Utilities help (Austin: fit in, apartment, home)

[Denver303TJC]

Hi,
I got my first COA bill and was a bit surprised to see how high it was (relatively). I have a 1 BR apt and usually run the AC for maybe a couple hours a day. My apt doesn't face the sun, so it usually doesn't get hotter than 81 degrees inside, as per the thermostat. At night, I sleep with the ceiling fan on and keep the AC off. I always turn off the AC when I leave, so I'm not being wasteful. Thus, do ceiling fans really use that much power? My billing dates were the 15th to the 3rd (as I recall) and my elec bill was $47, plus the other COA fees, which bumped it up to about $70. I understand that $47 isn't insanely high, but for less than a month, it seemed on the high side, considering I don't always run the AC. Are elec prices in Austin always high during the summer? I realize COA power is a monopoly, so I can assume their prices may be higher than surrounding cities. To save on future power bills, should I only run the AC if its really hot inside? Also, would it be shrewd to buy a small fan and run that at night instead of the ceiling fan? I would sleep with the fan off, but it feels a bit humid if I don't have any fans running at night.

thanks!

[Denver303TJC]

**I recently moved back to the States after living abroad for a few years, so I'm not up-to-date on what electric prices are the norm nowadays.

[centralaustinite]

OMG! you are nuts! Run the AC all the time, way more efficient that way. Turn it up when you leave the house, do not turn it off.

Do you change the AC filter every month? Do you have solar screens? Do you keep the blinds/curtains closed during the day?

And yes, electric rates are higher in the summer. Budget for a bigger electric bill in the summer. You won't last long here with those kinds of habits.

[10scoachrick]

Check the actual usage charge vs the various fees. Pretty much you will have control only over the amount of electricity you use...we are stuck with the fees.

It might take a bit of experimenting; but if you let your place get over mid-high-eighties while you are gone, you might be asking too much of the A/C to cool that down to a comfortable temp. Might be better for the A/C to come on a time or two during the day rather than have it reach such a high temp. That will help with humidity, also...IF that is a concern. IF it only reaches 81 or so when the unit isn't running, it sounds like the system isn't working properly if it has to run 'a lot' to cool the place...say to 76 or so for comfort.

Good chance the ceiling fan is pulling about the same juice as a 75 watt light bulb(less or more depending on the design and condition); but it only works if the breeze hits bare skin. Mixing the hot air relatively closer to the ceiling with the 'cool' air that pools toward the floor is of no benefit in terms of 'feel'...a fan is practically useless if no human is there to feel the breeze(it CAN help with humidity to some degree...kinda, sorta).

[Nitwhit]

It costs 30 - 40 dollars each month just for the privilege of paying taxes on this service. My entire bill here with taxes in the 90's was about 40 dollars.

[FalconheadWest]

I agree that you should never turn the AC off. It takes more electricity to cool the place back off than it does if you just leave it running constant all day. You do know it's been over 100 degrees since you moved there, right? It takes a lot to cool the place off from 100 down to the 81 you said it gets.

[tibbar]

What everyone else has said....leave the AC on. I have mine set for 79 degrees and we use a floor fan when we are in the room to create a breeze. That slight breeze hitting us is enough to stay pleasantly cooled off. We do bump the AC way up when we leave for a few days but it runs forever when we get back so I don't think we are saving anything unless we are gone quite a while.

Our first apartment was total electric. If yours is also heating water and any cooking may be why the bill seems high.

[scm53]

As others said, turn your a/c up about eight degrees when you leave for work - vice turning it off.

If you can't remember to do it, and your apartment will allow it, you can get an $85 rebate from Austin Energy on a Nest smart thermostat. They run about $225 on EBay. Not only can you program it, it detects when you aren't home via the "auto away" function. Some other tricks in there as well. Like telling it that you want it 76 when you get home at 6, and it know how long it take to get there so it starts at the right time. Just a really elegant solution, that Austin Energy will help pay for.

[Denver303TJC]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

OMG! you are nuts!
.

If I had a quarter for everytime someone told me that...

[Denver303TJC]

Originally Posted by tibbar

What everyone else has said....leave the AC on. I have mine set for 79 degrees and we use a floor fan when we are in the room to create a breeze. That slight breeze hitting us is enough to stay pleasantly cooled off. We do bump the AC way up when we leave for a few days but it runs forever when we get back so I don't think we are saving anything unless we are gone quite a while.

Our first apartment was total electric. If yours is also heating water and any cooking may be why the bill seems high.

Thanks for the reply! I don't understand why its cheaper to run it all the time instead of only running it a few hours a day... Is it since the AC has to "crank itself up and go full throttle to cool off?" Previously I was used to the window ACs where you'd turn it on and it'd blast the cool air. With those it'd be wasteful to keep them running all day since they were power hogs. I guess I readjusting to living with a thermostat and climate control (cue the Beverly Hillbillies music)