$300 gas bill in January

[SirChadwick]

My wife and I just purchased a home in North Atlanta 6 months ago. which is 2-story 2100 sq ft We have both gas and electric. Electric bill is approx $70 each month. Our gas is for our stove/oven, heat, and water. I normally run the heater at about 63-65 tops because we keep it fairly cool in our home.

In November our gas bill was $235. In December it was $165. Jan was $305.

I called to talk to a customer service rep thinking we may have a leak or a bad reading but she assured me this is pretty normal. It just amazes me how we've used twice as many therms this month as we did last month as conservative as we are.

Does this sound normal to you? Sorry I'm just not used to a gas bill this high. At least we renewed our contract for another 18 months at only .87 cents per therm so that will ease the pain this year.

 

[olds]

It could be normal and probably is. You'd probably smell a leak.

 

[Tea Bag]

It was in the old two story I rented, and we usually kept our heat between 60-68 (gone and home)

 

[Vette73]

Yea that sounds normal.


Things to do to lowwer it...

More insulation
Programmable thermostat
Seal leaks around windows, door, electrical outlets, etc?
Replace you home air filter. (Use the cheapest pleated one)
Check/Replace ductwork in house if leaking and/or not insulated.
Lowwer temp on water heater
Clean water heater. (Drain about a gallon or 2 of water out of it)


Lowes starting this friday has Apex 230 caulk buy one get one free. They also have some discount on insualtion as well.
Go to lowes.com and click the link near the top right for a $10 off $50 coupon right now.

 

[Homerboy]

could be they took an actual meter reading.
You should point out you're in ATL too.

WTH is this talk about contracts and such for heating?

 

[SirChadwick]

Thanks guys.... I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something here. I miss my old Aug gas bill of $27.

Things should be back to norm soon. Guess I could always do the even payment plan as well to keep payments regulated.

 

[boomerang]

Our last bill was big. We were gone for two weeks with the thermostat set at 60 too. Normally at 70. It was a cold month.

Check into getting an energy audit done. It will tell where you have issues and maybe put your mind to rest.

 

[SpiderWiz]

Ours was $340. Central Ohio here.

 

[SirChadwick]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Yea that sounds normal.


Things to do to lowwer it...

More insulation
Programmable thermostat
Seal leaks around windows, door, electrical outlets, etc?
Replace you home air filter. (Use the cheapest pleated one)
Check/Replace ductwork in house if leaking and/or not insulated.
Lowwer temp on water heater
Clean water heater. (Drain about a gallon or 2 of water out of it)


Lowes starting this friday has Apex 230 caulk buy one get one free. They also have some discount on insualtion as well.
Go to lowes.com and click the link near the top right for a $10 off $50 coupon right now.

Very helpful post here. Thanks. I guess we could always go w/ more insulation. We have the prog. thermo. Our front door could definitely seal up a bit tighter.

Bingo on lowering the temp on the water heater... crap, I forgot that I turned it up to 120 b/c my wife was complaining about cold showers.

I'll check out Lowes this weekend for some pick-me-ups.

 

[SirChadwick]

Originally posted by: boomerang
Our last bill was big. We were gone for two weeks with the thermostat set at 60 too. Normally at 70. It was a cold month.

Check into getting an energy audit done. It will tell where you have issues and maybe put your mind to rest.

Interesting, never thought about an energy audit. About how much does that run? Who is good to go with?

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: SirChadwick

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Yea that sounds normal.


Things to do to lowwer it...

More insulation
Programmable thermostat
Seal leaks around windows, door, electrical outlets, etc?
Replace you home air filter. (Use the cheapest pleated one)
Check/Replace ductwork in house if leaking and/or not insulated.
Lowwer temp on water heater
Clean water heater. (Drain about a gallon or 2 of water out of it)


Lowes starting this friday has Apex 230 caulk buy one get one free. They also have some discount on insualtion as well.
Go to lowes.com and click the link near the top right for a $10 off $50 coupon right now.

Very helpful post here. Thanks. I guess we could always go w/ more insulation. We have the prog. thermo. Our front door could definitely seal up a bit tighter.

Bingo on lowering the temp on the water heater... crap, I forgot that I turned it up to 120 b/c my wife was complaining about cold showers.

I'll check out Lowes this weekend for some pick-me-ups.

Also forgot. If you can get to the hot pipes put some cheap foam insualtion on them. It is already split so just roll it on and be done. I did this with all my new pipes in our remodel.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: SirChadwick

Originally posted by: boomerang
Our last bill was big. We were gone for two weeks with the thermostat set at 60 too. Normally at 70. It was a cold month.

Check into getting an energy audit done. It will tell where you have issues and maybe put your mind to rest.

Interesting, never thought about an energy audit. About how much does that run? Who is good to go with?

Sometimes they are free or heavily subsidized. It depends on the area in which you live. I would check with the local utility company or companies first. You might want to call the city offices where you live or, of course online.

I've never had one done, but they can be done through our gas company here and are discounted versus a local contractor. It's probably the local contractor that does it, but it's cheaper when set up through the gas company. If that makes sense.

Obviously the advantage is you'll then know where the problems lie and what is most cost effective to throw the money at.

 

[Corbett]

2,400 sf house in Suburban Detroit here. We keep the thermostat @ 70F except when we are gone or sleeping which then we turn it down to 66. Gas for Jan was $300.

 

[RagingBITCH]

You also have to look at your rate. My buddy almost sh!t a brick looking at his bill last month and didn't realize his contract expired...his new month to month rate = a good time bent over.

Of course, you have no basis for comparison for your "previous" rate, but it might be good to ask. Also to note - also have to look at the structure of your home too - vaulted ceilings, super wide open area for both floors (ie, you can look down into the living room or 1st floor from the 2nd floor meaning a lot of open space to heat up, etc)

Marlin had a lot of good tips :thumbsup: