Anybody else dread their power bill for this month?!

[cboy4]

It's been over 100 degrees here in Sacramento for about one and a half weeks straight.

And I have not turned off my air conditioner once because it's staying in the 80's overnight!!!!

Aghhhhhh!! Where's the sea breeze?!?!


on edit: EVERYONE MENTION WHETHER YOU KEEP YOUR A/C ON DURING THE DAY ONLY, OR WHETHER IT RUNS 24/7 THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER! (That's what I'm really curious about!) Also, where do you live?

[KittyWampus]

1. Nope, no air conditioning.

[Human Torch]

2. Got it yesterday...it went up $50.

I don't have an air conditioner, just a series of fans...but in the 110-plus heat of the last few days, all they really do is push the hot air around. Night before last it was 90 degrees at 1:00 AM.

Total bill this month: $158.

:patriot:

[The Cleaner]

6. Just fans - and $158?

That just doesn't square. Unless the fans were like 600 watts per fan. Question - how the @#(#@ do you do it without A/C??

I dread my bill, hasn't come yet. It's been in the 100s here in north texas, albeit we have dipped into the upper nineties the last couple of days.

I expect just under $200.

Anyone else got their bill yet?

[Human Torch]

25. It's a mystery...

I have four fans in the room I use as an office, one in the living room, one in the bedroom.

I live in a townhouse (rent, not own) which means the homeowners association doesn't allow window air conditioners. Last month Consumer Reports had an article on the portable room-to-room models and said that most don't come close to the advertised cooling level. So I get by with fans.

That means that at on the worst days I do most of my work before the sun comes up...3:00 AM or earlier. Between 4:00 PM and 3:00 AM the next day, the room is an uninhabitable blast furnace.

We're supposed to have a "gradual" cooling trend starting today. Hope they're right.

:toast:

[keta11]

3. I pay flat fee included in the rent!! n/t

[Fierce]

4. I don't have air-conditioning.

So, no.

[pooja]

5. no--guess florida has figured something out... we have our

normal hot weather. My bill went up about $10.00 which is normal for jul and aug. its actually higher in the winter sometimes if its cold.

[Crazy Dave]

16. $10 would be a welcome increase for me

My poor old house still needs upgrades. Any extreme temperatures, hot or cold, my bills increase over %50.

[Libby2]

7. Yes, I do.

Very much.

[misanthrope]

8. Welcome to the Deep South...

...where the air conditioner clicks on in late March and doesn't go off until November. Wouldn't be so bad if the electric company had any competition, but...

[cboy4]

15. I'm just curious. Do you actually keep it running 24/7?

!!

[misanthrope]

29. Down here...

...you pretty much have to, especially if you have emphysema like I do. It's not uncommon to find heat indices of six to ten degrees in the middle of the night due to the humidity.

Gulf Coast weather is pretty oppressive. Average day is in the mid-90s with humidity from 55% on up. Nighttime usually has lows in the 70s with humidity in the 80s and higher.

Without air conditioning, mold and mildew will overtake everything in your house. Books and photos will ruin. Bread will last only about a day or so. It permeates everything.

[cboy4]

37. OMG. Thanks for writing back.

[misanthrope]

41. It's not for the weak of heart...

...especially when you add hurricanes to the mix.

[cboy4]

46. Oh, I bet.

[China_cat]

9. I'm in SC, have to have AC and dehumidifier to breathe

this month's bill was $43.30.

[demnan]

10. No but I do dread

the mortgage (escrow gone up again this year)
the gas (don't have to tell you that one)
food (because the truckers have to buy gas)
auto repair bill (because the car is getting old and I'm too broke to replace it.


Anything else?

[Gormy Cuss]

11. My poor A/C unit has never worked this hard.

I'm figuring another $100, easily. We did turn off the beast last night. It is a bit cooler down here at night even with this nasty heat (only two nights that stayed too hot for sleeping.)

Allegedly it may not reach 100 degrees today. Yesterday it was a balmy 108 on my patio so I'm not holding my breath.

On edit: this is in the SF inland East Bay (Contra Costa)

[meegbear]

12. Just got mine yesterday ...

I moved into a new condo in a renovated building (I'm the first owner) with my own central air. Programmed the thermostat for different temps, the place was always cold, and my bill ... $33!

:woohoo:

[zonkers]

13. I have had success reducing my bill by cutting off A/C to bathrooms and

by covering a direct-sun window with a sheet. Big difference. Also, a full fridge keeps cooler than an empty one. I live in an apt. and my bill was a killer last month.

[whistle]

14. I've been tracking my usage all month, last month the power company

...misread the meter and stuck an extra 1,000 kwh on that I had not used. They adjusted the figure as soon as I called about it. So to keep them honest I've been reading my daily usage and it also has allowed me to make adjustments in my AC temp to where I'm comfortable, but not wasting power. I am still expecting a $275 utility bill this month, Florida July being what it is. Our utility bill includes water, sewer and trash pick-up and an impossible state utility tax which as near as I can figure is about 8.5% of the gross amount. I also expect an unannounced fuel increase charge adjustment

[alarimer]

17. Yes my latest bill was $169

for a one-bedroom apartment. I have turned up the thermostat as high as I can stand it (80 degrees) but it doesn't really help lower the bill.

[soothsayer]

19. Yipes! Where do you live that it's so high?

[alarimer]

35. Texas

Where it is approximately 1000 degrees all the time. I've been running it since April and bills have consistently been in the $140 range. But it was hotter this last billing cycle.

I might add that dereugulation is why our electric bills are so high. People voted for deregulation because they were promised it would save them money. Which turned out to be an Enron-sized lie.

[cboy4]

21. Holy crap.....$169 for a one bedroom???!!!

[alarimer]

38. I have it as hot as I can stand it

Guess I can give up food or something. Even in winter it is $70. all thanks to deregulation.

[cboy4]

43. Well that sucks!

[azmouse]

18. This is the time of year when my electric bill is the highest.

I pay about $350 a month during the summer but my bill in the winter is usually around $100 a month.

[cboy4]

23. Good, someone from Arizona!!!!......so, do you keep your

A/C on every single day through summer, without turning it off?

Is the $350 for a regular size house, or gulp, an apartment?

Cuz, you guys get "lows" that remain in the 90's and upper 80, right?

At least we get a sea breeze which generally cools things down at night.

[azmouse]

32. There is no way I would turn off the AC all summer long.

We usually start using the AC in late April and can turn it off in early Oct.
Now I know that sounds horrible but realize that the AC does cycle on and off. Early and late in the AC season it only runs a little bit during the day. This past week we have had record highs over 112 degrees so the AC needs to run a bit more but it still cycles.
In the winter, we seldom need any heat at all so my electric bill is for lights more than for heat so my bill is low.

I have a 3000 sqft home and a pool with a pump that runs about 6 hrs a day.

We have had 11 days so far where the 'low' temp didn't get below 90 degrees!! That's much too hot!

[cboy4]

39. Interesting. Well, it sounds like $350 is worth it to stay comfortable,

especially living in a pretty big house w/ a pool. :)

[trotsky]

20. I am extremely thankful

that we installed a new efficient A/C and got new windows for the whole house a couple of years ago. Our power bill is high, but much better than it could be.

[Saphire]

22. I'm hearing horror stories here in san antonio....300.00 to 500.00

dollars for 1 month...mine was a paultry 250.00.

[kestrel91316]

24. Today is our 20th day in a row over 100, with last Sat. 119. The AC, even

set at 80-82, runs late into the night. No way I can turn it off and open windows and doors at night like I normally do with the exception of, typically, 2 or 3 nights in late August.

I have one of those programmable thermostats so I let it go up to 85 during the day, but more than that is not nice for my kitties. Fortunately I have a HUGE pecan tree right up against my house on the west side, so the roof and AC unit on the roof get shade all afternoon. Otherwise it simply would not be possible to keep this house a liveable temperature.

[LiberalEsto]

26. Ours was $230

due to the 32% rate hike by PEPCo in Maryland.

:grr: :grr: :grr:

[Epiphany4z]

27. scared poop-less

I live in a modular home..you cannot live in one of these without air conditioning. I used the air maybe 5 days last month..$177.00...this month has been nearly the opposite..I have used the air every day except maybe 5....I am starting to freak out we are barley hanging on...gas prices up...electric up....food up..health insurance up...wages?....not so up....I am trying to keep one kid in college and have another set to go in 2 yrs....3 others to cloth and feed...argg..ok I'm gona give myself a panic attack...but ya i am worried about my next electric bill.

[catmandu57]

28. We got ours Saturday

I asked my wife if she knew how to do CPR before I opened it. We've had one window unit running night and day, and recently installed another unit to keep the dining room and kitchen cooler, 67.00 highest we've ever had.
If it were just me I'd sweat under a fan, my wife however, she thinks 70 is too hot and demands air conditioning, I keep the thermostat turned up when she isn't here.
Our electric company just asked for a twenty percent increase from the Public Service Commission, in the past they've been pretty good about turning down the increase, but since the piggies have stolen the state I don't hold out much hope that they'll at least be kept to a single digit increase.

[cboy4]

42. "...how to do CPR before I opened it." AH HAHAHAHAHA!!!

:spray:

Now that was funny!!

[SmokingJacket]

30. No air conditioning.... just a couple fans which we use only at night

No point in moving hot air around -- we use the fans to pump the cooler night air into the house, so that it stays reasonably cool (ie, under 85) during the day. Of course, this is upstate NY, and it usually only gets in the high 90s a couple times a summer.

It's the WINTER bills that kill us here!

[OhioChick]

31. I dread getting my electric bill, as well.

July and August are usually the highest/hottest. I do run my AC day and night. Don't have much choice, my kid has allergies and we have a Siberian Husky. (Couldn't torture either of them by shutting it off)

on edit: spelling

[titoresque]

33. $240 in Az.

We have a pool though and I stay home. So the kids are in and out and we have the air set at 75 during the day and 80 at night and in the a.m. until around noon.

I turn the air conditioning off in Mid October (usually) until the beginning of Dec. and then we turn the heat off again in Feb. and use only fans until it heats up in May. So we try to take advantage of the warm winters we have here and the Awesome spring weather. But the summer is a killer!

[azmouse]

45. Why 80 at night? I'm curious.

The outside temps are a little lower so you could cool the house by a few degrees at night easier than during the day... and it would be a little more comfortable for sleeping.
I've heard of others that do that but I set the thermostat down at night and let it get a bit warmer inside as the day heats up outside.

[titoresque]

49. We have an old block house

sits north to south and no direct sunlight through the windows. It just gets too cold for me at night and the 80 degrees feels freezing in the a.m....even right now I'm cold. My wife has to have a fan on at night and she would run the ac at 75 all night so we compromise with 80 and a fan in the bedroom.

Also, we've had Mpower for about 6 years. It really helps to keep track of things. We even discovered a problem with one of the outlets that we were using to plug the Mpower box into. It was sucking 4 times the amount of power in the house than it does now that we moved the box to another outlet. Weird.

I've also installed a misting line on our back patio and it seems to help keep the dining room and kitchen a little cooler....not sure if it will make a difference though in the bill. Just put it up this week.

[CabalPowered]

34. I'm amazed at how much of a role geography and coverage makes

My buddy turns on his A/C for about an hour each day and his house never gets higher than 78. He has trees and neighbors all around him. He has very little southern exposure and his garage is on the south side.

One mile away at my house, my A/C stays on for at least 16 hours a day. I have one neighbor to the east and two trees which are on the north side. After about noon, the A/C can't even keep up.

[sleipnir]

36. I bought an AC that has an efficiency of 11(the scale goes to 10)

Yes, it's a very Spinal Tap-esque AC, but it really does go to 11 on efficency. It was pretty cheap, about 150 Bucks and I'm certain it's already paid for itself in the two years I've owned the thing. My portion of the electric bill in the summmer is usually 20-30 a month. It's smart enough to run on a fan/AC mix and other things. My computer, router and sound system take up more energy. Oh, and it keeps my room very cool. Now, the rest of the apartment is not air conditioned, but hey, I don't have a million dollars for energy.

[midnight armadillo]

40. Last month was $166.67

2 bed apartment, boston area, 2 newish (1-2 years old, EER 10.1 I think) window air conditioners typically only used at night, electric stove and oven, and a monstrous, ancient, thru-wall AC in the living room. I'm guessing it's from the mid-80's.

Without the thru-wall AC, I'd pay half this much. We need AC in the boy's (nearly 3 and 4 months) room since the older one has asthma, and the thru-wall is used in the day to keep the living room cool since the infant has had some health issues and he doesn't do well in the heat. This old AC uses 220V power, is loud as heck, and doesn't cool too well. The landlord won't allow another AC unit in the window in that room, which would save me money :( I asked if they ever replaced these beasts, and they said no, the newer ones aren't as reliable. Cheap bastards.

The apartment is barely insulated brick, with shitty 30-year old single-pane aluminum frame windows, and the kitchen and one bedroom face due south with no shade. I added a mylar sheet to 1/2 the kitchen window this year that helps tremendoiusly (it's see through, like looking through sunglasses, from www.mirrorsheeting.com) with the kitchen heat.

So, this month will be as bad as the last, no doubt. I've fixed our PC so that Firefox isn't sucking down 100% of the CPU time anymore, which saves us some watts, and the monitor goes off after 5 minutes of idle time. All our lights are compact fluorescents.

[BonnieJW]

44. Ask your power company

to put you on a budget program. They take the total you spent on power last year, divide it by 12, and you pay the same amount every month. It's much easier to budget and there are no summer suprises. Also, we have those honeycomb blinds on our windows which take 10 degrees off. And finally, whenever we've moved into any house or townhouse, the very first thing we do is install an attic fan. It costs about $150 and it's the best investment you'll ever make. It sucks the hot air out of the house and makes even the upstairs cool. It doesn't start up until the temp in the attic reaches 120 degrees.

[watercolors]

47. Last month was highest I've had so far

dread this months! In central Fl. AC is on 24hr, we keep it at 80 degrees, house is energy efficient.
Acual bill was $84, but take note on your bill of fuel cost, mine was $115, unbelievable. Last year same time bill was $89, entire bill, I am shocked.

[BrotherBuzz]

48. Nope, I'm in the valley just west of Sacramneto...

and it's been hotter than stink but we do not use or even own an A/C. We use fans and close our old house down before the heat kicks in. It's uncomfortable, but if my grandparents endored it, we can too, plus we have a cool wine celler to retreat to.

Now, my water bill may be another story. :shrug:

[RebelOne]

50. My A/C is on 24/7.

But my bill has never been over $90. I live in a mobile home, which isn't terribly big. I have 2 window units, one in the back bedroom and one in the living room. It helps that my house is surrounded by big trees that give me lots of shade. I leave the A/C on during the day while I'm at work for my two dogs. After all, they have fur coats. I live northwest of Atlanta, GA. Yesterday, the weather was quite nice, only hit a high of 83. Today, though, it is supposed to go almost to 90.

[Nicole]

51. By bill came last week, $83

I have a central AC that I leave on 24/7 starting in April every year, this year I turned it on in March. I might turn it off mid Sept, some years it runs until Oct.

It's been in 100°s here in Oklahoma for most of the month. We are enjoying a cool down in the 90°'s for a few days, back to 100° tomorrow.