Expected utility costs for 975 sq ft (San Diego, Chula Vista: apartment, condo, townhome)

[calicoolguy]

Will be moving to Chula Vista area and first time ever had to take on every utility. Electric, gas, water ext. Not including Tv, Internet.

The place is 975 sq ft. Two bedroom. Everything gets used as normal, TV probably more then average person. 2 Tvs usually on good amount of time when off from work.

What kind of estimate do you think i will end up with by month end?

My first time living in SD so just curious

[moved]

It's hard to say. Every place is different. Check with SDG&E as to what the gas/electric bills have been in the past. Cable & Internet will depend on the company.

[Clevelandgal]

The big factor will be how close you are to the water and whether you are in an apartment or single family home. Apartment=heating cost next to nothing. When we lived downtown we never used the heat due to insulation from adjacent units. Now in a single family, it went on every night in the winter. I think the opposite is true with a/c. You need it more in an apartment b/c there is no cross ventilation. The highest gas/electric bill we ever had was ~$150, the lowest about $40 (ie this time of year when you use neither heating or cooling).we don't have a tv, but I don't think they use that much energy.

[moved]

It really depends on each individual usage, because everyone's usage is different. My gas/electric bill runs $18-$20 during the summer, and $40-$45 during the winter. I have no a/c, but do have a box fan, and ceiling fans in every room. In the winter, I use a space heater when I'm a the computer, turn it off when I'm not at it, and sleep under an electric blanket with two four legged heaters.

[earlyretirement]

Yeah, I agree with moved. It totally depends on your usage. Some people here NEVER use AC or not much heat and some people have it on several months out of the year.

I do agree with Clevelandgal that it does make a big difference if you're in an apartment or a SFH and how the heat gets absorbed. I haven't lived in an apartment in San Diego but I have in other cities and it's the same I'm sure.

But the bill will drastically differ based on usage. We live in a SFH MUCH bigger than the OP. But our lowest bill when we aren't using any heat or AC has been as low as $150 per month. But in the summer or winter when we use AC or heat the highest bill has been $550 or so. So there are big swings based on usage.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by Clevelandgal

The big factor will be how close you are to the water and whether you are in an apartment or single family home. Apartment=heating cost next to nothing. When we lived downtown we never used the heat due to insulation from adjacent units. Now in a single family, it went on every night in the winter. I think the opposite is true with a/c. You need it more in an apartment b/c there is no cross ventilation. The highest gas/electric bill we ever had was ~$150, the lowest about $40 (ie this time of year when you use neither heating or cooling).we don't have a tv, but I don't think they use that much energy.

^^ This.
Our place is a 1k s ft. SFH and pretty close to what Clevalandgal has here for utility costs. In the spring months like now (we are inland) its ~$39 for SDGE and ~$50/mo water (but we have irrigation system).
In the chilliest winters we have hit ~$150 from furnace usage and that was I think two winters ago for a month. When it gets chilly here it gets chilly.

In the summer, we will be up around $100 for a month or two for the AC usage.

We tend to like sleeping around 67 degrees so that is our comfort level, I am sure yours might vary which can impact the monthly costs.

In a condo or townhome, your heating costs might not be nearly as high. The condo we lived in downtown never had the heat on actually due to all the radiant heat that was trapped in the building during the day

[earlyretirement]

Yep Shmoov. Interestingly enough, our bills from your low point and your high point are almost exactly 4 X higher which correlates to our house being 4 times the size of yours. It's interesting to see that it's almost exactly the same relative to size from your low to high.

We are the same where we like sleeping in colder conditions in the summer. Funny as we also put 67 or 68 in the summer.

Although our water bill is MUCH more expensive than yours.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by Clevelandgal

The big factor will be how close you are to the water and whether you are in an apartment or single family home.

This is important. Chula Vista runs from the heat trapping foothills where you will need lots of summer A/C to bayfront breezes where you will rarely use A/C. Then as others have mentioned if you are single family or multi-family. SF results in lower A/C usage. MF makes for lower heat usage.

My place is about the same size as yours and I am on the mesa, above the beaches, but not in the hottest of the foothills and valleys. My SDG&E runs between $40 and $80. The $80 is the winter for heat, but I keep my place cool in the winter at 65 degrees. I don't have A/C, but sometimes wish I did. If you have A/C you will use it, it's too tempting not too, but it costs a lot.

Water depends on the size of your yard if SF. That can run from $110 every two months to $150 every two months during the summer. If you are a multifamily unit that is individually metered, but you don't have to pay for landscaping, then I would expect $110 to $120 every two months throughout the year. More if there are more people taking showers, washing clothes etc.