 IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
 ·Comcast
 ·Verizon Broadban..
1 edit | reply to Archivis
Re: Electric Bill I live in the northeast and my electric bill in the summer is about $90 (running two window A/C units constantly) and $189 in the winter (assuming average temps because I have baseboard heat). I get the special needs/disability discount on my electric bill because I have been disabled since I was born. In some states, utilities are required by their tariffs to offer a discounted rate for senior citizen/disabled customers.
Edit: my unit is 936 square feet on my side of the duplex.
If your bill is that high, you might want to see if you qualify for any discounts/assistance. You could also look into budget billing where they average out a year's worth of bills into equal installments. If you own the house, you could look into converting to a cheaper source of heating or upgrading appliances. If you rent, either talk to the landlord about upgrading appliances or put in your 30 days notice that you are moving.
One last note, if the refrigerator is more than 10 years old, replace it. An old refrigerator will shoot an electric bill through the roof.
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I've experienced ImOn (when they were McLeod USA), Mediacom, Comcast, and Time Warner. They are much better than broadcast TV.
I have not and will not cut the cord. |
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scooper
join:2000-07-11
Youngsville, NC
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Time Warner Cable
 ·Embarq Now Centu..
| reply to Archivis
For an all electric house in Pennsylvania in the winter - sounds about right. You really need a cheaper way to heat your house - a heat pump would help a bunch - but you need to have the duct work for distribution (think - central air conditioning). You probably also have the normal suspects of inadequate insulation. |
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 ArchivisYour DaddyPremium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
kudos:18 | reply to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:If your bill is that high, you might want to see if you qualify for any discounts/assistance. You could also look into budget billing where they average out a year's worth of bills into equal installments. If you own the house, you could look into converting to a cheaper source of heating or upgrading appliances. If you rent, either talk to the landlord about upgrading appliances or put in your 30 days notice that you are moving. I just moved in here under a home purchase, not a rental. I'm not going to quality for anything under my income.
One last note, if the refrigerator is more than 10 years old, replace it. An old refrigerator will shoot an electric bill through the roof.
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A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -MLK |
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ArchivisYour DaddyPremium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
kudos:18 | reply to scooper
said by scooper:For an all electric house in Pennsylvania in the winter - sounds about right. You really need a cheaper way to heat your house - a heat pump would help a bunch - but you need to have the duct work for distribution (think - central air conditioning). You probably also have the normal suspects of inadequate insulation.
I moved from an all electric house in PA to another house 10 minutes away, all electric. My AC unit is central air, but it's 21 years old. I intend to replace it with a heat pump. Sounds like I need to get that out of the way before next year.
I turned off all of the baseboard heat in the house and went from 7seconds per rotation to 13 seconds. Let me try turning off the fridge.
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A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -MLK |
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 mityfowlPremium
join:2000-11-06
Dallas, TX | said by Archivis:said by scooper:For an all electric house in Pennsylvania in the winter - sounds about right. You really need a cheaper way to heat your house - a heat pump would help a bunch - but you need to have the duct work for distribution (think - central air conditioning). You probably also have the normal suspects of inadequate insulation.
I moved from an all electric house in PA to another house 10 minutes away, all electric. My AC unit is central air, but it's 21 years old. I intend to replace it with a heat pump. Sounds like I need to get that out of the way before next year. I turned off all of the baseboard heat in the house and went from 7seconds per rotation to 13 seconds. Let me try turning off the fridge. That fridge at most will eat $15/mo. $20 max
Not worth it. |
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 HallPremium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
kudos:2 | reply to Archivis
If it's any consolation, at least you don't have a natural gas bill...  |
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ArchivisYour DaddyPremium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
kudos:18 | reply to mityfowl
I just turned off the fridge and the disc went from 13 seconds per rotation to 19 seconds per rotation. It's an Amana from 2002.
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A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -MLK |
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ArchivisYour DaddyPremium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
kudos:18 | reply to Hall
said by Hall:If it's any consolation, at least you don't have a natural gas bill...
I did once. Had a brutal January and a home built in 1912 with 13 foot ceilings. $600 for the natural gas alone. It broke me.
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A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -MLK |
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mityfowlPremium
join:2000-11-06
Dallas, TX | reply to Archivis
said by Archivis:I just turned off the fridge and the disc went from 13 seconds per rotation to 19 seconds per rotation. It's an Amana from 2002.
That fridge is a bit harder to judge because 3 or 4 times a day it runs through a defrost cycle and activates a heating element.
You have to put a kill o watt on it.
Your going to need one of those anyway. |
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HallPremium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
kudos:2 | reply to Archivis
said by Archivis:I just turned off the fridge and the disc went from 13 seconds per rotation to 19 seconds per rotation. It's an Amana from 2002.
The revolutions can be translated / converted to kw/h, can't it ? And does a fridge draw a lot ALL the time or only when the compressor runs ? |
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ArchivisYour DaddyPremium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
kudos:18 | reply to Archivis
Just found out my fridge was on the max setting, ugh. Turned it down to just a hair below the mid point and the disc is spinning at around 19 seconds per rotation.
Sounds like I need to replace the fridge and probably the dryer. The dryer has it running rapidly as well.
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A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -MLK |
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ArchivisYour DaddyPremium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
kudos:18 | reply to Hall
said by Hall: The revolutions can be translated / converted to kw/h, can't it ? And does a fridge draw a lot ALL the time or only when the compressor runs ?
I'm hoping someone with more knowledge than I, can interpret what I'm putting out here. I know nothing about this stuff.
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A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -MLK |
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mityfowlPremium
join:2000-11-06
Dallas, TX | reply to Archivis
Electric dyers are dead grounds.
They don't really get more efficient. |
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robbinPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX
kudos:1 | reply to Archivis
said by Archivis:The dryer has it running rapidly as well.
Replace the washer with a front loader to increase efficiency. Replacing the dryer will do nothing unless you change it to a gas dryer. |
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nonymousPremium
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ Reviews:
 ·Callcentric
| reply to Archivis
My mom has a broken baseboard heater in her house that no matter the temp setting ran way more than it should and hotter. Found it and turned it off at the breaker and her bill went way down. Now I of course do not know the average heating cost for baseboard heating in your area.
Still may be a good idea to see if any baseboard heaters are running continuously or getting hotter than any of the others. |
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HallPremium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
kudos:2 | reply to Archivis
said by Archivis: I did once. Had a brutal January and a home built in 1912 with 13 foot ceilings. $600 for the natural gas alone. It broke me. Our house was built in 1913. Ceilings on the first floor are 10+ feet, 2nd floor they're not quite as high. Last month's gas bill was $118. That's about normal for winter here. I can see that last Jan my usage was slightly higher, but not much.
The gas company has nice analysis tools - tells me that for the last month, the average home paid $151/month.
We do have a reasonably new, high-efficient furnace and keep the thermostat no higher than 70 except on occasion will bump it to 72 for 1-2 cycles. |
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ArchivisYour DaddyPremium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
kudos:18 | reply to nonymous
The room would be hotter, wouldn't it? |
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HallPremium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH
kudos:2 | reply to Archivis
said by Archivis:said by Hall: The revolutions can be translated / converted to kw/h, can't it ? And does a fridge draw a lot ALL the time or only when the compressor runs ? I'm hoping someone with more knowledge than I, can interpret what I'm putting out here. I know nothing about this stuff. Exactly ! I'm sure someone can help calculate things a bit.... They'll need to know how much you're charged per kw/h to start. |
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 nunyaWho is John Galt?Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
kudos:8
·Charter
 ·surpasshosting
·voip.ms
| reply to Archivis
Your bill seems to be spot on for usage. A house built in 1979 should be fairly well insulated.
Your biggest draw, by far, will be electric heat. Electric heat is expensive. Even though your rates are low, heating with resistance electric will always cost a "shit ton" of money unless you live somewhere where they are practically giving electricity away.
That being said, your usage is very high unless this is a very large home. What is the conditioned square footage?
I would expect an average 1750 SF all-electric home in your climate to use around 2500-3500 kWH during the winter.
Also, you have an extra 5 days tacked onto your bill. That accounts for a little bit.
Are you sure you didn't get stuck holding the bag for the previous owners unpaid bill?
Also, make sure your well pump isn't constantly running (underground water leak).
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If someone refers to herself / himself as a "guru", they probably aren't. |
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 John GaltForward, MarchPremium
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp
kudos:5 | reply to Archivis
Get some small, quiet fans. Place them on the floor in out of the way places and aim them at the ceiling. Set them on 'low' so you can't hear them.
The objective is to eliminate stratification.
Electric heat (baseboard and ceiling) is popular here in OR and this reduces the problem.
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Nothing makes an American want to do something more than telling them they can't.
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