First summer in FL - electricity bills

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by bentlebee

Just a FYI...I heard on the radio (Kane show) that Kane gifted a wireless thermostat to one of the people who works for his show and it wasn't compatible and it cost a lot of money due to the short that was caused by the wireless NEST thermostat. I never knew that it could ruin the electrical wires but the other guy had over $ 500 to get it fixed which Kane said he paid.

We replaced ours with Honeywell wireless thermostats and we love how it works and saves us money.

Just to clarify:

The NEST and other such thermostats aren't "wireless". They can provide connectivity to the Internet through a wifi connection so you can control and manage them remotely. They connect to the actual system no differently than any other thermostat, electronic or manual, does.

However, some of the newer thermostats have limited applications in that they don't all work with some HVAC systems. Under certain circumstances, all of which are clearly documented with their installation instructions, they can damage the HVAC controls if misapplied or installed incorrectly.

RM

[bobandsherry]

I moved here from Chicago about 4 months ago, so welcome. My first year here as well. For comparison, ours is new home so good efficiency. It's 2,600 sq ft, 2 floor, 2 A/C units, everything is electric in the house (no gas). We keep temp at 73 during the day downstairs and upstairs at 75. We have upstairs at 73 at night and downstairs at 75. Our last electric bill was $85. We owned the house since August (job prevented us from moving in), but kept house at 77 while we weren't here and August bill was $135, September about the same and has dropped since then due to better weather.

Speaking to others who have lived here and an older home like yours, they were paying up to $350 in the summer, so get ready for your August bill.

First item to consider, check your pool pump. Given the age of the house, if your pool pump is not a variable speed GET IT REPLACED IMMEDIATELY. The Variable Speed pumps will pay for itself within a year over a single speed pump. We are having a pool installed, so have done some homework on pumps.

Them, get your AC checked (maybe low on freon) or if all checks out then get it replaced. The efficiency of the new units will pay for itself in about 2 years. Do not stop running your A/C, if you don't remove the humidity you'll end up finding mold down the road and will pay dearly to have that remediated. You had mentioned you need to replace furnace too, consider getting your A/C with heat pump, one expense to address two problems.

Check windows and doors for air leaks, caulk all the frames. Will not save a lot (unless you have a wind tunnel running through your house now), but will definitely help and should recoup the cost of materials within a year.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by bobandsherry

Check windows and doors for air leaks, caulk all the frames. Will not save a lot (unless you have a wind tunnel running through your house now), but will definitely help and should recoup the cost of materials within a year.

Any home you live in should be checked closely for air infiltration. TECO offers inspections for free along with blower door tests at a heavily discounted rate.

Based on what a good friend who is a commercial HVAC guy (like commercial buildings, not a service company) I went around and sealed every possible crack, crevice and opening at any and all junction and switch boxes in my walls and ceilings. It took me about a week to do this at my leisure and maybe one large tube of latex caulk.

Take the cover off light fixtures, everything that has a penetration into your ceiling especially, and caulk the gaps between the junction box as well as any openings in it where the wires come through.

I did this then had a blower door test done on the house. The technician who did the test said I had one of the tightest houses he had ever tested.

Our house is approaching 20 years old. We have more than the prescribed amount of insulation. The house gets direct sunlight most of the day in the summer. We keep the temperature at 74 whenever we are in the house, 78 when we leave.

When I sealed everything up, the following year we saved around $40/month in electricity costs. Our worst case bill before this was maybe in the low $200 range. Since I sealed everything we have yet to top $175.

We have a newer evaporator/air handler that was put by the previous owner. The condenser is (amazingly) the original unit that was installed when the home was built. Later this year or next I'm planning on replacing it with a newer, more efficient condenser.

If you make the effort you can manage the costs, and even reduce them in a lot of cases.

RM

[stumble]

3100 SF, Pool

FPL Bill for May 16 - June 16 was $134

Lots of Large Live Oaks, Tile roof, 2 AC units, (Day and night). Also newer Build. (2014)

[LKJ1988]

One thing that peeps lie about is power bills and Ins cost. I have a 900 sq ft house with a new A/C that is set for 78 and it cost me around $170 a month in the summer. The other 400 sqft does not have cent air.

[indytoflgirl]

Just a quick plug for American Home Warranty...75 a month for pool included.... in the 8 complete years we've been here.... $700 (had to pay for construction to house new unit) for $9000 HVAC: $65 for $3500 pool pump (with salt generator): $65 for plumber repair of a cracked ball valve (quoted price from plumber who was here to install new toilet) $267: repair of washing machine $65 for $250 quoted cost (Sears). Cousin signed on and in two months, they replaced an $1100 oven because the door broke and they couldn't repair it. He also had his HVAC replaced as about the same cost as us. They have been very responsive. They sent two contractors out for the air. The first guy which I reported, tried to get us to "scrap" our system and then his company would replace the system with their company for the difference. Highly recommend this additional "insurance".

[dothetwist]

Most recent bill was $125 with Duke Energy.

Older home, built in the 1940s, then expanded in 2007. 3BR 2BA, 1800 sq. ft. Have two zone system, one covers the large MBR addition, the other covers the rest of the house, so usually one is set high while the other is set low (unless we have company staying in the other BRs).

We have many historic windows and we like their look in the original part of house. If we upgraded them we'd save energy costs, but we've never had a bill over $150 so we're ok paying a little more for that ambiance.

We priced custom made windows with same design (double hung with 4 vertical panes over 1) and they were literally thousands of dollars each (and we have 10 of them). Would never recoup their cost against energy savings in our lifetime.

[EngGirl]

New house, 4000 sq ft, 2 stories, natural gas (TECO Peoples Gas = 30 a month), AC set on 78 on both floors and I am freezing as I am typing it sitting under the vent. We have TECO Electric and the highest we had was for last month, $90. Last year we lived in 10 year old house, 2500 sq ft, without natural gas, and our average bill for electric during the summer was $120.

[EngGirl]

Originally Posted by indytoflgirl

Just a quick plug for American Home Warranty...75 a month for pool included.... in the 8 complete years we've been here.... $700 (had to pay for construction to house new unit) for $9000 HVAC: $65 for $3500 pool pump (with salt generator): $65 for plumber repair of a cracked ball valve (quoted price from plumber who was here to install new toilet) $267: repair of washing machine $65 for $250 quoted cost (Sears). Cousin signed on and in two months, they replaced an $1100 oven because the door broke and they couldn't repair it. He also had his HVAC replaced as about the same cost as us. They have been very responsive. They sent two contractors out for the air. The first guy which I reported, tried to get us to "scrap" our system and then his company would replace the system with their company for the difference. Highly recommend this additional "insurance".

So you spent $7200 for this insurance over 8 years period + $895 in copays making it $8,095 total which saved you money? And if you wouldn't have these repairs you would waste a lot of money.
Some prices looks a little on the high side. We had new AC unit and all systems replaced in 2400 2 story house and paid $3700 total, so $9,000 sounds a little aggressive. About 5 years ago we had a house with the pool and had to replace pool pump motor which ended up around $600 and not $3500.
But I would say that - you are lucky that company was replacing things for you. I have few neighbors who were not so lucky. One guy had constant problems with his AC and had to pay for each visit out of pocket $75. People were coming and doing all sort of things... 7 times within 4 months! His insurance refused to do anything other than let him do service calls and pay copays each time. It really sounded like a scam to me.