Cost of heating and air conditioning in the Brevard area (Asheville: apartment, rental)

[mgforshort]

I'm reading this forum for a while and I think it's the best the Internet has to offer. We are considering WNC for a retirement home out of the Los Angeles/Orange county area after living here for 30 years. One of the things I'd like to know is the cost of heating a home in the coldest winters and cooling it in the dog days of summer. I'm aware of the variables, such as the size and age of the home, elevation, type of heating system, and so fort. If you have a minute to spare - then please be specific - tell us size of the home you live in, the type of heating and A/C in the home, and the highest utility bill you had for the coldest month and the hottest month as well. Currently we are living in a two-story townhome with 3 celing fans and a fire place; our highest ever bill for natural gas came to $ 70 in the winter and the electric bill was never over $ 90 in the summer. I understand we are looking at much, much higher utility bills in WNC - it's just that I'd like to get a rough idea of how much higher it could be. I'd really appreciate any advice you might share. Our dream home would be about 1,600 square feet, single story, with a quarter acre lot for the dogs and the parrot, and lots of trees for the shade we love.

[WNCbadwolf]

If you look into moving to Waynesville make sure the house does not have electric service provided by Haywood EMC. I don't think they are in Brevard but they service all over Haywood County (Waynesville/Canton/Clyde/Maggie Valley) & Parts of western Buncombe County (Asheville/Enka/Candler)

The city of Waynesville has its own electric service which is operated the same as Haywood EMC. So try to keep away from them as well. I can not speak about Brevard since I have never lived there but you should defiantly look into it to make sure who the service provider is. There are several other small electric companies all over the mtns of NC that operate the same as Haywood EMC. Just try to get a home that the services are provided by a larger electric company, Progress energy or Duke Power.

They are not a true electric company, they buy the electricity from Progress energy & then resell it to their customers. I am unfortunately one of their customers. My home is just under 1000 sq ft. My last months power bill was $330, this months bill is $350. My neighbors bill last month was around $450. Their home is about 1100 sq ft.

I can not speak of how light bills are during the summer. I do not have central AC & non of my friends or family have central AC either. So I have no experience or knowledge of how much it would cost.

[mgforshort]

Thanks for the excellent post. This is our biggest concern.
I wonder if gas heating is less expensive, and if it's available in the area. I owe you one, Dear Sir.

[WNCbadwolf]

Typically gas services are only available if you live within the city limits of a town & even then some streets don't have it. I knew a woman who lived in Waynesville just off Main St. She had natural gas for the kitchen stove, water heater & fireplace, she only used the gas logs on really cold nights. Her gas bill was usually around $150 a month

Also just in case you might be wondering. Charter communications provides cable, internet & phone serves to most of WNC. I have all 3 serves thru them & my bill is around $175 a month. Where I live I can not get a cell phone signal within 50 feet of my house so I have to have a home phone. There are several areas, all depending on where you live that do not get cell phone signals. So keep that in mind as well.

Also where I live I have water services thru the city but do not have septic or garbage pick up. So I have a septic tank & have to take my garbage to the county collection site, which is only open Mon, Tues, Wed, Friday, Sat 7am to 5pm. My water bill last month was $30 & that was only for my water usage.

[Shooting Stars]

People in the mountains generally use electricity or propane, or both for heating.

I have been told more than once by professionals that the ideal system in this climate is a "dual system" using both propane and electricity. Electricity alone has a harder time maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature if the outdoor temperature dips below a certain level, which it often does here. Propane does not have that problem, but can be more expensive.

A dual system uses propane to get the temperature high enough to be comfortable, then electricity takes over to maintain it.

Propane heating feels more comfortable to me.

We paid a fortune in one rental that heated with propane only - partly because the house was 3,200 sq. ft. The air conditioning/heating professional came over to fix something one day and he confided that he had originally told the builder/landlord that it would be a mistake not to install a dual system. He didn't listen to that advice for either the house we rented or the one he built for himself.

When he became dismayed by how much he was paying for pure propane in the winter, he made sure to build his next house with a dual system.

The dual system will feel more comfortable in cold weather and be more cost effective in that it only uses propane at intervals. If you buy an existing house, and can only choose between propane or electricity, I'd choose the electricity because it will be cheaper.

Anyway, your heating bills in winter will be higher than your air conditioning bills in summer.

[mgforshort]

Thanks, Shooting Stars
I spent 28 years in Europe and I'm familiar with icy cold weather. But after spending the rest of my life in Florida and California, I became spoiled. Installing a dual heating system is something I would plan to do in WNC, if for no other reason than having a backup for the times when the power goes out. Also I plan to setup a gas or diesel generator. As we are getting older the colder temperatures become much more bothersome. I wonder now - if we get a house with a single type heating system - can we get an upgrade to it ? - I wouldn't mind spending money on that. This is a great forum and I'm grateful to you all for the advice.

[Shooting Stars]

Well, you can upgrade, but if the house you buy already has an expensive single system, you'll wince.

As far as generators go, did you know there are solar ones?

[queenofbavaria]

we are going to install a wood stove (from denmark).

Mike Gordon, as you might know: many, many households in northern europe have wood stoves installed. and they are unbeatable, when it comes to efficiency.
we have solar panels on our current house. Plan on finding out about possible grants in NC. here in DE we got about 50% in grants ! But I am afraid, times have changed since 2008, when we got ours installed

[Shooting Stars]

To the OP:

I just realized my answer might not have been clear. I was told you can't upgrade an existing single system. You have to just rip it out and replace it with a dual system.

Wood stoves are also an option as The Queen said, but I don't know enough about them to say anything.

[mgforshort]

Thanks for all the advice. A woodstove is definitely something I would consider. My grandmother's apartment in Budapest only had a huge woodstove and ours was using coal. It was a hassle but we made it through every winter and we never had to worry about the electric power going out, not that it was a concern there because it has been extremely reliable. The other option I want to explore is a fire place which would work with wood or propane, or both, preferably. The main idea is to have a secondary heating system available in the case the power goes out. We can eat cold sandwiches, but I'm afraid of freezing in the house.
As for QuilterChick, thanks for the advice, and everyone else. My wife and I plan to fly to Asheville in 2012, and rent a car and drive all over the Brevard, Waynesville, Hendersonville area. We want to see what kind of home can we find in the 200 K area, more or less. The heating system will be a main concern for us. I work in self storage management in Southern California and I deal with hundreds of people every month. I always talk to them a lot, and one theme always repeats itself: Western North Carolina is one of the most wondferful places in this country. I'm desperate to come and see it for myself. Thanks, everyone.