Utility costs in Boulder? (Colorado Springs, Broomfield: rental, how much, house)

[WildandFreeAK]

Hello,

My fiancee and I will be relocating to Boulder in August. We found a rental place in S. Boulder and now I'm trying to come up with a rough estimate how much we should expect to pay per month for utilities.

So, I was hoping someone here has any experience with how much it costs to run a 3-br, 1750 sf house (850 sf is in the basement), in terms of power, water/sewer, gas, etc., for two people.

Also looks like there are 3 trash companies operating in Boulder -- which one is the cheapest?

Thanks in advance for any help you folks can give!

[cobeachgirl]

I'm not totally sure about this, but you could probably call Xcel Energy with the address and find out the high & low bills for the place.
Not sure about the trash companies... sorry.

[chilaili]

Is the rental place not covering the trash charges for you? Most, not all, places do and even those that don't usually just charge a flat monthly fee. You might be able to get some information from the City Council altho, in Boulder, I'm not sure how helpful they would be. Try the City of Boulder, Colorado -- Official Web Site - Home Page site for information on contacting them. I think the Utilities dept has their own webpage there.

[sumgai187]

Obviously, it's hard to tell with not knowing how old/insulated the house is, if you have a/c, if you have a newer furnace, if the 850 sf basement is included in the 1750 sf total, etc.

I'd guess water/sewage will be around $35 for two people. I have a newer home that is well insulated and pretty efficient. It costs around 5 cents a square foot for gas/electricity per month. I'm guessing you will average around $115 per month. Obviously, you're gonna see wild fluctuations - my high bills are December/January/February and then modestly-high in August when the a/c gets cranked up. They are really low in Fall and Spring when the windows stay open.

Like I say, hard to tell. I used to live in an old 800 sf home in downtown Colorado Springs - old windows, poorly insulated, and had one of those ancient asbestos octopus furnaces - my high winter bills were around $225.

[WildandFreeAK]

Thanks for all the insights!

To clarify, the 850sf basement is a part of the 1750sf total. It does have AC, and the furnace is about 10-15 yrs old. The house was built in 1966, so I'm presuming "4-Star Energy Rating" is nowhere in the description. I'm hoping to jerry-rig a vapor barrier on the windows w/plastic sheeting for the wintertime, which I think will help matters a bit. Roughly 630 of the 850 sf in the basement is finished and will likely be my study/mancave, so I'm hoping I can keep the temps lower down there and take advantage of the ground insulation.

I've heard mixed reviews regarding the effectiveness of portable swamp coolers. I know very little about these contraptions, but was wondering if they'd be a cheaper way to cool down the house.

Again, thanks to everyone for their help, I appreciate any advice I can get!

Originally Posted by sumgai187

Obviously, it's hard to tell with not knowing how old/insulated the house is, if you have a/c, if you have a newer furnace, if the 850 sf basement is included in the 1750 sf total, etc.

I'd guess water/sewage will be around $35 for two people. I have a newer home that is well insulated and pretty efficient. It costs around 5 cents a square foot for gas/electricity per month. I'm guessing you will average around $115 per month. Obviously, you're gonna see wild fluctuations - my high bills are December/January/February and then modestly-high in August when the a/c gets cranked up. They are really low in Fall and Spring when the windows stay open.

Like I say, hard to tell. I used to live in an old 800 sf home in downtown Colorado Springs - old windows, poorly insulated, and had one of those ancient asbestos octopus furnaces - my high winter bills were around $225.

[hcpc]

Western Disposal is a good trash company (not sure if they are the cheapest tho) - they also have a very nice recycling facility on 63rd Street just North of Arapahoe Ave.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by cobeachgirl

I'm not totally sure about this, but you could probably call Xcel Energy with the address and find out the high & low bills for the place.
Not sure about the trash companies... sorry.

I second this approach as the one most likely to give you a realistic number. You can call the trash companies and ask them what their rates are.

[BeenThere1]

You won't need AC in the basement. I don't care if the place gets full sun exposure-unless you are one of those 250 lb folks who sweat like a "pig"(pun intended), when it's pushing 70, you'll have no need for AC.

I have a house in Broomfield & have to close the place up most nights to keep it from getting too chilly. The dry air feels much cooler than think until you realize how awesome it is.