My light bill was $200.......

[skincarekathy]

My DH is home pretty often right now. He's laid off from his 25-year job, is doing some work on his own but is home often.

The electric bill for July was $200. Actual reading, all that. It wasn't totally unexpected, but I had to tell my DH to dip into "his" wallet cash $ to pony up (this is AT LEAST $100 more than it needs to be, even with A/C).

He wants to know why. Because you set the A/C on 70 24/7 that's why. Because you have that 55" TV going all day watching NOTHING that's why.

Because you leave lights on. Because you run your laptop ALL DAY. Because you have to have fans in addition to the $pendy AC. Because you leave your GD cords plugged in all day for your precious cell phone so you can talk to your other precious UE friends.

I had the kids all trained for summer for years now. I was always trained, I had no AC in any house I lived in until I was 25.

So, he gave me the hundo out of his wallet. Now the AC is off for the past several days, nobody has died and he needs to run his mouth to me about the sacrifices he's making to save.


Gotta love em! :lol:

 

[boyzrus]

We are now getting letters from Com Ed telling us how high our energy usage is compared to other people in our neighborhood. We've gotten 3 so far. They have energy tips like turn off the lights (do that), have your thermostat at a high temp (do that), and other common sense stuff.

Where are the tips about managing the xbox and computers? I thought those were big power suckers. Somehow that info isn't included in the helpful hints section!

 

[skincarekathy]

We are now getting letters from Com Ed telling us how high our energy usage is compared to other people in our neighborhood. We've gotten 3 so far. They have energy tips like turn off the lights (do that), have your thermostat at a high temp (do that), and other common sense stuff.

Where are the tips about managing the xbox and computers? I thought those were big power suckers. Somehow that info isn't included in the helpful hints section!

Mary, I have that stuff hooked on power strips which I have trained the kids to unplug when not in use.

Like in the family room, the TV, dish box, Xbox and WII are all hooked up to the same power strip. When the kids aren't using it, they turn it off & unplug it. If I find it plugged in and/or on, I take it away from them for a couple of days. They are really very good about it now.

I noticed a large savings of electric when I started unplugging things.

 

[fuzzylogic111]

We are on a payment plan.. It's $72 a month that way we don't get hit with high bills during the summer months. We do the same thing for the gas bill. It's $63 a month. It's a lot easier for us to manage our monthly bills. There are no suprises.

 

[blcrystali]

I feel your pain. My DH works from home and with DD home for the summer they are running the AC and electricity like crazy. DH turned the hot tub into a cool pool for DD and I'm sure that has a lot to do with the extremely high bill. My bill is $296 for July.

On the bright side, my gas bill is $21.00.

 

[Peacock76]

That's the usual bill for us- ours hovers around $175. We get the comparison letters, too & we seem to use way more than anyone else in our neighborhood. Water, too. I don't get it.

Must be a day for dense DH's...mine is cutting the grass & came inside for a drink, still wearing his shoes. Thanks, cuz it wasn't hard enough to get the kids to vacuum in the first place.

 

[hsmomof6]

Our electric bill was $293ish. Our utilitlites are always high because our house is very inefficient. We keep our air conditioner set at 80 degrees. The last few years I was only turning on the air when we had dangerously hot days but this year dh wanted to keep it on. I didn't argue because our kids allergies are extremely bad this year. It can be a choice between sick kids and a lower electric bill. Our gas bill is always high too. In the coldest winter months it can get to somewhere around $300-$350 but we stay on the budget plan for gas. Our house is not big. It is a ranch with no basement and probably 1000ish square feet. We really have no idea what to do to make it more inefficient. We've lived here for almost 24 years. Dh blew insulation into the attic and we sided the house. We put up the plastic on the windows in the winter and put those strips on the bottom of the doors. My mom lives in a house of the same age but bigger about a block away. She keeps her house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter and her utility bills are always less.

 

[hsmomof6]

Mary, I have that stuff hooked on power strips which I have trained the kids to unplug when not in use.

Like in the family room, the TV, dish box, Xbox and WII are all hooked up to the same power strip. When the kids aren't using it, they turn it off & unplug it. If I find it plugged in and/or on, I take it away from them for a couple of days. They are really very good about it now.

I noticed a large savings of electric when I started unplugging things.[/QUOTE]
It really makes that noticable of a difference? Sometimes I just feel so overwhelmed with things. I know and am aware of enough to know and be aware of how little I know.

 

[skincarekathy]

We've lived here for almost 24 years. Dh blew insulation into the attic and we sided the house. We put up the plastic on the windows in the winter and put those strips on the bottom of the doors. My mom lives in a house of the same age but bigger about a block away. She keeps her house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter and her utility bills are always less.

Did you try blackout drapes on the windows? Our house is also pretty inefficient, that has seemed to help.

Also our utility bills were cut in 1/2 (gas & electric) when we upgraded our furnace, AC unit, and hot water heater (gas). I couldn't believe the difference.

We also have a pretty small house.

 

[skincarekathy]

It really makes that noticable of a difference? Sometimes I just feel so overwhelmed with things. I know and am aware of enough to know and be aware of how little I know.

It did for us. Even cords plugged into nothing (like charging cords) draw some electric.

We are on a guerilla savings plan for everything so I figure my time unplugging things is worth the savings. Even if it's only $5, that's $5 that doesn't have to be "found" to spend, you know?

 

[hsmomof6]

We got a new furnace maybe 10ish years ago. Our old one had stopped working. Our funace is not centrally located. It is in our attached garage which from what dh says is no longer allowed. I think to change it would cost us a lot of money. Pretty sure our AC unit is undersized for our house as well. We got it maybe 7ish or so years ago. Before then we just had a couple of window units and they actually kept the house cooler and I think might have been a little less expensive to run. There are so many things wrong with our house it could be a money pit.

 

[skincarekathy]

For heat, I am pretty ruthless. I grew up on Lake Mich (waukegan) until 8th grade then moved to northern WI (minocqua) for high school. I had a single mom with no $ so our heat was always only set enough to keep the pipes unfrozen (around 60-ish). We grew up just having to wear appropriate clothing in the house. Our house in WI was on a lake and was cottage type, that we had to just shut off certain rooms in the winter because they couldn't be heated (radiators). We had 3 bedrooms, but in the winter my 2 sisters & me always slept in the same room/bed in the heated bedroom. :lol: I would get frost on my cheerleading trophies in the winter LOL ("my" room was one of the unheated ones).

My DH and all the boys like to lounge around in the winter in boxers & t-shirts and they complain about being cold, so I let them have 68 degrees in the winter - if they are still cold they need to put on more clothes & some socks. Nobody is cold at night time, we have appropriate bedding for it (blankets under & over the body).

 

[hsmomof6]

]Did you try blackout drapes on the windows?[/B] Our house is also pretty inefficient, that has seemed to help.

Also our utility bills were cut in 1/2 (gas & electric) when we upgraded our furnace, AC unit, and hot water heater (gas). I couldn't believe the difference.

We also have a pretty small house.

I've never heard of blackout drapes. We keep our drapes closed (and they are heavy in the living room) because I know it does make a big difference in room temperature.

 

[skincarekathy]

I've never heard of blackout drapes. We keep our drapes closed (and they are heavy in the living room) because I know it does make a big difference in room temperature.

Blackout drapes are just heavy lined drapes that velcro together in the middles and velcro tabs to stick to the walls. They sell the fabric at Joanns if you are a seamstress. I made them one room at a time when we moved here as funds were available.

Also if you are going to stay there forever (I think we will be in our house forever LOL) look into passive climate control landscaping, this is basically planting leafy trees & shrubs to best keep the brutally sunny sides of your home cool in the summer then in the winter the leaves fall off allowing the sun to passively heat your home in the winter.

Running a dehumidifier in your home also helps keep it cooler in the summer, humidity makes it feel hot.

And make sure you change your furnace filters! AC unit will also be more efficient if shaded from sun with hedges or bushes, make sure they are planted well enough away so they don't grow into the unit.

 

[hsmomof6]

For heat, I am pretty ruthless. I grew up on Lake Mich (waukegan) until 8th grade then moved to northern WI (minocqua) for high school. I had a single mom with no $ so our heat was always only set enough to keep the pipes unfrozen (around 60-ish). We grew up just having to wear appropriate clothing in the house. Our house in WI was on a lake and was cottage type, that we had to just shut off certain rooms in the winter because they couldn't be heated (radiators). We had 3 bedrooms, but in the winter my 2 sisters & me always slept in the same room/bed in the heated bedroom. :lol: I would get frost on my cheerleading trophies in the winter LOL ("my" room was one of the unheated ones).

My DH and all the boys like to lounge around in the winter in boxers & t-shirts and they complain about being cold, so I let them have 68 degrees in the winter - if they are still cold they need to put on more clothes & some socks. Nobody is cold at night time, we have appropriate bedding for it (blankets under & over the body).

I used to keep the heat at 62 until a few years ago. We would also wait as long as possible to turn the heat on - trying to hold out til November. I remember one year it actually dipped into the upper 50's before we turned it on. None of it really seems to help in our house. I know something is really wrong but I don't know what it is or how to fix it. I leave all the repair type stuff to dh as overall he is very handy, but he doesn't know everything. He doesn't know what to do and since we don't have extra $$ lying around I figure I probably can't really fix whatever the problem is anyway. I will think about the unplugging thing. My ds22 probably uses a lot of electricity. He has 2 computers, 2 fans, an XBox, and a big flat screen tv in his room. If and when he ever moves out we'll probably notice on our electric bill (though I do love him dearly).

 

[skincarekathy]

He has 2 computers, 2 fans, an XBox, and a big flat screen tv in his room. If and when he ever moves out we'll probably notice on our electric bill (though I do love him dearly).

Water bill, too.

Also if your window AC units worked better before (you said that up in another post) you could look at selling your central unit (they are going for record prices now for the scrap value) and getting window units again. If we lived in an old house or if our air ever goes out that is what we will be doing. I think with the efficiency of window units now and the spot-control you get from them they probably cost less to run than central AC if you are disciplined about when & where you need cooled air.

Like we have a raised ranch duplex. The first level is a 3-car garage in the front and behind that is the laundry room, family room, DS16 bedroom and a bathroom. It is on a slab, we have no basement so it always stays around 70 degrees (or a little cooler) down there. The main house is the 2nd story, we have trouble keeping that balanced because of the way the heat pipes run. So we have the downstairs basically shut off from the furnace/AC to drive everything up, but I think that is still not super efficient. Our house was built in 1995 which was the start of the big building boom and also low utility prices and there was just no eye to great workmanship or proper piping for efficiency.

If your furnace is in the garage it is probably needing fresh air to run more efficiently. Leave the garage door open a foot or so and see if that makes any difference. If it does, you can look into cutting in a fresh air vent in your garage wall to allow fresh air to the unit year round.

 

[kewpon addict]

I just got my bill which included a WHOLE WEEK w/out electric and it was $125....I nearly fell over...even w/air it is usually only about 80 bucks...the only thing I can think of is DD's friends running in and out the house all day w/her maybe the air kicks on more? Even for window units? Also, the TV which is only 37 in. is on more as well. Dh gets up from sleeping since he's working nights and is too tired to do anything else for a while..either way I have been lecturing everyone about energy use...can't afford these pricey bills.

 

[kewpon addict]

For heat, I am pretty ruthless. I grew up on Lake Mich (waukegan) until 8th grade then moved to northern WI (minocqua) for high school. I had a single mom with no $ so our heat was always only set enough to keep the pipes unfrozen (around 60-ish). We grew up just having to wear appropriate clothing in the house. Our house in WI was on a lake and was cottage type, that we had to just shut off certain rooms in the winter because they couldn't be heated (radiators). We had 3 bedrooms, but in the winter my 2 sisters & me always slept in the same room/bed in the heated bedroom. :lol: I would get frost on my cheerleading trophies in the winter LOL ("my" room was one of the unheated ones).

My DH and all the boys like to lounge around in the winter in boxers & t-shirts and they complain about being cold, so I let them have 68 degrees in the winter - if they are still cold they need to put on more clothes & some socks. Nobody is cold at night time, we have appropriate bedding for it (blankets under & over the body).

Glad to know I am NOT the only one whose DH wears boxers ALL year long! :lol:

 

[skincarekathy]

Kewpon is it an actual bill or an estimated bill? It will say estimated if it is. If an estimate, tell them to get their butts out there to actually READ your meter.

Their "estimates" always seem to run high, it seems to me

 

[kewpon addict]

Kewpon is it an actual bill or an estimated bill? It will say estimated if it is. If an estimate, tell them to get their butts out there to actually READ your meter.

Their "estimates" always seem to run high, it seems to me

Sadly it is ACTUAL since that is what I always look at now...I learned that lesson the hard way a couple of yrs. ago...during the winter of course.