Ouch! - Dec/Jan Heat Bill

[dejr_8]

We just got our electric bill for the last month, It was 1/3 higher than it has ever been.

The average temp for that period was 37o. Over the last two years, the previous lowest average temp we had for a month was 44o.

 

[chisnpeke]

Ours was $500. That is what it was last year at this time.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

We got our heating bill yesterday for December/January and was as much as the previous 3 months... Definitely not a happy day here.

I feel your pain.

 

[mjkacmom]

$500 every single month.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Yikes $500 a month? I won't complain that mine went up this winter higher than last because of the cold snap but really it's not bad compared to that!

 

[Mandychelle79]

Our bill went up about 200 for the month. Cant wait till March to get put on the budget plan so the winter wont suck so bad.

 

[mtemm]

I am terrified of our gas bill for this past month. its been cold her a lot and we've been nudging up the heat a bit more than I like to. the one thing I will say is the december bill was less than last years, so I suppose I'll try to remember it is just evening things out. still scared, though!

 

[wvjules]

My last bill was only $122. It was even the actual reading which terrified me. The previous two months estimates were around $140-150. We have changed nothing and the bill is considerably lower than it was this time last year.

 

[HsvTeacher]

We just got our utilities bill yesterday, and it was only $134. It included Christmas and the week and a half that we had frigid weather. I was pleasantly surprised, because I was expecting a HUGE bill. Our normal bill for this time of the year is around $85-100.

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Don't you just love this time of year? Ours was $269 this past month...for our teeny, tiny, drafty house. BOO!! We used to (circa 2008) live in a newish townhouse that was totally electric. It was about 1500 sq and the highest our bill ever got was $125. I miss that place...

 

[kinntj]

Our heating for dec/jan was $248.00 and the month before was $148.00. That was mainly for the cold snap we had and we turned the heat up. Today I was able to turn the heat down a little because the sun is beating in the windows and keeping the front of the house toasty warm.

 

[HelenePA]

We went thru 200gallons of heating oil at 2.59$ a gallon... we've NEVER gone thru that much in one month! I have no idea what our average temp was but it was freaking cold! Most days not even hitting the teens for a high.. it was awful! We are enjoying our 30-40's!!

 

[Darcy03231]

This is one of the reasons I went on a budget plan! Its much easier to just pay the same amount every month and not have to worry about a high bill coming, especially right after Christmas.

 

[NYPDwife]

We went thru 200gallons of heating oil at 2.59$ a gallon... we've NEVER gone thru that much in one month! I have no idea what our average temp was but it was freaking cold! Most days not even hitting the teens for a high.. it was awful! We are enjoying our 30-40's!!

Me too!! I used to be on a budget plan, but we've recently gone COD for our oil and it's cheaper believe it or not! We were paying 350 PER MONTH, EVERY MONTH and they wouldn't give us the difference for the times that oil was only $30 a barrel. We decided to go COD and we go through 175 gallons a month and that's not even close to what we were paying on a budget plan.

 

[Pakey]

We have the opposite problem; we pay about $600 a month for air conditioning from June-Sept.

 

[mamacatnv]

Just curious for those of you with big bills do you adjust your thermostats down when it gets colder?

Around here October and May are generally the cheap months, no heat or air being used. My AC is cheap for the summer and I keep the house at 70-72 when we are home and 75 for the pets during the day.

In the winter, my gas heat is not cheap and the daytime temp is 60, the evening is 62 and overnight is 55. Our heater turns on in the mornings to 66, that is the one time we all decided we couldn't deal with a cold house. Last winter I bought the entire family footy pajamas for lounging around in the evenings. We all wear them, add a lap blanket and we make it thru the winter without an astronomical bill. My bill is generally about $250 less per month in the winter than my neighbor whose house is 400' smaller than mine with same family size.

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

Just curious for those of you with big bills do you adjust your thermostats down when it gets colder?

We always keep ours around 68-69. We should probably keep ours lower, but we have such horrible drafts in our house that we're always FUH-REEZING...even with layers. Ah, the joys of living in a 90 yo house.

 

[HelenePA]

Just curious for those of you with big bills do you adjust your thermostats down when it gets colder?

Around here October and May are generally the cheap months, no heat or air being used. My AC is cheap for the summer and I keep the house at 70-72 when we are home and 75 for the pets during the day.

In the winter, my gas heat is not cheap and the daytime temp is 60, the evening is 62 and overnight is 55. Our heater turns on in the mornings to 66, that is the one time we all decided we couldn't deal with a cold house. Last winter I bought the entire family footy pajamas for lounging around in the evenings. We all wear them, add a lap blanket and we make it thru the winter without an astronomical bill. My bill is generally about $250 less per month in the winter than my neighbor whose house is 400' smaller than mine with same family size.

Heck no! I hate being cold! its set at 71* no matter what the temp is outside... we do not have central air.. we have window units. I will NOT suffer in the summer either!

 

[NYPDwife]

I usually keep my thermostat at 65 and light a fire in the wood stove or use a sweatshirt in the house, but DH didn't put the plastic on the windows this year and I've noticed a huge difference!! It's been at 70-72 while we're up and 63-65 while we're asleep.

P.S. I made him by the window covers and hopefully he puts them on this weekend. Yes I know I can do it, but I'm lazy.

 

[DMickey28]

We went thru 200gallons of heating oil at 2.59$ a gallon... we've NEVER gone thru that much in one month! I have no idea what our average temp was but it was freaking cold! Most days not even hitting the teens for a high.. it was awful! We are enjoying our 30-40's!!

This is us. It's our first year in the house though so I don't know what our norm will be. Our last oil fill up with around the 10th of January and it was $465 but got knocked down to $380 because we switched companies and get 20 gallons free each time. We also have propane that was $250 to fill up last time in early January. We use that for cooking and a gas stove in the family room that we use to keep the chill off that room since it's the room we use most. Then we have electricity on top of that for about $140/month.

I have to remind myself that we will probably see it even out over the year though. The previous owners filled up the oil in April and then we didn't need it again until late October. We used to have $350-400 electric bills from April through November in Florida and $250 the rest of the year so this has GOT TO BE less!!