It's officially summer re: power bill

[rcraw45425]

Just looked at the latest bill: $612, up from $302 last month. Summer rates have kicked in. Fun fun fun

 

[cepmom]

holy cow...how big is your house????

 

[HM]

I'd be cutting my air conditioning up a few degrees, if mine got that high. And doing some caulking around windows and doors. Wow.

I have a 3500 sq ft house in hot NC and our summer bills are usually less than $300. Our May bill was $94. We keep our two units at 79 in the summer (68 in the winter).

 

[trip]

You made me choke on my coffee. I go crazy if my electric bill goes over $200!

 

[ajk912]

Omg, I would cry.

Ours are about $200 total for gas/electricity. Water doesn't change, so I am not counting that. But in the summer, our electric bill is about $150 and our gas bill is about $50. In the winter, it flip flops. $150 gas and $50 electric. I start sweating when one of the utilities creeps up to $180ish. Let alone $600!

 

[debf]

Wow I thought my bill of $160 was bad when we started up our pool for the season.If I ever got a bill for $612 I think I would pass out.

 

[mill4023]

I'd be cutting my air conditioning up a few degrees, if mine got that high. And doing some caulking around windows and doors. Wow.

I have a 3500 sq ft house in hot NC and our summer bills are usually less than $300. Our May bill was $94. We keep our two units at 79 in the summer (68 in the winter).

We also have a 3500 sq. ft house in NC with two units. We usually keep ours set to 74 in the summer.
I cringe when I see our $320 bill in the summer. I'd be selling stuff on ebay if I ever got a $600 electric bill.

 

[chyam]

Just looked at the latest bill: $612, up from $302 last month. Summer rates have kicked in. Fun fun fun

Geez....either you live in a mansion or something is defineately wrong...I would be calling the power company and have an energy audit. Down here it is free (FL) and if they think things can be done to reduce your energy consumption they would help you pay a portion of the repairs.
Mine last month was $228.00 for a 2000 sq. foot home, and I keep the temp at 79 I also have terrrazio floors which helps to keep it a little cooler in here, I also close the shades on the side of the house where the afternoon sun comes in. I also close the vents almost off in the rooms that I don't use all the time.
I would faint if I EVER had a $600 bill!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Yikes, that's insane! Maybe you should have a heating/cooling contractor check out your system and the electric company do an energy audit.

We have a 2,500 sq ft house and I keep the thermostat at 78/79 in the summer - my highest electric bill last summer was $140. I would cry if my electric bill was $600 - that's 2 car payments for me!

 

[Gabes_mommy]

Do you have an old air conditioner? Our bills would get to over $400 every summer and we got a new A/C in December and this summer they are $130 and that's keeping our A/C at 72 when we're home. We knew a new A/C would make a difference but not this huge of a difference. It may be worth looking into. We figure our new A/C will pay for itself within a few years.

 

[rcraw45425]

Geez....either you live in a mansion or something is defineately wrong...I would be calling the power company and have an energy audit. Down here it is free (FL) and if they think things can be done to reduce your energy consumption they would help you pay a portion of the repairs.
Mine last month was $228.00 for a 2000 sq. foot home, and I keep the temp at 79 I also have terrrazio floors which helps to keep it a little cooler in here, I also close the shades on the side of the house where the afternoon sun comes in. I also close the vents almost off in the rooms that I don't use all the time.
I would faint if I EVER had a $600 bill!

4500 square feet, total electric, tons of windows on the west side of the house, 20 year old units, Keep the downstairs set at 76, The upstairs fluctuates since I have two teens up there, not to mention a vaulted ceiling foyer/ stairwell with the vents at the ceiling but the thermostat in the hall by the girls rooms (they keep the door closed to keep the dogs out so that thermostat is useless). Not to mention its an energy co op, so their summer rates are they double their regular rates. Energy usage didn't increase taht much it's just summer rates. I get even higher ones for July and August. Not to mention that it's hit real close to 100 degrees for the past few weeks.

 

[rcraw45425]

Do you have an old air conditioner? Our bills would get to over $400 every summer and we got a new A/C in December and this summer they are $130 and that's keeping our A/C at 72 when we're home. We knew a new A/C would make a difference but not this huge of a difference. It may be worth looking into. We figure our new A/C will pay for itself within a few years.

We'd need three units

 

[Piecey]

Holy cow. Heart attack.

I'm waiting... we just installed air in this house and my DH melts and freezes me out with it. I see the $$ add up while I shiver.

Last month, first month with the air, they estimated our electric bill for $7. Yeah, right.

Just waiting on this months bill to see how much it's going to hurt...

 

[HM]

Do you have window coverings for your sun facing windows? If you do, keep them closed all day, it really makes a difference in temp in the rooms. (We do this on our south windows). And if you don't I'd look into getting some....even a sheer with be of some help, if a true drape/curtain or shade won't work.

 

[chyam]

4500 square feet, total electric, tons of windows on the west side of the house, 20 year old units, Keep the downstairs set at 76, The upstairs fluctuates since I have two teens up there, not to mention a vaulted ceiling foyer/ stairwell with the vents at the ceiling but the thermostat in the hall by the girls rooms (they keep the door closed to keep the dogs out so that thermostat is useless). Not to mention its an energy co op, so their summer rates are they double their regular rates. Energy usage didn't increase taht much it's just summer rates. I get even higher ones for July and August. Not to mention that it's hit real close to 100 degrees for the past few weeks.

I would say then it is probably the old units.....But I feel your pain, the reason mine was $228.00 last month is because it too was very hot here, with temps in the high 90's but with the heat index it was over 100, and very little breeze.
I would still look into the energy audit it most likely is your units and maybe even the insulation.

 

[disney1990]

4500 square feet, total electric, tons of windows on the west side of the house, 20 year old units, Keep the downstairs set at 76, The upstairs fluctuates since I have two teens up there, not to mention a vaulted ceiling foyer/ stairwell with the vents at the ceiling but the thermostat in the hall by the girls rooms (they keep the door closed to keep the dogs out so that thermostat is useless). Not to mention its an energy co op, so their summer rates are they double their regular rates. Energy usage didn't increase taht much it's just summer rates. I get even higher ones for July and August. Not to mention that it's hit real close to 100 degrees for the past few weeks.

OMG. When my girls were teens, they knew that they were to never change the setting on the thermostat. Do you have shades or blinds on all of those windows to cut out the amount of sunlight that comes through them? Even when we had our old A/C unit (which was 20 years old) which we replaced just last year, our bills were never equal to that kind of bill.


We have a 2400 sq ft house. We keep our A/C set at 82 degrees. No, it's not cold in our house and you don't need to sleep under a blanket at night -- just a sheet. But the electric bill is under control.

 

[SCHBR'smom]

Oh, my! Honestly, though, I'm scared to see what our next bill is going to be. We've been over 100 for the past few weeks, 115 on our back porch yesterday, and the day before, so even at 78, the a/c is running all the time.

 

[Stitchfans]

Haven't received ours yet. Don't want to see it.

 

[C.Ann]

I'm on the budget plan here, but when I looked at my last two bills, the usage amount was exactly the same (real usage - not estimated) because all we have been experiencing is rainy, damp, chilly weather..

It was quite warm yesterday and quite warm today.. If this weather hangs around I will see a change in the usage based on how often I have to run my a/c..

 

[JPN4265]

Just looked at the latest bill: $612, up from $302 last month. Summer rates have kicked in. Fun fun fun

Holy Crap, do you live in an icebox?