[Tuser700]

Why am I hearing that the electricity bill is always high in the summer? Why is that? What if I'm barely home?

[C_A_Braun]

Will you be air conditioning your empty house?

[Tuser700]

Definitely not.

[Raiderman]

The electricity bill will be higher in the summer than the winter, for the obvious reason that it is consistently 110+ degrees during the day. If you are mindful of your thermostat, it doesn't have to be outrageous. We average about $150/mo during the summer on NV Energy's Time of Use plan. Our house is 2200sq.ft. and 2 stories with vaulted ceilings. We turn our A/C off between 1 and 7p from June-Sept. When it kicks on again at 7p, the interior temp is about 85-87 degrees.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Raiderman

The electricity bill will be higher in the summer than the winter, for the obvious reason that it is consistently 110+ degrees during the day. If you are mindful of your thermostat, it doesn't have to be outrageous. We average about $150/mo during the summer on NV Energy's Time of Use plan. Our house is 2200sq.ft. and 2 stories with vaulted ceilings. We turn our A/C off between 1 and 7p from June-Sept. When it kicks on again at 7p, the interior temp is about 85-87 degrees.

Another option for the OP is to turn the thermostat up to say, 83 or so while he or she's not home, so that it will not take as long to cool it down on arrival home. A programmable thermostat can be really useful.


Bills are higher in the summer due to the heat. How much higher depends on a lot of factors, the first being personal comfort, i.e., how cool you need the house to be.

[tiger08]

You guys need to realize that you will save more and come out ahead, if you would just set the thermostat in one place and try to leave it there. If you must use a programable stat, try not to vary more than a couple degrees.

[Raiderman]

Originally Posted by tiger08

You guys need to realize that you will save more and come out ahead, if you would just set the thermostat in one place and try to leave it there. If you must use a programable stat, try not to vary more than a couple degrees.

For me to save money, I would have to keep it at 90. That isn't comfortable for me.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by tiger08

You guys need to realize that you will save more and come out ahead, if you would just set the thermostat in one place and try to leave it there. If you must use a programable stat, try not to vary more than a couple degrees.

That's right, I don't vary mine much. For part of the warmer weather, I don't change it at all. Tile floors and ceiling fans help a lot, I never have mine below 80, sometimes a bit higher than that.

Originally Posted by Raiderman

For me to save money, I would have to keep it at 90. That isn't comfortable for me.

To save money, you'd have to keep it at 90? Sorry, that doesn't make sense. What do you keep it at in the summer now? One or two degrees higher in your constant setting can make a noticeable difference.

[airics]

last year, i did 76 when i was home..80 when not.....2700sf, 3 floor.. highest bill was $325

[Danknee]

Last year I did 80 when home, 76 while sleeping, completely off otherwise. $220 was my highest bill. 4000 square foot house with two stories and 3 separate ac units (main, master, upstairs). All units are inefficient, only 10 seer.

I use the $100 ct50 WiFi (cloud) thermostats to turn on the ac 30 minutes before I get home. I also don't cool the 900 sq ft upstairs if nobody is up there.

This year I have signed up for time of use rates. During summer I will schedule a house 65° cool down before 1pm, then off until 7pm. The other 8 months I enjoy a 5.5 cent rate. Last three months I paid just over $40.