How much your monthly utilities cost? (Miami, Miami Beach: 2014, apartment, rent)

[Dexter94941]

How much would utilities come a month (water, gas, electricity) for an apartment is a studio with no bedrooms and 1 bathroom in South Beach?

[Three Wolves In Snow]

Water, sewage and garbage were all included in my rent when I lived in Miami Beach. Electricity was high because I LOVE a/c, LOVE. IT! I love the inventor of air conditioning.

Mine was on 24/7, set to LOW temps, (like 65), because I wanted it to be cccccoooooolllllld when I walked in the door. However, because I lived in an older building, while it had its charm, (it really did), there were little holes in the window frames that caused some of the cold air to blow right to the outside...not a lot, but enough to increase my electric bill.

Other than that, I had a counter top dishwasher that I used about once a week, no w/d in the apartment, (there was a coin operated one downstairs for everyone to use), a propane stove, (hated that), and only had lights and t.v. and computer on in the room I was in.

So, keeping all of that in mind, my monthly bill for electric was $150. Yours should not be that high because you are going to a studio, (mine was a huge 1 bedroom), and hopefully your window frames won't have small holes in them costing you more money to cool the place down.

[cixcell]

funny i was just reading about him last night and decided i needed to visit his grave in apalachicola, florida.

John Gorrie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Eldemila]

Originally Posted by Dexter94941

How much would utilities come a month (water, gas, electricity) for an apartment is a studio with no bedrooms and 1 bathroom in South Beach?

You should be able to call the electric company (FP&L) and get a general idea of the average electric bill for that unit. When I was looking at the home we eventually bought I called to find out what it was and almost died of sticker shock Thankfully, the prior owners had to install a new heat pump, and along with me cleaning off the fridge coils, and cleaning out the dryer vent from years of lint, and not turning the heat in the winter to 77 our bills were NO WHERE near what the prior owners were.

If it's an inside unit vs a corner unit, and depending on if it's a east/west or north/south exposure, and if it even has full sun access, how many windows, etc will make a difference. With such a small floor plan, I doubt it will be much, but it does depend on you in the long run - how you leave lights on, phantom power, and such. Unless you know already, you may not even have gas, may be all electric, and usually in condos/apts, water is included.

[Bjorn_Ironside32]

Last month was 205. The previous was 202 .

Back when we had no Central A/C pre-October 2009 the bill was less than 120 dollars, but then again back then FPL had not raised the electricity.

[cixcell]

Originally Posted by Eldemila

You should be able to call the electric company (FP&L) and get a general idea of the average electric bill for that unit. When I was looking at the home we eventually bought I called to find out what it was and almost died of sticker shock Thankfully, the prior owners had to install a new heat pump, and along with me cleaning off the fridge coils, and cleaning out the dryer vent from years of lint, and not turning the heat in the winter to 77 our bills were NO WHERE near what the prior owners were.

If it's an inside unit vs a corner unit, and depending on if it's a east/west or north/south exposure, and if it even has full sun access, how many windows, etc will make a difference. With such a small floor plan, I doubt it will be much, but it does depend on you in the long run - how you leave lights on, phantom power, and such. Unless you know already, you may not even have gas, may be all electric, and usually in condos/apts, water is included.

compact flourescent bulbs make a world of difference on your electric bill.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by cixcell

compact flourescent bulbs make a world of difference on your electric bill.

Yeah, but then you have to drive to a toxic waste dump when they die, and these places are only open during regular business hours, and they're in the sketchy part of town. This alone is enough motivation for me to spend a few dollars a month more on 40-watt incandescent ones.

I actually paid more in a 600 sq ft loft in a downtown high rise (max $140) than an 800 square ft garden apartment (max $120) with plenty of trees. Sun exposure can matter a lot.

[cixcell]

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

Yeah, but then you have to drive to a toxic waste dump when they die, and these places are only open during regular business hours, and they're in the sketchy part of town. This alone is enough motivation for me to spend a few dollars a month more on 40-watt incandescent ones.

I actually paid more in a 600 sq ft loft in a downtown high rise (max $140) than an 800 square ft garden apartment (max $120) with plenty of trees. Sun exposure can matter a lot.

yes because thats so inconvenient compared to not having to change the bulb for 6-7 yrs and it saving you tons of money every month on your electric bill. so i guess those of us in your 'sketchy' areas should be taking full advantage. i have to go north to get to the south dade landfill. you apparently have more money to waste than i do.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by Dexter94941

How much would utilities come a month (water, gas, electricity) for an apartment is a studio with no bedrooms and 1 bathroom in South Beach?

I believe that FPL charges $0.12 per hour in southern Florida, including taxes, in 2008, it may have even gone down since then.

By far, the biggest consumers are air-conditioning, the hot water heater, then other big ticket appliances such as the washer & dryer. Do you have a WD in the unit?

At $0.12 per kilowatt hour, you could leave a conventional 75-watt bulb on continuously for a month and it would cost $6.48. Is that expensive according to your measure?

You could conceivably cut down on air-condition expense by using ceiling fans.

Depending on sun-exposure factors, quality of air-conditioner, the temperature that you set, and the presence of any fans, I'd guess that your electricity bill for the size you describe should be around $55-60 per month if you set the temperature around 77-78 degrees.

Gas systems are very rare in southern Florida.

Water will probably be included in the rent in an apartment or condo building (or HOA fee if you are an owner). If it were a separate bill, I would guess, on the high side assuming you live alone, around $50 per month.

Good Luck!

[allcladrad]

Not sure how much tons of money is but, I would guess in the pennies range. As for the life span, there is not that much difference when you look at the prices of both. Then there is the color, size and ascetics to consider. Mix and match works for me, like many other things, choose the right tool for the job.