What Does Your Electric Bill Average?...my latest one blew me away! (insurance, Home Depot)

[aiangel_writer]

I feel as if we are simply getting ripped off left and right. They had a massive rate hike back in Oct that got people riled up. I"m wondering why the PUblic Service Commission can't go after these goons, they go after other utilities !!!

[Synergy1]

We do have a Pool heater and a Hot water Heater too. Both are solar and were over $10,000 for the two...We tried to get prices on Solar Electric to supply us with 80% of our total home electric but the total cost was over $100,000...Sounds so silly to install the device that is so darn expensive when the warranty is only 15 years and it will take more than 20 years to get back our expenses...

OH....The rebates for both Fed and local would amount to around $40,000 but still who has $60k for electric? No I and never would....There are flexible panels that would bend around corners and suppose to substantially reduce the costs but we as regular home consumers are not permitted to purchase these state of the art very reasonable items. Seems that the flexible panels have to come around to the consumer and not just selling to commercial installations....

We consumers are getting ripped off........

[jacksonian]

The best way to get solar panels is to cut out the middle man. They are going to raise the price significantly due to the high demand and they tell you there is "low supply" which is not true. There are kits that you can buy that reduce the costs substantially - then you can separate the material from the labor and use that to drive down the costs. If you can't install yourself or know someone who can, then you can send out for quotes, but never go with the first one - shop around.

[poptones]

I cannot believe solar pool and spa heaters would run ten grand! Those must be some really nice heaters! I don't have a pool but I have a spa and that's the next project planned once the deck itself is complete. Maybe it's just my redneck ways: copper tubing in a frame on the roof and a splice into the hot tub's pump lines and...

[malamute]

Originally Posted by aiangel_writer

I got my latest electric bill in and almost stroked out!

It was $395.00....the only time it has ever been that high was when the a/c unit went on the blink!

I've used around the same amount of electricity as last year but the bill is much higher.

I live in about a 1600 sq ft house, one story with trees shading front yard and home from afternoon sun

What about you? What does your monthly electric bill look like, how does it stack up against same time one year ago?

That would totally blow me away. Last month mine was $67 but I don't live in your state.

[Alluvial]

The last time I had a 'too-high' bill, I discovered that I had paid last month's bill a little late and it hadn't shown up by the time Entergy printed the new bill. In other words, there were two months' worth of charges on there.

I don't suppose that's what happened to ya?

To answer your OP, my last bill was $199.19. It usually varies between $150 to $250 a month, depending on how many of my kids are at home.

[princesasabia]

Better hope the Senate doesnt pass the cap and trade bill next month, then you really will be complaining about your utility bills.

[ktcmojo]

get on average billing if youve lived there long enough-im on it-been here 13 yrs
last months bill was $69-1600sq ft 2 story townhouse
call entergy

[Reivax]

Originally Posted by poptones

Are they CRT monitors or flat screens? A PC that's more than a couple years old and running in standby is going to draw 60W easily, 200W or more when active. If it's a CRT monitor or flat screen prolly another 15W in standby, 150W or more when running. Plasma sets run 250W or more when not in standby. Most people don't realize how much energy is wasted on computers and monitors and tv sets! My brother had two montiros he used to leave on 24/7 and I told him they were probably costing him 40 bucks a month and he didn't believe it - until he remodelled in that room and had them off a couple of months. The PCs running in standby and the two 17" crt monitors were costing him 50 bucks a month!

How can you measure that? Is there something you can put between outlet and wall to do it?
I would be interested in monitoring some things.
Thanks!

[NWS]

Originally Posted by Reivax

How can you measure that? Is there something you can put between outlet and wall to do it?
I would be interested in monitoring some things.
Thanks!

They do sell a electric monitor just as you mentioned.
I know Amazon has one for about $22 "Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor".
I'm sure walmart lowes and home depot have them too.
It can help you decide if it's time to replace an appliance.
All the new appliances in the stores have their estimated yearly usages right on the unit.
Then just figure out how much your unit is using.
If you have old window AC units they are probably energy hogs.
If your heating/cooling, refrigerator unit is over 10 years old it's probably a hog.
They have made major improvements with the newer electric energy efficient units in the last 10 years.
Saving $40 a month on your electric bill, with a few changes, could pay for that new refrigerator in 2 years.
Here is a cool free site that helps you figure out how you could save over $3,000 a year with a few changes. It has electric usage calculators too.
Saving Electricity: How to Save Electricity