2 bedroom duplex & apt. renters what are your cooling costs (Phoenix: apartment complexes, condos)

[adreana]

I am seriously considering a move to the greater Phoenix area. I am a senior lady on a budget and need to be pretty specific about costs. I'd appreciate hearing from folks who are renting 2 bedroom duplexes and apartments as to your cooling costs, and what temp you keep your ac on and for how long. I posted asking about utilities before but just heard from home owners who were cooling alot more space under different circumstances.
Thanks,
Adreana

[Zippyman]

No one is really going to be able to nail it down for you specifically - many apartment complexes use old/cheap HVAC units, and even one of those will get different bills depending on which direction the unit faces, how well it's insulated, window & door seals & even whether the HVAC filters have been changed.

Here's a real-world example - My house is 1600 sq feet, & upgraded to the max for energy savings. I left the a/c @ 74 all summer - we were offered "budget billing" in the fall for $130/mo

Little brother's house - a little under 800 square feet, original heat pump, insulation, etc. Thermostat set @ 78 all summer. Budget bill? $160/mo.

[adreana]

Zippyman, I should have asked this in my last reply to you, but what do you think caused the difference in bills?
Also, I am not asking for an exact number in my query about cooling costs,but I think if people in two bedroom rental respond I can get a pretty good idea of the price range I'd be looking at, so folks please respond.
Thanks,
Adreana

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by adreana

Zippyman, I should have asked this in my last reply to you, but what do you think caused the difference in bills?
Also, I am not asking for an exact number in my query about cooling costs,but I think if people in two bedroom rental respond I can get a pretty good idea of the price range I'd be looking at, so folks please respond.
Thanks,
Adreana

Little Bro's house is going to be very similar in construction to many apartment complexes in the valley-single-pane aluminum windows, R19 insulation in the attic, and a functional but old a/c unit with a standard electric water heater.

Your landlord makes an extra $0 per month by blowing in more insulation, replacing a working heat pump, changing windows, etc, so however old the complex is, that's going to be your energy standard - and even new properties in Phoenix aren't really built to be "green".

We're about 30 years behind the east-coast as far as energy standards - Back in Michigan, I watched my parents pull out double-pane aluminum windows in the 1980's - they were still installing single pane windows in Phoenix until about 1990. Back east, electric water heaters were rarely used in anything but single-wide-trailers and attic apartments - here, they're in 40-50% of homes.

If it were me, I'd figure on $200/month and be happy if you get below that.

[Beware_of_Dog]

I will play the angel's advocate and tell you that you could get your electric bill (w/air conditioning) down to $100 per month if you are single. I had small 2 bedroom condos and townhomes for years and could average that low for the year, and in some places actually keep it at or below $100 even in summer months. The wildcard is this: exposure! If you are under someone else and/or in between 2 condos and your place is turned right regarding the sun exposure. Use fans in room you are always in, especially kitchen. And keep your thermostat around 80. I have always been so very frugal, and kept my utilities so much lower than, usually about half of, everyone else I know and talk to.

[henry1]

Originally Posted by adreana

I am seriously considering a move to the greater Phoenix area. I am a senior lady on a budget and need to be pretty specific about costs. I'd appreciate hearing from folks who are renting 2 bedroom duplexes and apartments as to your cooling costs, and what temp you keep your ac on and for how long. I posted asking about utilities before but just heard from home owners who were cooling alot more space under different circumstances.
Thanks,
Adreana

First off do you really need a two bedroom since it only you in the place or are married ..If your single try finding small studio for you to rent in a area you like most of the places you find for about $500 to $800.oo a month in some of the areas that are really nice look around the area for a place ..Some of them are pretty good deals right now ...

My Electric bill went down to about $100.oo dollars a month in the summer months once i moved out my house after the kids where gone out of the house and i had moved into a smaller place ..At the house it ran about $300.oo to $500.oo dollars a month with two teenage girls in the house with there use of the electric in the house with allways leaveing the lights or turning up the temp in the place ..

The monthly bill was about a $100.oo a month from may to oct time frame because of the heat and the rest of the time is was about $45.oo dollars a month because of not really keeping the place down to temp to sleep in dureing the day when it was hottest part of the day when i was working nights and sleeping in the day ..i was getting off in the 8.am in the morning and it not that bad in some months in the fall or spring time but in the summer the heat was a killer at times without the A/C

[Siduri]

Originally Posted by henry1

First off do you really need a two bedroom since it only you in the place or are married ..If your single try finding small studio for you to rent in a area you like most of the places you find for about $500 to $800.oo a month in some of the areas that are really nice look around the area for a place ..Some of them are pretty good deals right now ...

Who says you can't be single and have a two-bedroom apartment/condo/what-have-you? Sometimes people just need their space. I'll tell you what, I've been living by myself in a one-bedroom apartment for 10 months now and I can't wait to get out of it.

When I move to Mesa next month I'm getting a two-bedroom unit all to myself. I find myself fantasizing daily about having a dedicated office with bookcases and a kitchen that's bigger than a postage stamp...with REAL counter space!

To get back on topic...I wonder what my electric bill will look like (rhetorical question). We got up to 95+ degrees and 75%+ humidity here in Detroit and I didn't turn on the A/C, so I'm banking on leaving it at 90. I reckon I shouldn't get that shocking of a bill!

[henry1]

The summer months are the hardest months to deal with when it a 100.plus temps for three months or more of triple digets temp at a times dureing the months of april on it murder with the heat up intill the month of Oct time frame and then dureing the day s not really bad and nights gets a little cool with temps in the low 40s or 30s at nights ..

Also the valley some of the winter months have a few rain storms in the time frame of the months from Nov to Feb also when it does rain do not drive through any flood areas because of the way the rains can cause the area to flood out quickly ..

[adreana]

[quote]

Originally Posted by Siduri

Who says you can't be single and have a two-bedroom apartment/condo/what-have-you? Sometimes people just need their space. I'll tell you what, I've been living by myself in a one-bedroom apartment for 10 months now and I can't wait to get out of it.

When I move to Mesa next month I'm getting a two-bedroom unit all to myself. I find myself fantasizing daily about having a dedicated office with bookcases and a kitchen that's bigger than a postage stamp...with REAL counter space!

Siduri,
OMG yes. Life is too short to live like a college kid forever. Esp. now that I am retired I don't want to spend my later and last years cooped up without enough space to be comfortable and accommodate my needs. I am in a 2 bedroom now with a small extra room and for most of my adult life I have had this situation. I find that while I don't buy much or like clutter, one's possessions and needs soon grow beyond a one bedroom. It isn't worth it to me to move somewhere where I would have to give up my space, I have given up enough as it is. And what happens when family and friends come to visit, do you tell them to go to a motel?
Adreana