Who is not using AC yet? (Austin, Hart: to buy, living in, floor)

[jobert]

Originally Posted by eileenkeeney

Since my electric bill is almost $100 when I do not even use the AC, I am expecting it to be several hundred for April.

wtf!? are you growing marijuana or something?

[calel]

I have a great big house and when we don't run AC our monthly electric-only bill is about $40.

Mine is too, but that's because PEC charges $22ish as a monthly membership fee.

[jobert]

I didn't mean to freak out, but on a serious note - are you turning off lights when you leave rooms? Do you have CFL fixtures?

[atxcio]

Yikes on some of these electric bill prices. I'm on Austin Energy and with nasty 80s vintage A/C units (2 of them), the highest I've racked up is about $385 for 3000sq ft... and that was just one month. Usually closer to $100, but definitely between $100-$200 most of the year. I guess that's still high, but hearing people in apts paying $700 is downright scary. Something is definitely wrong there.

[kleppekleppe]

Originally Posted by veloman777

My roommate and I, in our ground floor 2bd shaded apt, have yet to put the AC on. There were a few nights were it did get warm but not unbearable.

Also, how about AC in your car?

LOL, well I don't even drive my car, I ride my electric bike (No sweating) everywhere and it uses 1/10th of the power that a car AC uses....

It's been dry lately, so the heat isn't too bad IMO.

I just jumped in the outdoor pool which is cool, and I feel completely comfortable now. I have a fan in the window now that it's below 80 outside.

The problem is the humidity. I tried to open the windows last night. It is very windy and cool... But I cannot stand the humid air... I turned on my AC last night...

[HappyTexan]

No A/C here yet..able to open windows in the evening to get a cool breeze.
Don't feel the humidity...I came from Florida so as long as humidity stays under 90% I'm good

I'm also out in open country so I get some breezes even in the afternoons and have front and back porches to shade the windows.

My home is passive solar and sited north/south and it really does make a difference.

[maadimom]

3860 sq ft...2 ac's...still not on. Highest electric bill last summer $235. It's the double paned windows and extra insulation that saves us. We keep ac set at 76. When it comes on in the evening, I put a blanket across my legs while watching TV. We have PEC as well, and I think they are much higher than Austin.

[jread]

I've had my A/C on since mid-March (house and car). I can't really deal with anything hotter than 72-73 degrees indoors. To me, the heat is already miserable and it's only going to get worse. I dread the summer every year.

To those of you who still haven't turned on your A/C, what in the hell is wrong with you?

[CptnRn]

Our electricity only bill varies from $71 to $207 in the last 12 months for a 2300 sf house, double paned windows, extra insulation, 3 year old SEER 16 AC.

That peak last summer is about 30% higher then it had been in the previous two years, because of the high temperatures we had.

Yes we started running our AC in the spring as allergies would not allow us to breath if we did otherwise. Oak pollen was so thick you could scrap it up with a spoon.

[austinizer]

We already turned on our A/C last month a couple of times to reduce the relative humidity in the house. This week, our A/C has been coming on every day in the afternoon (we have a programmable thermostat set to 86 when we're not home and to 78 when we are home). Our 2nd story heats up quite easily these days (more specifically, the wall or air near where the thermostat is mounted heats up). I think this week the A/C only came on upstairs, mostly when nobody is upstairs (thermostat at 86). I tweaked the programmed timing and temperature a bit yesterday in an effort to make it come on less.