Who Has Electric Heat?

[Fern]

If you do, can you tell me what your average monthly winter time bill has been for heat and electric, and what the bill is usually in the summer months?

looks doubtful that gas/oil prices will ever go back down much, and i'm curious if all electric heat is still the no-no i always heard it was, if you're looking to buy a house.

[Fern]

Oh, if you can also say how many square feet you've got, that would be most helpful.

[kichu]

We have a 1000 sq ft apt . Our bill for electric and heat in winter vary from 80$ - 90$.
We have electric stove(not a gas stove). I cook daily almost 45 mts - 1 hour. So that is included in the bill. I keep my apt temp at 70. Even if I keep it down my hubby'll turn it up. He hates cold.

[Fern]

Do you mean just $80 to $90 a month for heat and electric? You must not live in the northeast!

[dmontngrey]

I have a 1400 square foot townhouse. Three floors - finished attic, no basement. This place was built in 1989 and has the original windows.

Here is a breakdown of our bills for the past year:
Bill Date Amount
2/21/06 322.77
1/20/06 431.31
12/20/05 220.79
11/17/05 139.92
10/19/05 239.51
9/20/05 123.86
8/18/05 135.40
7/19/05 130.36
6/17/05 100.78
5/19/05 141.07
4/20/05 229.28
3/21/05 285.51

Now I do have 3 fish tanks with 3 heaters and 4 filters. Also, 3 turtle tanks with 3 heaters, 3 lights, and 3 filters. The heaters in 2 of the fish tanks run all year, the rest dont. The turtle lights are on all day but I never turn on the fish lights. I also have a filtered water bowl for the dog and cat.

We have two computers that run most of the time. All of these contribute to the rather high electric bill in the summer months. Oh, and this year we had an air conditioner in the bedroom with fans in the kitchen and on the third floor.

Our heaters are like baseboard heaters, but are located up by the ceiling. Not efficient at all! We use an oil filled space heater on the third floor when needed, otherwise that room heats by sunshine.

As you know, we've had a rather mild winter in the northeast. I think my bills had the potential to be higher, but will be heading down now.

Hope that helped!

[mom-from-missouri]

I have 2200 square feet. House is 100% electric. I have 2 heat pumps-one for upstairs and one for downstairs. I am on the level budget plan at $111 a month. (Right now I have a credit of $87, but there for awhile I had a credit of over $600 from the late summer & fall when I had both set to off). I do have 2 fireplaces. The bedroom one I only use about 1 night a week, & the one in the kitchen I fire up about 3-5 nights a week. I do several things to help conserve energy, but nothing else to actually generate heat.

[contrary1]

Pacific NW here..........I'm on an average plan & am currently paying $150 per month. The home is approx 2400 sq ft. This is just for appliances & lights, no heat. Seems high to me, I'm predicting it will be much lower after we're here for a year. This was the power companies number they picked; but even tho it's winter here, I'm building up a credit in the account. Since we have no AC, our summer won't be using much at all...........then we can get an adjustment in the average number. Until then, it's savings with no interest.

[mom-from-missouri]

Originally Posted by contrary1

Pacific NW here..........I'm on an average plan & am currently paying $150 per month. The home is approx 2400 sq ft. This is just for appliances & lights, no heat. Seems high to me, I'm predicting it will be much lower after we're here for a year. This was the power companies number they picked; but even tho it's winter here, I'm building up a credit in the account. Since we have no AC, our summer won't be using much at all...........then we can get an adjustment in the average number. Until then, it's savings with no interest.

Have you double checked with your electric co??? Ours will re examine our accounts every 6 months if we request it. Mine orginally came up with the number or $240 a month. After 6 months I called and they brought it down to $190, after several years, low engery bulbs and constant turning items off, I have it to $111 and still have a credit. On the bill and on their website it said it would be adjusted yearly. But, when I called to inquire, the rep on the phone said that I could ask for it to be looked at anytime I wanted, and they would adjust it up to twice a year, or, every 6 months.

[cgiacona]

My house is all electric but I live in Texas so I don't have very cold winters. My house is approx. 2300' sq. feet and my electric bills average $250.00/month.

[Fern]

All very interesting responses.

Another question... do you have zoned heating? That is, do you have 2 or more floors or even rooms with their own thermostats so you can more precisely control where the heat goes?

the condo i looked at has that and i liked the idea very much.

what are your opinions generally on the cost of electric vs. oil and gas? Do you think at this point they're roughly comparable, or do you still think oil/gas is preferable?

[contrary1]

I have only been here 4 months, and when turning on the power, they weren't willing to give me the average payment plan at all. I convinced them to do so, because of my history at the old house. Have been on the average plan there for 16 years, & lowered it 3 times over that period.
The utility co picked the $150. since that was the payment for the old house. (twice as large of a house) So, I know it will go lower. I can try to call after we finish up our winter here, which will put me at the 6 month time too.........Good point, I won't wait til I've been here a year.

Thanks for the reminder!

[dmontngrey]

[quote=Fern]
Another question... do you have zoned heating? That is, do you have 2 or more floors or even rooms with their own thermostats so you can more precisely control where the heat goes?
QUOTE]

Yes. Thermostats in: kitchen (also controls front hallway), half bath (no sense heating this "closet"), living room, bedroom, 2nd bedroom, bathroom (also controls hallway). I have found that these "zones" mean nothing and the thermostats don't do what they're supposed to do. I have the full bath and the kitchen set at 55 and it still feels like you're on fire standing there at times. We thought the thermostats were faulty, so we replaced them. It didn't make a difference.

I'm not sure if it's the fact that the heat is electric that bothers me, or if it's just an extremely faulty system we have. The fact that it's not some sort of vented system and that it's more of a giant space heater setup does appear to be an issue.

Another con is that Massachusetts residents got a break on their tax returns this year. We could deduct expenses paid in November and December on oil or gas used for heat. Not fair to those of us who heat with electric! Who knows? I guess maybe I didn't get hit as hard as those who have gas or oil heat.