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Malkin wrote:

Last month our was about $35, but we pay a little extra for wind power.

How old are your ACs?  If they are older, you may benefit from purchasing new Energy Star appliances.

The built in wall units came with the house which we purchased 6 years ago. The lamest one which is the central unit for the downstairs living area is so old its branded "FORD" with the auto logo. It must be really old. We would replace this one especially but the built in wall units are expensive to replace and not to many places will do it. I called Sears to get a price and they couldn't confirm whether the Co. they contracted with replaced built in wall units. Oh well, maybe next year.

The problem with keeping the window unit on in our bedroom/attached nursery 24/7 lately is that we need our kids to be comfortable to get the little brats to bed. Also, I'm the type of person who needs a regular fan on them in the middle of winter even. Something about the air circulation and the noise soothes me to sleep. I would never sleep w/out AC in the summer. Call me spoiled.

Last edited by wellfleation (2006-07-22 11:18 pm)

We're getting hosed here in Florida because of the hurricanes we saw the last couple of of years. We saw a $185 bill last month (after a $10 credit) and a $175 bill this month. Up to last and including last year the highest bill was $155 and the usage was nearly half again higher then. When we saw that we started raising the AC temperature a couple degrees and switching to lower wattage florescent bulbs. Summer is our high usage season in Florida.

ScifiterX wrote:

We're getting hosed here in Florida because of the hurricanes we saw the last couple of of years. We saw a $185 bill last month (after a $10 credit) and a $175 bill this month. Up to last and including last year the highest bill was $155 and the usage was nearly half again higher then. When we saw that we started raising the AC temperature a couple degrees and switching to lower wattage florescent bulbs. Summer is our high usage season in Florida.

I heard it gets rather hot and humid in FL.

We in Massachusetts pay a 6% higher electrical rate when compared to the average US rate. Why, I have no idea. Maybe if Ted Kennedy would stop blocking the wind farm proposal off the coast of Martha's Vineyard (the rich people like him don't want the eye sore when they go boating it would seem ) then maybe this wouldn't be the case.

Our electric bill in summer is around $450 and in winter it can get as high as $750.  I'm not sure how much of that is for the house, but we are paying a reduced rate for electricity compared to urban folk.  We just did a complete rewiring program, including installing energy efficient lights, motors, and a variable speed vacuum pump for the milking equipment to help cut the energy usage.

Malkin wrote:

Some good tips and cost saving ideas here.

Heh. I like the "Computers" section that basically tells you to switch to a Mac.

I haven't seen the bill since we started using the AC. We held out for quite a while before it just got to be unbearable, so maybe it won't be so bad.

We run around 30-35 dollars in the summer.  The place is mainly cooled via window fans.  But then again, the "really hot summer" lasts for all of two weeks.

Tallgeese wrote:

I've replaced all my light bulbs with CF ..<SNIP>

Cold Fusion eh? now that's the ticket.

I don't use A/C, just four strategically placed fans and hell remember folks I don't often wear pants.

pastor macman wrote:

We are getting a heatwave here in the central valey of California. It's been temps over 100º for about 3-4 weeks straight. 113º today with high humidity (we had thundershowers yesterday with temps around 103º).

We have a central AC that was added when we purchased the house. It doesn't put out enough volume fast enough. It pretty much runs 24/7 but only keeps the house down to about 85º. We only have a 1200 sq/ft prefab house.

Is the insulation that bad that it only cools the house off to 85º?

$25 in winter, $50 in summer.

I just leave the damn AC unit on 24/7.

Well everybody, I must apologize.  I was wrong about my electric bill.  We got the new statement in the mail today, and we used the most power ever since moving into this house.

Our total bill this month was $26.96.

So my question is, what the heck do you guys DO that your power bills are so darn high!  I have a three bedroom house.  Aaron works at home and runs our window AC unit nearly all day long.  Now like I said before, I know the two of us seem to have a natural tendency to conserve more than others, but really!  I can't imagine having electric bills in the hundreds of dollars.  How many kWh are you using each month?  We used the most ever at 380.  Usually we're under 300.  We have a gas water heater, but our stove, dishwasher, and our washer and drier are all electric.  Really, I'm a bit baffled.

Please, all of you with the big bills.  Do a favor for the environment and your pocketbook!  http://www.energystar.gov/

Last edited by Malkin (2006-07-24 12:10 pm)

Malkin wrote:

Well everybody, I must apologize.  I was wrong about my electric bill.  We got the new statement in the mail today, and we used the most power ever since moving into this house.

Our total bill this month was $26.96.

So my question is, what the heck do you guys DO that your power bills are so darn high!  I have a three bedroom house.  Aaron works at home and runs our window AC unit nearly all day long.  Now like I said before, I know the two of us seem to have a natural tendency to conserve more than others, but really!  I can't imagine having electric bills in the hundreds of dollars.  How many kWh are you using each month?  We used the most ever at 380.  Usually we're under 300.  We have a gas water heater, but our stove, dishwasher, and our washer and drier are all electric.  Really, I'm a bit baffled.

Please, all of you with the big bills.  Do a favor for the environment and your pocketbook!  http://www.energystar.gov/

We usually use between 5500 and 6000 kWh a month in summer and upwards of 9500 kWh in winter.  It must be all the electric motors around here, yet we don't run them all that much.    The big one is the vacuum pump with a 10hp electric motor, and the compressor for the bulk tank cooler with a 2.5hp motor.  They run every day, 5 hours/day for the 10hp and the other kicks on and off all day to keep the milk cool.  The barn cleaner has a 5hp motor, but that only gets used once a week or so, and the silo unloader has a total of 11hp between the three motors but that isn't currently being used as the silo is empty and the cows are on pasture.  Another thing that draws power is the electric fence controllers, which run 24/7/365.  In winter, there are three 1500w heaters running in the cows' water tanks to keep them thawed.  Turn them off and overnight you have 6" of ice over the tank.  Farming is an energy intensive industry.