What are your heating bills like? (Denver, Grand Junction: apartment, houses, water heater)

[edelweiss]

We're in Los Angeles, and our heating bill during the "winter" (as if we really have seasons) is anywhere from $40-70. We're thinking of relocating to CO, probably the Denver area...

I've never lived where it snows, so I have no idea what it costs to heat a home when it gets that cold. I'm a stay at home mom with small children, so we'd probably have the heater on quite a bit during the winter months.

Also, what is the most common heat source?? I have only known heaters that run on natural gas living out here. How difficult is it to shovel snow?

[CosmicWizard]

I live on the western slope in Grand Junction. Compared to Virginia Beach which has a milder winter climate, our heating bills are considerably lower ( sorry, I can't recall the actual amounts ), even though we live in a house with an additional 600 sq ft. A good portion of the savings comes from the FREE heat that collects in the solarium on the sunny days, which is just about every day. Once it heats up we open the doors and blow the FREE heat into the house. As long as it's sunny, the heater doesn't run from about 10AM to 4PM even on the coldest days. There's also a few passive solar panels on the south roof, which cuts the hot water bill by about 30% according to the previous owner of the house.

BTW, it snows much less here than it does in Denver. Temperature wise, it varies. Sometimes it's colder in Denver and other times it's colder over here.

blessings....Franco

[nelumbo]

2BR apartment ~1000 sq ft, single pane floor to ceiling windows in the main living area (sealed so no drafts, and I 'winterize' with clear vinyl wrap but still), forced hot air (gas), near Denver. Electric and gas combined is about $150/month in the winter (~$25 in the summer), with temps kept at 55F at night/8-5 pm weekdays; ~70F on weekends and from 5-11 pm.

In contrast, a similarly sized apartment in Massachusetts cost $350-400 per month with oil heat (forced hot water baseboards, pre-Katrina oil prices) to keep temps 45-55 at night/weekdays and 60-65F when we were home. So I consider my bill here 'cheap' and sometimes crank it up to 72

There are many variables in heating costs - the temperature you set the house at, the age and type of heating, ceiling height, insulation, insolation (sun shining on your house), whether it is a multifamily, condition and type of windows, etc. I strongly recommend a programmable thermostat - these cost between $20-40 - and automatically turn the heat and/or A/C on and off on a schedule. They can save a lot of money since you won't forget to turn the heat down at night, and they also can warm up the house before you wake up/come home/etc. Most landlords seem to allow you to replace older dial thermostats with the programmable ones (if you rent) - they are very easy to install.

Snow shoveling difficulty depends on the nature of the snow. If it is very cold, snow tends to be light and fluffy and easy to move. If it is close to freezing, the snow can be very heavy. Snow usually melts quickly here, but if the forecast has an extended period of cold and/or cloudy days after a snowfall, do not wait a day or two to shovel - the snow will partially melt and refreeze in a dense pack which is very very very hard to remove. Snow that has been through a snowblower has a consistency rather similar to cement.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by edelweiss

How difficult is it to shovel snow?

Depends on the gravity. On low gravity days, like less than 5 meters per second squared (m/s^2) it's actually pretty easy but when the gravity kicks up to 15 or 16 meters per second squared it is really tough....

Just kidding. Actually if it is a really cold snow then the snow is lighter. If it is a spring snow and it is melting then it is much heavier. In fact my snowblower has a hard time when trying to blow snow that has the consistency of wet cement.

[italiaboy9]

Live in 720 sq feet apartment. heating/cooling bills vary from $52 to $65 a month. My digital thermostat sits at 72 during the winter and 73 during the summer.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by italiaboy9

Live in 720 sq feet apartment. heating/cooling bills vary from $52 to $65 a month. My digital thermostat sits at 72 during the winter and 73 during the summer.

Last February my heating bill hit something like $400 - that was really high but last winter was really snowy and cold. Our home is 6200 sqft with two 50 gallon water heaters and two furnaces - all gas, though we didn't let the basement get too warm maybe in the mid 60s unless someone is down there for awhile. Normally on the living and sleeping floors we set the thermostat for 67 in the evening. We don't have or need AC.

[inkydink55]

I live in a 2 bdrm house with basement.Winter bills run around $300

[BrianPhill]

One other thing to note - we just moved out from California and have already noticed that the houses on CO are far better insulated. Even on the couple of days that have been pretty chilly so far this fall, with temps not rising out of the 30s or 40s all day, we haven't run the heater nearly as much as in CA.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by BrianPhill

One other thing to note - we just moved out from California and have already noticed that the houses on CO are far better insulated. Even on the couple of days that have been pretty chilly so far this fall, with temps not rising out of the 30s or 40s all day, we haven't run the heater nearly as much as in CA.

How old was your California house? Mine was built in 69 and the house I grew up in was built in 74. Neither have any insulation at all in the exterior walls and only single pane windows. It doesn't take much to get a house like that cold inside.