Electricity usage - too high?

[PinkLadyK]

If you have electric heat and keep it at 74 (seems very high to me), then that seems about right. Your bills in the winter will be high. You will probably see the next bills rise again with the use of A/C.

[rjj42]

Originally Posted by PinkLadyK

If you have electric heat and keep it at 74 (seems very high to me), then that seems about right. Your bills in the winter will be high. You will probably see the next bills rise again with the use of A/C.

I think I keep it that high becuase I feel cold drafts of wind coming through my bedroom glass window and through the glass door leading from my living room to the patio. So i doubt the temperature inside the room is ever at 74 even though that's what the thermostat is set at.

[aero100]

Originally Posted by rjj42

I think I keep it that high becuase I feel cold drafts of wind coming through my bedroom glass window and through the glass door leading from my living room to the patio. So i doubt the temperature inside the room is ever at 74 even though that's what the thermostat is set at.

If your heat is literally running all the time in January, 1100 kWh on an 800 sq ft apartment may be accurate.

Much of the usage depends on how well insulated the building is (and it sounds like yours isn't). Older buildings and older HVAC equipment are going to be more inefficient as well.

Apartments don't have the insulation that owner occupied construction does, and they usually have inefficient HVAC equipment compared to residential. The reason is simple - the renter is footing the power bill and people usually don't shop for apartments based on that.

The equipment is usually the minimum efficiency that can be bought (right now I think that is 13 SEER, but a lot of older equipment is 10 SEER - it's all about the minimum efficiency mandated by the DOE). Many houses will have equipment at 15-18 SEER, which put out more heating/cooling per kWh. Apartments won't pay extra for that sort of equipment because the owners aren't netting the electricity savings.

Because of these variables, comparing residential and apartment electrical usage on a per square foot basis may not always be an apples to apples comparison.