ok, let's talk about the cost of running that a/c (Austin: apartments, rent)

[austinbound10]

We will be moving to Austin this fall. With the temperatures up so high and even in the 'normal' Austin warm weather, how do you all afford to pay for the a/c running all the time? Our electric in Ohio is insane and I cannot imagine running the a/c 24/7. Can you give me an idea of what to expect, please. Thank you

[h886]

You should expect a high electric bill in the summer months. You should expect that if you have a large older home or apartment, or an apartment on the top floor, that you may have a ridiculous electric bill some months. You should expect that if your home is older or was shoddily built, you may need to invest money in making improvements to the windows, doors and attic space to keep the cold air in.

[centralaustinite]

Even apartments here will tend to have solar screens to block some of the heat, newer ones will have low-e windows. If you rent, definitely ask about energy efficiency. Avoid the top floor.

In houses, avoid having living area face west. And look for or make your own energy upgrades. I live in a three star green builder home with 6 inches of insulation in the walls, R38 in the attic, low-e windows, etc. and my electric bills are the same as they were in a house half the size that lacked any energy upgrades except attic insulation.

Our highest bills are in August, December and January electric bills can be very very small.

[Trainwreck20]

I am going to paraphrase as I understand it, but.....before you rent (or buy) a place, you have the right to request the utility bills for the last 12 months. A very good idea, although you don't really know if they run the place hot or cold or whatever, it gives you a very good idea.

[cmaxmor]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I am going to paraphrase as I understand it, but.....before you rent (or buy) a place, you have the right to request the utility bills for the last 12 months. A very good idea, although you don't really know if they run the place hot or cold or whatever, it gives you a very good idea.

This.
Your electric bill will vary widely based on several things.
1- The size of your home.
2- The quality/age of your windows and insulation
3- Your tolerance to heat and the number of hours you spend in the home.
4- Do you have children or pets?
5- The placement of the home. i.e. Does it have east facing windows? Are there trees? etc.

[CptnRn]

Most of the posts in this recent thread talk about the cost and KwH consumption they experienced in the last month or so. Electric Usage- What is your kwh usage per month? Is mine high??

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I am going to paraphrase as I understand it, but.....before you rent (or buy) a place, you have the right to request the utility bills for the last 12 months. A very good idea, although you don't really know if they run the place hot or cold or whatever, it gives you a very good idea.

Because of the Privacy Act that passed almost 10 years ago, you can't just call the electric company and ask for records. You can "ask" a home owner for their records, but most don't keep them. I get records from home owners maybe twice a year. Many won't hand them over because if they keep their house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, they don't want a buyer to know the amount they spent because they won't calculate the difference. Also, if they have several kids, those families keep their houses at different temps than if you're single or just a couple.

So it has nothing to do with "the right to request". It's not a right, it's just a request, and it's a request that can have the answer of no.

[Trainwreck20]

For apartments, I think it is a 'right', tho....

[austinbound10]

Thank you all for posting your experiences. I really don't like a/c, ha, I have a feeling I will need to get used to it. I use fans mostly. We will be renting first to see if we want to stay in Austin, then we'll explore our options of buying. I do have another question though, how hot/ cold does it get in the winter months?

[austin-steve]

I think a good rule of thumb to start with is $0.10 per sqft for average utility costs. The average house in Austin is about 2,000 sqft with 1 HVAC system, so the owner of that house should annually expect 12*(2000*$0.10) = $2,400/yr.

Now, the $200/mo. needs to be adjusted to a multiple of perhaps 1.5 in the summer and 0.66 during Spring/Fall. This is all subjective, but I think a $300 bill for June/July/Aug shouldn't surprise anyone. And in the moderate seasons you should be able to keep it close to $100 for most of those months.

You'd also adjust for your own thermostat settings. We keep ours at 80 degrees and we have way lower bills that the same person living in our house would have at 72 degrees.

Also, I'd adjust upward for a home built before year 2000 and downward for newer well insulated homes. I lived in a 3,300 sqft new home for 2.5 years with two HVAC systems and our average bill was less than $150/mo with only a couple of times exceeding $200. In our current poorly insulated 1970s home with 1800 sqft and 1 HVAC, we still average $150/mo.

Bottom line: the three most important variables are sqft, age and your temp setting.

Steve