What can you tell me about Electric Heating costs? (Phoenix: apartment, rental homes)

[Calibelle]

It's been a while since I've posted on city data

Anyway, we are moving out of our 1080 square foot apartment into a rental home, and the house we are looking at has 1850 square feet.

Currently we have gas heating.

We live in Mesa, Arizona.

However, the heating in the potential rental home is electric. The stove is electric. I have no idea whether this means the water heater is also electric. It is a fairly newer home, built in 2003. The windows don't seem to be double paned. The house is two stories.

My question is for those of you who have electric heating in your homes. Is it super duper expensive in the winter? As expensive as running the A.C. in the summer? We LOVE this house we are considering, but I don't want a super high electric bill all year round. We already have the meter with the electric card that you fill up at the machine in the grocery store which gives us the cheapest electricity rate, but I'm curious as to what energy costs are for homes with electric heating during the winter months? Is it not a big deal since it doesn't get super cold here.

We were here last winter, but had the gas heater and the apartment is much smaller.

I am noticing that most of the rental homes we are interested in have electric heating. Anybody know why they do this instead of gas?? Just curious.

Thanks!!!!

[Ponderosa]

Electric heating means heat pump. Heat pumps are ueber-efficient. Electricity in winter will run about 1/3 to, at most 1/2, of what it does for summer - for everything, heat, cooking, hot water. My guess is you will pay about 90 per month for that size house.

[Calibelle]

Thank you Ponderosa. I appreciate that. I'll have to google the heat pump thing now, I have no idea how it all works. I've never dealt with electric heating, so I'm curious.

[trudawg]

my home in MI was all electric, and I preferred being on an equalization plan, and not having to deal with another (gas) bill

[Calibelle]

Originally Posted by trudawg

my home in MI was all electric, and I preferred being on an equalization plan, and not having to deal with another (gas) bill

Is the equalization plan where they take an average for a year of energy costs and then give you a flat rate to pay every month??

I wonder if it is cheaper than the card meter we have. It's a meter that you load a card into and you purchase electricity credit and load it into the machine. Supposedly it gives you the cheapest rate, but I wonder if averaging it out for a year is cheaper in the long run?

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Calibelle

Is the equalization plan where they take an average for a year of energy costs and then give you a flat rate to pay every month??

I wonder if it is cheaper than the card meter we have. It's a meter that you load a card into and you purchase electricity credit and load it into the machine. Supposedly it gives you the cheapest rate, but I wonder if averaging it out for a year is cheaper in the long run?

Yes. It is just an average. You won't be eligible for a year though as you have no usage history. I don't know about the card rates, but the best deal on monthly billing for most is a Time of Day Rate. You pay a much lower rate for electricity at night than during the day. That works very well with heating cuz it's only a couple days typically that you really need to heat during daylight hours. You need the discipline to not run the water heater - don't use hot water or use a timer, use the washer and dryer, pool motors, ac during the peak period. It's pretty easy to get into the pattern, though.

[Calibelle]

I did some research. Apparently the cheapest rate on electricity is through the card meter thing. The equalization plan is the second cheapest if you just want to get the bill in the mail, and don't want to deal with having to go out and put credit on the card. We averaged 120 dollars per month in electricity during the hottest months this summer.

We'll probably stick with our card meter

Thanx again everyone!

[fcorrales80]

Heating costs in Phoenix in the winter??? LOL, I know it gets cold on occasion but honestly I have only used the heating "unit" in my home a few times in the winter; but to be fair we have fireplaces we like to use and love bundling up in blankets. We generally go from a max high of $350 in the summer for cooling to as low as $70 in the winter and ONE time less!!! It's great. I have friends who are on an equalizer plan that pay the same amount year round so that the additional funds are subtracted in the summer when bills spike.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Calibelle

Is the equalization plan where they take an average for a year of energy costs and then give you a flat rate to pay every month??

I wonder if it is cheaper than the card meter we have. It's a meter that you load a card into and you purchase electricity credit and load it into the machine. Supposedly it gives you the cheapest rate, but I wonder if averaging it out for a year is cheaper in the long run?

I've heard about the cards, but I'm not really familiar with them. I have a hard time understanding why you get a lower per kilowatt hour rate with those than you do with a regular managed payment or time of use plan, but if that's the way it is, fine. For me, the card would be a hassle to fuss with, especially in summer. Managed payment plan has worked great for me for years.

I'd assume that your water heater is also electric, BTW.

[wilberry]

julys electric bill 250.00 very small one bedromm house