North Florida to Big Island (Hilo, Waikoloa Village: renting, home, neighborhood)

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by Jane M

right on. I have to say that I am pretty miserable here in HI already and over 30 years in FL I was never this miserable. Has to be the air con. True about HELCO. last month I ran my dryer for 20 minutes and it cost me an extra $23 on my electric bill. Not kidding.

Where do you live? I'm at 1200' elevation near South Point, and we don't even have a/c in our house. We don't need it because we have a nice steady tradewind that keeps us comfortable. When I go to Kona, I always feel hot and sweaty, and am happy to return home. If you are miserable now, I don't know what you're going to do when summer comes.

What brought you to Hawaii? You sound like you really miss Florida!

[Jane M]

Dreaming: I live in Kona. Didn't expect to live here, but the house I am renting was only thing available at the time that would accept my dog.

I do miss Florida and California. I lived in the bay area and I love the culture and geographical diversity. But it was very expensive and starting to get very very crowded. It has grown tremendously in the last 10 years.

I grew up in Florida. I have been all over the state from top to bottom. The beaches, swamps and hammocks are beautiful. Florida has a weird, funky culture. It is a mix of people from all over the united states. The things that FL lacks is ethnic diversity (although it is getting better) and political progessiveness. I am ashamed of the stance the state has taken on gun, racial equality, global warming, and solar energy.

I moved to Hawaii because I loved visiting. I did extensive research and visited many times before my move. However, I don't feel I am a good fit for this state.

Thanks for asking!

[davephan]

Originally Posted by Jane M

right on. I have to say that I am pretty miserable here in HI already and over 30 years in FL I was never this miserable. Has to be the air con. True about HELCO. last month I ran my dryer for 20 minutes and it cost me an extra $23 on my electric bill. Not kidding.

That doesn't seem possible it could cost that much to run the drier. We have a natural gas dryer and natural gas water heater. In the summertime, when the furnace isn't running, it costs about $35 for natural gas, probably most of the natural gas is for the water heater. I don't know how much electricity it takes to run the natural gas drier. I run the drier about 25 times a month, on low heat, for 99 minutes per cycle. We use about 1,100 to 1,300 KWH per month, which is probably a lot for two people, and costs about $150. We don't really think much about conserving electricity.

What does it cost to dry a load of clothes at a coin operated drier at the laundrymat?

When I visited Kona, it often felt a little too hot and humid compared to other areas on the Big Island. It was nice, but I was sweating. If you're in a condo or apartment building, above other units, the heat from other units is probably heating up your unit. A friend of mine lived in the 8th floor apartment in Chicago near the top of a building. It was tough to cool it down enough in the summer. The AC unit struggled, probably because of all the heat rising from the units below him.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by davephan

That doesn't seem possible it could cost that much to run the drier. We have a natural gas dryer and natural gas water heater. In the summertime, when the furnace isn't running, it costs about $35 for natural gas, probably most of the natural gas is for the water heater. I don't know how much electricity it takes to run the natural gas drier. I run the drier about 25 times a month, on low heat, for 99 minutes per cycle. We use about 1,100 to 1,300 KWH per month, which is probably a lot for two people, and costs about $150. We don't really think much about conserving electricity.

What does it cost to dry a load of clothes at a coin operated drier at the laundrymat?

When I visited Kona, it often felt a little too hot and humid compared to other areas on the Big Island. It was nice, but I was sweating. If you're in a condo or apartment building, above other units, the heat from other units is probably heating up your unit. A friend of mine lived in the 8th floor apartment in Chicago near the top of a building. It was tough to cool it down enough in the summer. The AC unit struggled, probably because of all the heat rising from the units below him.

Dave, if you are going to compare costs to run appliances in Minnesota versus Hawaii, then you need to be looking at the cost per kwH. That's the only way to make a true comparison.

One year here in Hawaii, our electric bill went up by nearly $100. The only thing we did differently that month was to put up a couple of strings of Christmas lights on the outside of the house.

[Jane M]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

One year here in Hawaii, our electric bill went up by nearly $100. The only thing we did differently that month was to put up a couple of strings of Christmas lights on the outside of the house.

I hear you sister. To put things in perspective: I got my electric bill down to $88 dollars by: not turning on lights and using a flashlight, not using the drier, not using the ceiling fans and stovetop cooking only once a day. Additionally, if we do have to turn on any lights, all light fixtures have power saving LED bulbs.

So, essentially, the only thing running on a regular basis in our house is 2 laptops and the fridge.

On the Island of Hawaii electricity costs .44/ KWH.

We are in a rental house, and everything is electric. no gas

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Jane M

On the Island of Hawaii electricity costs .44/ KWH.

As someone else mentioned, nobody is paying 44 cents/kwh on Hawaii Island for a long time.

Current rate is 29.8 cents/kwh

https://hawaiienergy.com/about/get-the-facts

[Jungjohann]

Originally Posted by Jane M

right on. I have to say that I am pretty miserable here in HI already and over 30 years in FL I was never this miserable. Has to be the air con. True about HELCO. last month I ran my dryer for 20 minutes and it cost me an extra $23 on my electric bill. Not kidding.

So, your dryer uses 3 kw per minute? That's impossible, unless you have a flux capacitor hooked up to the black hole simulator in the gentle/knits cycle. (keeps wool crispy, and slightly radioactive). Either you're piha me kukae, (polite Hawaiian for full of %%**), or, if you're not on your own meter, your landlord if ripping you off. Why would you use a dryer anyway, especially when it's above 80 degrees, breezy, and dry outside.

Hope this,,, uuurrrppp, e kala mai ia'u, helps

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Jane M

last month I ran my dryer for 20 minutes and it cost me an extra $23 on my electric bill. Not kidding.

You are kidding.

Let's just do the math.

$23 is about 76.5 kilowatts at current Big Island rates (.30 kwh).

An inefficent dryer will use roughly 5,000 watts in 1 hour

5,000 watts / 1,000 watts = 5 kilowatts * 1 hour = 5 kwh, or typical usage about $1.50 load (and that is the upper range - most dryers would use less watts)

[Jane M]

All I am saying is that the only thing I did differently one month was run the dryer for 20 minutes and my bill increased by $23. I mean, maybe I ran a fan for 15 minutes as well. What I am saying is that Electric rates are double to triple the rate in most states and it's an absolute shocker.

I am not going to argue anyones math. For the KWH price, I was looking at HELCO's site of average electric rates on this Island:

https://www.hawaiielectriclight.com/...electric-rates

it's not .44, but according to the website .41 and some change

I did the math on my bill, and it looks like this month I got charged a little more than .30 per KWH

Last month, I was charged a little less than .32 per KWH and the month before a little more than .32 per KWH

[Jane M]

There is a million reasons to use a dryer, like, you don't have room to hang up clothes, or if you do have room to hang up clothes, your landlord doesn't want you to. Allergies to pollen, not getting bird **** on your clothes. Forgetting your clothes, having them rained on, and then having to wash them again. Maybe it's pouring cats and dogs and you need to wash your clothes that day b/c you have run out of uniforms or dress clothes for work. To keep mold from growing on your clothes or towels....etc