Costs To Heat Your Home

[Deleted]

I'm sure we've discussed this before, but some posts on another thread made me curious. This year, I've kept my heat set on 75. So far this winter, outside temps haven't gone far below freezing. The day time temps have been in the 40's and 50's, mostly the low to mid 50's, I think. My furnace uses natural gas, and the bill is combined with electricity, water, trash and sewer fees. My current and last month's bill were both less than $200/month. I'm too lazy to look up how much of that was just gas. My water heater uses gas also.

I use to keep my thermostat at 78 or 80, I don't recall having ever gotten a bill over $300.

I've had programmable thermostats for at least 15 years. It's always been set to go down to 66 or 68 at bedtime and during the hours that no one is home. And I do turn it down when I have guests because I know my house is usually too warm for most people.

What's it like where you live, how warm do you keep your home and how much does it cost per month?

[laterbloomer]

I live in Northern Ontario, lately we have fluctuated from -20C to +4C (-4F to 40). I keep my thermostat at 71. My house is heated with gas and my bills have been around $100 the last couple of months. $35 of that bill is just fees to have the account so it costs me about $65/month to heat the house in the middle of winter.

[grumpyhermit]

Not a home, but I do pay heat in my apartment. This is my first year, so I am still getting a gauge on the costs. 

Outside temps  - 20s-40s
Last bill - $150 (it runs around $40 in the summer since it also fuels my hot water). 
Thermostat - 60 (turned down to 55 at night for sleeping).
Type - Natural gas 

December was much colder, so I am anticipating that my next bill may top $200. The apartment isn't large (maybe 800 sqft), but it does have crappy, old windows, and I'm sure they are a massive energy drain. 

[saveinla]

31$ last month. I live in a very temperate climate, so we use the heater maybe 3 months in the year (if that). According to my spreadsheet, I pay 100$ to 200$ for heating for the whole year and this includes the gas for the kitchen also. 

[sesfw]

Our home is total electric with a solar water heater.  Living in the Phoenix area our summer bill is in the mid $250s and slides down to less than $100 in the winter.  In the next couple of months we are having whole home solar installed and it will be interesting to see that happens then.  We will still have a minimum of about $50 per months because of the taxes and such.

We keep our thermostat set at 78 when we are here, and in winter goes down to 68 over night.  Summer the high setting is 84 for when we are not here.

We have friends in Flagstaff that keep their home around 68 during the winter snows but put it up to mid 70s when company (us) comes.  We freeze there in winter and they melt down here in summer.  All evens out …… 

[Tiny]

Well, I spend about $900/1K a year on my natural gas bill. I have gas furnance, water heater, dryer and 75 yo gas stove with a pilot light that burns 24/7. The total cost is kind of meaningless and sez nothing about how much natural gas I use (or it's cost). There's delivery charge, taxes, and fees. Even if I didn't use any gas at all - my monthly bill would be about $30. It really depends on the cost of a therm of Natural Gas.

The same thing with my electric bill. On a non-AC use month - the cost of the electricity I used is usually LESS than the delivery/taxes/fees charge.

The cost of water is buried in a quarterly bill that includes garbage and 'sewer' charges and fees. Everyone complains about the cost of "water" here - but the water is pretty cheap - it's the other things in the bill that are pricey.

So, when you are asking us about our utility costs - are you interested in the cost of the energy (therm or kilowatt), or how much "fixed" costs are involved (the delivery charge) or the taxes/fees that get added in??

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2019 18:10:19 GMT -5 grumpyhermit said:

Not a home, but I do pay heat in my apartment. This is my first year, so I am still getting a gauge on the costs. 

Outside temps  - 20s-40s
Last bill - $150 (it runs around $40 in the summer since it also fuels my hot water). 
Thermostat - 60 (turned down to 55 at night for sleeping).
Type - Natural gas 

December was much colder, so I am anticipating that my next bill may top $200. The apartment isn't large (maybe 800 sqft), but it does have crappy, old windows, and I'm sure they are a massive energy drain. 

Wait, $150 and your thermostat is set at 60? Oh dear. That kind of hurt my feelings on your behalf.

I agree, the windows could be an issue. My house seemed to be well insulated when I first bought it and still holds temperatures pretty well, but I'm guessing the insulation has probably settled some over 18 years? Actually, I have no idea lol.

It's a small house, just under 1300sf, all brick exterior with double pane windows. I wasn't thinking about energy costs when I was looking for a house, I'm lucky I didn't buy an old drafty house that would cost a fortune to keep warm. Well, my house IS old, but not drafty.

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2019 18:22:35 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Well, I spend about $900/1K a year on my natural gas bill. I have gas furnance, water heater, dryer and 75 yo gas stove with a pilot light that burns 24/7. The total cost is kind of meaningless and sez nothing about how much natural gas I use (or it's cost). There's delivery charge, taxes, and fees. Even if I didn't use any gas at all - my monthly bill would be about $30. It really depends on the cost of a therm of Natural Gas.

The same thing with my electric bill. On a non-AC use month - the cost of the electricity I used is usually LESS than the delivery/taxes/fees charge.

The cost of water is buried in a quarterly bill that includes garbage and 'sewer' charges and fees. Everyone complains about the cost of "water" here - but the water is pretty cheap - it's the other things in the bill that are pricey.

So, when you are asking us about our utility costs - are you interested in the cost of the energy (therm or kilowatt), or how much "fixed" costs are involved (the delivery charge) or the taxes/fees that get added in??

It's not a test, it doesn't have to be complicated or even precise. The amount I gave you all wasn't precise, because I didn't bother to look up exactly how much of the bill was heating costs.

If I had to guess, I'd say that so far my bill has been $40 or $50 more than if I hadn't been running my HVAC system at all for a whole month. And I could be totally wrong, because my HVAC has never not run for even a week at a time. I'm not asking anybody to go digging for exact numbers, unless you want to. A general idea is good enough for me.

[MN-Investor]

I live in the Twin Cities. My gas bill was $675 for the past 12 months. My electric bill was $1,700 for the past 12 months.

My house is about 1250 sqft, built in 1957. I set my winter temp at 66 degrees, my summer temp at 74 degrees.

I'll be interested in seeing what my heating/cooling bills will be in the future. We had energy efficient windows installed in 2000. I'm getting old insulation in the attic removed and better insulation installed in March. I'm also going to replace my 40-year old furnace and air conditioner this spring. That should make a big difference in what I pay.

[Deleted]

I normally just buy LP once a year.  Cost is about $800-$1000.  In 2014 I paid almost $1600 because the price was high and it was really cold that winter.   The LP is just for heat and the water heater.  This is MN, so cold.  Furnace turns on sometime in October and is on probably 7 months of the year, but I never set it above 67.  That's about the temp where I'm comfortable when just sitting around.  If I'm doing pretty much anything that's too warm. 

So, I'm guessing some months could be burning over $200 pretty easily.  

eta:  This is a big house too, about 3200 sf, with some vaulted ceilings and we are on a ridge that almost always has a nasty wind in the winter.  In the summer it's wonderful.  We're one of the few places in MN that doesn't have mosquitos because of the breezes, but we definitely pay for it in the winter.  

[nidena]

I have a 200+ year old house.  I replaced all windows that needed replacing within six months of moving in--eight windows and three are 4' x 6'.  I have natural gas heat (including water heater) and electric cooling for my dual zone units--one system per floor.  I'm also on budget billing so that my bills for electric are the same from Feb-Dec with Jan being the "adjustment" month and my gas bill runs Sep-May with a "customer fee" Jun-Aug.

Electric has been $92/mo; this month was $49 so I'm concluding my amount will go down for the next 11 months.
Gas is $69/mo with $13.50 being this past summer's "customer fee".

I set my heat at 63*, with a bump to 65* if it feels chilly and 60* when I'm gone for a few days, and my a/c to 78*, 82* if I won't be home all day.

[msventoux]

I have natural gas that I use for heating, hot water and my clothes dryer.  My house is around 1,100 SF and I have the thermostat set usually between 70-75. 

Temperatures can swing wildly here.  A couple days ago it was -21F, yesterday it was -2 and today it's gotten up to 32 and there's been a bit of freezing rain and snow.  The last few years temperatures haven't been getting below 0 much in the winter, so this streak of cold weather is a bit of an outlier.  In summers it can get in the 70's to 80's, but summers haven't been consistently nice here the last few years either, so it's usually cooler than that.  Cool and damp enough that I run my furnace pretty much year round.

Last year I spent around $1,400 total for natural gas and about $450 for electricity.  So roughly $120/$40 average a month.  Not sure what will happen with this month's bills as it was during the cold snap.  I'm sure I could improve on my gas bill if I installed better windows and redid weatherstripping, but that hasn't happened yet. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Natural gas heating, we average about $100/mo.  We heat 2800 sq ft.  Temps are 20-50F.  We also keep the house at 65 during the day, 56 at night.

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2019 19:00:32 GMT -5 MN-Investor said:

I live in the Twin Cities. My gas bill was $675 for the past 12 months. My electric bill was $1,700 for the past 12 months.

My house is about 1250 sqft, built in 1957. I set my winter temp at 66 degrees, my summer temp at 74 degrees.

I'll be interested in seeing what my heating/cooling bills will be in the future. We had energy efficient windows installed in 2000. I'm getting old insulation in the attic removed and better insulation installed in March. I'm also going to replace my 40-year old furnace and air conditioner this spring. That should make a big difference in what I pay.

Do you have an idea of how much the insulation will cost? Our houses are similar size, so I'm curious. Mine was built in 1964.

I also need to replace my furnace and air conditioner, the furnace isn't quite as old as yours, but it's old. The original owners were awesome at keeping and passing along the paperwork for things they had done or installed in the house, so I have the manual and receipts detailing what was done and the costs for my furnace. My boyfriend went to school for that kind of work, so he will install them for me.

Those are things that need to be done, but I don't know how long I'll be here to reap the benefits.

[Deleted]

I see that several of you keep your thermostats set in the 60's. Brrrrrrrr    

[Cookies Galore]

We set our thermostat to 67 when we're home and 60 when we're sleeping/working. Our PECO bill is for gas and electric combined. Our most recent bill was $187, which was better than the $212 we spent at the same time last year. Huzzah for not insanely cold temps yet like last year!
The months where we don't need heat or AC our PECO bill is around $60.

[MN-Investor]

Jan 13, 2019 20:29:23 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Do you have an idea of how much the insulation will cost? Our houses are similar size, so I'm curious. Mine was built in 1964.

The estimate for the R-50 cellulose insulation is $2,895. But that also includes sealing air leaks, kitchen exhaust vent pipe, and a bunch of other things to do it right.

Actually, the bigger cost is the removal of the old vermiculite insulation. It's about 5" deep, but the chances are high that it's tainted with asbestos so I have to have a company which specializes in asbestos removal do the removal. They actually seal off the room they are working from and run equipment to make sure the insulation does not enter the rest of the house. The estimate is $5,841. I have sent away a sample of the insulation for analysis. If it is asbestos-tainted, I can apply for an abatement from a trust fund set up by company which sold the stuff in the first place. The abatement will be 55% of the cost of removal, up to $4,125. So my insulation removal after abatement should be about $2,628.

[Deleted]

Our electricity and water are one bill, and gas heat is another.  When one goes up,  the other goes down.  So I basically don't separate a/c from heat when budgeting.

I budget $200 - $250 a month.  In spring and fall, it is about $150 for all utilities.  In the worst of winter and summer, it can get to $300, but that is always one month for each.

I used to have a programmable thermostat, but that became a pain when I married DH because he is home all day.  In winter, I set it at 71 daytime/68 night.  In summer, I set it at 72 daytime/74 nighttime.  We have ceiling fans in every room.

Old houses like mine are the worst for utility bills!

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2019 20:37:20 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I see that several of you keep your thermostats set in the 60's. Brrrrrrrr    

I would be sweltering with it in the 70's.  In the evenings I have a sweatshirt on and there are throw blankets on the couch for watching TV, but my kids are running around in shorts.  The youngest I have a hard time getting to wear clothes beyond underwear at all.   

In the summer I keep the AC at 70.  

[grumpyhermit]

Jan 13, 2019 21:37:56 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Jan 13, 2019 20:37:20 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I see that several of you keep your thermostats set in the 60's. Brrrrrrrr    

I would be sweltering with it in the 70's.  In the evenings I have a sweatshirt on and there are throw blankets on the couch for watching TV, but my kids are running around in shorts.  The youngest I have a hard time getting to wear clothes beyond underwear at all.   

In the summer I keep the AC at 70.  

Same. I don't set my thermostat at 60 JUST because I'm cheap. I prefer a cooler house temp. I didn't control the heat in my last apartment and it was always boiling (probably somewhere in the mid 70s). I would often have windows open in February just to try to regulate the temp. 

As much as I don't love paying my heating bill, I adore having control over my thermostat again. 

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2019 21:37:56 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Jan 13, 2019 20:37:20 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I see that several of you keep your thermostats set in the 60's. Brrrrrrrr    

I would be sweltering with it in the 70's.  In the evenings I have a sweatshirt on and there are throw blankets on the couch for watching TV, but my kids are running around in shorts.  The youngest I have a hard time getting to wear clothes beyond underwear at all.   

In the summer I keep the AC at 70.  

I tell myself that I save money on energy costs in the summer to make up a little for blasting the heat during winter. In the summer, the thermostat is usually on 78 if my BF's not home. 76 if I'm moving around, cleaning up or something.

[weltschmerz]

I pay about $150 a month, for heat, hot water and hydroelectricity.

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2019 21:06:26 GMT -5 MN-Investor said:

Jan 13, 2019 20:29:23 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Do you have an idea of how much the insulation will cost? Our houses are similar size, so I'm curious. Mine was built in 1964.

The estimate for the R-50 cellulose insulation is $2,895. But that also includes sealing air leaks, kitchen exhaust vent pipe, and a bunch of other things to do it right.

Actually, the bigger cost is the removal of the old vermiculite insulation. It's about 5" deep, but the chances are high that it's tainted with asbestos so I have to have a company which specializes in asbestos removal do the removal. They actually seal off the room they are working from and run equipment to make sure the insulation does not enter the rest of the house. The estimate is $5,841. I have sent away a sample of the insulation for analysis. If it is asbestos-tainted, I can apply for an abatement from a trust fund set up by company which sold the stuff in the first place. The abatement will be 55% of the cost of removal, up to $4,125. So my insulation removal after abatement should be about $2,628.

Good information! I'm aware of the possibility of asbestos being in certain materials in my house since it was built before they stopped using it, but I hadn't considered that it might be in the current insulation. If I ever knew insulation was one of the products it was sometimes used in, I'd forgotten that tidbit. Thank you for sharing!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jan 13, 2019 20:37:20 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I see that several of you keep your thermostats set in the 60's. Brrrrrrrr    

It is really what we are most comfortable with.  In the evenings, while watching tv we will be under throws....or space heaters (aka the dog and cat).

I hate sleeping in a warm house.  In fact, when the heat kicks on at 5 am, I wish it would stay off another hour as I notice when the house starts heating up.

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2019 22:19:36 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Jan 13, 2019 20:37:20 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I see that several of you keep your thermostats set in the 60's. Brrrrrrrr    

It is really what we are most comfortable with.  In the evenings, while watching tv we will be under throws....or space heaters (aka the dog and cat).

Oh, I think it's fine. For other people lol. I just wouldn't be comfortable with it.

[laterbloomer]

Jan 13, 2019 18:10:19 GMT -5 grumpyhermit said:

Not a home, but I do pay heat in my apartment. This is my first year, so I am still getting a gauge on the costs. 

Outside temps  - 20s-40s
Last bill - $150 (it runs around $40 in the summer since it also fuels my hot water). 
Thermostat - 60 (turned down to 55 at night for sleeping).
Type - Natural gas 

December was much colder, so I am anticipating that my next bill may top $200. The apartment isn't large (maybe 800 sqft), but it does have crappy, old windows, and I'm sure they are a massive energy drain. 

Have you considered putting plastic over the windows? The kits they have these days can be almost invisible and it sounds like it would save you a good chunk of money.

[laterbloomer]

I went back and checked my gas bill for the last 2 years, it runs at about $1000 a year. Not too bad considering $480 is just to have it available.

Hydro and water is another story. For 4 people it's about $2200 a year. I have central air in the summer, and lots of showering and laundry. And we know we pay the highest rates in North America for hydro. Considering how much of it we produce in province that really sucks!!

[resolution]

I am paying about $800 per year (two tanks of oil) to heat an 1100 sf house. We use heating oil, and I keep it at 70 degrees 24/7 as I work from home and want to be comfortable. It was about $1200 (3 tanks of oil) before we insulated the house. We cut holes in all the walls and blew in the cellulose insulation.

[iono1]

I just paid my latest utility bill-gas & electric and it was $170 rounded.  I have an 1,170 SF ranch in upstate NY.  I have it set at 70 degrees 24/7 since I'm retired and don't work.  I hate being cold at night & don't lower it ever.  10 years ago I used to turn it down at nights & when I went to work.  Then I got sick one February and kept it on 24/7.  When I got the bill I was expecting a big one since I had been running it at 70 for 3 straight weeks all day & night.  When I saw the bill was only about $10 higher, I stopped turning it down at night & when I retired 2 years later, I stopped turning it down at all.  Last year I was sick most of the winter & kept it at 72.  I finally started going back to 70 last March.  

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

We're in central California ... winter lows in the upper 20s (rare), 30s (some) and 40s (most common). We don't turn on our heater, though we do have a small space heater in the bathroom and we have heated cat beds for the kitties. If I'm feeling cold, I will either grab a blanket or take a dip in the hot tub. (We use our hot tub December/January/February) Or I'll drink a hot tea.