Utilities/Electric bills in Texas (Corpus Christi, Amarillo: loft, townhouse, construction)

[NOTAM]

ok been gone for 3 years, but i dont recall having really high electric bills. i asked the realtor and several folks online in Texas (dont matter if it is South Texas or Amarillo or DFW) and they quote that monthly bills run 250 and up a month!
wow...i dont know how...i do know one thing, if it is below 70 outside, i am freezing, so i am very cold-natured, so i know i wouldnt be cranking the AC much down in Corpus area. and from what i hear, winters are not too cold, so i cannot see how i could have bills like that! plus i dont have kids-its just me and two small dogs, and i am gone alot working...and it looks like i might have a 2 br townhome-real small...brick exterior.
so whats the deal?
also i remember before i moved from Texas, that i had to choose electric companies-they had started having several options besides TU or whatever it was..so which are good companies? or are they different in different regions of TX?

[Steel Man]

Check this web site for electric rates in Corpus Christi:

http://www.electricitytexas.com/citi...s_christi.html

[neddy]

Belle was Jen able to help you out at all? Don't know if you get to chose in the CC area cause we don't chose who supplies elec in SA but good luck to ya

[pioneer8]

Hi there. When we moved to TX last October, we didn't use air or heat until May (I think)... I remember thinking the bills were fabulous. We froze a bit and had a fire going all day (which was so cozy, but hard work with a wood burning one)-

Anyway, when we put the air on (about 78 in the day and 76 in the night) the bill soared to about $360. Holy Moly! We were so astonished by it. Our home is about 2500 square ft., two story (it has an extra unit for the upstairs, but we dare not use it) -Luckily, the second floor is a big loft looking down and is all open. This way the air circulates.

My tribe and I are home almost very day... so a lot of electricity is being used- Unlike yourself, there are eight in this house.

The home is well insulated, brick, and newer... We are outside of Abilene.

We did take a couple of steps to try to lower the bill. Firstly, I stopped drying clothes in the dryer... This was huge. I hang them all around the house each day. (Funny enough, I think it helps put a little humidity into the air.) Secondly, instead of five hours a day, we try to run the pool pump more like three. Thirdly, we all try to remember to take shorter hot showers and obviously, turn stuff off when not in use. All of this has kept our bill at about $300. Still WAY too high- though, $60 cheaper.

Thank goodness things are cooling down again. I talked to the power co (Oh, we even changed once, from a "save the earth" co. that cost a bit more... to one of the cheaper ones.) (Sorry Earth) and they said we could qualify for the "average billing" type program (in Oct). This will, hopefully, keep the bills more even instead of huge ones in the summer and small in the winter. If it's any consolation, my family in FL say... the bills have gotten out of wack there as well.

It sounds as though you will have a bit of an easier time being one person. Hope so, anyway. Hope this was informative for you.

[neddy]

Hey Pioneer 8 most of the people that I know that have a 2 story with 2 zones (ac unit for down and up) find that its actually a little cheaper to run both units. That way neither unit draw loads of elec and you might save some.

[pioneer8]

Are you kidding me??? Oh my gracious... what a time to find out... and the heat is on it's way out! Thanks for the info. There's always next year. Really, thanks.

[Cathy4017]

ok been gone for 3 years, but i dont recall having really high electric bills.

It depends on a lot of things....besides the obvious, the type of system you have makes a LOT of difference in how high your bill is. I have a small 2BR/2BA townhouse. The older my system got, the less efficient it was, and the bills kept climbing.

I replaced it 3 years ago with a new much more energy-efficient unit, and even with the higher overall energy prices, the monthly amount was cut in half or less.

It had been running $300 a month (thermostat set on 78, not that hot outside) before the spike in energy prices--I hate to think what they would have been had I not replaced a 23-year-old H/V/AC.

My highest bill was $250 during the hottest month (108 degrees outside), but I keep my thermostat at about 74. I cannot STAND to be hot. I am also total electric, with no option at all for gas.

So...what your bill is will depend on a lot of different things. I never bothered to change electric service.

[musicman107]

As a Professional Home Inspector in Texas...here are some comments:
Trees shading south and west part of home can make a difference...no tree shade at all S/W, your home gets blasted by the scorching sun , no matter where you are in Texas.
Attic insulation: Rule of thumb: Abs. Min. of R-30 evenly distributed in attic; even better: R-38, however, if you already have good R-30, the slight reduction in heating/cooling bill has a fairly long 'pay-back' time for the investment in extra insulation; so going from R-30 to R-38 is a questionable investment; better investment would be to make sure all doors, windows, openings are properly sealed against air leakage.
Attic ventilation: best to keep attic cool (and associated HVAC components and 'flex ductwork") is a combination of low intake air (such as continuous soffit vents, combined with a high location of top ventilation (ridge vents, or numerous 'pancake vents' or 'turbine vents') that can let hot air escape as high as possible...that can help.
Winter vs. summer bills: If you're using electr. heat, be prepared for high bills in winter if you set the thermostat very high....electr. heat is more expensive than gas heating (which is still not cheap if you set therm. at 78 F...) I've got central electric heating, and bills in Cen Texas can be as high as they are in the summer!!!
And perhaps at least important, if not more so than above, have someone check all the flex ductwork connections from plenum to all registers in the attic/ceiling.....I have been in SO many attics in which I have felt a whole lot of air-conditioned cold air blasting into the attic, so your poor air conditioner is trying not only to cool your home, but also a 130+ F attic!!! And by the way, good ole fashioned 'duct tape' is no longer an approved method for sealing any leaking ductwork..for good reasons..in the hot attic, duct tape lasts for awhile, but dries, cracks, and falls off...check with a Home Depot or Lowe's and inquire about newly approved/recommend aluminized tape for sealing ductwork.
Side note: the typical flexible (and insulated) ductwork in attics (that have been used as the standard for many, many years) have known to be rather inefficient....they are "ribbed" inside, creating air flow restriction, often are lying directly upon the ceiling (they're supposed to be supported every 4 ft OFF of the ceiling and insulation, which is often not the case), and flex ductwork is often found to be "kinked", adding to obstruction of proper air flow efficiency.
Rectangular metal ductwork, (with little or no obstructing properties within them) more commonly found in commercial properties, properly insulated is much more efficient with distributing air....there is currently a big push by metal ductwork manufactuers' to "abolish" flex ductwork...some recent Fla. studies have some data to back up the much improved efficiency of metal ductwork..currently, replacing of all flex ductwork with metal would probably be a fairly expensive proposition....have no idea on what the "pay back" time would be for this.
If home has double-paned windows, that's a plus.
If not, and you have sun-exposed S/W home, consider either/or: self-adhevise/squeegee-on reflective materials...or replacing screens which are designed to help reflect heat, and at the same time, keep heated air from radiating outward during the wintertime...
just some thoughts,
musicman107

[Just Lookin]

musicman107, thanks. That is valuable information. I printed it out and will take it when we find our new home. Those are things we don't think about when we see a beautiful home. We just want it and ask questions after we signed the papers.

I appreciate it a lot.

[Steel Man]

Originally Posted by Bound for Texas

musicman107, thanks. That is valuable information. I printed it out and will take it when we find our new home. Those are things we don't think about when we see a beautiful home. We just want it and ask questions after we signed the papers.

I appreciate it a lot.

musicman107,
Great post. These are the type of helpful posts that are really appreciated.

Bound for Texas,
If you're going to build a new home, I recommend you hire a housing inspector. If not, at least take a look at this site to see some of the things you need to look for. And, take lots of pictures during the building process.

www.inspectpros.com/new%20construction.htm