does a $300+ heating bill to heat a 700sqft apartment seem high? (estimate, pay)

[TeacherMan]

We have an approx. 600 sq. foot place. We have two "in-wall" furnaces in our upper apartment. We keep the heat at 70 while we are home and 65 or so while we are gone. We DO run 2 humidifiers ALL the time (helps more than you would think). Our highest heat bill last winter was was not even $150 dollars.

Hope that gives you some insight.

Cheers,
-TM

[ChiMack]

well its chicago the taxes etc are high, it costs to live here here, plus if you live in one of those "hip" gentryfying areas then better be ready to pay up

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by eevee

it's gas. I hope we're only paying for one apartment (though we're in an attached "coach house" so there's no one above or below us, if that matters at all)

Hmmm. What do you mean by attached?

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by old_cold

I have no clue where the big discrepancy is between the budget billing amount and our actual bill for this month (I'm not even sure how the gas company comes up w/ the budget amount).

The budget plan isn't cheaper. It just averages out the bills so you pay approximately the same during the heaviest and lighter usage months.
Do be aware, if there is a shortage at the end because your usage is more than the figures used to calculate the budget, you will be billed for it.

Great post and very true.

[long101]

oh wow me and you are in the same boat. I live in about 750sq ft 2br and my heating bills last year were over 300 as well. I sent a couple e-mails to peoples gas saying there has to be some problems but of course they said the bill was correct and only for my unit. I set my heat at 68 when im home, 64ish at night, and around 55 when im not home. I dont understand it but whatever. That being said my lease is up in 6 weeks and im getting the heck out of there.

[vdy1985]

Tell you roommate to stop walking around the aptment with a tank top and shorts when it is December. Put on jeans and a hoodsweat and turn down the heat to 67 degrees. Or tell her to put on long johns, and turn down the heat to 63.

[Attrill]

That seems really high. We've never paid over $200 to heat a 1300 square foot SFH.

Do you know if your bill is actual or estimated? Sometimes they will estimate your bill for months and then do an actual reading. If the estimates were too low you'll be billed to cover any discrepancies.

[grapico]

you should look into the "budget" plan they offer... yeah your payments will be a little higher in summer but if a bill hits you like that you won't be burden with any surprises, we had around an 950 foot 2 1/2 bedroom and it was only like 70 a month on the budget plan. Also...just get used to wearing slippers and clothes around the house, and invest in a space heater

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by grapico

you should look into the "budget" plan they offer... yeah your payments will be a little higher in summer but if a bill hits you like that you won't be burden with any surprises, we had around an 950 foot 2 1/2 bedroom and it was only like 70 a month on the budget plan. Also...just get used to wearing slippers and clothes around the house, and invest in a space heater

I just thought of something else that might defray the bills...

If the roommate is into wearing the skimpiest outfits, just set up and web cam and with the right links she make enough to pay all the utilities

[long101]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I just thought of something else that might defray the bills...

If the roommate is into wearing the skimpiest outfits, just set up and web cam and with the right links she make enough to pay all the utilities

haha that was pretty good