Average Monthly Cost of Utilites? (San Diego, Santa Ana: apartments, rental, appliances)

[moved]

I have a 400sqft cottage in the city.
SDG&E runs me about $20-$25 in the summer, and $40-$50 in the winter. I get cold easily, and have to use a space heater.
I don't have a/c, don't like it, don't need it. I have ceiling fans.
I don't pay water.
Cox runs me $77 per month for high speed internet, basic cable and my landline.
No washer/dryer.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

I just can't seem to get any good estimate of what we can expect to spend on average per year on a bigger house like that using AC in the summer.

I'm budgeting around $250 a month year round for electricity and $150 for gas and maybe $150 for water ...I hope this is realistic.

Looking at your numbers, I think your estimate may be high for the gas. For the electric, it really depends on how far inland you are as A/C use can spike dramatically if you live in an inland valley or points east. For the water, your estimate is the equivalent of a $300 bimonthly San Diego city water bill. That's a LOT of water. They do have a tiered system so you will be spending a lot if you don't conserve. I'm not sure if you will be spending that much though.

For me,
1000 square foot home in the city of San Diego
10 miles from coast
1 occupant:

Gas & Electric: $35 - $60 (winter is highest - I don't have A/C)
Water: $45 - $60 if prorated on a monthly basis. 5000 square foot lot irrigated in the spring, summer, and fall.

[esmith143]

Originally Posted by GMUAlum08

Could some people please tell me what they pay for their monthly utilities? Don't include cable and internet unless you state that you've included it in your estimate.

Can vary greatly depending on where you are, how big a house it is, how many people, is anyone at home during the day... Even the construction quality and the number and the size of windows affect your heating/cooling costs.

My case is probably extreme (big house, 15 miles from the coast, many big windows, someone at home 100% of the time, and a wife that insists on setting the A/C to 74 F.) My monthly gas & electric bill routinely exceeds $400 in winter. Water ranges from 100 to 200/month. Goes below 100 during the wet season, when I turn off irrigation. Goes above 200 in July when I have to run sprinklers every two days to keep the landscaping alive.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by esmith143

Can vary greatly depending on where you are, how big a house it is, how many people, is anyone at home during the day... Even the construction quality and the number and the size of windows affect your heating/cooling costs.

My case is probably extreme (big house, 15 miles from the coast, many big windows, someone at home 100% of the time, and a wife that insists on setting the A/C to 74 F.) My monthly gas & electric bill routinely exceeds $400 in winter. Water ranges from 100 to 200/month. Goes below 100 during the wet season, when I turn off irrigation. Goes above 200 in July when I have to run sprinklers every two days to keep the landscaping alive.

eSmith,

Thanks! That helps at least get me an estimate as most of the people posting are posting really low amounts but I figure there had to be people out there with bigger houses that use AC. So your #'s really help. I'm not sure how big your house is but this helps us at least estimate things.

For reference, we're looking at either Carmel Valley or a house in Santaluz. Minimum size will probably be about 3,600 sq foot to maybe 4,300 sq. foot maximum. Like your household, someone will always be home and we have 2 kids as well so we give LOTS of baths....both kids twice per day.

In the summer we have the AC running all the time, even when we vacation in San Diego. Your estimates were helpful and probably will resemble our situation so thanks for posting!

It was getting hard for a while as it seems like most people in San Diego don't want to admit they run the AC in the summer or the heat in the winter. Also, everyone tries to make it seem they are super eco/green friendly and don't want to water their yards..lol. I'm all for a clean environment but to be honest I don't think how running my AC will ruin the planet... Also, in the summer, we're the types that like it cold and like to sleep with blankets...

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

eSmith,

Also, everyone tries to make it seem they are super eco/green friendly and don't want to water their yards..lol. I'm all for a clean environment but to be honest I don't think how running my AC will ruin the planet...

I'm not eco-friendly; I'm just STINGY!

[esmith143]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

eSmith,

Thanks! That helps at least get me an estimate as most of the people posting are posting really low amounts but I figure there had to be people out there with bigger houses that use AC. So your #'s really help. I'm not sure how big your house is but this helps us at least estimate things.

For reference, we're looking at either Carmel Valley or a house in Santaluz. Minimum size will probably be about 3,600 sq foot to maybe 4,300 sq. foot maximum. Like your household, someone will always be home and we have 2 kids as well so we give LOTS of baths....both kids twice per day.

In the summer we have the AC running all the time, even when we vacation in San Diego. Your estimates were helpful and probably will resemble our situation so thanks for posting!

It was getting hard for a while as it seems like most people in San Diego don't want to admit they run the AC in the summer or the heat in the winter. Also, everyone tries to make it seem they are super eco/green friendly and don't want to water their yards..lol. I'm all for a clean environment but to be honest I don't think how running my AC will ruin the planet... Also, in the summer, we're the types that like it cold and like to sleep with blankets...

San Diego has many different microclimates. You can get away with no or minimal AC in Carmel Valley. You will need some heating and cooling in Santaluz (but probably not much as I). My house is 3100 sf. I suspect that my A/C is inefficient and that the builder may have cut some corners when installing insulation. (or maybe the insulation wasn't worth the added cost back when this house was built.) For example, I only had R13 insulation in the attic, I had to add a layer of R30 first winter I was here. You're looking in newer areas, so you might get better construction quality there. One thing to look for if you're concerned about utility costs, is to look for a master bedroom with as few windows as possible, preferably east or north facing.

It is quite possible that many of the previous posters don't run AC in the summer (because they have no one at home during the day, and it always drops below 70 F at night, even during heat waves), and they don't need much heating (because they live closer to the coast). Watering the yard is usually not a big deal, because most people's yards are minuscule. If you're going to be in Carmel Valley or Santaluz west of Camino Del Sur, don't worry about water. East of Camino Del Sur, that's a different story.

[Cardiff Kook]

what about san marcos? do you have to constantly run the AC in the summer there?

[LDigz]

How your energy usage is different from your baseline will be a big factor. The SDG&E baseline is different for different regions. In the coastal zone (I'm about 5 miles or less inland) baseline is around 300kWh per month. We do not have AC, and don't really need it, and if we watch our other energy use, we stay within the baseline. We usually pay about $50-$70 for electric and gas, 2 people, 800 square foot place. When we had a 1100 sq ft house, and 3 people, we were at about $100 a month electric, only running AC during the few weeks we were over 90 degrees. We also ran the heat a little bit in the winter. But, the house had no insulation and horribly leaky windows. I've noticed most older houses, and some newer ones, are really lacking in insulation and good windows.

Your first year, you will pay a flat rate on the sewer portion of your water bill, after that, you pay according to what you actually use. We paid about $90 a month for water in the house. There are also tiered rates on water usage, we were fairly conservative, but did have a big lawn (for a city lot) that we watered in the summer.

We pay $35 a month for cable internet, and $40 a month for dish network. We had to work a bit to get those bills that low. TWC constantly bumps prices up.

If I owned a house, I would definitely get solar panels, low water landscaping, and a rain barrel. Solar panels will pay for themselves in just a few years. My boss has a big house near Carmel Valley, they are frugal with energy usage, 3 people, and their energy bills are usually $0-50 a month. You also feed power back to the grid when you have an excess, and your meter runs backwards - credit!

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

It was getting hard for a while as it seems like most people in San Diego don't want to admit they run the AC in the summer or the heat in the winter. Also, everyone tries to make it seem they are super eco/green friendly and don't want to water their yards..lol. I'm all for a clean environment but to be honest I don't think how running my AC will ruin the planet... Also, in the summer, we're the types that like it cold and like to sleep with blankets...

Well, given that I don't even *have* AC, I'd be hard-pressed to "admit" that I run it in the summer

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by LDigz

How your energy usage is different from your baseline will be a big factor. The SDG&E baseline is different for different regions. In the coastal zone (I'm about 5 miles or less inland) baseline is around 300kWh per month. We do not have AC, and don't really need it, and if we watch our other energy use, we stay within the baseline. We usually pay about $50-$70 for electric and gas, 2 people, 800 square foot place. When we had a 1100 sq ft house, and 3 people, we were at about $100 a month electric, only running AC during the few weeks we were over 90 degrees. We also ran the heat a little bit in the winter. But, the house had no insulation and horribly leaky windows. I've noticed most older houses, and some newer ones, are really lacking in insulation and good windows.

Your first year, you will pay a flat rate on the sewer portion of your water bill, after that, you pay according to what you actually use. We paid about $90 a month for water in the house. There are also tiered rates on water usage, we were fairly conservative, but did have a big lawn (for a city lot) that we watered in the summer.

We pay $35 a month for cable internet, and $40 a month for dish network. We had to work a bit to get those bills that low. TWC constantly bumps prices up.

If I owned a house, I would definitely get solar panels, low water landscaping, and a rain barrel. Solar panels will pay for themselves in just a few years. My boss has a big house near Carmel Valley, they are frugal with energy usage, 3 people, and their energy bills are usually $0-50 a month. You also feed power back to the grid when you have an excess, and your meter runs backwards - credit!

My baseline is 313kwh and I am about 12 miles inland from the SD Bay....I wonder where the dividing line is for electricity to start moving up in baseline costs?