How much are your utilities?

[tahleel]

I figured I'd start another post regarding utilities. It seemed I learned a lot from the insurance post.

Anyways, I was wondering what everyone's utilities are? Electric Bill? Gas Bill over winter? How big is your house?

Thanks

-Tahleel

[gazhekwe]

Interesting question, I'll play:
Southfield, MI
2400 square feet, two stories
Electric bill $80-90/month Cooking, washer, dryer, TV, lights, computers, fridge, AC
Water bill $80-90/month? quarter? I forget how often they come
Gas bill Summer $40-50/month Hot water
Winter $200-$350/month Furnace, two gas fireplaces, hot water

[Ray1936]

I'll go along.
Henderson, NV [[Las Vegas 'burb)
1684 square feet, one story
Electric bill $170 summer peak, late fall, winter, and early spring, $80
[[but you can't do it without a/c out here.)
Water bill: $40 /month, includes sewer fees
Gas bill: $100-125 winter peak, $40 summer.
Total real estate taxes: $2400 and change.
No state or local income tax.
Cost of license plates is a bitch. My '08 Ford Escape just cost $300 and change.

I checked with my financial advisor, otherwise known as friend wife, to verify these numbers. She pays all the bills.

[Linda from Detroit]

Three bedroom, two bath, all electric $143.00 a month.
Water $60.00 [[also a sewer charge cause I'm in the country)

[Trumpeteer]

I figured I'd start another post regarding utilities. It seemed I learned a lot from the insurance post.

Anyways, I was wondering what everyone's utilities are? Electric Bill? Gas Bill over winter? How big is your house?

Thanks

-Tahleel

Gosh folks, forgetting some minimal factors:

How much ceiling insulation?
How much wall insulation?
Double pane/storm windows?
Which way do the majority of your windows face?
What's the energy efficiency of your a/c?
What's the energy efficiency of your heating system?
What do you set your T'stat on for a/c?
What do you set your T'stat on for heat?
Do you pull your curtains closed in the summer?
Do you open your curtains in the winter?
If over a crawlspace/basement, do you have floor insulation?
How often do you replace the hvac filter?
Does your water heater have an insulating blanket on it?
Have you replaced your incadesent bulbs with compact fluoresents?
Have you had your hvac serviced in the past year?
How many cooling degree days do you have?
How many heating degree days do you have?

This is why you CAN'T just compare what you pay....

[tahleel]

Gosh folks, forgetting some minimal factors:

How much ceiling insulation?
How much wall insulation?
Double pane/storm windows?
Which way do the majority of your windows face?
What's the energy efficiency of your a/c?
What's the energy efficiency of your heating system?
What do you set your T'stat on for a/c?
What do you set your T'stat on for heat?
Do you pull your curtains closed in the summer?
Do you open your curtains in the winter?
If over a crawlspace/basement, do you have floor insulation?
How often do you replace the hvac filter?
Does your water heater have an insulating blanket on it?
Have you replaced your incadesent bulbs with compact fluoresents?
Have you had your hvac serviced in the past year?

This is why you CAN'T just compare what you pay....

You are correct, there are so many factors that one could ask. But if I were to create a thread with tons of questions, how many people would really answer all of them? If anyone wants to answer those questions, they can. It would be helpful, but it is not a must. Simplicity is best.

-Tahleel

[Ray1936]

"Does your water heater have an insulating blanket on it?"

No, but here's a chuckle for you. Mine has earthquake straps. Code required.

[Detroitej72]

1000 Sq. Ft. upper flat, vinyl, double pane windows, frame, sided house, one ancient door opens up to front porch, back door opens to enclosed stairwell, located in Hamtramck, MI.

Electric: summer $75/month with air conditioning, winter $65/month
Gas, which includes hot water tank, stove, furness: summer $25/month, winter $85/month.
Water: included in monthly rent.

[reddog289]

Havn't a clue what gas, and electric are, But Comcast Bundle about $120 a month, The water which I pay is around $75 for 2 months. Which is great cause a year ago I had a$335.00 water bill. Running toilet in the basement AND ME PLAYING WITH THE POWER WASHER. I changed to Cfl's for most of my lights, " THEY DON'T LAST AS LONG AS THEY SAY". Have a water heater blanket, Yet I still have an almost 50 yr old furnace and NO central air. Next year things will change.Found out electric is about $50 a month.Down from $120 a month.

[Danny]

I only pay $30.00 for lights and heat and water is free. That's is why I lived in some fancy luxurious apt.

[Trumpeteer]

I only pay $30.00 for lights and heat and water is free. That's is why I lived in some fancy luxurious apt.

DANNY

Don't know how to break this to you gently but NOTHING'S free

[7051]

***2,700 sq. ft. house in Detroit built in 1931 with another 800 square feet finished and fully heated in the basement, 4 occupants

-r45 insulation in the attic
-exterior walls insulated in the late 1970's
-80% furnace
-newer double pane windows

gas - Jan, Feb. bills last year[[very cold)$245, fall and spring $60, summer$25

electric - $65-75 most months of the year [[less than 5 cfl bulbs currently), we have central air but only use it less than 5 days per summer; large trees, brick construction and wall insulation keep it cool, front of house faces west

water - $40month, $120 quarter

heat is turned down during sleeping and working hours to 63, weekend and early evenings 67

[DetroitPlanner]

I budget $200 a month for electric, water, gas, telephone, DSL, and electric for the cabin. House is about 820 sq ft, brick, modern windows, 20 year old furnace, cfls. Upstairs of bungalow is not heated, keep a heavy blanket behind the door to the upstairs at all times to provide an insulation pocket. House is kept around 68-74 in winter, and in summer air does not kick on until it is about 85, then it cools it down to about 80. I use fans to keep air circulating in summer. No Cable.

Alarm is $22 a month.

[exdetroiter]

DTE year around payment plan $141.00 a month [[Electric)
My previous residence the DTE bills ranged 300-350 in the winter for 2400 square feet.
Current residence is 1200 square feet.
Water Bill $24.00 month
Consumer Energy $50.00 per month [[Gas)

[carolcb]

4 bedroom 2.5 bath with full basement in Lafayette IN. Siding, no protection from the west as we look out on miles of midwesterness. We have replaced all of the bulbs in the house with the squiggly ones, and we do have a programmable thermostat.
Water: 80-90 a month includes sewer
Gas heat in Winter: Hit $333 last Feb.
AC: hit $140 this summer in June, but has been not much since.
We try but next house will be brick!

Car insurance is not that bad here - except my one son made a real mess of things - But the plates are expensive. Fortunately or not, our cars are not flashy, but mine runs.

[PCE]

Another good thread Taheel

1650 sq. ft. 3 bedroom 2 bath
2 occupants
R50 roof, 6 inch walls
insulated crawl, water heater and supply lines
well/septic
CFLs throughout
no A/C

Propane $70.00/month
Electricity $0

We live off the grid. 560 W solar charging a bank of 8 Trojan deep cell batteries. 10kW generator. The generator consumers most of the propane, mainly in the winter. We don't have a dishwasher or garbage disposal. Kinda miss the convenience of a dishwasher but could care less about the disposal. More goodies for the compost bin.
It felt weird at first being "untethered" but now I wouldn't do it any other way. Self sufficiency feels good.The biggest power saver for us is having a meter in the system showing power usage. As an example, a coffee maker sucks juice like crazy. We boil water, grind beens and run it through a french press. I'm guessing the average homeowner could save 5 - 10% of electricity just by monitoring usage.
Solar runs about $5.00/ Watt to purchase. A 1000W [[1kW) system will run most homes in the US. On grid applications are very cool. Watching an electric meter spin backwards is quite a sight. Cha-Ching
The house is like any other house. 42 inch flat screen, satellite TV, radio and Internet. All appliances, computers/routers, etc. are switched or on a power strip with a switch. No ghost drains.
This is a cool site.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?...showGetStarted
Gives you an idea of home efficiency as well as info on tax credits etc.

[Trumpeteer]

Another good thread Taheel


A 1000W [[1kW) system will run most homes in the US. On grid applications are very cool. Watching an electric meter spin backwards is quite a sight. Cha-Ching
The house is like any other house. 42 inch flat screen, satellite TV, radio and Internet. All appliances, computers/routers, etc. are switched or on a power strip with a switch. No ghost drains.
This is a cool site.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?...showGetStarted
Gives you an idea of home efficiency as well as info on tax credits etc.

Sorry, a typical home will never run on a 1kW system. Refrigeration, lights, and your 42" flat screen can easily make up 1,000 watts per hour of usage. Forget about running a/c, fan forced heating, etc. Also, since the efficiency of solar is still somewhere between 10 - 20%, you'd need at least a 5kW installed system to get your 1kW of useable electric energy.

[exdetroiter]

I don't understand how some peoples utility bills get up in the thousands before their service is shut off. I had a 30 past due balance of $75.00 with Consumer Energy and they turned off my gas. The made me pay $300.00 to turn it back on [[that included a security deposit of $150.00 plus a bunch of misc. fees.) I was so pissed I could not believe it.

[EMG]

Here are some out of state figures for comparison.

Scottsdale, Arizona. House 1560 square feet. Electricity $118 per month [[we do not have gas, so use electricity for everything including heat, a/c, all appliances. Our greatest expense is in the summer months with a/c expense but I am VERY FRUGAL and run it as little as my wife lets me get away with. The above figure is an averaged budget-plan per month figure, actual summer costs are much higher. Also most people here are in disbelief when I tell them that $118 figure; most "normal" people who aren't as frugal pay closer to $200/month.

Water: my wife and I, no kids - $65/month. This is about double what I paid when I left Michigan in 2001, where I was paying about the same amount every TWO months in Grosse Pointe Woods. I understand Michigan rates have probably risen considerably since then.

[douglasm]

North Central Washington.....

1700 sq. ft., double pane windows, insulated doors, all the other winterization stuff.....

Electricity: about $45 a month. We pay about 3 cents a kw, with our power coming from a hydroelectric dam on the Columbia River. Electric is used for everything. Heating, cooling, cooking. At 3 cents a kw, why not?

Water: $32.50 a month. Note that as a city commisioner in my little town, I help set the water rates......

Sewer: Projected at $65 a month once we complete our sewer project.

[ggores]

About 15 bucks a month electric at The Dives. Water and heat is... heh... is.... eh boy.... free. That's F-R-double E [[and the R is for "rent").

What all this probably means is that I'm paying roughly 200 a month for this free stuff that is embedded in the monthly rent for that nonsense. I mean, come on - Water AND heat? Who needs 'em?

Livin' like the King of Milwaukee I am.

back to the books.........

[Brainiac]

We built our house too big, 5600 sq ft. We love it and can afford it but wish we had done things differently!!

Electric is about 130, includes 15/month for a "shop" building that has separate service
HVAC is geothermal, but uses a bunch of electricity, typically about 60-80/month, but Jan & Feb are 200/month each.
Gas is used for the stove, dryer, and "luxury" warm floors that we use when we're just too damn cold. So it's about 15/month, maybe as high as 70 in January.

I work from home [[remotely), so there's no savings from dialing down energy use when we're not home. Someone's pretty much always home. And for that I'm glad the place is big.

I don't know if people realize how much they save by going to work or school... :-)

[Lorax]

1300 sq. foot ranch in Southfield, on an uninsulated slab/w high crawl space, REAL cinder blocks, made from cinders, built in 1953, blocks insualted, attic well insulated, extra well sealed exterior walls, original thermal pane windows with storms, heavily shaded lot.

Heat with new RUUD furnace, more BTU's than necessary for house's size [[forgot how many), This will be first winter, so I have no idea what the cost will be yet!!

Electric from when I bought it in March has never exceeded 38.00. Power tools being used daily, and exterior lights on 24/7, some CF's, two 100 watt incandescents. The blessings of having a sane electric bill.

By comparison, my condo in Miami, 3200 square feet, electric is max in summer with AC 350.00 per month, no less than 125.00 in winter. Maintenance fee is 1129.00 per month which includes premium cable and water. Taxes are 5100.00 per year. Wanna trade, anyone?

Florida Power and Light is a monopoly, and just approved the second double digit increase in six months time. It's no longer cheap to live in Florida!