What's Your Summer Electric Consumption/Bill

[Ima saver]

Wow, getfor free, 15 cents per kwh, that is high. I still have not done any laundry and the washer pulls no power just being plugged in. I don't have a programmable thermostat cause I keep it the same in here all the time. 63 in winter and 76 in summer!

[Kirbycruiser]

Yeah, I will look into the programable thermostats. Thanks, I didn't know they made them.

[34saving]

California/Florida/southern states -- How well are your houses insulated? It seems like my cooling costs are significantly cheaper (even accounting for cheaper electricity and temps only in the 90s) than yours. I wonder if it's because houses around here have to be sooo well insulated (or we'd all be blocks of ice in the winter.). Do ya'll have things like double paned windows and weather stripping? How's the attic insulation? (Most houses around here have attics that are devoted to nothing but insulation!)

[Ima saver]

We have double pane windows. My dh puts R 30 in the attic as far as insulation goes. I have seen some local builder put it R 13 or less, and that makes the bills high for life. Georgia has no codes, but it is changing this year, but still they do not inspect for insulation. That is something to check when you buy a house.
Southern standard building codes call for R 30 in the attic.

[Kirbycruiser]

I think some of the newer homes are better but in general I do not know anybody with double pane windows. We have insulation in the attics although probably not as much as you do up north. And yes we use weather stripping (speaking of it's time to replace mine). I have noticed alot of price difference per kw used from state to state. I have also heard that I should get heavier curtains to help but I would hate to make it dark and gloomy.

[Ima saver]

I don't like dark and gloomy, that is why I have no curtains. We never had double pane windows when we lived in fla. either. But it is so hot, our electric bill in fla. was like $400 a month and that way more than 20 years ago.

[DivaJen]

Originally Posted by 34saving

California/Florida/southern states -- How well are your houses insulated? It seems like my cooling costs are significantly cheaper (even accounting for cheaper electricity and temps only in the 90s) than yours. I wonder if it's because houses around here have to be sooo well insulated (or we'd all be blocks of ice in the winter.). Do ya'll have things like double paned windows and weather stripping? How's the attic insulation? (Most houses around here have attics that are devoted to nothing but insulation!)

There wasn't any insulation in the attic - DH put some in the first summer we lived here and it made a big difference. A few years later we replaced the original (1939) windows with double-sided windows, and again we noticed a nice difference (helped with noise reduction too). We don't have a/c and live near the coast, so by and large we don't need it. It doesn't get too cold in the winter either, although I think our house could stand some weather stripping or something to help with drafts around the doors.

My last electric bill was $39.

[getforfree]

We have an old house and very thin insulation, doublepane windows. But when the difference between outside and inside is like 30 degrees, AC has to work a lot. It was 114 today, but the night will be 72, so I hope I can open the windows after midnight today.

[Kirbycruiser]

A $30.00 electric bill, I would just cry with joy.

[Ima saver]

I had bills that low in the 60's!! (1960's)

[34saving]

Originally Posted by getforfree

We have an old house and very thin insulation, doublepane windows. But when the difference between outside and inside is like 30 degrees, AC has to work a lot. It was 114 today, but the night will be 72, so I hope I can open the windows after midnight today.

I think that's what the insulation standards are based on. (The difference that the house has to be able to deal with.) Around here -30 is unusual, but it happens, so if you want your house at 70 your house has to deal with a 100 degree difference. Luckily even in the hottest place on the planet it doesn't get to 170, so no houses have to deal with a 100 degree difference on the cooling side of things. I do wonder if places like California could deal better with weather like they're having now if houses were insulated better. (I have no idea what the cost effectiveness of insulation is in warm places, but some types of insulation are really cheap!)

[Kris10Leigh]

Here's a question:

We like our house at a chilly 68 degrees. Yes, I know. DH and I both have allergies, so opening the windows is miserable and we end up spending the money we've saved at the doctor or on Allegra. My allergies always lead to sinus infections if not kept in check. We are in a newer neighborhood so we have only baby trees and basically 0 shade. I go to my friends house where they rarely turn the air on and their house is rather comfortable. They have trees!! Big, glorious trees! If we turn our air off, it is miserable!!! Also, I can't sleep upstairs with the air higher than 68. We mostly keep it that low for our night time comfort, but we are chilly during the day.

Would it lower our cost to raise the air during the day and lower it again during the night? Or would that actually cost more in the long run? And is that wear and tear on the A/C?

[Ima saver]

If you can stand it warmer, raise the temp in the house in the day time, it will save you money and your ac unti won't have to run quite as much.
I just checked to see how much a medium low of wash cost to do, in cold water, of course. The cost was less than 2 cents. It is the dryer that uses up all the elec.
I am going to let my clothes sit in the dryer for several hours, so they can dry some on their own.

[getforfree]

Thank you lma. If the cost of running the laundry machine is like 2 cents, and because I overused the electricity for this month, so I am paying double, my cost is 4 cents. So, for the last week, and the next 10 days, if I do 4 loads instead of 16, and postpone the other 12. Lets see... If those 12 loads will cost me 2 c each and not 4 c each, I will save only 24 c. I line-dry anyways. Every time I have to go outside and hang it or take it off I remind myself, that I am saving at least 40c by doing that.

I did 2 loads yesterdyay. Dh didn't have any clean work clothes, and I didn't have any work pants too. Ds didn't have any shorts left, and dd didn't have any shirts, the last 2 days she was wearing my Ds shirts that are too big for her. Sometimes kids clothes stays clean for 2 days, sometimes you need to change them 3 times a day.
So, I just selected the stuff that we need. I had some free space in the white load, so all the white socks and underware got washed too. I still have about 2 loads of dirty clothes left.

[getforfree]

Did another load of whites today, just , hope I won't have to do any more untill the 6th. Maybe just one of dark clothes, because dh's workshirts are navy color. But the pants are light, so I had to do it today, or he won't have any pants for tomorrow.

[Ima saver]

My kwh ran over 60 yesterday. That means I am getting really close to being over budget in my electricity envelope!! Of course, i ran the dishwasher, did one load of clothes (and drier) and used my water filteration machine. Plus the air ran a lot, upstairs and down.

[banana]

It's too hot here! Heat index around 110! My ac is running non-stop I am sure my electric bill will be high this month!

[Ima saver]

Mine too banana. It runs non stop upstairs, I wish the computer and treadmill were downstairs!! I am sweating now!!

[Ima saver]

I used 68 kilowatts yesterday, that is my highest useage for the year.

[lynclarke]

The next bill is in 1561 kwh for $142.05. Considering it was 101 yesterday, I don't think the next bill will be any better. The thermostat is still set on 80. lynclarke