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Old 07-13-2009, 04:05 PM
 
354 posts, read 2,430,822 times
Reputation: 255

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephanie P View Post
Do you know what you are paying per kWh?
My husband and I are with Gexa, we signed with them a few years ago due to low kWh and they give us airline miles.
Well...it turns out, after our 12 month contract was up, we were put on the deferred rate, 18.03 kWh!!! Our bill today was $432.48.
Now, it is our fault for not looking at the kWh, but really, WTF?!
He called them today and they immediately switched us to 9.2 kWh.
Yea we are paying 17.7 kwh. Got July's bill today...$583!!!!! Switched to 10.1 kwh today. Something needs to give with the energy costs. In MS the heat is comparable and I never saw a bill over $200!
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Old 07-13-2009, 04:08 PM
 
258 posts, read 954,793 times
Reputation: 103
Wow 9.2 and 10.1 are great rates during the summer. Companies usually jack up the rates at this time since people are shopping around.
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Old 07-13-2009, 06:01 PM
 
332 posts, read 1,323,945 times
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This is one of those tactics Gexa is especially known for. I got sucked into one of those airline point deals too. When the period elapses, their rates soar and they nail you for a month or two until you catch on to lock into a low rate again.
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Old 07-13-2009, 06:53 PM
 
Location: Center Twp, PA
469 posts, read 1,452,085 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CanTex View Post
This is one of those tactics Gexa is especially known for. I got sucked into one of those airline point deals too. When the period elapses, their rates soar and they nail you for a month or two until you catch on to lock into a low rate again.

I think it is because it is automatically deducted from our checking account (to get the airline miles) that we did not monitor the rates like we should have.
Okay, $583? Wow, and I thought I kept my house cool!

Last edited by Stephanie P; 07-13-2009 at 06:54 PM.. Reason: Typo.
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Old 07-13-2009, 07:03 PM
 
354 posts, read 2,430,822 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephanie P View Post
I think it is because it is automatically deducted from our checking account (to get the airline miles) that we did not monitor the rates like we should have.
Okay, $583? Wow, and I thought I kept my house cool!
And that's the thing...my thermostats never dip below 77 during the day and 75 at night! I think something is terribly wrong! But most ppl just keep assuring me that "Thats Texas!"
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Old 07-13-2009, 07:08 PM
 
Location: Charleston Sc and Western NC
9,273 posts, read 26,498,768 times
Reputation: 4741
Quote:
Originally Posted by rubynicholson77056 View Post
And that's the thing...my thermostats never dip below 77 during the day and 75 at night! I think something is terribly wrong! But most ppl just keep assuring me that "Thats Texas!"

Yeah. I'm already at 69 at 8:07 on two stats, 71 on the third. My AC bills aren't the worst case scenerio as seen in this thread. My house was built in the 60's.
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Old 07-14-2009, 07:55 AM
 
Location: Houston and Old Katy
567 posts, read 1,622,675 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CanTex View Post
You should check you two most recent bills to see if the reading on either is based on an estimate. You might be in for a surprise yet, especially if the most recent is an estimate which was too low. You can check this against your own reading of the meter.
That's actual usage. I rarely break 1000 KWH. This was the highest I used since 2006.
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Old 07-14-2009, 08:48 AM
 
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,844,510 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CptnRn View Post
Higher ceilings help, most older homes built before air conditioning had high ceilings, since heat rises, the hotter air rises up near the ceiling and the cooler air stays near the floor where the people are.

No question big trees around your home help a lot. They shade the house and yard, making it cooler. Your HVAC system will operate more efficiently if the air around the condenser is cooler. The best and cheapest long term investment you can make for your house is to plant trees around it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tstone View Post
Newer homes are somewhat cheaper to cool than older, and they stay more balanced and comfortable. I've experienced both and besides the high ceilings (and even higher attics) there are other design nuances that make them superior. Usually the multiple air filters are high in the ceiling instead of near the floor, so they remove/re-circulate the hottest air. The registers are blowing towards the heat grade instead of into the center of the room. The taller attics allow the ducting system to be raised higher for a better balance and better longetivity.
Good info/advice.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rubynicholson77056 View Post
Yea we are paying 17.7 kwh. Got July's bill today...$583!!!!! Switched to 10.1 kwh today. Something needs to give with the energy costs. In MS the heat is comparable and I never saw a bill over $200!
Don't even get me started on the deregulation here!
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Old 07-14-2009, 09:11 AM
 
Location: Center Twp, PA
469 posts, read 1,452,085 times
Reputation: 310
Quote:
Originally Posted by rubynicholson77056 View Post
And that's the thing...my thermostats never dip below 77 during the day and 75 at night! I think something is terribly wrong! But most ppl just keep assuring me that "Thats Texas!"
I think there must be something wrong. Our house is around 2400 sq ft., one story. We keep our a/c at 74 during the day, 70 at night. I am hoping our next bill will be cheaper with the dramatic reduction in the price we are paying per kWh. Have you had your a/c serviced lately?
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Old 07-14-2009, 01:54 PM
 
Location: Richmond, TX.
125 posts, read 615,063 times
Reputation: 42
I just learned something. I noticed last week that my A/C was running all day and half the night for no apparent reason. I called the A/C people out and they charged my A/C with very little freeon saying that might help. They checked the coil in the attic and found it clean and free of leaks. So I got to thinking, my house is 5 years old, nothing has changed on the system or in my house, so what is causing this change? I determined that because of the excessive heat out side my attic temp has to be higher than normal. Maybe I have air from the attic travelling down the wall affecting the thermostat. By the way my thermostat is the kind that is programable and sits in the wall not mounted on the wall. So, I pulled the thermostat out of the wall and let it hang by the wires out side of the mounting box and all of a sudden the temp. reading started dropping. I put a few of my fingers in the box and did feel a draft in the box coming through the hole where the wires enter the mounting box. I then put the thermostat back in the opening and the temp reading started increasing right away. I got some plumbers putty and plugged the hole then noticed the gap around the edge of the box so I caulked that closed. I let the caulk dry then put the thermostat back in and fastened it. The temp stayed the same. It didn't rise at all. so now that I have sealed the mounting box my A/C cycles and keeps my house cool. Hind sight is 20/20 and am now wondering how much money I have waisted over the last 5 years, but I am also going to enjoy the extra low electric bills to come.
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