[gregoo]

Originally Posted by gregoo

Just moved into a brand new house 1584 sq ft. Our bill was $107.00 keeping it at 80 to 82 degress plus have ceiling fans.

We own a single story home.

[bledsoe3]

1025 sq. ft. lower level condo. $36

[ApplnowsoonLV]

How do u keep the thermostat over 80 degrees??? I would think that would be sauna like conditions...

[Croce]

Originally Posted by BWNLV

I just moved to Las Vegas and I received my first full month electric bill for $224. I thought that was awfully high. I live in a single story 1059 sq ft home, I keep the temperature at 82 degrees and keep most of the lights off when not in use. The previous owner had new insulation installed in the attic in the past few years. The A/C unit is original from 1991 and I was planning on upgrading to a new high efficiency unit after my previous home sold. Would a A/C tune-up and inspection help lower electric bill?
Thanks in advance for any input.

Be careful about any inspection. Some of those folks will just try to sell you something you do not need or worse. Check your outside unit and make sure it is clean of debris. If the rubber/foam insulation on the pipes running from the condenser into the house is falling apart - replace it. Your electric bill does seem a little high, but a lot depends upon the orientation of the house as well as the type and number of appliances. I would think twice about spending several thousand dollars on a new system just to save $30 a month or so as you may be disappointed.

Good luck,
Croce

[timothyaw]

NVenergy say they lost money because of the cooler June, one of the factors anyway.
NV Energy revenue hurt by cool June weather, PUC decision - VEGAS INC

[lasto]

3K sq. ft. $322 @ 82 degrees. Our highest bill yet.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by ApplnowsoonLV

How do u keep the thermostat over 80 degrees??? I would think that would be sauna like conditions...

You get used to it. Or you pay through the nose.

I think the main thing is to make the house as efficient as possible, so the compressors don't need to kick on as often or work as hard. Pays dividends two ways: lower power bills and less wear and tear on the AC.

I use attic fans, extra attic insulation, garage door insulation, evaporative coolers, LED lights, outdoor kitchen, solar shades. I even have sheets of insulation on our west-facing windows during summer months (cheap and effective -- but totally negates our view during the day.) In addition, we make use of NVEnergy's Time of Use* and CoolShare programs.

The only thing I HAVEN'T done is PV solar power. As much as I'd like to, it takes too long for any kind of return. And it's a lot of up-front money to spend, even with the rebates.

Power bills for our two-story, 3.7K sqft house is around $100 during the summer months, and $30 the rest of the year.

* The Time of Use plan is inconvenient in the extreme. Basically, we get reamed for power usage between 1pm and 7pm during the summer, but pay lower rates at all other times. This requires that we basically shut all non-essential items off during "ream time." No TV, dishwasher, washer, and ESPECIALLY no AC.

[delgadobb]

Originally Posted by ApplnowsoonLV

How do u keep the thermostat over 80 degrees??? I would think that would be sauna like conditions...

We keep our downstairs at 81 degrees, depending on the time of day we set the upstairs a few degrees higher.

My fiancee's from Louisiana & 81 degrees is just fine with her, she keeps it set higher upstairs at night. Without the humidity, my guess is she can handle mid-80s without too much issue (so can I). Personally, I don't understand why anyone would need their thermostat set lower than 79 or maybe 78, but that's just my opinion ... to each his/her own.

With the low humidity here, 80-81 degrees is quite reasonable & not hard to maintain. I guess it depends on how you're acclimated, we have friends who insist on setting their thermostat at 71 degrees at all times; their house is half the size, yet their bill is significantly higher. It feels like a meat locker when I'm there, but that's what they want & the temp to which they're accustomed.

Some things that help in our case: I've installed ceiling fans in each room to augment the A/C. They help a lot. We use CFL/LED lights throughout the house (minimal heat) & our primary TV (downstairs) is a large screen LED DLP which uses very little electricity & generates very little heat. Recently I built some solar screens for the ferrets' bedroom, which gets a lot of sun & heat during the morning & early afternoon - they've also helped a bunch. When I get back from the next trip to Chicago, I'll be making several more solar screens for the other rooms that collect the most heat. (BTW, if you're handy & have a few tools around they're not rocket science to make/install. The install quotes we got were all high so I decided to do the work myself.)

Eventually, we want to put in PV solar, but only when costs come down a little more AND we can get the rebates.

[airics]

last year, i was able to keep the thermostat at 80ish... this year... 75-76... don't know why... maybe im getting old

[bledsoe3]

Originally Posted by delgadobb

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would need their thermostat set lower than 79 or maybe 78,

Because where I'm from, it's much cooler. We haven't even has one 90* day here yet. When we're at our place in Vegas, we keep it at 70* - 72*.