Electricity Usage & Bills?

[121804]

Originally Posted by nhkev

I still havn't used the ac once this summer and we have not had one day hit 90 degrees yet. I hear ya about splitting wood it's all I've been doing the past 3 days, and I'm noticing some of the leaves on the trees beginning to yellow. two years ago when oil was $4 gallon my heating bills were almost $900 a month with a $200 electric bill.

Not sure of your finances, but what I been trying to do is set aside the $$ that usually would go towards the a/c for the heat. We are also on a budget plan with our heating company, but we are gas heat, not oil. We've also had so much rain that have not had to water nearly as much, which has saved us $$ in water bills. Said & done, I hope to have saved 2-3 months of heat this summer from lack of a/c along with a little from water. So far though, August has been hot with this weekend predicted to be mid90s.
One of the reasons I like where we live is that we get a little more variability than some other places due to location on the lake. Still have some brutal winter weeks and summer weeks, but it seems a little more even keel than some other places.

[TANaples]

I have had both oil and gas for heating when I lived in NY. Gas heat was much more economic than the oil. I went on a budget plan with the gas company and paid $135 a month each month of the year. I think when I didn't do this the gas bill was about the minumum are of $35 a month in the spring and summer months. Fall was a bit more, but even then, I really only used the heat at night most of the time. Just kept all the windows closed and slept in flannels, flannel sheets, and a down comforter. I kept the thermostat set at 70 in the days and 62 at night during the winter. When I closed down my account with the gas company when I moved to Florida in June, I got a check for $75. I used UNDER the amount by budget plan.

I had central air there, but hardly ever used it. My electric ran about $125 a month. I just kept all the windows and doors open and ceiling fans on. The upstairs bedroom would get hot by the end of the day, and I would the air on for a few hours and then shut it off overnight. Only rarely when it got into the 90s, did I ever put it on. The bill went sky high then. Just a few days of that would make the bill push $300.

Well, we don't need need much in SW Florida. Last year I think we put it on about 3 nights when it got into the 40s. It does get in the 50s at night in the middle of the winter, but that doesn't bother me at all. I just put on flannels and an extra blanket.

I run my AC here at about 77 degrees, round the clock, about 10 months of the year. The humidity makes all the difference. Whereas in NY when it was in the 70s and I just opened windows, in SW Florida in the 70s I have the AC running because of the humidity and little breeze. About the only months I have been able to turn it off and open windows, is January and February. The humidity gets a little lower then and there seem to be more winds.

The most expensive utility in Florida is not electric, but WATER. We were shocked at the $125 months versus about $75 every THREE months in NY, even when we had 2 more people in NY, taking showers, washing clothes, bedding, etc.

Water is very expensive in Florida. Actually you might even say that Florida's water charges are the north's heat charges. It isn't AC and electricty.