Home Energy Costs

I was reading that the average American home energy costs is about $300 per month or $3,477.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/01/07/trimming-the-average-budget-home-energy-costs/

Referring to electricity and gas (not phone or water, etc.) This is about half what I pay, and I wondered if this sounded right to you? Mine varies from about $65 (spring and fall) to $120 (winter and summer). I realize I live in a small apartment/townhome (800 SF; all electric) so an entire house would run more.

I'm in a similar situation, mine averages about $150 a month.

In the winter, our electric bill is about $150. In the summer, it can get over $400. (Gas is negligible in all seasons because almost everything is electric.)

$300 summer/winter $200 spring/fall (heat pump)

Gas (heat only) in winter around $50, no gas in summer. Electricity $25-$35 in winter, right around $50 in hottest months. Just about 1000 very well insulated sq. ft.

150-300 for both

Electric - $75 per month $100 in Jan/Feb. Wood heat for the year would cost $250 if I paid cash for it.

Our heat and hot water are gas, we have our utilities averaged out over the year, so it's regularly ~$260 every month. I understood home energy cost is high in Michigan since we heat in Winter and cool in Summer.

During the snowpocalypse, we were on emergency heat so our bill was $500. It's more normally $300 or so, summer and winter, less in the spring and fall. Heat pumps aren't great when you get outlier weather like we did this year.

We're having a home energy audit done in the next few weeks to see if there's something that needs fixed.

what's a "heat pump"?

Heat Pump

An air-sourced heat pump is basically an air conditioner that can be run in reverse in the winter (taking heat from the great outdoors and bringing warmth to your home). As with air conditioners, they have a problem spanning too much of a temperature differential -- the carnot efficiency drops as the delta goes up.

Geothermal heatpumps don't have that problem (since the underground temps are more stable) but cost a lot more to put in, and aren't always practical, as they require long ground loops trenches to be dug into your yard. The payback timeline is 3-5 years.

For the last 12 months, our electric bill was $506 (for an average of about $42/month) and our gas bill was $712 (for an average of about $59/month). Our house is about 3,000 square feet. We live at an elevation of about 7,000 feet, so it tends to be winter most of the year.

We do not have AC.

Our electric bill is between $200 and $300 a month....

House just under 3k. All electric.

We live about 9 feet above sea level.

TheMercenary;649193 wrote:

...
We live about 9 feet above sea level.

Ah, so that's why you're so concerned about climate change.

HungLikeJesus;649195 wrote:

Ah, so that's why you're so concerned about climate change.

I try to do my part and build a big ass fire in my outdoor fireplace every chance I get.

I just read my electric bill. The electric company charges a distribution charge of 30 for bringing it to YOU, so says the bill.

I think 30 dollars per how many people? That's a lot of flecking money.

Maintaining all those meters, lines, poles, transformers, and switchgear costs a lot of money. Not all that $30 is profit.

I suppose, not to mention the hazardous pay. Richly deserved. I sure wouldn't want to be a linebacker.

skysidhe;649734 wrote:

I suppose, not to mention the hazardous pay.

It is not that dangerous. These 'so called' danagerous conditions are often completely safe - as long as you follow the rules. As long as you always ask yourself, "What if ..."

For example, how dangerous are stairs? You will never fall down stairs if you always hold onto the hand rail - without exception. But some sometimes violate that rule. Therefore sometimes people fall down stairs.

Same applies to working on electricity. Always follow simple rules and it is not dangerous. Danger only exists because some people get reckless. The difference from falling down stairs? When you do not follow the rules with electricity, then you do more than break an arm.

I have no idea what we pay because my wife pays the bills and I try to avoid any knowledge of how much things cost; ignorance is bliss I guess. That being said we used to have super high electric bills in July and August because we are in Houston and we had a 16 year old airconditioner. In those months $500 per month was not unusual. Then it died and we put in the highest SEER unit we could get and the bills now are typically around $150 in those months.

My first home in Houston in the 80's had an Arcla Servel Gas fired air conditioner and our summer electric bills were not bad but the gas bill was higher then in the middle of winter!