[ScoopLV]

Your friend should find a Kill-A-Watt device, and see where all the money is going.

At $490 for 1,400 sq ft, I assume your friend has incandescent bulbs burning 24/7 and is running the AC all day with the windows open.

[LVNVTrucker]

No kidding - $490 bucks -- must be growing dope indoors with all the UV lamps .
I'm in a older 1300 sq ft, 3 bdroom apt. Their are 4 adults living here. We are all electric. A/C is set at 70* and this time of year runs almost non-stop. Between electric water heater, dishwasher, 3 TVs on, lights on, clothes washer & dryer usually running all the time, just got the electric bill from NVEnergy the other day. For all of July we used 1733kwH for a total bill of $218.65, the highest bill of the year .

[DebutyDog]

ok.....I wish no judgement on how each of us spend our OWN money as we chose......
my house....1800 sq ft, 2007 std builders model, no improvements / no extras......
we are on "time of use" electric; electric cost 400% more between 1 PM to 7 PM........
air conditioning used as follows:
ON 9:45 AM to 12:45 PM temp 80 down to 74
OFF 12:45 PM to 7:15 PM temp 74 up to 83 (usually stays below 80 until about 5:00 PM)
ON 7:15 PM to 12:15 AM temp 83 down to 74
OFF 12:15 AM to 9:45 AM temp 74 up to 80

July 7, 2011 bill $94............August 6, 2011 bill $103 ie; primarilly June & July bills for danknee"s benefit to understand

and regarding on peak time usage, other than normal refrig., etc., we only use 1 TV, 2 ceiling fans, and 2 laptop computers

[Danknee]

Originally Posted by DebutyDog

ok.....I wish no judgement on how each of us spend our OWN money as we chose......
my house....1800 sq ft, 2007 std builders model, no improvements / no extras......
we are on "time of use" electric; electric cost 400% more between 1 PM and 7 PM........
air conditioning used as follows:
ON 9:45 AM to 12:45 PM temp 80 down to 74
OFF 12:45 PM to 7:15 PM temp 74 up to 83
ON 7:15 PM to 12:15 AM temp 83 down to 74
OFF 12:15 AM to 9:45 AM temp 74 up to 80

July bill $94............August bill $103

FYI, 11 whole days into August when you wrote this.

[scociny]

We have a 3300 single story home, two air conditioners with a pool. The house was built in 2005 and we keep our thermostat on 78 in the main living area during the day and bump up the temp to the bedrooms. At night, we just swap and put the bedrooms down to 78 and the main living area up to 80 while we sleep. Our last bill was $300, the month before that it was $235. Also, I am a stay at home mom so the tv is on, fans etc.

[wwu123]

Originally Posted by Danknee

FYI, 11 whole days into August when you wrote this.

Why did you edit his quote? He gave his billing cycle dates and acknowledged the Aug 6 bill was primarily covering the previous month of July...

[wwu123]

Originally Posted by DebutyDog

ok.....I wish no judgement on how each of us spend our OWN money as we chose......
my house....1800 sq ft, 2007 std builders model, no improvements / no extras......
we are on "time of use" electric; electric cost 400% more between 1 PM to 7 PM........
air conditioning used as follows:
ON 9:45 AM to 12:45 PM temp 80 down to 74
OFF 12:45 PM to 7:15 PM temp 74 up to 83 (usually stays below 80 until about 5:00 PM)
ON 7:15 PM to 12:15 AM temp 83 down to 74
OFF 12:15 AM to 9:45 AM temp 74 up to 80

July 7, 2011 bill $94............August 6, 2011 bill $103 ie; primarilly June & July bills for danknee"s benefit to understand

and regarding on peak time usage, other than normal refrig., etc., we only use 1 TV, 2 ceiling fans, and 2 laptop computers

My parents' home is not too dissimilar - 2007 builders model, 2100 sq ft. Std electric rate scale - July 12 bill $72, August 10 bill $83. They are elderly and did move from a more humid semi-tropical climate, so they do benefit from being comfortable with the thermostat at 82 round-the-clock.

Some modest efforts probably also helped. I changed all the lighting fixtures from incandescent to CFL when they moved in. Plantation shutters on all the windows are kept closed during the day. Solar screened porch prevents afternoon sun from directly hitting back patio and west side of house.

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by Danknee

FYI, 11 whole days into August when you wrote this.

Originally Posted by wwu123

Why did you edit his quote? He gave his billing cycle dates and acknowledged the Aug 6 bill was primarily covering the previous month of July...

Dankee didn't edit his quote. Take another look at DeputyDog's post, paying particular attention to the reason for edit section. The post was edited specifically to address Dankee's response.

[tiger08]

I've said this before but just a reminder, everyone make sure you keep you a/c systems properly serviced and have a competent tech make sure all ductwork is properly sealed.
Also, everytime I'm in Lowes or HD, I see everyone buying pleated high dollar filters. Be warned, most of those filters are very restrictive right out of the package and most say on the package that they are good for 90 days, wrong!! Any unit in this valley that is running over 1 month with pleated filters is choking to death.
I buy the old fashion cheap fiberglass filters and change them every 3 weeks and they filter just fine. Any old school competent tech will agree with me on this.
One more thing, just because your ductwork is sealed properly, does not mean that it was installed right, or is the proper size. I have seen alot of undersized duct systems here and all that does is help kill compressors and raise the power bill. Not to mention, it is also bad for heat exchangers to have poor airflow across them.

[stockups]

we have 1775 SQUARE FOOT HOME NO POOL OUR ELECTRIC RUNS ABOUT 200 IN JUNE AND JULY AND ABOUT 250 IN AUGUST THAT WITH THE AC KEPT AT 78 IN THE WINTER IT GOES ANYWHERE FROM 40 TO 50 PER MONTH.