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Old 03-04-2014, 04:19 PM
 
4,619 posts, read 9,231,393 times
Reputation: 4973
Quote:
Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised View Post
I have a 3700 sq foot 2 story. One room has a 20 foot ceiling. Another room 14 foot. No room has a ceiling below 9 feet. I have three AC compressors. I would shutter to think of what it would cost me in the summer (I shut it down and put dozens of water buckets in the house).

That said, I have a 4000 square foot home in northern MN with 2000 sq foot that is a basement. No pool and I work at home. The electricity is $240 peak and it is super energy efficient with off peak on the single AC unit.

I'm with Zippy. I would be honored to pay $585 in my AZ spot in a peak month. I could easily picture a $800 bill. I'm going to ask my neighbor who has a similar floor plan what he pays. Your $575 peak bill gives me hope. I am contemplating spending a couple of summer months in AZ. I love it here.
Two story is definitely the big factor there. One of the reasons 1-stories are more highly coveted here.
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Old 03-04-2014, 04:27 PM
 
Location: Victory Mansions, Airstrip One
6,662 posts, read 4,953,364 times
Reputation: 9010
We can give lots of data points here, which I guess is fine. There is a big range of possibilities, though.

We have a 4200 sq foot house with a pool. Summer temp is kept in the 75-78 range most of the time. Our biggest summer bill is around $425. The house seems to be insulated fairly well and there's not much direct sunlight coming in through the windows. Our lowest bill is around $125, so A/C plus higher pool pump use in the summer seems to run us an extra $300/month.

As a point of comparison, the A/C service guy that came to our house last summer said he had a smaller home and his biggest bill is around $750.
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Old 03-04-2014, 04:36 PM
 
Location: Rural Michigan
6,343 posts, read 14,609,076 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by asufan View Post
$1,000 sounds way high. I have a 3700 SF 1-story WITH a pool, many appliances running including a full size freezer in the utility, a wine chiller and a beverage center and a larger 48" refrigerator and my highest bill was in the $585 range last year. I also work from home and have 2 computers, a scanner and usually a TV on as well. I keep the AC on 76 full time and have 2 small kids living here.

Having said that, 2-stories could be substantially more, and my house is North/South oriented.
ask around - I went to school with a guy who lived in an older 1500 sq ft home who was paying $800/mo in the summer - to keep his place at 80. the wrong rate plan can jack your bill by $150 pretty easy, a lower setting on the a/c can crank your bill too. I wouldnt be comfortable in a 76 degree home - my set-point is at 72, and it would be lower but the wife grumbles.

a/c bills here are a little like visits to the casino - most everyone who goes to a casino claims they broke even or won $50, but if everybody really did win like that, there wouldnt be a casino.

It costs money to live in the desert in the summertime. I still fear my electricity meter, even though I've gone to extreme lengths to minimize the cash-bleeding. 3400 sq feet is likely a newer build, so if everything is working properly & youre on the right rate plan *and* if your set point is fairly high, $600 might be possible. $1000 is also very possible.
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Old 03-04-2014, 04:41 PM
 
4,619 posts, read 9,231,393 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zippyman View Post
ask around - I went to school with a guy who lived in an older 1500 sq ft home who was paying $800/mo in the summer - to keep his place at 80. the wrong rate plan can jack your bill by $150 pretty easy, a lower setting on the a/c can crank your bill too. I wouldnt be comfortable in a 76 degree home - my set-point is at 72, and it would be lower but the wife grumbles.

a/c bills here are a little like visits to the casino - most everyone who goes to a casino claims they broke even or won $50, but if everybody really did win like that, there wouldnt be a casino.

It costs money to live in the desert in the summertime. I still fear my electricity meter, even though I've gone to extreme lengths to minimize the cash-bleeding. 3400 sq feet is likely a newer build, so if everything is working properly & youre on the right rate plan *and* if your set point is fairly high, $600 might be possible. $1000 is also very possible.

I don't have any kind of rate plan. Maybe the idea should be stay away from rate plans?
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Old 03-04-2014, 05:07 PM
 
Location: Rural Michigan
6,343 posts, read 14,609,076 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by asufan View Post
I don't have any kind of rate plan. Maybe the idea should be stay away from rate plans?

on the "standard" plan with aps every kilowatt hr is a set price (i believe around 13-14 cents)- on the "time of use" plan, summer/daytime kilowatts are about 20 cents, and summer/nightime kilowatts are about a nickel. so, using a time of use plan, you can get more kilowatts per dollar if you can shift your usage to off peak hours. on my last bill, 80% of my usage was off-peak - so the savings are considerable if you can do it. if you work during the day, it doesnt hurt much to let the a/c temps go wild & then run the a/c on "meat locker" when you get home. with good insulation the peak temps in your house may not even go that high during the day.

it all goes out the window on smaller homes & apartments - if your usage is under/near 1000 kw, its cheaper to stay on the "standard" plan..
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Old 03-04-2014, 05:26 PM
 
269 posts, read 531,794 times
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My home is 1-story, 3389 sf, back faces west just like OP. Built in '09. I keep AC at 85 during day, down to 81 at 5 when we get home and and lower to 78 at 9 when rates go down. Have anywhere from 10-18' ceilings. I still pay $500 in summer so if you like it cool, easy to get close to $1K.
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Old 03-04-2014, 05:34 PM
 
Location: Ohio
228 posts, read 342,337 times
Reputation: 450
4,200 sq ft, single storey, built around 2000, A/C set to around 80 in summer (82 during peak hours, 78 otherwise, completely off during the night as the units are just the other side of our bedroom wall and are too annoying to have cycling on and off). I'm at home all the time, so can't just ratchet it up in an empty house like others can.

Small pool with a recently-fitted energy-saving pump, LEDs throughout the house rather than incandescents, try to run the appliances outside of peak hours, etc.

But have kids, so they're around in the summer, running their computers and generally being expensive.

Most expensive bill last year was $440; current bills are around $105.
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Old 03-04-2014, 07:53 PM
 
2,448 posts, read 2,577,526 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hikernut View Post
Before you buy/rent a place, ask to see the utility bill history. While not perfect, this will be better information than any general guideline you get here or elsewhere. At least this should give an idea of the difference between the winter and summer bills.

hikernut
Right-on what hikernut says.

To further clarify, you can get this info from the utility company servicing the home.

Find out which one.. (SRP or APS) and call their customer service department & give address. They should be able to give you high / low figures for what the residents were previously paying.
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Old 03-04-2014, 08:19 PM
 
Location: Rural Michigan
6,343 posts, read 14,609,076 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PhureeKeeper View Post
Right-on what hikernut says.

To further clarify, you can get this info from the utility company servicing the home.

Find out which one.. (SRP or APS) and call their customer service department & give address. They should be able to give you high / low figures for what the residents were previously paying.
there are posts here suggesting they wont give you that info anymore.
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Old 03-04-2014, 10:48 PM
 
Location: Ohio
228 posts, read 342,337 times
Reputation: 450
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhureeKeeper View Post
They should be able to give you high / low figures for what the residents were previously paying.
Although it's not necessarily indicative of what you'll pay. Examples abound of different living styles in this thread for electric; for gas/ water/ trash, upon enquiring I was told that the January 2013 bill for the previous residents was over $600. Our Jan 2014 was much less than half of that - probably something to do with all the irrigation leaks we fixed within a week or two of moving in.

Switching around 50 bulbs over to low-energy wouldn't have hurt the electric bill compared to the previous owners, either...
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