Anyone Struggling With High Utility Bills?

melagras

melagras

Cathlete
I live by myself in a two story townhouse that was built in 1972 (its a POS house). My electricity bill last month was $341.00. When I got that bill, I started turning off the heater and unplugging all small appliances that might be using power. That dropped the bill to around $200.00. Now, I am shopping for a clothes drying rack so I don't have to run the dryer and a large dish drying rack so I don't have to run the dishwasher.

When I went to Kroger last week, they had raised the price on quinoa from $4.99 to $6.29. Thank goodness Whole Foods has bulk bins for a lot of products I use. Budget wise, going vegetarian is looking more and more enticing.

This is getting ridiculous.
 
I know exactly how you are feeling. My electric bill isn't so high this time of year because I live in FL but in about a month, mine will start to go up because I get the heat for about 8 months of the year. So my electric bill runs about $200 in the hottest months of summer. I used to be $280-$325 until we changed all our window to low-e and insulated the hottest rooms. Our home was built in 1977 and the did not insulate anything. Now my water bill is rediculous at $100/month and I don't water anything because of this. I have a nice dead brown yard. Our county has some of the highest rates in all of FL. Don't even get me started on food. I just wish things would get easier. I guess that's what working out is for, getting all the frustrations out.
 
Yes!! Our electric bill was $212 this month. About $75 more than normal. I'm going to start charging my kids $1 everytime I see a light left on....ugh!!! :mad::mad::mad:
 
We are on a "budget" for both electric and gas bills. When we first signed up they calculated an expected cost for the year and divided it by 12 so we make the same payment every month for a year. Once the year is up they compare actual usage to what you paid and adjust the amount for the next year accordingly. It's a great plan and I would never do it any other way again! I remember before signing up for this, getting a gas bill one winter that made me want to cry. Never again!!!!!
 
Cold weather makes my natural gas bill go up, but not the electricity. Hot weather will increase the electricity bill.

I have noticed that this winter's gas bill is higher. We are on the equal payment plan too, but I am able to see our monthly usage when I pay the bill. This winter has been especially high.

Several years ago we zoned our HVAC system. We have a large house (4000 sq ft) with only 2 of us living here now, so it's crucial to be able to lower the thermostat in unused areas of the house. We have 5 separate zones and we only have to keep two active. The zoning has made more of a difference in our bill than anything else we ever did. (Turning off lights, unplugging unused power sources, not using appliances.) The initial cost of installing the zones has been more than recouped.
 
I just checked my power company's website and this is what I found:

Beginning April 1, 2013 Southern Pine began offering Time of Use rates for members. The rates for on-peak hours are 18.190 cents. During off-peak hours the rate is 6.419 cents.

What a crock. I'm paying 3 times more during on-peak hours which is probably 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm. People who work the graveyard shift are the ones who are reaping the benefits of this new billing system.
 
My electric bill doubled since the last billing period. I was in shock when I opened it. I knew it would be high this time but not like this. I have been running around turning lights and small appliances off like a maniac at night. My family thinks I am crazy but they aren't in charge of paying the bills. Instead of paying it out of the family budget I am asking everyone to contribute.
 
It seems to me that prices for everything are going up: energy, food, whatever!

But what kills me about food prices going up is when I see all the fields here in California lying fallow because the government won't let them have water! :mad:
 
Yes, I definitely know what you mean. Everything is going up. My electric bill is usually the lowest from October - February, but as soon as March kicks in and the AC is on it goes up again. Have you ever heard of air conditioners with inverter technology? I have a couple of friends that made an investment buying those and their bills during the hotter months are ridiculously low compared to mine. I have no idea if there are heaters with that same technology, but with the AC I've heard it works really well. I rarely use the dryer anymore and don't own a dishwasher, because I know they increase my bill. If you have an electric stove that's another appliance that increases it, the microwave as well. Everything that heats or cools. We just have to limit the use of those appliances, take advantage of sunlight, cross our fingers, and hope for the best. :confused:
 
I would use a solar cooker but the coyotes would get into it.:eek:

We don't use hardly any heat because in CA, most of the time we don't need it in the winter. But, now its spring which usually warms up pretty fast. Our summer arrives early. Not as early as FL (I used to live there too.) We open the windows at night and use fans one in one window blowing in and another fan across the house blowing out, to pull the hot air out.

We need to do a better job of turning off the lights. We use propane for the hot water. We hang up our knits and don't dry them more than 5 minutes (just to soften.) We make as few trips in the car as possible and do multiple errands all at once. We carpool as often as possible.

I cook most of my meals at home. I take coolers everywhere I go. Of course, as a cathlete, this only makes the most sense. But, it also makes money cents too.:p
 
I live in Las Vegas. I bought my newly built house 20 years ago and in the summer, it seems like the air conditioner never stops running -- all I see are dollar signs. But, on the other hand, I have a practically brand new heater ;)

It's one reason I'd never buy a bigger house or put in a pool.

Just ridonkulous I tell you!
 
Living in SWFL, we are looking into getting a solar a/c unit next time. Since this is our biggest electric expense. It cost more up front, but the savings are amazing. I have an uncle about 20 miles away that has one. He says that in the winter when he doesn't use his a/c, that sometimes the power company buys his excess power and pays him money or towards the bill. In the summer, he can keep his house as cold as he likes because his bill is never higher than $100. Now I just worry though when a hurricane hits, like 10yrs ago. Charley went right over my house.
 
firemedic said:
Living in SWFL, we are looking into getting a solar a/c unit next time. Since this is our biggest electric expense. It cost more up front, but the savings are amazing. I have an uncle about 20 miles away that has one. He says that in the winter when he doesn't use his a/c, that sometimes the power company buys his excess power and pays him money or towards the bill. In the summer, he can keep his house as cold as he likes because his bill is never higher than $100. Now I just worry though when a hurricane hits, like 10yrs ago. Charley went right over my house.
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I know about solar water heaters, but never heard about non commercial solar a/c units, do you know how much did he spend? Inverter a/c units can go for thousands, especially for bigger houses, but the savings make up for the initial high cost. I definitely need to invest in an energy efficient a/c system.
 
CRAZY!!

We live outside of Boston and actually are selling our house due to the cost of running it. it's a huge house and now that the kids are never home we just don't need to pay these crazy bills. Our heating bill for oil (heats both water and house) is $600 per MONTH for 10 months out of the year!!! Our Electric bill is super high....and forget about the taxes!! We just bought a new smaller house in a town with much lower taxes.
It breaks my heart to have to move but this is like throwing money out the window!
 
Gibbee said:
Island Rose- where do you live?
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Hi! I currently live in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico), but I also have a small property in FL. The climate is essentially the same in both PR and FL and although spring is starting everywhere, over here it is already summer. I am never mentally ready to receive those energy bills this time of the year. :confused:
 
I live in Utah, but own a house in Connecticut. The cost of keeping the house in Connecticut just blows me away. Oil, electricity and taxes. OUCH!! The house is going up for sale.
 
I live in Houston, Texas and this is the coldest winter that I can ever remember and I've lived here my whole life. Our schools actually closed for two different days because of ice. Its nice to finally not have the heat running constantly. We've had to get a deferred payment plan twice from Reliant Energy because our electric bill was so high. But this has still been a cold March. I think yesterday morning was 39 degrees. In Texas we're just not equipped to deal with extreme cold weather and ice.

Amanda
 
I would suggest the following:

1. Contact your utility and ask for a review of your usage. They will explain degree days and help you understand how you are using energy. Remember to compare usage not dollars - and they should help you do this. This will help you understand how you can make changes in your activities. For example, does your utility use time of day (time of use) billing? If so and you are running something like a washing machine / dryer / dishwasher during peak times, then you will pay extra to use the electricity during those times of the day; but if you change when you do those things, you can save money.

2. Contact your utility and ask for an energy audit. Some utilities do them for free, some for a small fee and some are expensive. Ask and find out. Some will rebate your money if you implement some of their recommendations - or they will even provide you with a do it yourself kit so you can hit the 'low hanging fruit' first (easiest, least expensive, rapid results). Be careful who you hire if you hire from a list... yes, there are certified auditors but you will want to ask some questions first and check their fees. Confirm they have been reviewed and are recommended by your utility.
- OR -
Conduct your own home energy audit. Your utility should have a checklist to do your own. If not, let me know and I'll see what I can find for you to use. (I work at an electric utility.)

3. After you do an audit or self-review, see what incentives are offered by your utility company and/or tax credits from your state, federal government or your local municipality for any improvements you are considering making to your home. Right now energy efficiency is the buzzword, so there are lots of incentives available.

4. Before installing anything, check with your utility first to see if there are additional installation fees, special wiring needed, meter change-out, etc.

5. Remember that a salesperson for a product is just that - a salesperson. Sales people will tell you whatever you want or need to hear to get you to buy. Do your own research. Utilities in our area offer help with sizing ground source heat pumps, provide comparisons of similar homes using products similar to or the same as you may be considering, provide you with information on degree days and your usage history, and can also answer questions about what may be driving your increased usage, etc. Sometimes we forget about things like heaters for swimming pools or stock tanks, the old refrigerator in the garage that's either empty or cooling beer, etc.

Where I live solar and wind things just aren't there in terms of reliable performance. It's not windy enough to provide sustained power at a sufficient speed to make residential wind work, and the sun isn't out enough to provide sustained power. Technology is improving but it will be some time before it becomes mainstream in *most* areas. This is why I asked where you lived because recommending a solar water heater, for example, to someone in an area where it doesn't work as well would not have been much help and might have encouraged you to part with cash you could have used better in another fashion for your climate, home and lifestyle.

Let me know if you have any questions! I'll do my best to answer them.
 
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