Avg Electric bill

[bigbiceps]

TEP is might increase their rates by 23%

TEP Seeks Its First Rate Increase in 12 Years to Recover Rising Costs: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance (broken link)

[Subie]

Damn. Good thing I'm getting out of this house in September!

[Thunder_cb]

As stated, your bill depends on your preferences and home's insulation. We pay about $100 / Month for electricity and have the AC on 24 hours / day. Its a new 2000 sq ft home with good insulation. We're comfortable at 83 degrees. I'd freeze to death if it was in the 70s. I know someone in a old brick home in tucson that pays $200+ for gas in the winter while we paid $60 for the same month and we had a warmer setting. Insulation is your friend!

Even if the bill was $500 a month, I'd pay it. I love living here and my Vail home is 1/7 the cost of the place I lived in in San Francisco.

[AZheat]

1400 sq ft, new energy efficient AC unit and we have been running it 24/7. Highest bill so far was 170.00 last July and I wasn't happy. We should be getting a new TEP bill this week.

If the monsoons EVER kick in, we open up at night or after a storm to save $$.

[azloafer]

Originally Posted by AZheat

1400 sq ft, new energy efficient AC unit and we have been running it 24/7. Highest bill so far was 170.00 last July and I wasn't happy. We should be getting a new TEP bill this week.

If the monsoons EVER kick in, we open up at night or after a storm to save $$.

What temperature do you keep it at?

[AZheat]

oops...sorry......76

[azloafer]

Originally Posted by AZheat

oops...sorry......76

Thanks, the temperature paints a clearer picture.

[mortimer]

AZheat correctly advised:

> ... monsoons ... open up at night ... to save $$.

Wow. Someone willing to get off their butt to save
a couple of dollars. What a concept.

The power companies tell you what you will pay but
not how much you are required to use. If you are willing
to make some adjustments to your lifestyle, you can save
money.

We lived in Chandler which is about 7-8 deg warmer than
Tucson during the day and more than that at night. We
never spent more than $170 in any month for a 2650 sq ft
two-story. settings were about 79 day and 77 night.

However, we built the house with all the insulation we
could buy. We had shutters on the inside, good windows,
and sun screens on the E, S, and W face of the house.

I have a neighbor down the street who puts polystyrene
insulation in her windows to save money.

I have another neighbor with the same model house who
regularly spends $300-400 in Jun-Aug and has had bills
as high as $500, but he likes it cold.

During May, Jun, some of Sep & Oct, nights are always
cool enough to open the windows in the morning - even
in the Phoenix area.

Again, behavior is key. Use fans to make it feel cooler
in warmer temperatures. Pick the fan up and move it to
another room or buy more if you move. When you take a
shower, don't dry off fully and let the air cool you.

If you have a house less than 2,000 sq ft and you are
using more than 2,000 kWh of electricity every month,
you are using it very inefficiently.

Oh, one more thing: CF bulbs - everywhere you keep lights
on for long durations. If you have one of those bathrooms
with 6-10 bulbs illuminating the mirror, unscrew all but
1 or 2.

It's not the power company, it's your behavior.