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I got our electric bill and I was in total shock! Last month it was $248. I don't know what we are doing to make our electric bill so high. Our heat is electric and I keep it on 75 during the day and maybe 78 at night. We are in an upstairs apartment. We have 1 TV. I use the oven every night for an hour to bake a potato. I use the dishwasher 1-2 times a day depending. But I have a feeling it's the heat that's causing our bill to be so high. I have it set it on 70 which still feels a bit cold but we can't afford $300 for electric every month. Do you all think $300 sounds right for such a small space?
If you are not comfortable in a cooler environment, you might want to invest in an electric blanket. I agree with the others who recommend you lower your thermostat. I like my house comfortably warm too, but sometimes I have to put on a sweater or socks to keep from paying high bills. You can get a small heater that uses infrared or heated oil and it will heat up a small area where you are sitting without heating up the whole house. Also, if any of your rooms are not used regularly, turn off the heat in those rooms.
I would consider washing dishes by hand rather than using the dishwasher if you have a small amount of dishes. I do not recommend microwave ovens but if you simply *must* have a potato every night, I think I would consider finding a different way of cooking it so that you do not have to run the oven for an hour. You can buy toaster ovens very economically (at thrift shops especially) that will cook the potato for a fraction of the electricity.
When you are not home, you can turn your heat down to 60. Even if you have pets, that will not be uncomfortable for them and it will save you electricity.
I am boggled. When I lived in northwest WA, we had a 1,000 sf mobile that was completely electric. Add to that 2 TVs that ran 24/7, a computer, an assortment of gizmos and gadgets, a washer and dryer, and our average bill was 80.00/month.
Now that I'm in Oklahoma, once it hits 60, the windows and doors are open and a breeze is blowing. I don't ever close the back door unless it gets down to the low 50s. I don't bother with A/C in the summer - have a couple small fans, I have 2 small electric heaters that do run in the winter - my average bill here is around 75-80, since it includes the heaters in winter, and I use the payment plan. During the summer, my bill is in the high 30.00 range. Everything but the kitchen stove and water heater is electric, but I've never gone above the minimum on gas, either. Mostly I use a microwave, crock pot, and toaster oven, and every day I let the dishes soak until evening and do them once a day - by hand. I have a dishwasher, but it would take me a couple weeks to fill it.
Either there's something wrong with the meter, someone is tapping in, someone needs to seriously look at their lifestyle, or those bills are going to stay exhorbitant.
Yeah, the tater thing got to me. If she just HAS to have a tater everyday ~~ then bake 5 at a time and eat one, put the 4 remaining in the fridge. Nuke em later.
A lot of folks are asking how many people in your place?? Is it just you & your 2 yo? They have blanket jammies for kids with feet in em.
And to wash dishes 2 times a day??? WHY? Hope you don't pay for water!!
Is your water heater electric? That is the problem right there. What size is it? Also, double check with the office, to make sure you are paying only your bill, not your neighbor's bill. Do you do laundry at home? If you have an electric dryer, that is a problem too.
I just got out my electric bill from a year ago, to see the meter reading on it. In the past year, I've averaged 445 KwH per month, and I'm currently paying 13-cents a KwH. So that averages out to $60 a month actual usage, excluding the $5 service charge and taxes.
I have about 800 square feet, all electric (heat, air, kitchen, hot water), no washer/dryer of dishwasher. All CFL lights, all meals cooked in. Computer stays on all the time, but screen off when not in use. TV and cable box both off when not watching it.
Heat/AC is never on overnight, nor in the daytime if it is between 60 and 80 inside.
By the way, your cable box uses 270 KwH a year, and the usage is the same, whether it is in the ON or OFF mode. For me, that's about $36 a year, or 5% of my total usage.
Is the electric hot water heater on your meter or the apt? if its on your meter, that's a lot of your bill right there.
when I lived alone, I just turned the hot water heater off during the day. Check the breaker box, you can figure out which breaker controls it, hopefully nothing else essential is on it.
I just turned mine on 1-2 hours/night, for shower, dishwasher, etc.
BTW, if its just one person, may I suggest hand washing dishes? I had so few dishes for just me, I found it more efficient to just wash them by hand. another thing to save, don't let the hot water run and run while brushing teetch, shaving, etc.
Most clothes come out clean in cold water, and less faded over time.
Get a microwave for those potatoes, I used to use the stove for my coffee, got a microwave, saved the cost of the microwave the first month alone!
unplug appliances at night such as TV, computer, microwave, they all draw power to keep the remote activated. Or, at least power down your computer put into sleep mode.
I knew one lady, she would heat up her iron, then turn it off and "speed iron" with the decrasingly less hot iron, cotton shirts first, delicates last, it was a "race to the finish!
Also, in apts, sometimes the common areas are on your meter. My mother's apt the lights in the hallway were on the residen's meter. she replaced the bulb with a more efficient one. It all adds up.
Unfortunately, apts usually have sky-high electric bills, mainly because they are cheaply built, poor insulation, and cheap appliances that aren't efficient.
check your fridge, perhaps you could lower it a setting?
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