Utility Bills are killin me

[James Bond]

So a few months ago I moved into a house with a couple long-time friends.

This place is in a more expensive part of the state (Washington), but I didn't think that it would make a very big difference on utility bills. At my apartment, when living alone, I was getting charged like $20/mo for utilities (electric, water).

For the last couple months, in our house, we have been getting charged anywhere from $350-$450/mo. I'm not surprised that it is high, but I didn't expect that high.

We have people over a lot, so the door is opening and closing pretty often. Also, the door doesn't completely shut unless locked (and it still may not be a good seal). My dad checked out the windows (owns a couple window companies) and said that they were actually pretty decent and should hold heat without much trouble.

Does this seem insanely high to anyone? We don't have the heat on at night or anything...

EDIT: Specs:


3 people live there, including me.
4 Desktop Computers, 2 Laptops. The desktop computers go to sleep after an hour or so. The laptops are each used for 2-3hours/night.
We average 1 load of laundry (wash+dry) per day.
~2000sq ft. 2 story.
Xbox360 is on 24/7.
Wii is on 24/7, but seems to do a hibernation type thing.
65"DLP is on ~16 hours/day.

 

[aphex]

something dosen't sound right... when we got bills that high, it was because dumbass me installed the thermostat wrong and the heat and a/c were running simultaneously

Have you checked the meter yourself?

 

[Tiamat]

Is this also only for electricity and water? Do you have them itemized to show how much each utility is costing you? How many people are in the house?

In my apartment, I only pay for cooking gas and electricity. I live by myself in a studio and pay 18$ per month cooking gas, 40$ per month electricity for reference.

 

[Kelvrick]

Do you guys have your computers on all day long? What type of speakers do they have? Big difference between regular computer speakers and someone running a 5.1 receiver with a 250 watt sub and 5x 100watt sats. What about room heaters, do people use those?

Do a lot of laundry? Electric or gas water heater/dryer?

 

[xochi]

It depends, if the house is all electric, poorly insulated and is large or two story. If thats the case then the bill is not out of line.

My last electric bill was about $289, house is all electric, 3000sqf, single story but moderatly insulated with single pane windows. cant afford new ones right now but we do have a new 5 ton heat pump.

Last year the bill was about $380 - $400.

 

[Phokus]

put on more clothing ftw?

 

[Queasy]

The house is probably larger than the apartment so it will cost more to heat/cool. Also check for adequate insulation in the attic and all windows and doors for leaks. Will be as simple as putting your hand along the cracks of the windows/doors and see if you can feel any cool air coming in. Get sealing strips or other sealing products to stop the leaks.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick
Do you guys have your computers on all day long? What type of speakers do they have? Big difference between regular computer speakers and someone running a 5.1 receiver with a 250 watt sub and 5x 100watt sats. What about room heaters, do people use those?

Do a lot of laundry? Electric or gas water heater/dryer?

Actually, using my p3 meter, there isnt much difference between computer speakers w/ subwoofer and the standard ht system during idle, or moderate volumes. If you are blasting the speakers, thats where the difference comes in, but its negligible compared to the amount of power being drawn by the refrigerator, TV, computer monitors (CRTs). This is due to the fact that the speakers only demand a high load of current when they are producing loud volumes. Otherwise, the speakers are very happy with less than 1 watt of power.


OP:
From my estimation, a refrigerator costs about 20$ per month in electricity each. Computers on 24/7 cost another 15-20$ per month each.

Room heaters, dishwasher,laundry,dryer could cause the electricity bill to be quite high as well...

 

[Eli]

It sounds too high.

 

[James Bond]

Ok, I'll give the specs

3 people live there, including me.
4 Desktop Computers, 2 Laptops. The desktop computers go to sleep after an hour or so. The laptops are each used for 2-3hours/night.
We average 1 load of laundry (wash+dry) per day.
~2000sq ft. 2 story.
Xbox360 is on 24/7.
Wii is on 24/7, but seems to do a hibernation type thing.
65"DLP is on ~16 hours/day.

 

[vi edit]

Electric baseboard heat or natural gas?

 

[JujuFish]

Buffalo Bills are killing me.

 

[KB]

Originally posted by: Tizyler
Ok, I'll give the specs

3 people live there, including me.
4 Desktop Computers, 2 Laptops. The desktop computers go to sleep after an hour or so. The laptops are each used for 2-3hours/night.
We average 1 load of laundry (wash+dry) per day.
~2000sq ft. 2 story.
Xbox360 is on 24/7.
Wii is on 24/7, but seems to do a hibernation type thing.
65"DLP is on ~16 hours/day.

Holy crap! Alert Al Gore we have a high carbon footprint here!

For a frame of reference mine is $50/month.
1 person
27" EnergyStar TV on 3 hours a day
One load of laundry a week
1 computer on 2 hours a week
Xbox on 2 hours per day
Heat is oil with an electric fan

I would say $350 is about right for your situation.

 

[Agentbolt]

I read the title too fast and thought this was a thread about Kill Bill.

 

[hanoverphist]

i have a 1600 sq ft house with crappy sash windows that couldnt hold a seal to save my life, 3 kids in and out all the time and a dog that runs back and forth thru a 3 foot doggy door. 4 computers on 24/7 in my office, AC set to 74 and 5 TVs that are on most of the day. all are tubes except my 42 plaz in the living room. i was pissed this month when my bill got up to 132 when it was 110 last month. im having heater issues, so it runs literally all night from about midnite to 7am when i leave. hopefully ill have that fixed this week.

 

[bctbct]

try limiting waste like normal people

 

[cw42]

Why is ur 360 on 24/7? That thing sucks crazy power.

 

[Captante]

Unless you have electric heat somthing is very wrong with that bill.

 

[pyonir]

I never understood people leaving their consoles on 24/7. Is it that hard to just shut it off when you aren't using it? If it saves me 20 cents for that month, then it's 20 cents saved.

 

[slag]

sounds way to high.

I live in a house with my wife and 3 kids. We have 2 32 inch tvs, a 65 inch tv, 4 computers that are on 24x7, xbox or xbox360 that sees a lot of playtime, hot tub on 220v that is continuously running the heater and cycling the water, and lights that are always on because my kids dont seem to turn them off.

my house is 2600 sq ft.

Our last bill was $184.00

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: slag
sounds way to high.

I live in a house with my wife and 3 kids. We have 2 32 inch tvs, a 65 inch tv, 4 computers that are on 24x7, xbox or xbox360 that sees a lot of playtime, hot tub on 220v that is continuously running the heater and cycling the water, and lights that are always on because my kids dont seem to turn them off.

my house is 2600 sq ft.

Our last bill was $184.00

and that sounds way too low. lol.

I pay about half that during the winter for a 700 sq ft apartment with 1 TV (on for 3-4 hours/day), 1 computer (on for 5-6 hours/day), no washer/dryer, and my thermostat set to ~65 (it's 60 for about 16 hours/day and 70 for the other 8)

 

[jersiq]

Is the dryer vent old?
Sometimes the vent clogs up with lint, and it needs to be cleaned out.

I had that problem in my old house, and once I cleaned the vent, my bill dropped ~30%
Dryers suck a lot of juice when operating.
Some signs of a clogged vent are:
-Dryer taking too long to dry clothes.
-Dryer hot to the touch (this of course is relative, no Kidding a dryer will be warm)

FWIW

 

[James Bond]

I got off the phone with the energy company, and the guy I spoke to (who was about my age, mid 20s) said that it sounded pretty accurate.

He said that our gas is about $150/mo, and the electric is also about $150/mo. He said that since it is so cold out, the gas is definitely normal, but the electric is high. Once I told him about all of the stuff we have, he said that it made a little more sense, but he still seemed like it was higher than it should be... Any way I can check if these figures are accurate?

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Tizyler
I got off the phone with the energy company, and the guy I spoke to (who was about my age, mid 20s) said that it sounded pretty accurate.

He said that our gas is about $150/mo, and the electric is also about $150/mo. He said that since it is so cold out, the gas is definitely normal, but the electric is high. Once I told him about all of the stuff we have, he said that it made a little more sense, but he still seemed like it was higher than it should be... Any way I can check if these figures are accurate?

Check your meters? It's possible that it's an estimated bill, they might not read your meter every month.

If you don't think you're using that much electricity, get a Kill-a-Watt and check your major devices. Do you have a dehumidifier?

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: loki8481

Originally posted by: slag
sounds way to high.

I live in a house with my wife and 3 kids. We have 2 32 inch tvs, a 65 inch tv, 4 computers that are on 24x7, xbox or xbox360 that sees a lot of playtime, hot tub on 220v that is continuously running the heater and cycling the water, and lights that are always on because my kids dont seem to turn them off.

my house is 2600 sq ft.

Our last bill was $184.00

and that sounds way too low. lol.

I pay about half that during the winter for a 700 sq ft apartment with 1 TV (on for 3-4 hours/day), 1 computer (on for 5-6 hours/day), no washer/dryer, and my thermostat set to ~65 (it's 60 for about 16 hours/day and 70 for the other 8)

we're on level pay. this is just electricity, not gas or water. house has storm windows, but single pane windows. attached garage is not heated.