Average electric/gas/water prices... (McKinney, Howe: apartments, homes, water heater)

[ld.roddy]

Just wondering if any one could give estimates of what I should expect my gas/electric/water to be? Please include estimates for peak months as well. I know everyones consumption is different, just looking for "guess"-imates. I'm VERY conservative. We currently live in a 1100 square foot, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment, all electric & our highest energy bill thus far has been $140 (winter) & $50 for water/trash/sewer. The home we're moving to was built in 2006, 2211 square feet, 2 story single family home with 3 bedroom & has 2 1/2 bathrooms. Not sure if this applicable to my question or not but the home is on Silverado Trail in Mckinney, TX. Thanks in advance for your answers!

[lh_newbie]

2211 sq ft home built in 2006 - so I'm assuming that they built it with the new federal mandate of a minimum of 13 SEER AC. Do you know if it's natural gas heating or electric? Many of the developments in McKinney were electric only.

I'll assume it's natural gas heating + hot water and has no pool. I'll also assume that being built in 2006, it has no shade trees. Based on these assumptions, I'd guess you'll have an average usage of ~ 900-1000 KwH/month, with a peak summer usage of 1800KwH/mo in July and August, so based on today's pricing, average electric bills will be $90-100/month with a peak around $175-185. Expect your gas bills in the winter months to peak around the same and to $20-30/month during spring/summer/fall. I believe water/trash/sewer bills, assuming you are running a sprinkler system ~ 3 times a week for 10 mins/zone to be $80-100/mo during the summer and then to drop to $50-60/month during the winter when you're really just maintaining a watering plan to keep some moisture in the ground near the foundation.

Hope this is helpful.

Brian

[KnLBurks]

Well, we are very conservative as well. We have lived in 2 different homes in the DFW area as well as a huge variety of apartments. And of course, the answer is it depends.

Our first home was 2500 sq ft and all of our bills together averaged 100/mo. We had it built (1997) and focused on energy effeciency. Our second home (2001) was 3300 sq ft. We also focused on energy effeciency as well. I'm not sure all the reasons, but our bills rose quite a bit. I would say to an average of $200/mo for only a/c and heat. I do know that gas prices went up extensively (and this was mainly our 2 water heaters which we had on a timer). Our electricity rate now is $.08 kwh. Our water is expensive (roughly $80/mo), but we have a large yard. Another difference is that we had 3 a/c units in the second home. Our most expensive bill was $350. However, many of our friends had much, much higher bills.

That being said, our most expensive bill ever was in a small apartment! A lot of it depends on how effecient the home was built and on the quality of the a/c as well as your usage.

There used to be a site that would allow you to put in an address and you could see the last 12 months worth of energy bills. I looked for it and I can't remember the site. You could also take your current kwhs and double it to get somewhat of an idea. I would recommend that you ask for the last 12 months bills from the potential sellers. Meanwhile, I'll keep looking for the sit. If I can find it, I'll post again.

As a side note, we bought a TED (The Energy Detective) which helped us identify and lower quite a bit of our energy consumption. Highly recommend it!

[txgolfer130]

Originally Posted by ld.roddy

Just wondering if any one could give estimates of what I should expect my gas/electric/water to be? Please include estimates for peak months as well. I know everyones consumption is different, just looking for "guess"-imates. I'm VERY conservative. We currently live in a 1100 square foot, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment, all electric & our highest energy bill thus far has been $140 (winter) & $50 for water/trash/sewer. The home we're moving to was built in 2006, 2211 square feet, 2 story single family home with 3 bedroom & has 2 1/2 bathrooms. Not sure if this applicable to my question or not but the home is on Silverado Trail in Mckinney, TX. Thanks in advance for your answers!

The homes in that area are relatively new, so efficiency should be okay. That being said, a blower test would be one of the first things on my list of to do's. In McKinney I would say 2-2.5x's your current winter bill for electricity depending upon where you keep the thermostat. Gas will be negligible. Mine is $30 during summer & $65 during winter (Dec/Jan). Your water bill will for sure be higher, hopefully you'll have a sprinkler system.

*** Shop around for your electric provider. It really can make a difference.***

That area is very nice. Welcome to McKinney.

[ld.roddy]

My estimates weren't far off from what y'all said to expect. I figure around $350-$400 (give or take a few dollars during peek months) for water/electric/gas. Thanks so much for the input!