Cps Shocker!!!! (townhome, zip code, design)

[scuba steve]

I should've posted this here instead of the Quarry thread...

Your bill is the same as mine for the super-hot month of June. I'm still waiting on July's but it should be a lot better since it was cooler.
(Details) My place is 3K square feet, built in 1992, a/c is set to 75-home / 78-away but was on 73/75 for the first 10 days. Builder is unknown; probably custom.

[banker]

Originally Posted by scuba steve

I should've posted this here instead of the Quarry thread...

Your bill is the same as mine for the super-hot month of June. I'm still waiting on July's but it should be a lot better since it was cooler.
(Details) My place is 3K square feet, built in 1992, a/c is set to 75-home / 78-away but was on 73/75 for the first 10 days. Builder is unknown; probably custom.

So...is your house one or two story, one or two units? Do you have trees shading the house?

[scuba steve]

Trees shade a trivial portion of the roof (under 10sqft). They also don't shade a very big portion of the house on the south or west. They do shade other directions the sun doesn't shine from though. I might post a pic this afternoon so it makes a bit more sense. But the direction and placement of the trees really don't really do a lot to shade space that counts.

Two a/c units, 14 SEER, approx. 4 years old.

The house is two stories. The office + two bedrooms and a bathroom are on the second floor. There is no living space above the garage. There is also no living space above the main bedroom.

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by banker

So I got my first full CPS bill after moving into my new house. It was $247.16. This is the largest bill I have ever gotten as a San Antonio Home Owner. For comparison's sake - our house is primarily one story (just a bedroom/bath upstairs) with a total of 3,221 square feet. We keep our A/C set on 79 during the day and 78 at night. How do I compare?

You've gotta be kidding! Two story! Of course, you do keep your thermostat set pretty high. I'd be happy with that bill almost any month. That's the largest bill you've ever gotten in San Antonio? I most commonly get $300 plus bills in the summer months. But, have had $400 plus bills in the past. Count your blessings! Not sure of sq. footage here 3 bedroom bath & 1/2. Fairly small home. Is CPS still giving special rates for all electric homes on northside?

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by banker

So I got my first full CPS bill after moving into my new house. It was $247.16. This is the largest bill I have ever gotten as a San Antonio Home Owner. For comparison's sake - our house is primarily one story (just a bedroom/bath upstairs) with a total of 3,221 square feet. We keep our A/C set on 79 during the day and 78 at night. How do I compare?

Seems average to me..considering the thermo settings. I thought you would do better.

[scuba steve]

Seriously, between that, the age of the house and that I could swear I read something about energy-efficiency 'upgrades' during the build that's really surprising.

[banker]

Originally Posted by firstclassflyer

Seems average to me..considering the thermo settings. I thought you would do better.

I thought I would do better as well. Not sure if the dark brick has anything to do with it. The west side of the house gets very hot to the touch on the exterior brick. Also - the dark roof doesn't help. Granted that was for 32 days...not sure why.

I really hoped that it would be less. I have noticed that we have and use a lot of the recessed lights - all over the house - where our last house had no recessed lights and flourescent in the kitchen. Not sure what to think.

[banker]

Originally Posted by satx56

You've gotta be kidding! Two story! Of course, you do keep your thermostat set pretty high. I'd be happy with that bill almost any month. That's the largest bill you've ever gotten in San Antonio? I most commonly get $300 plus bills in the summer months. But, have had $400 plus bills in the past. Count your blessings! Not sure of sq. footage here 3 bedroom bath & 1/2. Fairly small home. Is CPS still giving special rates for all electric homes on northside?

First - no I get no special rates.
Second - my house is electric and gas (cooktop/water heater/furnace)
And my house is 2,775 square feet on the first floor with 9 and 10 foot ceilings nearly all exposed to the attic (which is less efficient than having an air conditioned second floor above it. The guest bedroom/bath that is upstairs is 440 square feet and is above the den. I do know that excessive attic exposure drives up the bill when compared to a full two story.
We have double pane low e with argon windows and an energy star certified insulation package. The unit is a single five ton running three thermostatically controlled zones - which is less efficient in some circumstances than two units...but was the "best" option I could get during the design phase.
Our temp range is 77 degrees between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM (while getting ready), 79 degrees between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM and 78 degrees between 7:00 PM and 6:00 AM. We did the same temp spread in our last house for the hot months (June/July/August) and then bring it cooler as the exterior temp drops. I just can't see keeping a house so cold when it is near 100 degrees outside.

Anyway - I had high hopes for the first month as was disapointed to say the least.

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by banker

First - no I get no special rates.
Second - my house is electric and gas (cooktop/water heater/furnace)
And my house is 2,775 square feet on the first floor with 9 and 10 foot ceilings nearly all exposed to the attic (which is less efficient than having an air conditioned second floor above it. The guest bedroom/bath that is upstairs is 440 square feet and is above the den. I do know that excessive attic exposure drives up the bill when compared to a full two story.
We have double pane low e with argon windows and an energy star certified insulation package. The unit is a single five ton running three thermostatically controlled zones - which is less efficient in some circumstances than two units...but was the "best" option I could get during the design phase.
Our temp range is 77 degrees between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM (while getting ready), 79 degrees between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM and 78 degrees between 7:00 PM and 6:00 AM. We did the same temp spread in our last house for the hot months (June/July/August) and then bring it cooler as the exterior temp drops. I just can't see keeping a house so cold when it is near 100 degrees outside.

Anyway - I had high hopes for the first month as was disapointed to say the least.

I'm sure the windows help a lot. These houses we are in never had central air. But the way we live in this house some areas are sectioned off. We have 3 approx. 5,000 btu window units and one 10,000. We only cool certain areas most of the time. But, that's a total of 25,000 btu barely over 2 tons. They are not all used all the time. Still think your doing pretty good on the bills. P.S. last months bill was 276.## This month closer to $300

[firstclassflyer]

Hmm..we have approximately the same square footage, run by the 5 ton single unit as well (came with house). Radiant barrier and solar screens on our West facing home. No shade trees around the house. We prefer low, easy maintenance landscaping (cactus, sagos etc) and are definitely not tree people.
Age= 5 years. (paid cash and 4 sides brick )
Our temp is set at 75 for the summer. Day or night. Wife, MIL and baby son are home all day. During the winter, I set the heat at 68..we like it cooler at night.
Our bill this past month was on par with yours Banker but with one difference. We have an all electric home, so no gas bill.