Gas Bill

[Neurorelay]

I live in the moutains of So. Cal....and as anyone who lives in cold regions, the gas company will try to rape you. $500 dollar gas bill, dang this 40 year old house in need of double pane windows and fresh insulation.

We are running off a central heating system...natural gas.

 

[rh71]

Also have an old house - 50 years old.. need double-glass windows also... but oil heat is "only" costing us $300/mo. in the winter.

 

[Ryan]

Haha - see, everyone hates on FL because we get hurricanes, yet, at least we aren't getting raped in the winter with heating bills

 

[rmrf]

damn, I complained about my ~$200 bill (that was the highest) last winter. If I run my woodstove, I can get it to stick right around $50 if it stays above zero.

 

[RU482]

I live in the tundra of Iowa
my gas bill last month was $45...heat and hot water
thank god for the programmable thermostat

 

[wchou]

wow that is spensive~!!! holy cows!!! i would get a heart attack if i see this kind of bill. wooweeeeee ...

 

[Xylitol]

Electric heaters FTW

 

[Vic]

Assuming that they charged you for what you actually used, how did they try to rape you?

<- also has old house, but doesn't blame the gas company

 

[kitkat22]

Considering that you pay $500 for, let's say, 3 months. That's 1500 down the flusher each year and that will probably get worse with heating prices going up. I would invest in insulation and windows pretty quick. There's other things you can do to help keep the costs down. Invest in a $30 thermostat with a scheduling feature. Check the seals around your door, replacing padding and such should only cost approx. $20-30. Change your filters often. Wear a sweater

 

[Neurorelay]

Originally posted by: Vic
Assuming that they charged you for what you actually used, how did they try to rape you?

<- also has old house, but doesn't blame the gas company

I believe it is a form of rape, because we actually used less heat therms then we did last year....the new tiering system they uses actually punishes people who use more then they think they should...problem is, my 80 year old grandmother is hospice and needs the extra heat. In the end I just pay the bill, but it is outrageous.

 

[rmrf]

does your grandmother move from room to room often? I would get a programmable thermostat, and get a oil radiator for her room.

I set my thermostat like this:

9pm-5am = 62F
5am-8am = 67F
8am-5pm = 62F
5pm-9pm = 67F

I usually run the fireplace in evening, which depending on the temp, keeps the house at ~70F.

 

[Neurorelay]

Originally posted by: rmrf
does your grandmother move from room to room often? I would get a programmable thermostat, and get a oil radiator for her room.

I set my thermostat like this:

9pm-5am = 62F
5am-8am = 67F
8am-5pm = 62F
5pm-9pm = 67F

I usually run the fireplace in evening, which depending on the temp, keeps the house at ~70F.

I was considering converting the 30 year old thermostat to digital, wondered what the considerations are in doing so.

 

[wchou]

i know how much of a ripoff this is cause they charge astronomical prices! you either pay or off with your gas! ouch. triple aoumt of what we usually pay prior to 2001. my bill went from 70-110 to 210-330. that's just last year thought in the month of december, jan, feb and then 200 in march, 150 in april, 120 in may... and still 60-70 in the summer. it's insane, their raping us because they can. why does everything get so expensive theseday and our job don't pay much either. life is becoming very difficult. someone is getting rich off this $$$

 

[Yreka]

Originally posted by: redly1
I live in the tundra of Iowa
my gas bill last month was $45...heat and hot water
thank god for the programmable thermostat

You should thank god you don't live in CA. Energy costs out here are out of control.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: Yreka

Originally posted by: redly1
I live in the tundra of Iowa
my gas bill last month was $45...heat and hot water
thank god for the programmable thermostat

You should thank god you don't live in CA. Energy costs out here are out of control.

Well it depends. I keep my house at 62 degrees. It doesnt come out too costly. My apartment? LoL. Body heat + computers FTW! We've never turned on the heater yet.. And all you So.Cal people, stop whining... We're NORCAL here by the bay and here on the east bay, across from SF, it's around freezing @ night.

 

[jadinolf]

Snickers at twenty-four dollar gas bill.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Ryan
Haha - see, everyone hates on FL because we get hurricanes, yet, at least we aren't getting raped in the winter with heating bills

really, I'd rather get "raped" money-wise than raped like you guys.

 

[Yreka]

Originally posted by: DLeRium

Originally posted by: Yreka

Originally posted by: redly1
I live in the tundra of Iowa
my gas bill last month was $45...heat and hot water
thank god for the programmable thermostat

You should thank god you don't live in CA. Energy costs out here are out of control.

Well it depends. I keep my house at 62 degrees. It doesnt come out too costly. My apartment? LoL. Body heat + computers FTW! We've never turned on the heater yet.. And all you So.Cal people, stop whining... We're NORCAL here by the bay and here on the east bay, across from SF, it's around freezing @ night.

Thats exactly where I am, over the hill from you in Livermore. I would be with you on the low temp + extra clothes, but we have a 3 yr old at home, so we have to keep the temp up to a reasonable level. If you have ever been around a sick toddler, you will know why we pay the extra for heat

 

[funboy6942]

House I bought was built in 1947 (see sig) new HVAC and gas cost me so far under $100 per month

 

[rmrf]

Originally posted by: Neurorelay

Originally posted by: rmrf
does your grandmother move from room to room often? I would get a programmable thermostat, and get a oil radiator for her room.

I set my thermostat like this:

9pm-5am = 62F
5am-8am = 67F
8am-5pm = 62F
5pm-9pm = 67F

I usually run the fireplace in evening, which depending on the temp, keeps the house at ~70F.

I was considering converting the 30 year old thermostat to digital, wondered what the considerations are in doing so.

It wasn't difficult at all. The programmable thermostat's come with a pretty decent guide on which color wires go where, and if you need to run new wires, 2 or 3 pair phone wire will do fine. it took me longer to program the thermostat than it did to tear the old one off and hook the new one up.

 

[bonkers325]

Originally posted by: Neurorelay
I live in the moutains of So. Cal....and as anyone who lives in cold regions, the gas company will try to rape you. $500 dollar gas bill, dang this 40 year old house in need of double pane windows and fresh insulation.

We are running off a central heating system...natural gas.

$700 in central new york

 

[Yzzim]

Keep my house 60º when no one is home (thinking of lowering it to 55º) and crank it up to 70º when I get off work.

Heat bill for last month was $130

 

[Torghn]

Wow, and I thought my $30 was way too high, it was $11 last month.

 

[rmrf]

Originally posted by: Yzzim
Keep my house 60º when no one is home (thinking of lowering it to 55º) and crank it up to 70º when I get off work.

Heat bill for last month was $130

I thought making the furnace crank up the heat that much in one shot was actually less efficient than just keeping it at a certain temp?