Cps Shocker!!!! (San Antonio, Leander, Howe: heat pump, purchase, pricing)
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My June bill went up big time too. I was averaging under a $100 since late last year (2500 sqft) and I thought last month was a low ball as well... Of course, there were a couple of extra days in this bill (32 total) and I used double the KWh @ 1800. My bill was $213; $19.44 of which is trash and tax. I'm going to start paying closer attention to the meter from now on though.
One way to cut down if you're really frugal is to turn off electronics at at the power strip. I did this more last year and coupled with other things (retrofitting energy saver florescent bulbs) kept my bill under $170. So this one is my all time high. Further, only use the dishwasher on a full load (helps with water conservation too), keep the blinds shaded.
I would very much like to get a tankless water heater though...
I put in a tankless as part of my remodel last year. I couldn't be happier with it. Cut my summer time gas use by 75% despite going from electric to gas on the stovetop. You probably will not see this good a change if someone is at home all day using hot water on and off .... Best case scenario is when the house is empty for most of the day.
I don't know if I would do an electric one though, it takes a lot instantaneous energy for those to work. Many people have had to upgrade their electrical service to get enough electricity to it when the need it.
Even the Gas ones need larger upgraded gas lines to perform properly. Not a problem for me since all the gas lines needed reworking anyway...
Bottom line they are more efficient over the long haul since they don't have standby losses, but they need significantly more gas/electricity when they do run.
CPS Energy has some of the lowest rates in the state, if not nation compared to other cities. Here is the most recent state comparison with other Texas utilities: http://www.puc.state.tx.us/electric/rates/NCrate/2008/apr08r.pdf (broken link)
I'm not sure when the rate increase (~5%) takes effect, but according to CPS Energy's press release, "the combined electric and gas rate request would mean less than a $7 per month increase on the typical residential customer’s bill of $135."
We keep our thermostat set at 78 when we are gone and 74 most evenings and weekends. My most recent bill (including gas) went up from $125 to $175 because I used a lot more electricity. That is why they provide the chart showing your usage compared to previous months. It just got hot earlier this year. We didn't get much rain so there were more hot days compared to last year.
I think we are lucky to have "cheap" power. That is one of the reasons alot of data centers have moved here (Microsoft, Lowe's, WaMU, etc.).
Was it worth it?? Could you see a noticeable difference??
Thanks~
Sorry, didn't mean to hi-jack the thread
Yeppers...up until this bill it was REALLY worth it. I still shudder to think what our bill would be if we had not...I have talked to some neighbors that are still on a wing and prayer waiting to replace their original A/C unit and their house is 200 ft smaller and their bill was $100 more than ours...so I am happy (I guess....really hard to feel that way, but I suppose it could be worse!)
DM me if you want info on a company that does a GREAT job...have recommended them to several others that emailed back they were EXTREMELY pleased with the service!
My June bill went up big time too. I was averaging under a $100 since late last year (2500 sqft) and I thought last month was a low ball as well... Of course, there were a couple of extra days in this bill (32 total) and I used double the KWh @ 1800. My bill was $213; $19.44 of which is trash and tax. I'm going to start paying closer attention to the meter from now on though.
One way to cut down if you're really frugal is to turn off electronics at at the power strip. I did this more last year and coupled with other things (retrofitting energy saver florescent bulbs, S3 standby on the PC etc.) kept my bill under $170. So this one is my all time high. More suggestions are to only use the dishwasher on a full load (helps with water conservation too) and all the other more obvious stuff...
I would very much like to get a tankless water heater though...
To someone that asked about 2006 built home AC unit; my home was built in '06 too. Builder lowest common denominator during that time was 13 SEER since that was the new energy efficiency standard (up from 10 seer). Anybody know what 2008 is? I think it's 14 SEER now but not sure...
I believe that 14 is the minimum now...but the A/C folks said that, on average, you loose about 1 SEER per year for your unit...our builder grade unit when replaced at 13 yrs of age did not even rate on the equipment meter (I think it was 5 SEER where it did not even bother to rate below).
Yeppers...up until this bill it was REALLY worth it. I still shudder to think what our bill would be if we had not...I have talked to some neighbors that are still on a wing and prayer waiting to replace their original A/C unit and their house is 200 ft smaller and their bill was $100 more than ours...so I am happy (I guess....really hard to feel that way, but I suppose it could be worse!)
DM me if you want info on a company that does a GREAT job...have recommended them to several others that emailed back they were EXTREMELY pleased with the service!
Thanks for the info. We have been talking about doing this and figured it would make a huge difference. Just wanted to hear it first hand.
Thanks for the referral but my hubby is A/C guy .
Is it just me, or is anyone else in need of CPR after getting their CPS bill this month????
I guess the REAL kicker is Rob is gone, so no one at home all day long...set the thermostats to 80 for the entire day, do bring it down to 73 when we are home in the evenings, less laundry and the bill this month was $283!!!!! DANG!!!!!! We have had bills that high before, and for 3000+ sq ft I suppose that is ok, but that was WITH kids, home, running things, laundry, etc.
There was a point we thought we had planned well for retirement, but with gas and electric bills, maybe we will not be as comfortable as we thought we might. Besides, it may be better to go to work just for the A/C and heating we won't be able to afford!!!
Same for us.We average $115. This months bill is $378.00.
Nothing has changed as far as usage.
Last months bill was only $58 wich was cool but made me wonder.
Is it a balanced payment plan scam? Don't they average your bills out based on cetrain month highs?
They did say they already had someone scheduled to come out and check the meter before i called them.
Basically i got more accusation that answer when i called them.
Did anyone see the guy with the $1300 bill for this month?Check the news sites.
Only been here a year but quickly learning Texas is te screw me state.
Here's something we did that helped--put a lock over the theromostat. One of those clear plastic boxes you can get at Lowes. turned out our kids were monkeying with the theromostat at night or when we weren't home. Lowered our bills from about $500/month to $300/month!
Here's something we did that helped--put a lock over the theromostat. One of those clear plastic boxes you can get at Lowes. turned out our kids were monkeying with the theromostat at night or when we weren't home. Lowered our bills from about $500/month to $300/month!
I don't know...our method was a little better...they just all grew up and moved out! LOL
I now do 2 loads of wash per week vs one a day. I now run the dishwasher every 3rd day vs 1/2 times per day.
We miss them...but all this free time is going to my head!
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(at least about my situation, LOL)
