• We should now be fully online following an overnight outage. Apologies for any inconvenience, we do not expect there to be any further issues.

Anyone else fearing their next utility bill?

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Oct 16, 1999
10,490
4
0
I'm dreading mine. Been hot as hell here, plus I've had to run the AC in may basement because of the humidity. Got a programmable thermostat to just pop it on at night so hopefully it won't be too bad. I had a <$70 bill a couple of months ago, I'll be happy if this one is <$200.
 

ZickZJ

Senior member
Aug 25, 2003
285
0
0
Heat indexes have been over 110 here, Oklahoma, for over a week. We're getting a break today and it is supposed to only be 103.

5000ish sq ft house. Programmable thermostats set to 75 when we're not at home, cool the house to 72 before we get home, crank down to 66 at 11pm for some nice cool sleeping.

Last July's electric bill was $112. I expect this month's to be similar.

Geothermal heat and AC FTW!!!

Nope, like shiner says "Geothermal FTW!"

Put it in our new house which is about 2 1/2 times larger than our last house and heating costs are about the same and cooling is actually cheaper!
 

TechAZ

Golden Member
Sep 8, 2007
1,188
0
71
Expecting $320 for July

1800sqFt 3 br house, pool vacuum on about 8 hours a week. Stucco walls, tile roof, inside kept at 75 degrees.
 

datalink7

Lifer
Jan 23, 2001
16,765
6
81
I just paid mine and it was $350.

Have it set at 78 when I'm not home. 75 when I get home. 72 at about 7:00 in the evening and 69 when I go to bed. (this is to save cost. I actually like it at 68 all the time).
 

bfdd

Lifer
Feb 3, 2007
13,312
1
0
I've been trying to figure out why my electric bill is 40 dollars more than it regularly is. This comes after changing all my bulbs to low power CFLs, making sure I keep my lights off, making sure my PC is off, making sure the TV is off. I'm pretty good about conserving electricity, but for some reason my electric bill has jumped from 60 a month to 100+ a month and I don't have an AC.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,675
146
106
www.neftastic.com
It'll be about $320 I'm guessing. Last one I just paid was $250. Makes up for those ~4 months in spring and fall where my electric and gas bills combined are about $100.
 

rcpratt

Lifer
Jul 2, 2009
10,433
110
116
Expecting probably $90-110 for my 1200 sqft apartment. I've tried to run it as little as possible, but hasn't been so easy.
 

Riverhound777

Diamond Member
Aug 13, 2003
3,360
61
91
I don't have AC, but it hasn't gotten over 88 this summer so far. That was pretty uncomfortable, but it's back to down to the 70s now. Gotta love the CA central coast. Plus my utlities are included in rent, so if I did have AC I still wouldn't worry.
 

thraashman

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
11,112
1,587
126
My about 1100 sq ft, 2 bedroom condo bill for June-July was about $185. I keep the thermostat at 76 and any heavily used lights are flourescent. Two months ago it was only $85.
 

Kelvrick

Lifer
Feb 14, 2001
18,422
5
81
$63.04 is my latest bill here in Sacramento for the month of June.

Set at 76 for at home, 79 for sleeping or at work. Only had a few nights in June where I didn't turn it off before going to sleep.
 

SlitheryDee

Lifer
Feb 2, 2005
17,252
19
81
Mine will be between 150 and 200. Last bill was 180. I guess a lot of people think that's high, but I'm damn well not going to suffer in my own house, and it's offset by the $50-$60 bills I'll get all winter. I should mention that my house is pretty big. It's a 4 BR, 3 Bath (unsure of square footage).

Last year I bought a honeywell digital thermostat and programmed it to turn on the A/C about 15 minutes before I get home from work. It maintains the temperature at 68 degrees until 12:00 A.M. when it goes up to 70 degrees and then 72 degrees at 2 A.M. At 8:00 A.M. it goes to 95 degrees (effectively off) and back down to 72 at 4:45. This way I never have to touch it and it's cool enough for comfort when I'm normally home, awake or asleep.

After doing this my bill went down $70 a month on average. Mostly it was so high because I would often forget to turn it off when I left for work.
 
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DaveJ

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,337
1
81
Nope, like shiner says "Geothermal FTW!"

Put it in our new house which is about 2 1/2 times larger than our last house and heating costs are about the same and cooling is actually cheaper!

How expensive is geothermal? I glanced at some stuff last year while looking at heat pumps and the average cost was $20k+.
 

ZickZJ

Senior member
Aug 25, 2003
285
0
0
How expensive is geothermal? I glanced at some stuff last year while looking at heat pumps and the average cost was $20k+.

It was about 30% more than a 90+ high efficiency natural gas boiler. This was comparing a 100% completely new system.
But after we found that we qualified for a 30% tax credit, the choice was clear.