Electric Bill?

[big rockpile]

Ok we are having Electric turned on at New House tomorrow.The Guy we are buying the house off of said they were paying average $250 month on Electric in the Winter.Talked with people living there now.They said he was lying it cost them $450 a month.

Well no problem check with Electric company.Come to find out they was both telling the truth on their Bill.

We are mostly going to heat with Wood,going to cost $25 more a month on Insurance.But we're also thinking something was going on for these other people to have such a High Bill.Anyway we are going to plug every hole we can to keep from heating the outside.

We usually try to pay an average paying more in Summer so its not so high in Winter.Any other thoughts or ideas?

big rockpile

[jwal10]

Wow and I thought mine was high here for March at $46.00. We were off grid before and had no bill. This place is 400 square ft and when I remodeled it I put all the insulation in I could get in there. I am going to trim this big tree back and use some of the passive thermal heat from the big south window. I am going to build a solar heater too, it is like a cave in here with that jungle out there. It rained more than usual this winter and March was dark and wet. Aprils bill is $29.00...James

[houndlover]

Not enough info, how much are you paying per usage unit? (kw). What kind of electric company? We have co-op as opposed to public utility so our costs per kw are much higher than those living in nearby metro areas. We conserve as much as possible, never use the furnace, very little AC, just a small unit in bedroom, dry on line, etc, still pay $300 a month, that's for 2000sq' house and equal sized shop/barn. People near us who use a furnace to heat pay $500 a month.

There can be a huge difference in the amount of energy consumed by two different family's . Some people are thrifty & conserve where they can & some people have the furnace running & the door open . Also , everything else being equal , larger family's will consume more energy than smaller family's .

[oregon woodsmok]

I've seen more than one family with their thermostat set up to 88 degrees and standing there in an open front doorway talking to their neighbors for 15 minutes at a time. I suspect that their electric is pretty high.

I suspect that your electric bill should be about what it was at the old house, unless you change your behavior drastically.

[Beeman]

What type of heat?,hot water? cook stove? How many loads of laudry a month? All of this factors in to your bills.

[TnAndy]

Originally Posted by WV Hillbilly

There can be a huge difference in the amount of energy consumed by two different family's . Some people are thrifty & conserve where they can & some people have the furnace running & the door open . Also , everything else being equal , larger family's will consume more energy than smaller family's .

Originally Posted by Beeman

What type of heat?,hot water? cook stove? How many loads of laudry a month? All of this factors in to your bills.

Yep....and Yep.....no way to even guess without a whole lot more info.

The rules of thumb are:

Don't heat with electric if you can avoid it. Most places, almost ANY other form of heating is cheaper ( there are a few exceptions, but very few )

Install more insulation.

Install better windows.

Then install some MORE insulation.

Change your lighting out to CFL or LED bulbs.

Put in energy saving appliances. Our new fridge, same size as the old one, uses 550kw/hr/year compared to 1200 on the old one ( mid 90's model )...and the new one is 3 cuft bigger !

Consider a tankless water heater....or at the very least, put a timer on your electric one if you only use hot water in the morning and at night.

The average house in the US uses about 900kw/hrs per month. If you're over that, you need to start figuring out WHY, and cure it.

Last month, our use, house and shop ( both over 2,000sqft ) was 675kw/hrs. And our bill was minus 17 bucks ( due to solar equipment )

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by Beeman

What type of heat?,hot water? cook stove? How many loads of laudry a month? All of this factors in to your bills.

House is all Electric.The Family that is moving out has a bunch of Kids so that could explain alot.

We thought about Propane Heat but already have Electric and not sure if it would pay to change over.

big rockpile

[houndlover]

We have propane powering our shop heater and water, and honestly, with prices for propane being what they are, there wasn't any difference from when they were both powered by electric. You pay one, or the other. Even with wood, if you have to buy the wood. Or use gas to cut it, and labor does have value. It's all choices.

[Joshie]

All electric heat can be expensive. Size of house, insulation, and a host of other things can impact what you're paying. How much do you run the washer and dryer, what type of water heater do you have? The type of appliance influences whether propane or electric is cheaper. Can you get natural gas? As far as I'm concerned that'd be the best option if available.

We had a propane furnace and electric heat pump installed a year ago. It's so much better than our old furnace. We can set the heat pump so that it turns on earlier or later depending on which is cheaper at the time. It costs less to have a propane water heater and an electric dryer. The cost is really going to vary by area.

[mtnviewfarms]

We live in the mountains of north Georgia and have central heat ( Propane ) and AC (Electric ) and a Soapstone Wood Stove. My husband and I are 'hot natured' and use
the AC quite a bit in summer as it gets hot and humid here so Electric bill runs about
$300 a month then but I also do two loads of laundry on average per day and 60 gallon water heater is electric. With all the storms we've had the last few years we have an
ample supply of wood from the fallen trees on our property and that's what we use to
in cold weather - we don't ever turn the furnace on as propane where we live is so
expensive and the wood we cut is free. I highly recommend a soapstone wood stove -
we've had it for two winters now and it heats our whole 2,000 square foot home quite
well. The peripheral rooms are not 'toasty' like the rooms closer to the stove but we
just dress in layers and it's comfortable.

[rambler]

Wow - I'm running a whle farm up here in MN, water for 25-40 head of cattle, a little bit of grain augering, welder & grinders & air compressor in the shop, electric clothes drier, deep well, and I don't think I've ever paid $100 in electric in a month, typically 50-70.

Granted it's oil heat, but the furnace takes a little power for running too in winter, and it's cold up here.

Wow. $250-400+?

I feel better!

--->Paul

[HeelSpur]

Did you tell the insurance company that your gonna use wood heat? I would've said that wood was just a back up and saved $25 a month.

[City Bound]

Rock, I would use the wood stove as the main heat source and I would buy warm sleeping bags for winter (the kind that are made for 0 to 20 degrees) and wear sweaters indoors.

I use a sleeping bag in winter and I sleep in a sweatshirt and a hat. I wear sweaters indoors. I always, always wear socks and slippers. Most people complain that they are cold but it is really just their naked feet that are cold. No sense in jacking up the heat to warm you feet.

Congradulations on your new place, and good luck with it.

[big rockpile]

Well figured out the problem.Big Picture Window was broke out just Storm Window.Most the Storm Windows were out.Replace them should be good to go.

Because of Health Resons I'm to stay as close to 75 degrees as much as possible,but don't listen to Doctor like I should but pay later

big rockpile

[Windswept Hill]

Where we are NY state we are paying about 9 cents per KWH.

When I first moved here in 1995 it was 14 cents per KWH.

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by Windswept Hill

Where we are NY state we are paying about 9 cents per KWH.

When I first moved here in 1995 it was 14 cents per KWH.

Have no idea what we are paying now but between two paces is about $100.

big rockpile

[grannygardner]

Replacing the broken picture window and storm windows will make a big difference in your heat bill. Hope it all works out for you.

[kirkmcquest]

Originally Posted by big rockpile

House is all Electric.The Family that is moving out has a bunch of Kids so that could explain alot.

We thought about Propane Heat but already have Electric and not sure if it would pay to change over.

big rockpile

Propane is a little more efficient...probably not worth the cost of changing over. Heat with wood, use your electric as backup.

[rafter]

Rockpile..howdy!

I live near where you were, don't know about where you are going (been off the forum for a while). If you are on SW elec like we are...look out!

We built (still not done with it, but living in it) new house, and just spent the first winter in it. We bought a used elec. furnace to get us by with as we were/going to heat with wood. This past winter we didn't have the outdoor wood furnace in, we just used our fireplace...and the elec furnace...and our light bill avg $400-$500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We about crapped!!! NEVER, in our wildest dreams did we ever have a light bill like that the whole time we lived in Colorado, much less in Mo. Mind you its not an efficient elec. furnace, but...dang! Needless to say its going out and getting sold. There will be an outdoor wood furnace (forced air) installed before winter, and a propane wall heater put in for back up.

SW elec is expensive, and according to their little paper we get every month is going to get worse...a lot worse.

Just a heads up as to what you maybe up against!