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Moving into Greenville SC in November. Would one of you locals give me an idea what to expect for utility bills. The home I've bought uses Oil for heat, otherwise all electric. Trying to set up a budget. THANK YOU in advance for the feedback.
The best answer I can offer is that depends. On how much you use it, how much under air square footage you are in, if you have an efficient unit, if your units are regularly serviced, if you change the filters often enough, etc.
We moved from SoFL where our a/c bills were running $250/month in summer and roughly $100 in non summer months. That was for 1900 square feet with a new unit more than 4 years ago. I'm sure it's increased now.
Here in G'ville this year our summer peak bill was $260 for 2200 square feet only during July and August. In fall it drops to about $100 and then in winter we are using our gas fireplace a lot more than our central air and that costs significantly less.
I think consumption is the key word whenever you're trying to calculate utility expenses. It really does vary widely. We did not see a meaningful reduction from what we were spending before. Instead, our housing debt is greatly less. Many people new to the upstate seem to agree.
We are really looking forward to being able to turn the thermostat off and open the windows! We only rarely got to do that in Florida.
Hope your move is smooth one. You will enjoy Greenville!
A fuel oil furnace is definitely not the best way to heat your home. I'd suggest looking at the possibility of installing natural gas or even electric heat. Oil heat isn't nearly as dependable, efficient, comfortable or cost effective as either of the alternatives mentioned above. I can put you in touch with a very experienced, quite reasonable and dependable independent HVAC guy. I'm talking one who's saved me considerable money and headaches over the past 15 years. Give me a shout once you are in town.
Agree with converting to natural gas for heat. Here in Greenville we have Piedmont Gas and it is dependable. We have it for water heating and heating house. I only wish the house had piping installed for a gas stove and cooking range when it was built. We plan to do that when we build our house. Gas heating is much cheaper than electric heating. My office uses electric heat and in winter the bills are sky high, just like summer AC using electricity.
I called the utilities company and asked them what the average bill was running with current owners. Just about died when they told me the previous months bill, almost didn't close as well. Owners put in a new furnace before closing, which wasnt expected. They kept heat at 77 (it was winter), after closing, bill was less than half of what it was. Summer is definitely higher for me than winter, (like it cold) but my utility bills are less than what they were in SoFla!
It might be that you have oil as your fuel source because natural gas isn't available. Our house in Mauldin is all electric. We do not have nat gas lines in our neighborhood although the next subdivision over does. If your AC bills are higher than your heating bills you are definitely keeping your house cold. Our system won't do that when its consistently 95 for days on end! We see much lower usage in the summer than in the winter; however, my husband passed away this summer and he was always cold no matter how warm the house was in the winter. I don't know what this winter will bring for us! I am hoping for significantly lower bills. Our current budget billing payment is $200/mo for 1600 sq. ft. to Duke Energy.
It might be that you have oil as your fuel source because natural gas isn't available. Our house in Mauldin is all electric. We do not have nat gas lines in our neighborhood although the next subdivision over does. If your AC bills are higher than your heating bills you are definitely keeping your house cold. Our system won't do that when its consistently 95 for days on end! We see much lower usage in the summer than in the winter; however, my husband passed away this summer and he was always cold no matter how warm the house was in the winter. I don't know what this winter will bring for us! I am hoping for significantly lower bills. Our current budget billing payment is $200/mo for 1600 sq. ft. to Duke Energy.
Myrc60 - I am so very, very, sorry for your loss. Please accept my sincere condolences. If you would like some feedback on some nice senior groups, I would be happy to share.
Marie
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They kept heat at 77 (it was winter), after closing, bill was less than half of what it was. Summer is definitely higher for me than winter, (like it cold) but my utility bills are less than what they were in SoFla!
