happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Jan 24, 2011 11:44:20 GMT -5
We got our power bill last week. In 25+ years of living here, we have never paid a power bill this high. Compared to last years at this time, we are still high. It is for 35 days, yes right at Christmas and it was cold and snowy. But we went out of town for a few days. So for all of you HVAC people, I have a question. We are keeping our bedroom door shut and it is toasty in there. I read in there during the day and of course we sleep there at night. So it does feel good to keep it that warm. We have a heat pump, no other heat. If we keep the thermostat at around 66 or 68 degrees, does that make it just run and run? Thanks again.
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8 Bit WWBG
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Post by 8 Bit WWBG on Jan 24, 2011 12:10:23 GMT -5
My sister just had a ridiculous $500+ bill for a 1Br apartment. The electric company has finally admitted that there is something wrong on their end, and will be giving her an adjustment. My power usage for a townhouse, while being home most of Dec. for christmas break, was about $120.
To use the kWh they say she used, I would have had to have the windows open, the heat on 85, and be running the oven and TVs constantly.
So the first piece of advice is: verify that there is nothing wrong with the meter, or on the company's end.
Last year, our heat was running on "Emergency Heat" unbeknownst to us. The unit (since replaced) was bad. That sucked up extra power, but still not too bad considering we were under 2 feet of snow at the time.
...:::"If we keep the thermostat at around 66 or 68 degrees, does that make it just run and run?":::...
This depends on how good your house is at RETAINING heat. IMO its not what temperature you have the heat on, but how often the unit has to click on and off. If you have an airtight house, then the unit would not have to work very hard to maintain 75 degrees. By contrast if you leak air everywhere, maintaining 60 might be a challenge if the thing has to keep coming on and off.
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Jan 24, 2011 12:17:37 GMT -5
Our house is insulated really well. Windows, doors, attic, crawl space. The emergency heat strips have not come on. (We did have that happen before). I checked the meter numbers and it looks OK. We run our W/D one day a week for about 4 hours and our dishwasher maybe twice a week. Nothing other than that. And again it is just the 2 of us. No kids running in and out or leaving lights on in unoccupied rooms. I AM SO READY FOR SPRING!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2011 12:25:43 GMT -5
Heat pumps work really well when it is around 50 degrees outside. But as it gets lower, they have to run longer and longer to keep the temp up.
How cold was it the last month?
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Jan 24, 2011 12:26:12 GMT -5
30. It snowed. Twice.
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Jan 24, 2011 12:28:43 GMT -5
I just think for what I am paying, I should be walking around in a tank top and shorts. Drinking mint juleps. It should be 80 degrees in here.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2011 13:16:23 GMT -5
I noticed that our gas bill showed the same usage as a year ago. The bottom line on the bill is up 20% from last year.
But there's no inflation. The government says so.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2011 13:25:39 GMT -5
30 is cold for a heat pump. Most likely it was running almost nonstop for the last month.
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8 Bit WWBG
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Post by 8 Bit WWBG on Jan 24, 2011 13:26:31 GMT -5
...:::"But there's no inflation. The government says so.":::...
Exactly, and my pay stayed the same as a result so rates CAN'T go up!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2011 13:38:12 GMT -5
I noticed that our gas bill showed the same usage as a year ago. The bottom line on the bill is up 20% from last year. But there's no inflation. The government says so. That's what I was going to mention... the usage may not be up, but the price probably is! Ours was more expensive this month, too. But it's been a lot colder than usual this year and we've got a new baby so the washing machine and dishwasher are running more frequently than "normal".
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2011 14:26:46 GMT -5
Ours is comparable to last year, but I turn the heat down behind my husband's back. It bothers me that he has the gas furnace on 70 but is actually in the basement where the only heat is a little electric heater.
This is what I get for marrying someone from Phoenix. Everyone else thinks the South is relatively warm most the time.
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jkapp
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Post by jkapp on Jan 24, 2011 14:30:01 GMT -5
I was actually surprised to se my bill lower than last month...but I don't think the coldest days were included in this billing cycle. My elecrticity usage was down compared to last year too and I don't know why. My guess is the billing cycle has less days.
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doxieluvr
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Post by doxieluvr on Jan 24, 2011 14:31:23 GMT -5
We got our power bill last week. In 25+ years of living here, we have never paid a power bill this high. Compared to last years at this time, we are still high. It is for 35 days, yes right at Christmas and it was cold and snowy. But we went out of town for a few days. So for all of you HVAC people, I have a question. We are keeping our bedroom door shut and it is toasty in there. I read in there during the day and of course we sleep there at night. So it does feel good to keep it that warm. We have a heat pump, no other heat. If we keep the thermostat at around 66 or 68 degrees, does that make it just run and run? Thanks again. Our bill was insane this month too. It normally runs $250, even with the ac running all summer long, and this past month was $330. We heat by gas and set the thermostat at 68. I am not comfortable any lower. As it is, my babies hands feel like ice cubes. I am just ready for spring.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2011 14:32:41 GMT -5
If this is unusually cold for your area, than this is probably your problem. It was been really cold in my area this winter and our electric bill is up. As Arch said a heat pump doesn't work that well at 30. Our auxiliary heat kicks on at 30 and it has been running a lot this winter. Are you sure your heat strips aren't running while you are asleep, at least more often than in other years?
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Post by kristi28 on Jan 24, 2011 14:32:44 GMT -5
If your usage is up (and not just your bill as others have suggested) it may have to do with keeping your room closed up. The thermostat keeps the temperature at 68 degrees at the location of the thermostat. The temperature in other parts of the house could be quite different.
We save money by closing up a couple of rooms in the winter - the thermostat in the hall has no clue how cold it is in the unused back bedroom. Unfortunately, there are also no vents in the hall, so sometimes our heater runs more than we would prefer, too.
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doxieluvr
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Post by doxieluvr on Jan 24, 2011 14:33:30 GMT -5
I noticed that our gas bill showed the same usage as a year ago. The bottom line on the bill is up 20% from last year. But there's no inflation. The government says so. I think this is the major issue. Our showed a slight increase, but we also added a family member so it was warranted.
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olderburgher
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Post by olderburgher on Jan 24, 2011 14:33:46 GMT -5
We replaced our 50+ year old boiler (hot water radiant heat) a year ago fall and not only have our monthly bills have been cut in half but the house seems warmer. 5 bdrm 3 bath house that is 70 years old with heat bills of $130 a month. But I am ready for spring too
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2011 19:14:27 GMT -5
It has been REALLY cold this year...
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jan 24, 2011 19:30:59 GMT -5
It's amazing what keeping your place warmer than normal can cost. My neighbor (same size apartment) keeps her apartment about 12° warmer than I do. Mine is 63° during the day, 60° at night. She keeps her apartment at 75° all the time.
Her electric bills run about 3x what mine do. OUCH!
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mesquite77
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Post by mesquite77 on Jan 24, 2011 19:53:29 GMT -5
I noticed that our gas bill showed the same usage as a year ago. The bottom line on the bill is up 20% from last year. But there's no inflation. The government says so. How is that possible with gas so cheap right now? Our latest bill is 38% less YOY with 19% less consumption than Dec 2009. It is 35% less that our Dec 2008 bill with 2.7% less gas comsumption.
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Jan 24, 2011 21:55:30 GMT -5
How big was your electricity bill? How many KwH at what rate per KwH? (Just curious ... we pay up to 40 cents per KwH here....)
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pbmom
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Post by pbmom on Jan 24, 2011 22:09:57 GMT -5
When I asked the gas company last year why my bill was so high they told me it was because it was colder than the year before. Well this year has been colder than last year so I can only imagine how high it will be. We keep ours around 65 and maybe increase it a degree in the morning to knock off the chill but turn it back down before we leave.
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daisylu
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Post by daisylu on Jan 25, 2011 7:21:06 GMT -5
Our bill for December was twice as much as November, but December was super-cold and we have a heat pump. Which I hate with the fire of a thousand suns.
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happyscooter
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Post by happyscooter on Jan 25, 2011 8:48:06 GMT -5
Molly, it was a lot. And I have thrown away the bill which had the KWH rate. But it was the same as last year at this time. And again the billing rate was for 35 days. It is usually 29 or 30 days. So that could make it go up around $30.
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runewell
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Post by runewell on Jan 25, 2011 13:31:05 GMT -5
I noticed that our gas bill showed the same usage as a year ago. The bottom line on the bill is up 20% from last year. But there's no inflation. The government says so. Right, because energy is "volatile". For all we know it could go down 50% next year.
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doxieluvr
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Post by doxieluvr on Jan 25, 2011 13:45:57 GMT -5
When I asked the gas company last year why my bill was so high they told me it was because it was colder than the year before. Well this year has been colder than last year so I can only imagine how high it will be. We keep ours around 65 and maybe increase it a degree in the morning to knock off the chill but turn it back down before we leave. I had an astronomical bill one month in my old house, think $500. I called the electric company, and got the same line. My response was that I could understand that would be the case if I did not have oil heat & paying for oil to be delivered. They never could tell me why it was so high for just lights and electric usage. I really think someone was tapped into our electric and running their house too.
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Post by caddy on Jan 25, 2011 13:50:14 GMT -5
I noticed that our gas bill showed the same usage as a year ago. The bottom line on the bill is up 20% from last year. But there's no inflation. The government says so. In general, natural gas prices are a little lower today than they were in Jan 2010, but that doesn't mean your rates haven't increased. Gas prices fluctuate with supply/demand fundamentals, but the rates your utility charges will not necessarily float along with that. Your utility charges you what they paid, and they could still be on a contract to buy gas from suppliers at prices from three years ago. Also, if there were any infrastructure projects that cost the utility money, they'll put that into the rates as well.
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pbmom
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Post by pbmom on Jan 25, 2011 16:11:42 GMT -5
Well I got my natural gas bill today and it was $90 less than last year so I guess that's good. Another thing I just remembered is my 20+ year old heating/cooling unit was constantly cutting on and off. Luckily I had a home warranty that covered most of the expense of getting it fixed so that was good. But you can't honestly tell me, that me and SO have used that much gas for it to be so high...but I can't really go without it so I guess I'll just pay it and hopefully one day the government will stop the increasing prices on EVERYTHING!
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Peace Of Mind
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Post by Peace Of Mind on Jan 25, 2011 22:32:36 GMT -5
Ours was recently $300.00 in Florida! It was such a cold month! But I set it at about 73 or 74 degrees during the day and 69 or 70 at night. I hate the cold. Our house is just under 2200 S.F. (air). It's been the highest ever, even more than our hottest times of the year which gets in the 90's for two or three months sometimes.
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motherto2
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Post by motherto2 on Jan 25, 2011 22:42:44 GMT -5
I'm not sure what mine is for the month because I'm on the payment plan so I pay a set amount every month. Every six months they reevaluate, and if I owe money they adjust it up, if I have a credit they adjust down. It's $184/month on this cycle, down from $233/month the last cycle. I believe one of the things that made it go up last year (that would have included Christmas and a couple of months of 2010 was me being snookered into buying an iheater. Came with glowing recommendation from a dear friend (she had no interest in whether I purchased one or not, just telling me about it). I finally bit and bought it last Nov. Bill spiked up in December when I had it plugged in. When I got the bill and saw how much was owed, I unplugged it. Several weeks later I tried it in another room, same thing. Sad thing is it never felt like the room got any warmer, so totally wasn't worth it. Both rooms I tried it in are fairly large and have high ceilings, so that might have something to do with it. I plugged it in DD room when she was home for Christmas. Her room is above what was the garage (and the second room I tried it in). I don't heat or a/c it unless someone is going to be out there doing something, so stays very cold in the winter. Can't wait to see if the bill spiked when it was in her very small room
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