July's CPS Heart Attack! (how much, new home, buy)

[Steel Man]

Originally Posted by banker

Not a bad idea. With the new digital meters it is even easier to do that. I think I may do the same thing.

That is easier. I have the 5 dials. Each reads in the opposite direction. It was a little tricky at first, but I now have the hang of it. I've heard that CPS can read some meters at their HQ, probably the digital ones like yours. On the other hand, SAWS doesn't always read their meters every month and sometimes I'll have the same exact amount due two months in a row.

[Steel Man]

Originally Posted by barkleyq

I received my May/Jun bill and it was $54.00 At the time I thought that was great. I just received my Jun/Jul bill and it is close to $500 dollars ! I was told CPS was unable to get a signal for the fifth dial on our meter, so they had a technician come out to our home to manual write the numbers. Evidently, he wrote it wrong and they under billed me for the May/Jun time frame. They switched out the faulty meter without my knowledge and now I am trying to fight the bill. They no longer have the meter to prove that I used that much energy and they would like me to believe the technician meant to give me a higher reading, but made a mistake. According to CPS, I have to pay it even though they have no proof.

See my earlier posts #28 and #31.

[cwh]

Originally Posted by banker

Two story house with no second fllor return air?! I would have that changed even if you don't replace your system...especially if you have bedrooms upstairs that are used regularly. We have three return air one (in the ceiling in our bonus room upstairs) two (in the ceiling downstairs). In Texas where we rarely use heat...having the return air in the ceiling on all floors will help the HVAC system work more efficiently because the system draws the hot air out of the room keeping it from getting to warm.

Adding a return air upstairs could be expensive depending on where your unit is located - but would be worth while in the long run.

We had the system zoned after we moved in 6 years ago and that helped a great deal with the temp delta between upstairs and down. However without the air return heat collects in the hallway near the tstat so the AC does not easily shutdown on summer afternoons. In retrospect I think should have had a 2nd unit put in upstairs rather going with zoning, but had contractors tell me both ways were best...


The house is actually split level so adding a return upstairs is going to be a trivial thing to do.

[jules07]

$451.18!!!!!!!

Yes, one month.

about 2450sqft, single level, mostly tile floors, "4 sides brick"!, 6 people home all day (summer ~ kids outta school), thermostat set at 80!! Yes, 80!!!! Lights almost always off, appliances unplugged, all that junk. But totally NOT energy efficient house.

What do I have to say to everyone that's gripping about $150 bills? ****!!

[tekka-maki]

Originally Posted by Steel Man

That is easier. I have the 5 dials. Each reads in the opposite direction. It was a little tricky at first, but I now have the hang of it. I've heard that CPS can read some meters at their HQ, probably the digital ones like yours. On the other hand, SAWS doesn't always read their meters every month and sometimes I'll have the same exact amount due two months in a row.

I have the analog (dials) version on a 2006 built home and I can confirm that the reading is retrieved remotely every month and has been since I moved in. I keep my fence locked; work from home a great deal, and it always shows as an actual reading (i.e. never estimated).

Either way, I think they're pretty easy to read. I know what you mean about tricky at first sight. When I lived in my 3rd apartment in 2003, I thought the Electric Co was trying to shaft me (Exelon) but couldn't make heads or tails of that puppy. Now it's like 2nd nature... I check mine on the 10th now too. I found it remarkable that it was already up ~85kWH on the same day it was supposedly read but my normal daily consumption is ~65kWH. I don't trust 'em... [j/k]

Originally Posted by jules07

$451.18!!!!!!!

Yes, one month.

about 2450sqft, single level, mostly tile floors, "4 sides brick"!, 6 people home all day (summer ~ kids outta school), thermostat set at 80!! Yes, 80!!!! Lights almost always off, appliances unplugged, all that junk. But totally NOT energy efficient house.

What do I have to say to everyone that's gripping about $150 bills? ****!!

Man, I don't feel so bad at $200 now. And my buddy pays half what I pay for pretty nice d.r. horton home! I'm home a lot, run the A/C at 77-79; leave a 46" LCD, fan, and computer running during the day (but not much else other than the fridge,water heater, etc.); and home is 2525sqft. $451 is bananas. I can't wait until I get it back down below $100 where it belongs but I'll be outta here before that happens.

[banker]

Originally Posted by jules07

$451.18!!!!!!!

Yes, one month.

about 2450sqft, single level, mostly tile floors, "4 sides brick"!, 6 people home all day (summer ~ kids outta school), thermostat set at 80!! Yes, 80!!!! Lights almost always off, appliances unplugged, all that junk. But totally NOT energy efficient house.

What do I have to say to everyone that's gripping about $150 bills? ****!!

How old is your house, unit? That is ridiculous.

[CreekKnoll]

Originally Posted by jules07

$451.18!!!!!!!

Yes, one month.

about 2450sqft, single level, mostly tile floors, "4 sides brick"!, 6 people home all day (summer ~ kids outta school), thermostat set at 80!! Yes, 80!!!! Lights almost always off, appliances unplugged, all that junk. But totally NOT energy efficient house.

What do I have to say to everyone that's gripping about $150 bills? ****!!

Heh, make sure your neighbors don't have an extension cord plugged into your outside outlets :P

307 and some change

2 stories, little over 2700 sf. Mix of wood, tile, and carpet. Like Jules, thermostat set at 80. I need windtricity in my back yard and solar panels on my roof.

[banker]

Originally Posted by CreekKnoll

Heh, make sure your neighbors don't have an extension cord plugged into your outside outlets :P

307 and some change

2 stories, little over 2700 sf. Mix of wood, tile, and carpet. Like Jules, thermostat set at 80. I need windtricity in my back yard and solar panels on my roof.

Thermostat set at 80 and it was still that high!!! How old is your house? How old is your A/C unit?

[barkleyq]

Originally Posted by lovinSA

Wow! have you talked to some neighbors to see what they are running and what their usage habits are? We need to meet up, what street are you on. Our bill did a big jump last month and a bit more this month but still under 200$ I will bump up the temp to 78 when it gets in the high 90s but most of the time we are at 76.

My husband spoke with one of our neighbors and I believe he said that their bill was about $200. Granted, theirs is a one story and mine is a two story with 3200 sq ft. We don't try to cool the entire house. That would be crazy. We have never turned the thermostat on downstairs. At the time of the bill we had our air set at 79 during 7:00pm-6:30am. It's off during the day. My husband really hates me right now because I have banned him from turning on the air again until I see the next bill. We watch maybe an hour to two hours of television in the evenings. My daughter watches a little bit more. The highest I have ever had was a $200 dollar bill when we first moved in. That was because we were painting throughout the night (for days), trying to figure out our gas fire place and we had our teenage nephew with us at the time. Playstation, X-box and internet all day, all night. We earned that bill.

What bothers me the most is that CPS would like me to believe that the technician had to have made a mistake to bill me that low when the month prior I used more, but it's impossible for them to comprehend that I did not use 4x's that same amount they would like to use as evidence of what my average is. (Hope that makes sense)


Oh! I live on 8514 El Camino Ct...

[lovinSA]

Originally Posted by barkleyq

My husband spoke with one of our neighbors and I believe he said that their bill was about $200. Granted, theirs is a one story and mine is a two story with 3200 sq ft. We don't try to cool the entire house. That would be crazy. We have never turned the thermostat on downstairs. At the time of the bill we had our air set at 79 during 7:00pm-6:30am. It's off during the day. My husband really hates me right now because I have banned him from turning on the air again until I see the next bill. We watch maybe an hour to two hours of television in the evenings. My daughter watches a little bit more. The highest I have ever had was a $200 dollar bill when we first moved in. That was because we were painting throughout the night (for days), trying to figure out our gas fire place and we had our teenage nephew with us at the time. Playstation, X-box and internet all day, all night. We earned that bill.


What bothers me the most is that CPS would like me to believe that the technician had to have made a mistake to bill me that low when the month prior I used more, but it's impossible for them to comprehend that I did not use 4x's that same amount they would like to use as evidence of what my average is. (Hope that makes sense)


Oh! I live on 8514 El Camino Ct...

you are wayyyyy in the back, I am on the 50s will DM you my addy.

My first thought is that if you do not cool your house even a bit during the day your A/C is running hard and constant trying to cool down it the heat of the day. I have lived where the temps were 110-120 in the summer, 2000 sq ft set at 80 24/7 and only had one bill close to 400 in August and that month there was a guest in the house who took it upon themselves to crank it cooler.