upset with my electric bill!

[freebs]

Man i aggravated with my electric bill Last month we used 2593 kw, for a bill of 249.67. SO i took light bulbs out of lights to a total of 7, they were CF anyway but to save i cut them. I also turned ac up to 75 and have it turned off for 6 hrs per day, we only have a window unit to cool the whole house. All lights are shut off during the day, heavy blankets were hung over all windows and i all the laundry except for 2 loads that i used the dryer for. crock pot cooking, toaster oven instead of oven. now we are all electric so no gas bill, no sewer bill and no trash bill. we just have a small water bill of $20 a month. so i read our meter for this month and it is 2511 kw for a total of 241.05. i did all this work for a savings of 8.62 i so wanted to . DH tried to tell me i was doing great as it was hotter this last month but i was so disappointed, hurt...lol. i just needed to get this out and i now that some of ya would understand!...lol

[Ivonna]

I know exactly how you feel. My electric usage actually went up this month and I have also been running the air at 76 or above and doing most of my laundry on the clothes line. It was so depressing that I didn't see any savings but a jump in usage instead! It was also hotter here so I am sure that's the reason but it was very frustrating.

I'm really looking forward to our kids starting school next month. Our usage should drop drastically. We've seen a huge difference in usage between the years that they go to school and the years they homeschooled. Also, my mom will be moving out in about a month so it will just be my dh and I home during the day time.

Ivonna

[baxjul]

(((Hugs))) It's the same way here!!!

[Ilovesewing]

Same here I haven't received my bill yet, but i already know it will be high. The only thing that jumped out at me in your post is your AC. 75 is pretty darned low. I keep ours on 80 and when it's really really hot I'll crank it all the way down to 78 And this was a couple of weeks ago when we went for several days of 112 -114 degrees in a row. Can you bump that AC up a few degrees? It will make a difference.

[shoiji]

Just keep up with what you are doing. Make sure everything that uses electric is turned off or unplugged when not in use. It can be frustrating when you think you are doing well. Can you turn the water heater down? See if you can look up the utility thread to see how other people cut their bill, i.e. putting freezer on a timer, setting water heater to vacation mode, etc. You may find other ideas to help you save. I thought I was doing well with replacing the lightbulbs to CFLs. All except the bathroom lights. When I finally did them the electric went down by about $2 a month. Seriously. Just think of it as a learning process. I am still learning new stuff. Also I see you live in Texas, how long is the summer there? Remind yourself you are not going to be using the AC the way you are all year long.

[Russ]

Here's a list that I found on the US dept of Energy website.
Use the following formula to estimate the amount of energy a specific appliance consumes:

Wattage x Hours Used Per Day = Daily Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption (1 kilowatt (kW) = 1,000 Watts)

Multiply this by the number of days you use the appliance during the year for the annual consumption. You can then calculate the annual cost to run an appliance by multiplying the kWh per year by the cost per kWh consumed. Refer to your most recent energy bill for the latest kilowatt-hour rate.


Household Appliances:

Aquarium = 50-1210 Watts
Clock radio = 10
Coffee maker = 900-1200
Clothes washer = 350-500
Clothes dryer = 1800-5000
Dishwasher = 1200-2400 (using the drying feature greatly increases energy consumption)
Dehumidifier = 785
Electric blanket - Single/Double = 60 / 100
Ceiling fan = 65-175
Window fan = 55-250
Furnace = 750
Whole house = 240-750
Hair dryer = 1200-1875
Heater (portable) = 750-1500
Clothes Iron = 1000-1800
Microwave oven = 750-1100
Personal Computer:
CPU - awake / asleep = 120 / 30 or less
Monitor - awake / asleep = 150 / 30 or less
Laptop = 50
Radio (stereo) = 400
Refrigerator (frost-free, 16 cubic feet) = 725
Television (color):
19" = 110
27" = 113
36" = 133
53"-61" Projection = 170
Flat Screen = 120
Toaster = 800-1400
Toaster Oven = 1225
VCR/DVD = 17-21 /20-25
Vacuum cleaner = 1000-1440
Water heater (40 gallon) = 4500-5500
Water pump (deep well) = 250-1100
Water bed (w/ heater, no cover) = 120-380

Refrigerators, although turned "on" all the time, actually cycle on and off at a rate that depends on a number of factors. These factors include how well it is insulated, room temperature, freezer temperature, how often the door is opened, if the coils are clean, if it is defrosted regularly, and the condition of the door seals. To get an approximate figure for the number of hours that a refrigerator actually operates at its maximum wattage, divide the total time the refrigerator is plugged in by three.

If the wattage is not listed on the appliance, you can still estimate it by finding the current draw (in amperes) and multiplying that by the voltage used by the appliance. Most appliances in the United States use 120 volts. Larger appliances, such as clothes dryers and electric cooktops, use 240 volts. The amperes might be stamped on the unit in place of the wattage. If not, find a clamp-on ammeter—an electrician's tool that clamps around one of the two wires on the appliance — to measure the current flowing through it. You can obtain this type of ammeter in stores that sell electrical and electronic equipment. Take a reading while the device is running; this is the actual amount of current being used at that instant.

Note: When measuring the current drawn by a motor, in the first second that the motor starts, the meter will show about three times the current than when it is running smoothly.

Also note that many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched "off." These "phantom loads" occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. Most phantom loads will increase the appliance's energy consumption a few watts per hour. These loads can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance.

[freebs]

Well i would turn it up but dh works in a very hot environment when he comes home he wants a cool house. i guess i can just look at it as it didnt go up...lol

[Budgetmom]

Same here I haven't received my bill yet, but i already know it will be high. The only thing that jumped out at me in your post is your AC. 75 is pretty darned low. I keep ours on 80 and when it's really really hot I'll crank it all the way down to 78 And this was a couple of weeks ago when we went for several days of 112 -114 degrees in a row. Can you bump that AC up a few degrees? It will make a difference.

That is what I noticed as well. We keep ours at 79 or 80. The 5 degrees will make a difference in your bill.

[dcompton]

I don't know what size house you have, but that single window unit may be working very hard to keep it all cool. Also, if you do raise the temp some, use floor fans. Moving air can make a real difference and help you to feel more comfortable at a higher temperature. They are inexpensive and don't cost much to run.

[peanut]

Wow! I'm glad I don't live in Texas in the summer! Your house must be quite large. Our home is 1500 sq. ft., we don't have AC and we average about 700 kwh per month in the winter...when we're using a lot more electricity than in summer. We heat with natural gas though. Still, water, electric and natural gas combined average out to just over $100/mth. here.

I agree with the OP who suggested you check out the Utilities board here. There are lots of good ideas for lowering electric costs there.

Jean

[Paquita]

I agree, the window AC trying to cool the whole house probably costs more than just using the regular AC.

Paquita

[MomToTwoBoys]

We started cutting out some of our extra electricity use and we already use a ton to begin with. We have two computers + TV on most of the day and while I did cut back on the laundry, we saw a bigger drop last month in our natural gas use than our electric use. We don't use AC at all because the weather doesn't warrant AC (our house stays really cool in the summer time because the north-facing sliding glass door is covered with a heavy curtain and our north-facing bedroom window is covered by a dark chocolate velvet curtain. We also leave all our upstairs windows in the master bedroom open at night and the basement is pretty cool.

Our house is roughly 1200 sq ft and we have two levels + the basement. I imagine your house is pretty big to have that much of an electric bill.

We started cutting out our electrical use a bit and we only saved five dollars. It's money I can put towards other things though.

[Jskell911]

Ours went up $18 this last month. It has been extremely hot and humid though. We only us A/C at night in the bedroom though, otherwise I'm sure it would've been a horrendous hike in price.

[freebs]

I have a 3000 sf trailer house, and i do not have ch&a at all we cool with a 28,000 btu window ac and wood heat for winter. I run cealing fans in all rooms. There isnt much of anything else i can do to reduce it. I already took out light bulbs, covered windows, light out till dark, i do have 2 fridges and 2 freezers tho and i will not budge on those...lol. During the summer in texas our bill is always high i was just upset that for all the hard work it didnt go down but by $8.xx....lol And when my dh works in a plant that runs 120 degrees on a cool day he wants a cool house when he gets home so i wont turn it up any 75 will do for now, when it gets hotter i will turn it down more if needed. thanks for letting me vent!

[frugalfriend]

Sorry to hear that! I just went and got my electric bill and we used 377 KWH, and the bill is $56.18, which includes $13.95 facilities charge (same every month), on top of energy charges of $40.59. BUT . . . we don't have air conditioning! That must be the difference. It can get pretty hot at times, but not too bad. All in all I'm glad we don't have it because I don't want the bill that comes with using it, lol! Wait until you hear this though, my latest water bill was $171.01!! I've never seen a water bill like that in my life! It is of course much less in the winter, about $50.00. This current bill is like three or four times more than what it was when we lived in CA! That is with only watering the yard three times a week, too! Your $20. water bill is awesome!