Electricity Bill !!!!! How much was yours?

[jestmaty]

My electric bill from June 2 to July 3 was $349!!!! The month b4 was $190, May 2 to June 1

Now granted, I live in hot, HUMID, Houston Tx and have 'things' that use a bunch of power.

We are a household of 4, 2 boys ( 6 and 10 ) and mom and dad. The dishwasher runs just about every day. The clothes washer and dryer... same thing. We are blessed to have a 3000 square foot 2 story house with a beautiful swimming pool.

The pool pumps (2) run about 4 hrs per day ( 4 hours less than recommended yet the water tests clean and bacteria free ). We are in the gas heated hot tub 3-4 times a week, running the blower that make s the bubbles that get the hot tub bubbling.

The air conditioners seem to have trouble keeping up with heat build up in the house, They run constantly during the heat of the day, trying to keep even 83 degrees in the house.

We generally keep it about 83 degrees during the day and just turn the central air off at 10 pm.. bedtime. I bought a couple of window units last summer, sized appropriately for the master br and my boys room. We suffer during the afternoon hours, yet sleep comfortably during the night in cool conditions. Those run until about 8am.

The main HD tv in the house, a 62" Toshiba DLP uses about 250 watts and is off/on a good portion of the day.

I did a rough count of light bulbs in the house (60) and have about 20 of them changed over to CFL's which use about 75% less power than incandescent bulbs..... not to mention the reduction in heat.

I guess I just needed to b**tch about the bill to someone other than my neighbor and spouse.

I know the Lord has blessed me to have such a gripe, it just sucks to have gone from a 1900 square foot house that I lived in for 10 years ( highest bill ever was $260 ) to this. This new house is much bigger and has a pool, which has to add significantly to the electric bill. The next bill will probably be $400... At least I cut my own grass every 7 days, saving me about $100 per month in lawn services.

So... flame me for being such a whiney ass and then tell me what your bill is/was.

[N_Jay]

Just wait till the greenies get transportation energy loaded on the grid (Electric cars, Rechargeable Hybrids, and Hydrogen cars).

Then we will see real prices.

[rocky]

Texas is unique in this country as it has its own electrical system-unlike everywhere else that uses interstate connection systems, and even in New England/NY importing power from Canada. Maybe the problem is in your state house.

How many KWH did you consume?

Notice that you are using CFLs. I've not yet found a reliable brand that doesn't start to flicker after a couple of weeks and fail to light. So much for going to Home Depot and my local hardware store. Which brand are you using? I've just picked up some GE CFLs and am hoping for better experience

[jestmaty]

Originally posted by rocky
Texas is unique in this country as it has its own electrical system-unlike everywhere else that uses interstate connection systems, and even in New England/NY importing power from Canada. Maybe the problem is in your state house.

How many KWH did you consume?

Notice that you are using CFLs. I've not yet found a reliable brand that doesn't start to flicker after a couple of weeks and fail to light. So much for going to Home Depot and my local hardware store. Which brand are you using? I've just picked up some GE CFLs and am hoping for better experience

All CFL's I bought were from walmart, some are GE and others are another brand (Feit?) and all are doing well many months into their use.

KWH = 2403

First 800KWH X 15.4 cents per kwh = 123.22
2nd 700kwh X 14.6 cents per kwh = 102.20
Last 903kwh X 13.8 cents per kwh = 124.61
-----------
350.03

Avg was 14.56 cents per kwh

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by rocky
Notice that you are using CFLs. I've not yet found a reliable brand that doesn't start to flicker after a couple of weeks and fail to light. So much for going to Home Depot and my local hardware store. Which brand are you using? I've just picked up some GE CFLs and am hoping for better experience

You should have your voltage checked.

Other than low temps (garage in the winter) and overheating (enclosed fixtures) I have had no problems with the 20 or so around my house.

[coubs]

Beginning of May to end of June was 34 bucks!

We only pay 6.7 cents per kWh but we have many hydro electric dams in my province.

I just built a new house 1.5 years ago so everything is high efficiency etc. we are starting to swap out bulbs to CF as well - no problems and some have been running for a year.

One of our tv stations did a study on how much energy appliances etc. use when not in use and it was crazy. Supposedly more electricity is used on the clock than warming food with your microwave. A cable box or satellite receiver uses more electricity than a dishwasher or something like that (because it is always downloading the channel guide etc.?). Supposedly if you turn off a lot of appliances now days it still consumes power so you can cut your electric bills by up to 20% if you unplug things when not in use.

[OB3]

we are on leveled billing, so we pay $130 a month all year and typically get a refund of $100-$200 at the end of the cycle.
3 bedroom cape cod, familyroom, central air... although gas drier.hot water.stove.

my neighbor has a heated inground pool and CA and paid $950 this month

ouch

[jestmaty]

I just did a quick average over the last 10 bills and got a total of $2001.80.

That is right at $200 per month since last September.

My neighbor's house is a one story and he keeps it 73 degrees all day, every day. He does bump the a/c up to 78 at night, but uses an 8,000btu window unit during the night. His house is approximately 750 sq ft. smaller than mine, yet is single story. The bill for the same period...... $301.

[jrinjax]

My Winter bills average around $100.00 For 2100 sq.ft. House with a lot of outside continuous nighttime lighting. My last bill, reflecting a 20% rate increase was $200.00.
JR

[Bill Balmer]

Your window a/c units may be doing more harm than good. Your central a/c will work much more efficiently and under a lighter load if you leave it on overnight rather than asking it to suck all of that humidity out of the house every morning. Keeping the whole house at a reasonable temperature and humidity level would probably make you happier, lower your bills, AND extend the life of your central A/C.

[mikesrc]

152.00 this last month. 3500 sq ft, 5 ton downstairs, 3 ton upstairs. We keep the temp at 71 all summer long and if we have guests over we lower it to 69 to take care of the extra heat load. House was built in 03 so its well insulated. Use CFLs all over the house and they work great. Ive been buying Home Depots house brand. Most of the ones on the outside of the house are 3 years old or so and the come on at sundown. Been cool here this year, but last was very, very hot highest bill then was about 195.00 I think. Not enough to bother us. I'm like the guy above keep the central unit at a constant temp that way you won't have to suck all the hot air out of the house every morning. I sure can feel your pain. I once lived at a place that was total electric and saw some bills that were well over 400.00

[rocky]

Originally posted by N_Jay


You should have your voltage checked.

Other than low temps (garage in the winter) and overheating (enclosed fixtures) I have had no problems with the 20 or so around my house.

Interesting you say that. Whenever power goes out the power from the generator or rather voltage results in a brighter light.

Sadly the power outages/fluctuations reduces the lifespan of many household components eg fridges and freezers etc

[jestmaty]

Originally posted by mikesrc
152.00 this last month. 3500 sq ft, 5 ton downstairs, 3 ton upstairs. We keep the temp at 71 all summer long and if we have guests over we lower it to 69 to take care of the extra heat load. House was built in 03 so its well insulated. Use CFLs all over the house and they work great. Ive been buying Home Depots house brand. Most of the ones on the outside of the house are 3 years old or so and the come on at sundown. Been cool here this year, but last was very, very hot highest bill then was about 195.00 I think. Not enough to bother us. I'm like the guy above keep the central unit at a constant temp that way you won't have to suck all the hot air out of the house every morning. I sure can feel your pain. I once lived at a place that was total electric and saw some bills that were well over 400.00

Man, that is an incredibly low electric bill. How many kilowatts did you use? Do you know the kwh rate?

I have a gas bill too!!!!!! The hot water heater, clothes dryer, stove, and furnace/heater are all natural gas.

If you notice my very first post that started this thread, you will notice that I have a lot of things that are energy whores. Pool, hot tub, seperate freezer in the garage (full of food), etc... YOU GOT TO PAY TO PLAY I also have 2 young boys and we're always washing clothes, dishes, playing video games on 2 different tvs in 2 different rooms. I am staying home with them this summer so we're home all day going in and out of the house. Thank goodness I've trained them to quickly get in or out and don't leave the door open. Leaving lights on is a different story....

I have decided to just LEAVE the a/c on 82 and just say to heck with it. We are comfortable at that temp, and it keeps the humidity out of the house. I'll still turn it up even higher when we go to sleep 'cause it rarely gets any warmer once the sun sets. I have thermometers all over the place and it never gets over 82 inside during the night.

I checked today and I used 1000 kwh in 14 days, 71.43 kwh per day for the last 2 weeks. Again, 14.6 cents per kwh = $10.42 per day I guess I'll just stop drinking about $4 in beer each day haha!!

I still can't believe mikesrc's bill for a 3500 s/f house that is kept so cool!! I mean he's living in Oaklahoma, and it is hot there too. Maybe my a/c units are undersized for the s/f of the house. 3 1/2 ton for the bottom floor (approx. 1700 s/f) and a 2 1/2 ton for the upstairs (1200 s/f?) I have a LOT of open space with one area about 18 feet tall.

I am considering trying to find someone who addresses a home's energy efficiency to get some ideas on how to lower the usage.

Maybe he or she will just suggest that I sell and move out I just moved into this 8 year old house last July 4th, 2006.

[jestmaty]

One last thing.... my a/c units were put on the west side facing area of my house when they built the house Full, brutal sunlight for 75% of the day.

I have no shrubs to help shade them. My neighbor is very cool and hasn't *****ed about my 9 ft. diameter patio umbrella that I have temporarily put up to shade the units. Just testing to see if the temperature delta going into the return and out through the vents is ANY cooler if the units are shaded.

Should I pony up and plant some shade bushes around the outside compressor/condensor units? I know that you must keep air flowing freely and not interfere with the cooling fins.

[mikesrc]

I made a mistake on my bill it was 156.81 and I used 1751 KWH. Previous month was 108.48 The guy that built this house was in the heating and air business. You would not believe how well built and insulated this place is. 12-15 inches of insulation in the attic. I finished the upstairs room and double insulated the walls plus 15 inches blown over the ceiling. Both AC units are multistage 16 seer units so they blow on low most of the time. We do have gas hot water and a gas range along with the heating. Another neat thing the builder did was install 5 return airs where most houses have only 2 or 3 which means you can not hear the air blowing unless in happens to go to high which it does only a time or to in the hot afternoon.
One thing you might do is have the Electric Co do an energy audit. I had that done at my old house and ending up spending a few hundred on upgrades, but it lowered my electric bill by abut 25%. Paid for the upgrade in less than a year.