think I pay more. My home is valued at around $450,000, and I pay over $11,000 a year in property taxes. She bought her home for $800,000 (and it would be worth way over a million here). NJ has the highest property taxes in the country, and I believe my county is #2.

She would be charged a percent depending what on Dupage county charges on the assessed value. My guess is that she is probably paying between 15,000 to 20,000 a year. Let me know what she says she is paying I want to see how close I came.

We were looking at moving to NH/MA area several years back and we kept hearing from friends who lived there how high the taxes were and that they were higher than anywhere else. I got the housing tax sheet for the different towns and found out that we were paying way more in IL than we would have in either state and NH has no tax on the items you purchase.

 

[delmar411]

Dec's bills for gas and electric were $95 and $70. I turn the heat up to 72 during the day and 68 at night. The house leaks air like crazy and you can often feel the wind blow through the outlets and windows which is why I have to turn it up to 72 to keep it decent downstairs then turn it down so the upstairs doesn't roast all night.

That's a pretty average bill for us. In the summer it's flipped to electric being the higher one and the gas a very small bill.

 

[JeffreyY]

Just got our bill, for gas & electric it was $430 and we live in an 1100 sq foot apartment. I nearly fainted. The only odd thing is the bill is listed as an actual reading but no one was home to let them in, so I am hoping there is some kind of mistake. Con ed here in NYC has just raised their rates again.

 

[Jeninindy]

Electric is on monthly budget of $132. December's gas bill with the heat set at a very comfortable 66 was $149.xx.

Central Indiana - 2800 sq foot house with a drafty windows...