Is there ANY help around here with high light bills? (live in, dryer) - Columbia - Lexington - Irmo - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

LynchburgLover · 01-16-2010, 04:57 AM

Just curious but if NJ had all these benefits for you, why did you choose to move to SC?

ranger17 · 01-16-2010, 08:09 AM

i'd second the fact many trailers are not insulated much at all. And I lived in some back in Wi growing up, where winters were obviously much colder then SC and staying warm was tough even with heat on high. I also helped work on some remodeling, and there were times that we'd be lucky to pull a handful of insulation out of a large pocket of space. This was in 80's, so i'd assume and hope they have been made better lately....

We're still waiting for our latest bill here, which we do expect to be higher. We are renting a 1800 sq ft home, about 10 yrs old. Up to this point sce&g bills never hit over $200, including summer. We work at home, so are here 24/7. But daytime heat never goes over 67, and at nite it's at 64 ( summer in the mid 70's at lowest ). That's about as much as we'll concede to comfort, so if the bill is still higher then so be it. Not trying to sound harsh as anything over a 'budgeted' amount affects the pocket book, but even in WI we would have a month or so in winter that the gas was real high, and in summer a month or so where the elec ( due to a/c ) was high. We figure now, that with us at home our elec bills will be higher, but we're not spending as much on fuel having to drive to jobs. So it's a tradeoff that works for us.

thechappells · 01-16-2010, 08:28 AM

we live in a 1700sqft home. our bill hasn't gone over $180 (summer & winter). you may want to go to the store and pick up that film you can put over your windows--may help. we used it when we lived in MA (and our home there was base housing built in the 50s--very drafty) and it seemed to help A LOT.

is it possible to talk to someone at the electric company and explain your predicament? maybe they can break up your bill where the payments will be more do-able. i doubt it, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

you say you're not using a lot of electricity, but are you unplugging items that you aren't using? even if the item is "off", plugged in it's still using energy. just some food for thought. you're bill is wicked high. i think i would've fainted if i got that in the mail.

ranger17 · 01-16-2010, 08:32 AM

the window film thing does help, we also used it on older homes in WI and it's not that much $$ for what it can save.
Plus i think many of us will have a spike on the one month's bill, with the first 12 or so days of Jan being like the second coldest on record.

thechappells · 01-16-2010, 08:41 AM

very true, ranger (on this month's bill) although we didn't move up the thermostat ...we place blankets everywhere, dress in layers. what we did in MA, germany & other cold climes. kinda stubborn about readjusting the thermostat. it seems easier to layer clothing (or remove layers) than receive a crazy bill...

8t9vt · 01-23-2010, 06:43 AM

Sorry, I have to put in my two cents on this as we also had an incredibly high bill this past month. We are living in a 2100 sf brick house. It is gas heat, electric A/C, central. We keep the thermostat at 65, at all times in winter, it was set at 74 during the summer. It struggles to keep it at those temps. We are not home during the day, so the only electricity running is the fridge. At night, the only lights we keep on are generally the family room where we are all huddled together on the couch under blankets. This is a rental so not much we can do about it, but this house has original 1950's windows, insulation that is falling down under the house, the original furnace, and compressed insulation in the attic. All of that goes towards explaining why we had a $400 bill when the temps hit the 20's. It explains why we had a $400 bill in the summer when it finally stayed in the 90's. It also explains why we are outta here when the lease is up!

waccamatt · 01-23-2010, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 8t9vt

Sorry, I have to put in my two cents on this as we also had an incredibly high bill this past month. We are living in a 2100 sf brick house. It is gas heat, electric A/C, central. We keep the thermostat at 65, at all times in winter, it was set at 74 during the summer. It struggles to keep it at those temps. We are not home during the day, so the only electricity running is the fridge. At night, the only lights we keep on are generally the family room where we are all huddled together on the couch under blankets. This is a rental so not much we can do about it, but this house has original 1950's windows, insulation that is falling down under the house, the original furnace, and compressed insulation in the attic. All of that goes towards explaining why we had a $400 bill when the temps hit the 20's. It explains why we had a $400 bill in the summer when it finally stayed in the 90's. It also explains why we are outta here when the lease is up!

You make good points - the energy efficiency of a home makes a HUGE difference in your bills. My mom lived in a 1200 square foot apartment in Columbia and had bills under $100 every month, even during the winter and she kept her thermostat very high (like 75) during the winter. The tightness of the building makes all the difference in the world. I just added more insulation under my house so I'm hoping that will make a huge difference in my future bills.

Angelia Aiken · 02-17-2010, 05:53 PM

hi my name is Angelia A
I wanted to know where to go to get funds of paying off my hight light bills
my bill is with mcec and my pay amount towards my bill is 496.00 past due bill

caskrin22 · 03-15-2010, 07:19 AM

I am from NY and I agree with Jersey the bills here are outrageous!!!! Are electric bill has never been this high and since we moved here are bill is always between 200 to 385 a month. I'm a full time student my husband is a drill seragent in the army we have four kids two of them are in school all day and the other two are at a sitters. So explain that one no one is ever home for our bill to be this high it is crazy.... I agree I would rather pay higher taxes than get no help at all and Jersey I diffently agree with you with you on the disabled part I think it is very important for them to have programs for them but if you seen how they have them in the schools it explains enough. They don't even let them interiact with other students they are put into another building that looks like a shed to learn. It is crazy I was outrate. I think it is important for kids to interiact with the disabled or they will alwys be scared of the unfamiliar or not understand them and pick on them. I worked with disabled back home and my best friend was disabled so I made sure my kids were around it all the time. But enough getting of the topic I like SC to an extint do I want to stay here forever HELL NO I thought I did but the seperation of people down here is crazy to The whole black and white thing that just blows my mind in NY we don't have that everyone gets along doesn't matter the color of your skin. But I t may seem cheaper here but they will get you somewhere...... That's why this state is one of the top states in finacial dept. Just way to much craziness...............

LynchburgLover · 03-15-2010, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caskrin22

I am from NY and I agree with Jersey the bills here are outrageous!!!! Are electric bill has never been this high and since we moved here are bill is always between 200 to 385 a month. I'm a full time student my husband is a drill seragent in the army we have four kids two of them are in school all day and the other two are at a sitters. So explain that one no one is ever home for our bill to be this high it is crazy.... I agree I would rather pay higher taxes than get no help at all and Jersey I diffently agree with you with you on the disabled part I think it is very important for them to have programs for them but if you seen how they have them in the schools it explains enough. They don't even let them interiact with other students they are put into another building that looks like a shed to learn. It is crazy I was outrate. I think it is important for kids to interiact with the disabled or they will alwys be scared of the unfamiliar or not understand them and pick on them. I worked with disabled back home and my best friend was disabled so I made sure my kids were around it all the time. But enough getting of the topic I like SC to an extint do I want to stay here forever HELL NO I thought I did but the seperation of people down here is crazy to The whole black and white thing that just blows my mind in NY we don't have that everyone gets along doesn't matter the color of your skin. But I t may seem cheaper here but they will get you somewhere...... That's why this state is one of the top states in finacial dept. Just way to much craziness...............

Yes, South Carolina should strive to be just like NY and NJ or, better yet, Detroit. One can only hope.