What does everyone's electric bill look for the summer...?

[whatevergirl]

I also especially would like to hear from fellow Floridians…So far, we are using about $4 per day…that’s not bad, when you think about it. We do not have gas, so the electric is used for the dishwasher, stove, range, hot water, and a/c.

Just curious if you keep your a/c low, and run ceiling fans more…or do you run it high?

 

[juno24]

I also especially would like to hear from fellow Floridians…So far, we are using about $4 per day…that’s not bad, when you think about it. We do not have gas, so the electric is used for the dishwasher, stove, range, hot water, and a/c.

Just curious if you keep your a/c low, and run ceiling fans more…or do you run it high?

In the summer, with the thermostat set at 80 during the day and 76-78 whenever we are home, it runs about 180-190 per month. (The house is approximately 2200 square feet.) My roommate and I are usually very energy conscious, so we don’t use lights during the day, ceiling fans are on only when we are in the room. We run the dishwasher once or twice a week (rarely more than once, actually), and we wash full loads of laundry in cold water (except for underwear and towels, which are washed in hot for sanitary reasons). We rarely use the oven in the summer. We cook what needs to be cooked on the stove top, the microwave, the grill or the toaster oven.
Now, all that being said, people are often amazed that we are able to keep our bill below 200/month during the summer. It seems the average cost for most people I know is about 220-250. One family I know spends 400 or more per month, but all the children have asthma and other serious health problems.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

I also especially would like to hear from fellow Floridians…So far, we are using about $4 per day…that’s not bad, when you think about it. We do not have gas, so the electric is used for the dishwasher, stove, range, hot water, and a/c.

Just curious if you keep your a/c low, and run ceiling fans more…or do you run it high?

Not in Florida, but Indiana gets very humid…
We’re on the “budget” plan, so it’s $80/month year-round. I don’t like to be cold so our a/c is set at about 78 degrees. It’s not humid inside and that makes all the difference!

 

[mommyof4]

We’re on a total 12 program, so we pay $175 every month throughout the year. And we don’t keep our house overly warm in the winter, or freezing cold in the summer.

 

[puzzleannie]

you don’t want to know. it has been in the high 90s all month, was low 90s in may, will be over 100 all July and August, back to the 90s in September. Dec. and Jan are cool months, lows in the 50s sometimes. We have had our heat on maybe half a dozen times in 6 years, but A/C we have the highest rated insulated you can get, and keep thermostat on 82, and have sunscreens on the windows, which are low-E (code), and an attic fan. Still ave. at leat $175 it is our biggest bill next to the mtge now that the truck is paid off.

 

[whatevergirl]

We’re on a total 12 program, so we pay $175 every month throughout the year. And we don’t keep our house overly warm in the winter, or freezing cold in the summer.

hmmm…why does this seem high to me? We were on a budget type plan in PA…for gas and electric to spread the cost around all year. Now, we are not in FL…our home is roughly 2200 sq feet…and we run it around 77 during the day…with 73 at night…i like it chilly at night.

i am hoping the bill is under $200…but we shall see soon! thank for your giving me an idea, everyone…

 

[mommyof4]

hmmm…why does this seem high to me? We were on a budget type plan in PA…for gas and electric to spread the cost around all year. Now, we are not in FL…our home is roughly 2200 sq feet…and we run it around 77 during the day…with 73 at night…i like it chilly at night.

i am hoping the bill is under $200…but we shall see soon! thank for your giving me an idea, everyone…

We’re 100% electric, and we have 3 yard lights, our well is run by electicity, and we have electricity in the barns, all which add up. Plus, w/6 people in a house, we have to run the wash machine, dishwasher, baths, etc. a lot.

 

[CCM08]

About 315 bucks a month, more if it gets hot later in the summer and we actually have a reason to run the A/C. Thinking about draining the pool, that’s a big power thief and we can only use it for such a short time. Then again when you want to use it, it does come in handy.

 

[udoc89]

you don’t want to know. it has been in the high 90s all month, was low 90s in may, will be over 100 all July and August, back to the 90s in September. Dec. and Jan are cool months, lows in the 50s sometimes. We have had our heat on maybe half a dozen times in 6 years, but A/C we have the highest rated insulated you can get, and keep thermostat on 82, and have sunscreens on the windows, which are low-E (code), and an attic fan. Still ave. at leat $175 it is our biggest bill next to the mtge now that the truck is paid off.

Puzzleannie, you must be farther south than I am (about an hour west of Houston.) My current bill wasn’t too bad–$145–but that’s because it wasn’t too hot here in May. Now that it’s June, I expect the next bill to be terrible. The AC has been running all morning. I hate to be warm. I don’t run the heater much in the winter, I just go around the house in a sweater, if necessary. In the summer, I turn the AC way down when it’s bedtime. I don’t sleep unless the room is almost cold. I also turn on the fan; for the noise as well as for the air circulation.

My husband and I are in a much smaller house now that the children are grown, but I still expect our utility bill to be upwards of $300. by August. Isn’t that the pits?!

 

[Pixie_Dust]

hmmm…why does this seem high to me? We were on a budget type plan in PA…for gas and electric to spread the cost around all year. Now, we are not in FL…our home is roughly 2200 sq feet…and we run it around 77 during the day…with 73 at night…i like it chilly at night.

i am hoping the bill is under $200…but we shall see soon! thank for your giving me an idea, everyone…

It seems high to me, too.

 

[Mirdath]

We’re in an apartment (and in Michigan, though it’s been in the 90s a lot recently… aaaaargh! Weather like this is a big part of why I’m NOT living in the south!), so it’s nothing like what most of you guys are paying. Electric is usually around $50/month. Gas… well, the one waiting to go out now is for the grand total of $8.50. In winter it’ll be more like $60-80 on average, but electric is about the same.

 

[estesbob]

we dontnhave air conditioning so our bill does not very very much from month to month

 

[Jennifer_J]

I’m in central MN and gas and electric are on one bill–so this might confuse some of the figurings (I’d have to pull bills to see how much just the electric part is, and that isn’t going to happen, lol). We are also on the year round budget plan and pay $180 a month. I know that in the winter it’s the gas that’s high (furnace) and in the summer it’s the electric (a/c). It’s been so hot here the last few weeks, yikes, and being 36 weeks pregnant, I’ve been keeping the house a lot cooler than normal! I’m sure I’ll see it in the next bill, lol.

Jennifer

 

[udoc89]

I’m in central MN and gas and electric are on one bill–so this might confuse some of the figurings (I’d have to pull bills to see how much just the electric part is, and that isn’t going to happen, lol). We are also on the year round budget plan and pay $180 a month. I know that in the winter it’s the gas that’s high (furnace) and in the summer it’s the electric (a/c). It’s been so hot here the last few weeks, yikes, and being 36 weeks pregnant, I’ve been keeping the house a lot cooler than normal! I’m sure I’ll see it in the next bill, lol.

Jennifer

Well, my utility bill includes gas, electric, water, and garbage collection. So all things considered, I guess it’s not that bad after all.

 

[johannahw]

I live in Reno NV and our bill last month was around $75. We can’t afford a/c and temps are in the 90s. We do have a couple of fans that go constantly. We live in a very small upstairs apartment (1100 ft) and it gets pretty hot during the summer. I prefer summer to winter since our utilities go down so much but it is expensive in the winter too. We were cold all winter (I stayed in bed a lot reading in order to keep warm) and still our highest bill was over $190. I don’t understand why this apartment gets so cold. We were keeping the thermostat at 64 in the daytime and turning it down to 58 at night. We also put additional blankets on the bed.
Johannah

 

[dulcissima]

I don’t have AC, so I pretty much just open my windows. My electric bill for my house is about $70/mo year round.

 

[Cat]

:bigyikes:

:banghead:

 

[whatevergirl]

We’re 100% electric, and we have 3 yard lights, our well is run by electicity, and we have electricity in the barns, all which add up. Plus, w/6 people in a house, we have to run the wash machine, dishwasher, baths, etc. a lot.

Oh barns…I see…you have a farm? I have always wanted to own a farm…! What type of farm do you own?

 

[whatevergirl]

I don’t have AC, so I pretty much just open my windows. My electric bill for my house is about $70/mo year round.

wowowowowowow!!! That’s terrific! I don’t open the windows in Florida, like we did in PA–there are so many fruit flies and love bugs everywhere…so, it’s really a pain when they get through the teeny holes and die all over the carpet. Good for you that you can keep you bill low!!

 

[whatevergirl]

I live in Reno NV and our bill last month was around $75. We can’t afford a/c and temps are in the 90s. We do have a couple of fans that go constantly. We live in a very small upstairs apartment (1100 ft) and it gets pretty hot during the summer. I prefer summer to winter since our utilities go down so much but it is expensive in the winter too. We were cold all winter (I stayed in bed a lot reading in order to keep warm) and still our highest bill was over $190. I don’t understand why this apartment gets so cold. We were keeping the thermostat at 64 in the daytime and turning it down to 58 at night. We also put additional blankets on the bed.
Johannah

hi johannah…what’s the ventilation system like? In our house in PA, this sounds like our story…in the summer we were dying of heat…and in the winter…freezing our rears off…and we would crank the heat way up. I chalked it up to older homes in PA…the house was charming, but really old…

Could that be the problem, you think? (ventilation)