how to keep electric bill down?

[evan9381]

so i live in a 2br appt. all electric. over the summer (june/july), it was about 75$/mo. next couple months it was 90-105. for oct (bill in november) i was able to get it down to 80$ by not leaving lights on, my roommate wasnt here to screw with the a/c, etc. so last month, i was really making an effort to get it down a bit more. when i went to work, i would turn the AC off. if it was cold when i got home, id turn it on (like 74) for the night, and off when i go to work the next day. there were a few periods when i didnt have it on for 3 days, and towards the end of last month, it was off for 5 days straight

 

i get home today, get my bill, its up to 95$. WTF. how can i get this bill down some? seems nuts to me to be paying almost 100$ in electric for a <1k sq/ft appt

[Berto]

don't get too scared, electric water bills run an estimate system where they only get a meter reading every other month. Its a load of shit if you ask me but what they do is if your were typically spending that much then that is how much you get charged.

 

then when they read it they see you didn't spend as much and will give you credit on your account.

[wnaplay1647545503]

Check on what your payment would be if you go on the budget plan.

[87GT]

I had that problem when I lived in an apt. If they can't read your meter then they estimate. Then 1 time a year you get a huge credit. In my past bills when money was short I wouldn't pay the whole bill. As long as you give them something they won't turn it off. They do that after 3 months of no pay

[mmrmnhrm]

Yech... I've been in the same 1004sq.ft. apartment for about two years now, all electric (heat, water, a/c, and cooking) and my bills have never been that high. Worst ever in summer was $82, and worst winter was $83. Average across two years is $60, and there have been four times under $45. Anyways, here are some things to look for and/or think about:

 

1. Whenever a light burns out, replace it with a CFL. The only exceptions to this are ceiling fans (vibration) and lights in hot places (ovens, dryers). If there's a female involved, you may want to stick with regular bulbs in the bathroom as well.

2. Turn down the heat and a/c. Mine is set to 78 in summer, and 64 in winter. Every extra degree you can tolerate is money in your pocket. It's cheaper to throw on a sweatshirt than heat the whole apartment. Same logic when you're asleep. Electric blankets for the win.

3. If you have access to them, make sure your ducts aren't spewing hot/cold air into empty spaces. I had an apartment in Baltimore where the duct exiting the unit was broken inwards, causing at least a third of the air to be wasted into the world instead of going into my apartment.

4. Use plastic sheets w/ double-sided tape over your windows to keep out drafts. Take the time to apply it properly, including shrinking it with a hair dryer.

5. If you're not using something, turn it off. Computers in particular are great at chewing up power just sitting idle.

[GonneVille]

Don't turn your AC or heat on and off. It takes MORE energy to re-heat or re-cool all that air than to simply maintain the temperature.

[XChris1632X]

my utilities are on one bill just water + electric. they take my whole complex usage add it up and divide it equally between all the residents. about $155 a month every month.

[Buck531]

My gas bill was about $115 for last month. Electric was about 70ish? Since I have a gas furnace, gas water heater, gas stove.. it tends to rocket in the Winter. Then the electric goes down. Vise versa for the summer.

 

This past year I framed, insulated and drywalled 3/4 of the basement. It's not NEARLY as cold as it was last year. That should help a lot on the bills this winter.

[Sully]

Digital Programmable Thermostat FTW. If you decide to get one of these, make sure you get one that you can program each day of the week seperate.

[Guest drumer919]

Printers are a huge waste of electricity, turn it on only when using it.

[Nitrousbird]

Ugh, winter time. Where my electric bill goes down $20, and my gas bill goes up $100+

[OSUGT]

Does your apt have a fireplace? A lot of people in my neighborhood are converting their gas logs to wood and saving a ton.

 

Efficient space heaters are great too. I turn my thermo down to around 64 as was previously mentioned and fire up the electric space heater in the family room. Then we move it to the bedroom at night.

[XChris1632X]

i thought it took more energy to start up and shut down a computer once than it does to just leave it on for a week.

[evan9381]

no fireplace here. i have a space heater which could get this place to 85 degrees if i left it on for the day, but ive always heard they use a shitload of energy...i dont really run it very often.

[smokin5s]

Digital Programmable Thermostat FTW. If you decide to get one of these, make sure you get one that you can program each day of the week seperate.

EXACTLY.... mine changes to 62 at night and during the day when I'm not there... but at 5:30 it kicks up to 70 during my awake hours then cools back down... same with the morning... I don't notice that it's cold when I'm sleeping under a blanket.

 

with that being said, I just recieved a 105 dollar gas bill, but that's tons better than the close to 300 I paid in the peak of winter last year.

[mmrmnhrm]

i thought it took more energy to start up and shut down a computer once than it does to just leave it on for a week.

Complete rubbish. It was true, once long long ago, that powering a computer on and off would significantly accelerate the wearing down of components (hard drives in particular). It still is, to some extent. It's also true that there's about a half-second surge of power as everything charges and spins up. However, it's nothing compared to the amount of juice you'd waste just letting it sit there all week. Turn the sucker off. Or put it into sleep/hibernate mode at the very least.