Hello! I just received my first electric bill in Florida and was wondering your thoughts

[yeoman6987]

I have a bill for 110.00 for the period 09/05/14 to 10/07/14

I used an average of 26 KWH a day.

The total KWH used for the month was 838

The reason I am bothering you with this is I was wondering if I am using too much electricity or is this acceptable? I am also looking at it from a climate change look too.


Thank you so much and sorry for nothing everyone over this but I am just dying to know.

[scarystuffyo]

1. That's a lot

[strawberries]

4. in FLA

your electric bill covers year round airconditioning and heat when need

so I don't this that is so bad

[scarystuffyo]

9. I guess I'm just use to a smaller bill

I have a wood stove for heat and my hot water heater , oven is all gas

I never turn on the heat I just use the wood stove

[NutmegYankee]

23. Gas hot water is a big electricity saver.

And not having the stove on electricity also saves a lot. The stove top costs about $0.25/meal and the oven is $1.50 per hour at a 12cent/KWh price, which is low for much of the country.

[Peregrine]

35. Solar hot water heater is even better.

knocked about $100 a month off my electric bill. Spend about $160 to $190 a month for 2 story, 2700 sq ft home in Florida. That includes Duke Energy's surcharge for the future reactor that they aren't going to build (courts just ordered them to refund about a quarter of what they got).

[NutmegYankee]

2. What size house? Do you have an electric water heater or stove?

Did you have to run the AC a lot?

[yeoman6987]

12. My House is about 1900 SF....3 bed rooms. I have electric everything.

Air conditioning 24-7 at 78 degrees because I was talked to by the neighbors to ensure the house doesn't get any mold. That is a big fear of mine.

[NutmegYankee]

15. With that, your usage is pretty normal.

Many DUers may have lower bills, but they live in cooler climates or have some appliances on Natural Gas.

[yeoman6987]

19. One thing I hope is that I can put the temperature up to 80 or 81 once it gets a little cooler

I am not even an air conditioning type but the neighbors have me scared....lol.

[NutmegYankee]

24. I don't think the temp will matter that much.

The AC should be drying the air out to stop mold.

[Lochloosa]

17. That is actually pretty good for that size house in FL.

[yeoman6987]

22. Thanks! I am still going to try to work on getting it lower (at least try)

It is only for environmental reasons. If it was not an issue I would probably keep what I have been doing.

[NutmegYankee]

32. I guess that's your only option.

In states like mine where deregulation was passed, you can choose who provides the "generation" of your power, and so I buy 100% wind renewable power. The trade off is the price usually jumps with deregulation. Right now, you pay about $0.13/KWh, whereas my last bill was about $0.16/KWh.

[Lochloosa]

34. It's hard to get it down. Mold is an issue here.

Houses in Florida used to be built with high ceilings and lots of cross ventilation. That was before a/c. An attic fan works wonders when the humidity is not so high.

[notadmblnd]

3. my bill for August was 105 I didn't think that was bad considering we had 2 window AC units running

I don't have my bill for Sept yet but I expect it to be lower since AC was put away for the winter in early Sept.

Just looked at my billing history. the 105.00 bill was for 693 kw for august. My highest bill so far this year

[yeoman6987]

25. 693 would be something I could try to emulate. I will have to give it a try.

[notadmblnd]

33. Unplug things you don't use at night.

I unplug my microwave and coffee pot, no night lights. If I'm just watching tv, I shut off the lights. I only turn porch lights on if someone is coming over or at the door. One of the most important things I think though is having a programmable thermostat. In the winter, I set mine down to 60 at night when we are all in bed and under the covers and set it to come up to 68 about 7am. I go to work and my son comes home and he goes to bed, so it's back down to 60 again during the day, and it's back up to 68 at 5pm. If it is chilly or damp, I'll sometimes set it up to 71 til it feels comfortable, then shut it back down.

If someone complains that it is cold, I tell them to just imagine that it is 90 outside, get under the covers or put on some flannels. My goal is to keep as much money in my pocket that I can. Also if you can afford it, (and it really isn't expensive if you do it yourself), is to blow insulation in the attic. At least a foot but better if 18-24 inches. My house is 1265 sq foot and the material was under 50.00 a bundle. I want to say it was around 40.00 for a big bundle and I think I used 11 of them. It helps keep the heat in in the winter and the cool in in the summer. Oh, and you can use the home improvement stores blowing machine for free.

[greytdemocrat]

5. Do you have a pool?

[yeoman6987]

13. No pool at all....well in the community.

I think it might be the AC.

[nashville_brook]

6. ours is twice that.

for an energy efficient 1300 sf house.

[Sienna86]

7. Isn't 30 KWH per day the American family average?

Did some research recently and recall that figure.

[eridani]

30. Sounds a bit high. My average is 36/day, and I have electric everything

Range 20 to 75, the latter in winter. Natural gas is not available where I live, and there is no central heating ductwork. Electric baseboard heaters, water heater, stove, lights--the whole bit. I have an average payment plan that is $154/month. Pacific NW does have quite a bit of cheap hydro though.

[hollysmom]

8. I use 476 and am thinking of changing the light bulbs.

I have a dehumidifier that runs pretty much year round down the basement, used to not be a problem when I had a furnace to make hot water, but that used so much oil I went to a separate gas hot water heater and now it is always damp down the basement. Can't win some times. I leave on LED light on all night for the dog food and use an electric stove and the microwave. Need a new refrigerator and probably a new computer to cut down on the problem.

[NutmegYankee]

10. The gas hot water heater shouldn't make it damp in the basement.

The combustion products should rise right up the flue and go out of the house.

[hollysmom]

18. the furnace ran very hot, it went on all summer and winter. Now I just have

the hot water heating going I only heat the house from November to April, Ihave little heaters in each room if I need to cut the cold. I live alone.

The furnace was 70 years old when it blew up.

[NutmegYankee]

29. Ah. I have to run a dehumidifier in my basement once the heating season stops.

I have the classic 80K gas furnace and the dry air seeping into my old house kept the basement dry in winter. In summer I didn't have central AC, but decided to install it this year since it was just an add on to the furnace. Of course, it then ended up being the coolest summer in two decades. But the capability is there now.

[edgineered]

11. A bad water heater could add

as much as $40/month to your bill. Typically the coils go bad after a few years. Here's a link on checking them.

http://www.ehow.com/way_5554477_much-hot-water-heater-element.html

Also, if you are replacing them it isn't necessary to drain the tank. Quickly pull the bad coil out, depending on how quickly the new coil is put back in will determine how many glug-glugs you get. It won't be much water.

[Lochloosa]

14. Hey. Stop giving away a repairmans secrets.

[edgineered]

20. Not a problem -

Their numbers for the resistance were WAY OFF!, oh, and don't forget the wrench!

[Callmecrazy]

16. I have a 2/2 condo all electric

and my bill during summer runs about $130 / month. During the cool months it's about $90.
I'd say you are using the average amount of electricity for a 1100 sq. ft. home. During the summer I average 34kWH per day.

[KG]

21. sounds reasonable. this was a bit hotter summer in fla.

[yeoman6987]

27. I must say it has been....muggy lately and rain that won't stop (Orlando area)

[distantearlywarning]

31. It was nice for a few days (until tonight)

But a few weeks ago...ugh! It seemed like it rained for 2 weeks straight. Filled my pool with cold rain water so I couldn't even swim, but it was still hot and horribly sticky outside.

[distantearlywarning]

26. I am in Central Florida

We have a 1600 sq ft pool home, so the pump sucks a lot of electricity, and my IT-job husband works from home using a PC and 2 monitors 9 hours a day. However, we have turned the thermostat up to 80 during the day, and 76 at night. All the light bulbs are LED, and we regularly change air filters and maintain the AC unit. Nobody in this house needs more than a lukewarm shower when it's still this hot outside, so the hot water tank is turned down. We unplug appliances when not using them, turn lights off, etc. We try our best to be energy-efficient. We're forced to use Duke Energy, and I hate them with a passion, so I work hard to not give them even a single dime more than I have to.

However, we still use ~35-40 KWH a day at this time of year (i.e., highs still in the upper 80s and low 90s), and even more in the summer months. AC to combat that kind of heat and the sunshine beating down on the roof all day long sucks a lot more power than you might think.

You don't say how big your house is, or what temperature you keep it at. However, sometimes there are hidden things sucking power around your house. Maybe your fridge is old or needs its coils cleaned? Have you changed your AC/furnace filter lately? We dropped literally 20 KWH a day when we first moved in here and finally got around to looking at the filter - the last tenants probably never changed it once and it was filthy. Also, sometimes AC units get clogged with sand or debris. They need to be cleaned regularly on the inside and outside or they suck too much power - you can find videos online on how to do it without damaging anything.

Good luck and stay cool while the hot weather lasts!

[yeoman6987]

44. Are we neighbors?

I live in Leesburg.

[bhikkhu]

28. Just checked my bill - we use 18 - 22 kwh per day

That's a three bedroom house in Oregon, four family members, decent climate, all electric kitchen, gas water heater and furnace, and one smallish AC unit.

One thing that helps is all of our lights are compact fluorescents. One thing that doesn't help is all four of us have computers which stay on much of the day. You're definitely in the same ballpark. I wonder if a dehumidifier might be a more cost-effective defense against mold than the AC? We don't have mold problems here, but I believe that moisture is much more an issue than temperature.

[Travis_0004]

36. we use 144kwh per month

Plus 4ccf of gas for the water heater.

A lot more gas in the winter and a bit more electric. Right now an electric blanket is plenty of heat, but we will be kicking on a space heater soon enough at night, and eventually central heat. I live in Cincinnati. I might hit 300 kwh if it really gets hot.

[aikoaiko]

37. I live in South Georgia and the wife likes the house at 69 degrees

The monthly bill tops out at $350, but dropped to $250 this September.

[yeoman6987]

43. Your making me feel real good!

[madfloridian]

38. My bill includes water, solid waste, sewer, wastewater, storm water.

Without a high fuel surcharge the electric part would be under $100

[Fumesucker]

39. If you have a cable or satellite DVR some of them use a lot more power than you might think..

http://www.cnet.com/news/study-dvr-set-top-box-use-most-energy-at-home/

The Natural Resources Defense Council has ranked the biggest energy hogs in the home, and the thing that's gobbling up the most is probably not what you think: the pairing of your digital video recorder and set-top box.

The environmental monitoring group released a study today that says that a high-definition cable or satellite set-top box when combined with a high-definition DVR uses up 446 kilowatt hours per year. That's more than a new Energy Star rated 21 cubic-foot refrigerator, which uses 415 kWh per year, according to the NRDC's data.

The combination of an HD DVR and an HD cable or satellite box in a house wastes many hours of energy even when not in use, the group found. The study reports that it costs American consumers more in electricity bills per year when they're not using their DVR and set-top box than when they are: $2 billion a year versus $1 billion a year collectively.

The group estimates that there are 160 million set top boxes currently installed in U.S. homes, and together they emit 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year.

[yeoman6987]

42. Oh my goodness

And to think on the TV box when I bought it. It said energy efficient. It is a 48 inch Smart TV and I thought I was doing good. I do have the cable box and modem from Comcast. So Comcast is destroying the environment (maybe unaware they are).

[Warpy]

40. My mother called them "Florida Plunder and Loot"

There is little renewable energy in Florida, no hydro because it's too flat, not much solar because people grumble about their rooflines, and no wind because the lege has fought so hard against it because if they put it where the wind is, it's going to fuck up some plutocrat's ocean view.

Your usage was slightly under the average, probably because you didn't need to run the AC full time in September.

Here is a useful site: http://www.pointclickswitch.com/household-energy-consumption/

[yeoman6987]

41. Thank you for the site.

Very interesting!