Utility bills question (Dallas, Austin, Plano: apartments, condos, home)

[k374]

What would be the average electricity bill in the Plano, TX area for a small 700sqft apartment? For instance if I have the AC on all summer (which I think is the norm), in the winter assume heating.

I am currently in SoCal, moving to Dallas in the next month so just curious. I have a small apartment here (I live about 2.5 miles inland from the ocean) and I don't have AC (it isn't common here in this part of SoCal although the temps do get into the 90s occasionally which is uncomfortable without AC but most buildings here are old and have no AC!). I just use a fan. In the winter I use the heat (electric) as it does get cold (SoCal definition of cold is around 50F).

My current apartment is all electric (no gas at all) and I do a fair amount of cooking. My summer electricity bills are in the in the $30-40/mo range, my winter bills in the $55-65 range.

I am wondering how Dallas compares.

[compSciGuy]

A/C is going to be cheaper if you are surrounded by other apartments. The top floor is going to be more expensive. Actually, when I moved from Austin to San Jose, I went from not using the A/C and only the fan to using the A/C in San Jose. I would keep the windows open at night, and be at work during the day. I tried opening the windows in San Jose, and then immediately smelled the marijuana smoke from the open window of the other apartment. Then, closing the windows, the older apartments seemed more like an oven. Obviously, if you are working from home in Texas, the A/C would be preferable to the fan. If it's just me, I can take up to about 86 degrees before I turn on the fan. On a side note, a number of years ago, I brought a floor unit (just in case the A/C wasn't working) for a couple of hundred dollars at SAMS that vented out the window. Local areas have rules against window A/C units. 90s without A/C may cause issues like kidney stones, etc. which would create a huge hospital bill.

[k374]

interesting, thanks for the response! I have heard utility bills are a bit more expensive in TX compared to CA.

[WorldKlas]

I have a 1600 sq ft condo built in 2005 as condos (not apartments) and average monthly billing electricity (HvAC is all electric) is $98.00. Since you are looking at apartments (our is all concrete with commercial windows built just like an office building) but quite a bit smaller, I am guessing the bill on a 700 sq ft apartment will be about the same is my bill.

[TheViking85]

the upkeep of the building matter more than the size.

The smallest apartment we've lived in in the Plano/Richardson area was about 580sq.ft, it was all electric, old, poorly built and insulated, or summer build be $75-85/mo, winter would run about $45-50/mo.

We then moved to a 750ish sq.ft. apartment that was only a couple of years old at the time. Or summer bills in that one used to run around $65/mo, but we also kept the temps more comfortable (ie colder).

Our current apartment is 850sq.ft, this one does have a gas range, but everything else is electric. Highest bill one ever seen in the summer was $55.00, they usually run between as low as $17/mo in the winter to around $45 most summer months. This apartment building was new when we moved in.