Okayfine... What's your power bill?

[Bogie]

Mine's lumped together. Gas and electric for $145/month.
 

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Since Texas deregulated energy a few years ago, mine went berzerk. Last summer my electric bill hit $850 one month. I was trying to keep the house no cooler than about 78 degrees in the evening. During the day, I'd usually switch off the central (electric) a/c completely. I've got two a/c heat (gas) units in the house; one of them was out of servicefor part of the summer, which may have contributed to some of that. I replaced it with a 13 SEER 4 ton unit late last summer.

So far, it's been a little more reasonable, at around $140 per month tops so far. There have been a lot of complaints about mis-read meters around Dallas in the last year, and we're still discussing that with the utility company.

I think we're paying about 14 cents per kwh. Pretty close to the upper end of the rate around here, which is as low as 12.2 cnts per KWH, from shopping around.
It sure makes going to solar and wind powergen a lot more attractive to me.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Stickjockey]

Um, my last bill was about $47.

[Declaration Day]

$850 for one month?  Makes me feel better about my average summer gas/electric combined bill of $270, and that's with the A/C ice cold. I thought that was high.  Stickjockey, you either don't use / need A/C, or you live in an apartment.  I miss the days when my combined bill was $50. 

[Gewehr98]

In February, it peaked at $190.00.  It also hit -20 here for a week straight, and the two basement bedrooms were running 1500 space heaters balls out. (Even with the natural gas furnace, the basement gets chilly)

We were also running 4 computers full-time, and I had only replaced my 32" Sony CRT television with a 42" Hitachi Plasma the month before.  Everybody had that big TV on all the time, it seemed, tuned to Discovery HD night and day. 

I've since dropped the bill down to $145.00/month, by switching more of the inside lights to CFL units with less wattage and heat, forcing the computers to go into Standby/Hibernate/OFF if they're not being used, disabling the Instant-On function of the Plasma TV, and setting both fridges to a slightly higher temp. 

I had a home energy audit done last month, and the utility rep gave me more ideas to get the bill down.

This month should be even better, I've limited the A/C use by using room and ceiling fans, and put up a clothesline outside - that should keep the clothes dryer from spinning the kilowatt-hour meter. I've been grilling out on the deck vs. using the stove and oven.  In the hottest days of July so far, my wife and I use just the Dell notebook for email and Internet, leaving the big IBM space heaters upstairs turned off.

Next, I'm finishing the CFL conversion, and running a separate AC line from my experimental 2KvA solar/telco battery/inverter system to my office computer desk.  Depending on how well that works, I may get more discount telco batteries and solar panels.   

[mountainclmbr]

Mine runs about $50 per month. 3,200 sq ft house high in the Rockies. Usually cool temps even in summer. I don't know anyone up here that has air conditioning. I have propane-hot water baseboard heat, but have two modern wood burning stoves in different rooms that keep the house warm enough in winter that the thermostats rarely turn on. I cut the wood myself.

[nico]

Mine (~1500sq ft condo) hit a high of ~$250 in January when my roomate left the door to our balcony open for about a day and a half , and has been as low as $95 for gas and electric. 

That being said, it went up by 52% on June 1. . .

[Sindawe]

My total gas/electricity billing ranges from about $95/month in the winter (high south & west facing cloister windows = lots of free solar heat) to $140/summer (high south & west cloister windows = lots of free solar heat).  Of course, that also means I don't have to use lots of lights during the day.  Most of those are now CF.

[bedlamite]

Electric is pretty steady at about $70/month. Gas goes from $20 in the summer to a peak of $190 in the winter

[Tallpine]

Electric runs about $70-90 per month, but that includes running the well pump so it's also my "water bill."  No propane at all.  Only other utility bill is the phone.

Heating bill for the winter is about $25 total, for gas and oil for the chainsaw 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

$20 natural gas, $25 electric.  Most of the billed amount is the "delivery charge" and very little comes from actual power usage.  That's in a smallish apartment without A/C and with heating paid for by the landlord. 

Most peoples' utility bills would be similar to mine if they weren't paying for heating and A/C.  Take away the heating and cooling and there isn't much power usage left in the average home.  Trying to save money on the little stuff, like CFLs and suchlike, isn't going to be very productive.  I could leave on every light in my apartment 24/7, and it would only increase my monthly bill by some $25 a month.  Trying to save money on that is a waste of time, because there simply isn't much money there to be saved.  It's the heating and cooling that matter, not the lighting.

[Firethorn]

My total gas/electricity billing ranges from about $95/month in the winter (high south & west facing cloister windows = lots of free solar heat) to $140/summer (high south & west cloister windows = lots of free solar heat).  Of course, that also means I don't have to use lots of lights during the day.  Most of those are now CF.

There are window coatings designed to reflect solar heat.  I have no clue as to whether they're swappable.

Something to block the heat in the summer might not be a bad idea...

[RocketMan]

Averages about $85 per month, summer and winter, with a heat pump.  All electric 1200 sq. foot 3 bdrm home, temps kept comfortable; at least two, sometimes four energy hogging PCs running all day.

[Gewehr98]

Man, I'd love to have Headless Thompson Gunner's landlord pay the heating and A/C bill for my 2,200 square foot split level in the snow belt.  How do I sign up for that, and can you tell him I have four adults and two big dogs living under the same roof, please? 

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

It's one of the perks of living in a tiny apartment that wouldn't pass code.  I get free heat in exchange for not making a fuss to the local building inspector.  It's a small apartment and it can't cost him very much to heat anyway.  I'd be shocked if it amounted to $150 or $200 a year.

Here's an interesting exercise:  try to determine how much of you utility bill comes from heating and cooling vs how much comes from running everything else.  I'd guess that HVAC accounts for 80% or more.  Of the remaining 20%, how much can you cut out by switching to high-efficiency appliances?  Is it really worth the effort and cost?

[charby]

Here is the breakdown on Casa de el Charby

Gas: $60.00 budget billing- Alliant energy

Electricity, Water, Sewer: $80 winter, $140 Summer -City of Ames, IA utlities

Trash: $19.95- Local waster hauler, once a week pickup 80 gallon can.

Internet: $37.99- Qwest

Cable: $97.00 - Mediacom, expanded with HBO, Starz pack, Digital DVR

Cellphone: $89.00- US Cellular 2 lines, 1200 anytime minutes, nights and weekends that begin at 7pm until 8am.

[K Frame]

I'm on budget bill right now -- evens out the payment to the same every month.

Right now it's $85 a month.

My lowest monthly bill has been in the $50-$60 range, and my highest, in the depths of a pretty nasty cold snap several years ago, was about $140.

I have an all-electric house -- heat pump heating and cooling.

[Scout26]

Comed Budget Plan = $57 a month for 11 months and we normally get to skip the 12th month (or pay very little.)

If I could get the kids to turn off their lights when they leave the room.  I could get it to less the $50 maybe even under $45. 

[crt360]

I'd guess that HVAC accounts for 80% or more.

I think that's true, especially for places like Texas, Florida, Arizona, etc., where it's hot pretty much all the time.  People always say turn up your AC to save, but I've found that doesn't work so well here in Texas in the middle of summer.  I've experimented with it at several different places I lived and found little or no noticeable savings.  If I lived somewhere that had a moderate high daily temp of around 78-80 degrees, I could see how upping your AC setting to 78 and opening a window could work, but here where it's often around 100 during the day the AC will run just as much to maintain 78 as it will 72.

[K Frame]

According to the department of Energy, this is how the average American home uses its electric:



80% for cooling? Doesn't even come close.

[Tallpine]

try to determine how much of you utility bill comes from heating and cooling vs how much comes from running everything else

Well, except for running some fans, none of my electric bill goes for heating or cooling.  In the winter we use wood for heat, and in the summer just run fans to cool the house out at night and then close it up during the day.  It's not too bad until late afternoon/evening, even when the high temp outside is 105.  You can always go outside for a while and then come back in where it feels cool in comparison.

I'd guess the biggest usage is the well pump, electric range/oven, refrigerator, chest freezer, hot water heater, electric dryer, and two computers running most of the time.  Actually, that's everything there is, except for lights and the electric fence charger, and an occasional power tool.  Oh yeah, the vcr/dvd player, maybe a couple hours a week since we don't watch tv at all.

[Brad Johnson]

Total bill was $101.56.  Of this, $6.27 was actual water use and $54.84 was actual electric use.  The remainder was misc charges (garbage, sewer, meter, etc) and taxes.

Our electicity is 0.040/kWh base plus a 0.0474/kWh fuel surcharge.  Water is $2.09 per thou if you don't exceed your base consumption by a certain amount.  It goes up to $2.49 per thou if you do.

*edit* Just realized I only put the base electric charge above.  Corrected.

Brad

[mountainclmbr]

The current temp at Casa Mountainclmbr, in the Colorado Rockies, is 72F. Last night the low was 45F. The reason no one up here bothers with air conditioning. My electric bill also includes the well pump for water so that is my water bill too. I telecommute so my daily driving probably averages just a few miles. If I have to travel, my company pays expenses including mileage to/from the airport. I print out my carbon credits on my own printer so I don't have to buy them from the algore company.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

According to the department of Energy, this is how the average American home uses its electric:



80% for cooling? Doesn't even come close.

There's something not-quite-right about that chart if it says the average American is both heating and cooling his home with electricity in the same month...

 

[K Frame]

That's annual consumption, not a month.

But, you've obviously never lived in the mid Atlantic states in spring and fall.

In years past I've used both the heat and AC in March, April, May, October, November, and even December.