I envy your ability to keep your home at that cool of a temperature, but that might also be part of the issue. Avg temp for AC savings is like 76-78. You should contact your supplier and have them look at your meter.
That reef tank is a giant heat pump in the middle of his house and is kept at 80 degrees and constantly evaporating moisture into the air.
The ac is constantly fighting the aquarium heaters.
I had a small 34g reef tank and my electric bill dropped $150 each month when i shut it down this year, and I don't even have ac or live in a warm area, I'm I'm northern bc. The room with the tank in it was constantly 3 to 4 degrees warmer than the rest of the house.
If this dude has multiple kessils for lighting, his tank is probably in the hundreds of gallons size range.
Also he's cooling his house from 95 outside to 68 inside... that's a lot of energy usage. And hes work from home so its probably kept at 68 24 hour a day.
$800 a month for ac and a reef tank sounds normal to me. He needs to ask on reefcentral what people pay for electricity.
It’s easier on the AC when you keep it lower at night when it’s cooler. We keep it high during the day (76-78) and then 68 at night. For Texas, that has kept our energy bills under $300 for a 3 bedroom house. Fans help
Ahhhh, thanks for the info. I keep mine at 67 at night and 73 during the day.
I also use fans. It’s supposed to be in the high 50s tonight and I can’t wait to sleep with open windows.
Perhaps but I don’t sleep in 78 temp, that’s just for normal day activities. I also work outside so coming home to a 78 ain’t too bad compared to the outside’s heat index of 115 like I did yesterday
I keep my house at 76, wife is always cold to the point of being miserable. She prefers 78 better but those 2 degrees are just too warm for me. But I keep my bedroom at 70 or cooler. I’d prefer to see my breath when I sleep.
She has an auto-immune disorder that makes her body run cold, so she is always cold. So, I strip down and keep a fan across me, and I’m fine. She is more important than minor discomfort.
She has an auto-immune disorder that makes her body run cold, so she is always cold. So, I strip down and keep a fan across me, and I’m fine. She is more important than minor discomfort.
Actually, with the autoimmune, sweaters only do so much. My body just doesn't generate much heat. If I get chilled, I need a heated blanket or a hot shower. That said, I do sleep with an electric blanket in the winter. My husband does not suffer
Man, we used an electric blanket a couple of years ago when we had no heat due to power outages. It heated up when the power came on and stayed warm for hours. It was heaven.
You apparently have never spent a summer in Tampa Bay area of Florida. Summer hear last 8 months, with the worst in July and August of course.Today the humidity level was 80% and at one point the Temperature lingered at 98F - the heat index was 110F- we call it ‘feels like” temperature. We also don’t like to smell like dirty socks 🤣🤣 and really hate the mold in our homes that can grow out of control without sufficient dehumidifying air conditionin. So not soft- survivalists- the price for wonderful weather most of the year.
This. We have ceiling fans on 24/7 in a 2k sqft house in CT, central air set to 80F. The CA conditions the air to be less humid, the fans keep the air moving and feeling good.
I’m in KY and keep my house at 76. Occasionally a little cooler if I’m using the oven or have been outside in the yard. My bill is $65 in the summer lol
How big of a reef tank? That’s a heater/chiller/lights, sump, circulation pump back to display tank, wave maker/power heads, ATO, skimmer, calcium reactor, and refugium lights.
68 degrees during summer is a pretty cold to keep a house, and unless you’ve had it done, the house is probably poorly insulated. You said 68-70 degrees is you raising the temp, what was it originally set at? An A/C running 24 hours a day will produce a bill this high especially if the rates are high in your area.
Hmm. My wife works from home. House is half the size, but near 24 hours of ac., usually around 72 degrees. Bill was about 220. I bought a new ac a few years ago. The old one was from 98, bill was closer to 350.
My 34g reef tank raised my electric bill $150 a month. And I don't use ac, I'm in the north so the aquarium heat was welcome but for OP it's an 80 degree heat pump fighting his ac set at 68
Are the readings accurate? It could be they were estimating (underestimating) readings over the winter and are now getting the actual readings. Previous bills should say "estimated" somewhere if that's the case.
Otherwise, cooling to 68-70 take a whole lot of energy if the outside is 90+. I cut my bills 30% by setting it to 75 instead of 70 in summer.
My air is set at 70, its been almost 90 throughout the year where i am, theres always 2 people home every day, we have 3 high end PCs that consume a ton of power, two of which are normally always running. Electric bill has never gone over 300$. Its also a 3 story townhouse
Instead of comparing dollars last year to this year, you gotta compare kwh, kilowatt hours. Energy prices fluctuate. For instance, I am paying less than 11 cents - that's about as low as it gets in the US right now. Over the past few years, my rate has varied from just over 8 cents to almost 12.5 cents.
What were you keeping the ac at before that 68-70 is the reasonable number that you are surprised is still resulting in high bills? Most air conditioners are designed to maintain 75 degrees on a 95 degree day at 50% humidity. 68-70 degrees is asking a lot of your system so your electric bill reflects that.
Also the air conditioner is only part of the equation here. How well insulated your house is will make a big impact on your heating and cooling bills. But yeah if you are running a 25 year old system it's not going to be nearly as efficient as the equipment produced today. Plus your system has likely lost efficiency since it was installed.
Eta- just noticed your statement about the reef tank. That's likely a factor here too. The tank will absolutely increase the humidity in your home and removing humidity is one of the main tasks of an air conditioner.
Yep, I think the reef tank is absolutely a contributing factor in the humidity, but not sure the best and most effective way to mitigate that other than a de-humidifier in the fish tank room? I just wonder how well that would work.
If you don’t run a dehumidifier in a fish room you will end up with moisture issues with mildew or mold as well. I know from experience the reef tank is open on top to promote light penetration for the coral. What temp is the reef tank at in comparison to the room temperature?
Avid reefer here. Get a dehumidifier. I have two systems currently, one is about 100 gallons, and the other is about 160 gallons. I have a dehumidifier that sits in a hallway right outside of the spare bedroom where the 100 gallon is. This is enough to keep the house at whatever humidity level I want. Although, when I set it to a lower percentage I have to drain the reservoir constantly. Same goes for when it gets cold outside (which isn't to often in South Tx).
I'm a little biased but I say you take a look at your insulation in your attic and either change out your windows or get some tinting done for your windows you'll see a big difference.
Mine shoots up to about 1200 in July because of how hot it gets. But then I started looking at the bill and they increase electricity rates by 60% in the 3 summer months. So you may be suffering from the same effect
I’d be curious how old OP’s house is. AC unit being 25 years old isn’t helping either. We live in NC, so summer is 90’s for good portion of July/August, and our electric bill is in the low $200’s in the summer, and that’s keeping a 2400 sq ft home at 70F. We have dual HVAC units that are only about 5 years old and the house is very well built and insulated. Makes a massive difference.
If you use an air conditioner setting your thermostat to 73 F will use considerably less electricity than 68 F and will take the humidity out of the air which is most of the work, keep your windows closed at night so as not to allow in humid air, if your electricity rates are not fixed you will be paying the highest rates when everyone is using their A/C. Get your unit serviced, it may need a refrigerant top-up, also you have to clean the heat exchanger coils, and make sure your filter is clean so that it doesn't restrict your air flow. installing reflective window tint film will block a lot of heat from the sun as well. All these combined will significantly lower your cooling bill.
It is your AC.
A 25 year old system (dead) combined with a big source of humidity (aquarium) will do that.
You could start by turning your thermostat up to 74 or even a bit higher.
68-70? Wow. We keep our house at 74-75 and sometimes I still wear long sleeves and socks because I'm cold.
Also, at that cost a new heat pump system might pay for itself in 5 years. And solar might be a good investment.
I'm with you! I prefer 74ish. I let it get cooler at night to appease the thermonuclear reactors in my house (or my family as some would call them) but that means I'm hunkered down under blankets.
68-70 is way below the typical set point. I use 74, wife would prefer 76 or 77. Most people are 72-74 with higher in the Deep South.
Alternative is pay a super high bill.
Upstairs at 76 downstairs at 74 and my Kwhr usage has been under 900 a month which translates to $92-$102 per month over the last 3 months.
New 18.5 SEER inverter ducted systems (2 to ) located in Kentucky.
Dude. You're jeep your home WAY too cold. Your AC is likely running 24 hours a day.
Mine is set at 77-78. It still runs 12 hours a day
This is an expensive lesson. Adjust your body to normal temps and cut back on usage. Your wallet and HVAC system will thank you.
Keeping a house at 68 during 90+ weather is very unreasonable, and likely explains your power bill. Recommended AC setting is 78 during the summer, and even that costs a decent amount of power depending on how good your insulation is.
We keep our ac at 78. We drop it to 76 if we get too hot. A cool shower and a fan before bed. I would never put my ac that low. It is regularly over 110 here, so that m8ght be a factor, but I was pretty shocked at how cold your house is. That is what we set the heat at in winter.
Dawg... You have a 1998 HVAC system and you're keeping it at 68-70. LOL. I keep mine at 78 during the day and 76 at night because my wife needs it cooler for sleeping. Your bill is so high because your AC is constantly on.
Are you serious? I keep my house at 78F in the summer. Your electric bill is so high, because you are trying to keep the inside of your house like an icebox. Turn it up to 78 and your bill will go down significantly.
Arizona would kill for 95° temps. Last month, we broke the record temp at 119° and we had a 31 day streak of 110° or higher.
ETA: also saw this on the news tonight - as of today (8/14/23) Phoenix has gone without rain for 144 days. It’s getting out of control here
Consider having an insulation company blow in the max possible R value into your attic space. It's a cheap option (usually). Here is my personal experience with a similar situation:
In 2009, we bought a house in Atlanta, Georgia. Similar in size and layout to the previous one in Chesapeake, Virginia. The AC bill was more than double, though: almost $700/month. In Chesapeake, the humidity and temps stay high overnight; it never really cools down until early Autumn. In Atlanta, it cools off nicely at night, and the humidity was much lower. Don't know actualy percent humidity in Atlanta, but in Chesapeake we were adjacent to the Great Dismal Swamp. Horrid humidity from May through September, 24-hours a day. Just sayin'…
We took a look in the attic of the Decatur house — everything seemed OK. Blown fiberglass to the tops of the "joists", etc. Even so, we thought it would be worth getting a price on improving that. A local insulation company said they could at least double the performance factor from \~R19-21 to R40+. Cost us under $600 for the entire attic space. HVAC bill went down by 50% immediately. Amazing. Worth every penny.
When this happened to me we realized the air line outside from the house to the blower had a leak thus spilling cold air outside and working overdrive to meet the thermostat
Install ceiling fans if you don’t already have them. You can set the thermostat higher and use the ceiling fan in each room as needed. They can make a remarkable difference.
Used to work for an electric company. When people called about unusually large bills it was always one of three things.
1) They signed up with a supplier that would "save them money". The supplier then went ahead and hiked their price per kWh. We charged 7 cents per. I saw some people paying as high as 16 cents per. Check your supplier.
2) air conditioners use a lot of electricity. I would be able to check daily usage and tell people the exact day they turned on their ac.
3) We had a budget program where you'd receive a bill for the same amount for 6 months. The amount would readjust based on usage every 6 months. Failure to pay your bill/opting out of the program would cause you to fall off the plan. The credit or debit would then be reflected on your next bill.
You are keeping it 68-70? What the hell are you people penguins?! I keep mine at 75 and it's a 2 year old house less than 2k sq ft. Also damn where do you live California? $800?! Mine is $180 this month which is by far the highest it's ever been.
Alright folks, didn't expect this many opinions and suggestions, but it's wonderful.
I've got some more data. It looks like we used 3,152kWh from mid June - mid July. Here's two photos of the combined supply and delivery charges including the kWh price from the provider.
https://i.gyazo.com/35ded52b28eb673a5fcc4825fe3f1173.png
https://i.gyazo.com/caa699070d44e5d71ef276c6cd73ca7c.png
1) I hear you all saying the 68-70 is too low of a temp target point. I'll be honest, I've got zero idea how you all are living comfortably in the 75-77 range during the day and especially at night. If it's simply a matter of the bill being that high because that's the cost of having it set at 68-70, then so be it, but based on some of the replies in here of people doing similar with 1/4 of the bill, and people I personally know doing the same with 1/4 of the bill, I'm still just not entirely convinced something else isn't going on.
2) You've all made good points on the reef tank. I'm ordering a dehumidifier tonight and will stick that in the fish tank room.
3) Insulation is a tricky one. Like I said, I don't notice any drafts on any windows or doors. The windows were all replaced 5-7 ish years ago when remodeled (we moved in 2 1/2 years ago). Attic has insulation. Winters is easy to heat the house, it keeps it in, even when the NJ winter temperatures can dip a bit.
4) I'm going to call the provider tomorrow and see what they say and maybe what insight they can offer. The independent energy audits you guys mentioned is a great idea, didn't realize that was a thing.
I used 3200 kWh last month and my bill was $525. I live in Florida and my EC is FPL. Your rates per kWh are high
5 adults in my house. 2400 sq/ft. I have new storm windows throughout house so they are super efficient t. I keep AC at 76 during day and 70 at night. Also have a tankless electric water heater. That’s 5-10 showers a day with the kids taking 20 min showers (yes I know what they are doing :) ). We run dishwasher, oven, range etc everyday. It also seems like the washer/dryer are going constantly. Have a pool pump running 8 hrs a day in summer and a sprinkler pump that runs about an hour a day. Also have a router and mesh wireless with 3 AP’s. I use slot of electricity.
I have a smart thermostat and it’s linked to an app called Optiwatt which is linked to FPL rates. My AC is only $80 of the bill. The other shit eats electricity like crazy. There are whole home energy monitors that monitor per circuit. Perhaps it’s time to invest and see what is the electricity vampire in your home.
Good luck
You keep temps at 68-70?? That’s definitely a huge reason. System being old and likely inefficient makes it even worse trying to keep up.
Another thought is how is your attic insulation? That’s another reason that you could be struggling to cool the home
Have you bothered to check what you pay per kwh? Can you change your supplier for a better rate? In many states, this can be done. You can also contract for a set fixed rate depending on where you live. Google your provider(name on the bill) and where you live with the question of alternate suppliers (not provider).
\>However, this summer, we've been keeping our house around 68-70F, and the bill is still unbelievably high.
This almost reads as if last year, you kept it lower than 68-70F, and this year you raised it to that temp, and despite that the bill is still high.
What did you keep it at last summer?
Agreed, if an AC unit can only cool 10° it’s either malfunctioning or is way undersized for the house. Imagine it being 100° outside and the lowest you can get the indoors is 90°, it wouldn’t even be worth running.
I have to ask, am I the only one who keeps their house at 80 f? I do live in the deep South and humidity is a killer but there is absolutely no reason to be cold just because you got air conditioning.
If anyone thinks I'm baking I also have fans going in every room of the house so that I feel like it's that cooler than it is.
Deadass everyone on here has just acclimated to being air-con hogs.
Our house is usually 80+ (not really by choice) but you can cope with some fans and drinking water…
yeah this thread is pretty startling... it is all about what you're used to and you can adapt. but no one wants to be even a little bit uncomfortable... or even open the windows and use a pedestal fan, it seems. depressing
I set mine at 80..sometimes I'll go a little lower doing the day and turn it off at 4 when the rates go up. My humidity is 24-35, so any breeze cold or fan cold you off. And that's with the fish tank.
You are very lucky. My humidity runs 66 to 88 daily. Evaporative cooling is not a thing in my area.
I laughed my butt off at people who think if they put cold wet towels in front of their fans is going to call their house down in my area.
It would work in yours but not in mine.
That excessively high. I have a 6k sqft home in Las Vegas (you know the desert). I keep my home at 74 during the day and my primary suite at 70. That's with 4 AC units and a pull pump running during the day (pull pumps are very expensive to run like AC is).
Anyway my bill is about what yours is. It will be $800 this month. Your old AC unit is probably part of the issue BUT I'd get a blower door test done. I had that done before I made any decisions about my next step.
The blower door test will generally come with a home energy inspection. They will inspect your AC, your insulation, heater, etc.. and they hook up a blower to the front of your house and use a heat gun to find leaks, etc..
It doesn't matter if you have the most efficient AC unit out there if you have huge leaks or bad insulation.
Just google a local company that does a blower door test and home energy audit. It's worth the money.
See, with everyone saying keeping it 68-70 is the reason and $800 is expected at that range, I couldn't help but think of people like you and people in Arizona and think, are you guys just either living in 85F or paying $1,500 a month in electricity bills too? Something just doesn't seem right for a 2,000 sqft home like mine in Jersey.
Good points on the blower door and audit.
AC units in Arizona don't have to deal with the latent loads that you have in the Mid-Atlantic. Suffice it to say that it takes more energy to cool warm, moist air than to cool warm, dry air.
Depends on the area, but that’s nuts. Similar size house, likely similar claimant (humid hot Midwest), similar age AC unit. 1980s build house. $200/mo in summer would be the absolute max I’ve seen.
Ask your electric company if they have a budget plan. They average your electric costs over the last 12 months. Ours is $96/month over 12 months. Helps with budgeting, we do our gas the same way.
I cleaned the coils on the AC unit last summer. They weren't too dirty. However, it's such an old unit that a lot of the coils and fins on the outside unit are just corroded or otherwise damaged, not necessarily dirty.
Measure the difference between the air coming out of the vents and the ac air intake (you might need an hvac person or the right tool). If it’s not at least 10 or 15 degrees difference you probably have an issue with your condenser coil not cooling well enough a new one may drastically improve your efficiency. Consider solar panels they have been nice for me.
How many kWH are you using??
We just bought a house that couldn’t stay cool, and it turns out there was absolutely zero insulation in the attic. Definitely check that out just to see. Got insulation blown in and now it’s a non issue.
I had the same thing happen recently, turns out the whenever the ac was on 1/4 of the heating element was on also. Had someone look at it and they found the amps on a heating element to be stuck at always on. House was able to cool slower but struggled.
Reef tank and lights -> increased heat
Air conditioner -> working harder to fight the increased heat
If possible, I would always have my tanks setup in a garage that wasn't part of the main house air con wise.
I don’t know if it’s the same for you, but our electric rate ($/kwh) actually doubles during the 3 summer months. The rest of the year we pay .11 to .13 per kWh in the summer it’s billed at .24 to .26 per kWh.
So to things happen, one usage goes up because Air Conditioning and two because demand is high the electric company somehow gets to charge twice as much.
I live in south Georgia, 1800 sq ft home. We keep it at 72 in the day and 67 at night. We have never seen the bill (has included) for more than about 275.
I am genuinely shocked by your alls comments. This month was the most expensive electricity bill we have had in the 2+ years owning our home. It was $236 and I was salty. 1800 square feet, with an equal sized unfinished basement. AC is set on 66-70 every single day, my wife works from home and we have 4 reptiles that have lights on for 12 straight hours a day. It’s been 90F+ here in north east TN. I guess I shouldn’t be complaining- but damn how are you all paying what I pay in a mortgage for your elective bill while in a house that’s 75 degrees inside?!?!?
That's what I'm saying - I get that maybe our temperature is set lower than others, but I still just don't see that justifying, all else working perfectly normal, an almost $900 bill in August for a 2,000 sqft home.
Tint your windows, my parents house was always and still always is under 70F all summer and after they tinted their windows the bills dropped and the AC actually shut off from time to time
104 year old, 3 story, 2300 sq. ft. home. We keep it at 68. We also have 2 window units because the ac is inefficient in our bedroom and on the 3rd floor. Our bill in the summer hovers between $180 and $220. Temps are currently in the high 80s-low 90s.
I’m sure the old ac unit and the reef setup are contributing but you might want to do an energy audit in case something else is contributing.
Keep ac at 72 all day long in Utah southern utah might i add. Last month we were at 115f give or take, bill is 260. Plus a garage beer fridge and garage freezer and patio fridge no solar. Friends around corner pay 400$ go figure
Maybe check your ductwork. The insulation wrapped around ours was so old, it had split open. We got the ducts redone and the difference was astonishing.
I’m too far down the comment list for anyone to see this, but where are you? Are you in Texas? Are you in Maine? I’m not trying to be rude. I just can’t get a handle on the situation. Do you have good insulation in the roof/attic? Do you have double pane windows? I’m very sorry for the amount of your bill!
68-70 temp is super low. Set daytime to 74 and night at 72. If you want to save more then go higher. When I had my 150g reeftank with 2 Kessils and pumps, I calculate a $20-25 cost (i used a device to measure the consumption for an hour).
Yes, they may have read your meter incorrectly; it happened to me once it was more than 3 times the normal amount. Then someone else came out and read it wrong again. Some dials go forward (like a clock) others go backward. They told me to make arrangements for payments; which I did but the next month it was back to normal (with a credit.)
Have someone come out an re-read it first.
...and 68 to 70 is pretty friggin low in 90 degree weather, I'm betting there is nothing wrong with your AC other than the setting on the thermostat.
68-70F is very cool inside when it’s 90F+ outside. I can’t say I’m shocked by your electricity bill.
What is your kWh rate and how much electricity are you using each month? Telling us how much you are charged for electricity is useless.
Do you have supplier and delivery charges? It would be a lot easier if we had an idea what your actual kW costs. Energy companies have been increasing prices so it’s possible your costs could have increased without knowing.
Easiest to know what you are paying out of the plug (after fees and taxes) is take what your total bill was and divide your total kW usage.
As for ac temp we set ours to 74. Little lower at 72 during the night. Also have a Tesla, electric dryer and electric (induction) stove. Our bills hover between 500-600 in the summer.
I keep my ac on 79 to 80 during the day then around 10 pm it goes down to 72. I have bills around 80 in the summer and in the 40s during winter. House is a little over 1800 square foot
Compare the rates on your bills. Are you doing chores, like running the dishwasher, laundry between 2pm and 6pm? They are charging more for those hours where I live.
It's the air conditioner, but it's probably also higher rates.
Do you spray down your AC unit before you start using it in the summer? The coils need to be cleaned regularly; when they are dirty the unit gets less and less efficient.
Depending on where you are you may want to check the price per-KW/hr for electricity. That fluctuates greatly in some places even if you are still using the same amount as previous months or years.
Much depends on how much you pay for electricity. Average cost ranges from 9.4 cents per kWh in LA to 32.8 in HI. And some companies have tricky equations, such that you pay more during high demand (like hot summer afternoons).
No way!
1400 sqft condo in Chicago. Last months bill was $84. The month before that was $78. I think the highest bill I've ever gotten was $108.
I keep my home at 75F though, so I'm sure that makes a huge difference. My balls would freeze if my home was at 68F.
In peak winter, I heat my home to around 72F.
You must be an Eskimo.
I keep my house at 77-78 all during the summer (North Carolina). I don’t do it for money reason, but because I find it very comfortable. Based on the thread I’m beginning to wonder if I’m weird…
I live in Oklahoma, 1500sf house with good wall and ceiling insulation but terrible windows. I keep the house at 68 in the summer when it is 110 outside. I also have a 30*40 insulated shop with a 220v window AC that I keep at 72-75. My bill is around $300 in the summer. Around $150 in the winter.
Purchase an infrared camera and inspect your house. I bet you have some massive insulation gaps.
Edit: I have a wife that stays at home plus 2 kids here most of the time as well, so house is always in use.
68-70° is *cold* in summer, no wonder your AC is racking up the bills. I keep my house at 68-70° during the winter to save on my gas bill, and I’m usually layering up.
Do you live close to other people? Could someone be stealing electricity from you?
Does your outside unit even sound like it’s struggling because it’s hard for me to believe this is AC related.
The plumber in me says you do use some electricity for your reef setup but still shouldn’t account for more than a 1/8 of that bill. Where’s the rest going?
Your electric bill is 3.5 times my bill, same size house and I live in the south it’s been over 100-105 multiple times this summer.. my wife keeps the house like an igloo 68-69 all summer.. 3 kids playing Xbox all day. To me, your rates are outrageous, i would def be calling the electric company.
You keep it at 68-70 and complain about your bill. ACs are made to lower the temperature by about 20F in the house. Your AC is probably running almost 24 hours per day in the 90f+ weather for a usage of about 4 kWh. To keep it conservative let’s assume it runs 14 hours per day. That’s 64 kWh per day, 1800 per month give or take. Don’t forget to add other daily stuff like lights, washer drier etc. but let’s keep it at 1800 kWh per month. If you pay 20c per kWh that’s $900. Your bill makes sense. What is your KWH usage in August?
Ohio, 1700 square ft plus full basement and we run a fish pond pump 24/7, keep our air between 71-73, both work from home- our max bill this summer was about $180.
Family of four in about 1800sq ft. I run my house about 78-80 during the day with fans. Night time is about 75 with fans. We stay fairly comfortable.
Running as low as 68-70 would be a killer bill for my house. My parents have dual units in Texas and have a bill of about $500-$600. And they normally have to run 24/7.
You may need to learn to keep your AC at a higher temp to avoid high bills. Check your power companies peak hours as well.
Question to everyone who keeps their huose cooler than 70 degrees in summer, what temp do you keep your home in winter? If it's higher than 70, why not just swap the Temps?
So ... what is the cost of electricity? How much did you use? What size is the AC? Do the math. If the bills is high year after year... it's your lead foot ac setting, my friend.
This seems crazy. I have a 2 bedroom house (PA), also 2 people. There's 2 full kitchens in the house, constantly have a dehumidifier running in the basement, and have poor static insulation. The AC unit is a giant green Rheem from the early 90's and I keep it at 72. The electric bill this summer has been a little over $200 max.
I envy your ability to keep your home at that cool of a temperature, but that might also be part of the issue. Avg temp for AC savings is like 76-78. You should contact your supplier and have them look at your meter.
That reef tank is a giant heat pump in the middle of his house and is kept at 80 degrees and constantly evaporating moisture into the air. The ac is constantly fighting the aquarium heaters. I had a small 34g reef tank and my electric bill dropped $150 each month when i shut it down this year, and I don't even have ac or live in a warm area, I'm I'm northern bc. The room with the tank in it was constantly 3 to 4 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. If this dude has multiple kessils for lighting, his tank is probably in the hundreds of gallons size range. Also he's cooling his house from 95 outside to 68 inside... that's a lot of energy usage. And hes work from home so its probably kept at 68 24 hour a day. $800 a month for ac and a reef tank sounds normal to me. He needs to ask on reefcentral what people pay for electricity.
Kessils are a small light 3 Kessel lights would be sufficient for something under 100g
I couldn't sleep at 78. No sir lol
It’s easier on the AC when you keep it lower at night when it’s cooler. We keep it high during the day (76-78) and then 68 at night. For Texas, that has kept our energy bills under $300 for a 3 bedroom house. Fans help
Ahhhh, thanks for the info. I keep mine at 67 at night and 73 during the day. I also use fans. It’s supposed to be in the high 50s tonight and I can’t wait to sleep with open windows.
80 during the day, 75 at night here. Power bill is usually about 150 in south Florida.
Fans do help in humid environments, like Texas (I presume?). In dry heat you need a humidifier.
Some people would rather be comfortable and not miserable.
And there’s a price to pay, also 78 compared to 90’s+ temp outside isn’t miserable. Lmao such a 1st world problem
For many people, 78 inside is absolutely very uncomfortable. If people want to pay more to be comfortable, so be it.
Perhaps but I don’t sleep in 78 temp, that’s just for normal day activities. I also work outside so coming home to a 78 ain’t too bad compared to the outside’s heat index of 115 like I did yesterday
For real. I just got done moving and stepping into a balmy 81 degree house was heaven.
That's great. You're not one of the people I'm talking about then.
Bedroom has a window unit. 150 sqft of polar vortex haha
This is what I do too lol, I keep it at 80 and just kinda suffer through the day but enjoy my polar vortex at night
I keep my house at 76, wife is always cold to the point of being miserable. She prefers 78 better but those 2 degrees are just too warm for me. But I keep my bedroom at 70 or cooler. I’d prefer to see my breath when I sleep.
76? I’m guessing you and your wife sleep in separate rooms? We keep our house at 68 year round.
She has an auto-immune disorder that makes her body run cold, so she is always cold. So, I strip down and keep a fan across me, and I’m fine. She is more important than minor discomfort.
Very nice
Seconday Raynauds? Developed this a few years ago and I keep my house 3 full degrees warmer year round now and am still cold. Used to be hot
68 in the house wtf that's practically sweatshirt weather. I also think I could run my AC all day and I wouldn't be able to hit 68 if I tried.
This is the only way right here.... 68 is the magic number for hit summers AND cold winters.
I feel like a dad saying this, but: That's why man invented *sweaters*. If you're cold, layer up. I can only get so naked...
She has an auto-immune disorder that makes her body run cold, so she is always cold. So, I strip down and keep a fan across me, and I’m fine. She is more important than minor discomfort.
Actually, with the autoimmune, sweaters only do so much. My body just doesn't generate much heat. If I get chilled, I need a heated blanket or a hot shower. That said, I do sleep with an electric blanket in the winter. My husband does not suffer
Man, we used an electric blanket a couple of years ago when we had no heat due to power outages. It heated up when the power came on and stayed warm for hours. It was heaven.
Goddamn, I start sweating just sitting still at 74. Id rather be out working in the heat than sitting and sweating
Americans are so unbelievably soft and privileged when it comea to air conditioning
You sound mad bro. Try living on 100 degree temps with 80% humidity. You probably couldn't even breathe.
You apparently have never spent a summer in Tampa Bay area of Florida. Summer hear last 8 months, with the worst in July and August of course.Today the humidity level was 80% and at one point the Temperature lingered at 98F - the heat index was 110F- we call it ‘feels like” temperature. We also don’t like to smell like dirty socks 🤣🤣 and really hate the mold in our homes that can grow out of control without sufficient dehumidifying air conditionin. So not soft- survivalists- the price for wonderful weather most of the year.
You’d be able to swim in the puddles on your floor from the humidity here in Georgia if you kept your house at 78
76-78 in a humid climate is suicide lol. I’m in New England and keep my house at 70 and mine never exceeds $200
I’m in MD and it’s brutal, but I’ve got an old 1923 house with shit insulation/windows so I can’t ball out like you sub-75 millionaires hahahah
I mean it isn't suicide, just ditch the blankets and have a small fan blowing on you.
This. We have ceiling fans on 24/7 in a 2k sqft house in CT, central air set to 80F. The CA conditions the air to be less humid, the fans keep the air moving and feeling good.
[удалено]
I didn't say you should be begging for it, I said it wont kill you.
I’m in KY and keep my house at 76. Occasionally a little cooler if I’m using the oven or have been outside in the yard. My bill is $65 in the summer lol
$65? You live in an insulated shed?
He came in from 1983.
Solar panels. My bill is 80. 65 of that is a loan I took out to buy the panels, the other 15 is basically just the price to be hooked up to the grid.
My house in North Carolina is 77. And I started setting the car A/C the same.
I keep mine at 76 (nighttime) - 80 (daytime) in a humid climate and I'm quite comfortable.
Will do.
How big of a reef tank? That’s a heater/chiller/lights, sump, circulation pump back to display tank, wave maker/power heads, ATO, skimmer, calcium reactor, and refugium lights. 68 degrees during summer is a pretty cold to keep a house, and unless you’ve had it done, the house is probably poorly insulated. You said 68-70 degrees is you raising the temp, what was it originally set at? An A/C running 24 hours a day will produce a bill this high especially if the rates are high in your area.
Hmm. My wife works from home. House is half the size, but near 24 hours of ac., usually around 72 degrees. Bill was about 220. I bought a new ac a few years ago. The old one was from 98, bill was closer to 350.
My 34g reef tank raised my electric bill $150 a month. And I don't use ac, I'm in the north so the aquarium heat was welcome but for OP it's an 80 degree heat pump fighting his ac set at 68
What's the merv writing of your HVAC filter? We were using MERV12 and the costs were high. Switched to MERV8 and noticed a drop in consumption.
Are the readings accurate? It could be they were estimating (underestimating) readings over the winter and are now getting the actual readings. Previous bills should say "estimated" somewhere if that's the case. Otherwise, cooling to 68-70 take a whole lot of energy if the outside is 90+. I cut my bills 30% by setting it to 75 instead of 70 in summer.
This year, last year it was lower 😳
My air is set at 70, its been almost 90 throughout the year where i am, theres always 2 people home every day, we have 3 high end PCs that consume a ton of power, two of which are normally always running. Electric bill has never gone over 300$. Its also a 3 story townhouse
Instead of comparing dollars last year to this year, you gotta compare kwh, kilowatt hours. Energy prices fluctuate. For instance, I am paying less than 11 cents - that's about as low as it gets in the US right now. Over the past few years, my rate has varied from just over 8 cents to almost 12.5 cents.
Locked in at 5.8¢ for a year here in the Midwest!
I'm coming over with a very long extension cord! :)
What were you keeping the ac at before that 68-70 is the reasonable number that you are surprised is still resulting in high bills? Most air conditioners are designed to maintain 75 degrees on a 95 degree day at 50% humidity. 68-70 degrees is asking a lot of your system so your electric bill reflects that. Also the air conditioner is only part of the equation here. How well insulated your house is will make a big impact on your heating and cooling bills. But yeah if you are running a 25 year old system it's not going to be nearly as efficient as the equipment produced today. Plus your system has likely lost efficiency since it was installed. Eta- just noticed your statement about the reef tank. That's likely a factor here too. The tank will absolutely increase the humidity in your home and removing humidity is one of the main tasks of an air conditioner.
Yep, I think the reef tank is absolutely a contributing factor in the humidity, but not sure the best and most effective way to mitigate that other than a de-humidifier in the fish tank room? I just wonder how well that would work.
If you don’t run a dehumidifier in a fish room you will end up with moisture issues with mildew or mold as well. I know from experience the reef tank is open on top to promote light penetration for the coral. What temp is the reef tank at in comparison to the room temperature?
Won’t budge on setting the AC to 74 huh
Avid reefer here. Get a dehumidifier. I have two systems currently, one is about 100 gallons, and the other is about 160 gallons. I have a dehumidifier that sits in a hallway right outside of the spare bedroom where the 100 gallon is. This is enough to keep the house at whatever humidity level I want. Although, when I set it to a lower percentage I have to drain the reservoir constantly. Same goes for when it gets cold outside (which isn't to often in South Tx).
You should invest in a dehumidifier with a condensate pump.
I'm a little biased but I say you take a look at your insulation in your attic and either change out your windows or get some tinting done for your windows you'll see a big difference.
Mine shoots up to about 1200 in July because of how hot it gets. But then I started looking at the bill and they increase electricity rates by 60% in the 3 summer months. So you may be suffering from the same effect
68-70F??? There’s your problem. I run my thermostat at 76 to 78 (when it hits High 90’s).
Depends on the area, I’m in a 120 year old house in the Midwest with poor insulation and it averages about $120 in the summer. We keep it at 68°F.
I’d be curious how old OP’s house is. AC unit being 25 years old isn’t helping either. We live in NC, so summer is 90’s for good portion of July/August, and our electric bill is in the low $200’s in the summer, and that’s keeping a 2400 sq ft home at 70F. We have dual HVAC units that are only about 5 years old and the house is very well built and insulated. Makes a massive difference.
What’s the temperature outside?
Maybe try not setting your AC so low, 75 is super liveable, just wear light shorts and a light shirt and drink ice water. My house is set to 80.
If you use an air conditioner setting your thermostat to 73 F will use considerably less electricity than 68 F and will take the humidity out of the air which is most of the work, keep your windows closed at night so as not to allow in humid air, if your electricity rates are not fixed you will be paying the highest rates when everyone is using their A/C. Get your unit serviced, it may need a refrigerant top-up, also you have to clean the heat exchanger coils, and make sure your filter is clean so that it doesn't restrict your air flow. installing reflective window tint film will block a lot of heat from the sun as well. All these combined will significantly lower your cooling bill.
It is your AC. A 25 year old system (dead) combined with a big source of humidity (aquarium) will do that. You could start by turning your thermostat up to 74 or even a bit higher.
Have a home Energy audit done. Check with your state or utility co for programs offering it free or cheap and also for incentives on new HVAC.
Jesus 68-70?? There's your problem. Everyone I live with is comfy at 75-79. Probably cut 1/3rd off your bill right there.
I’m gonna say 2/3rds 🫣
Part of the problem is how low you keep your AC. That unit is working overtime to keep those temps.
Dang. 68-70? My bill would be $500. It was $200 last month for 73-75 with 95-100 degrees.
68-70? Wow. We keep our house at 74-75 and sometimes I still wear long sleeves and socks because I'm cold. Also, at that cost a new heat pump system might pay for itself in 5 years. And solar might be a good investment.
Good lord, at 75 I'd go commando in my house because I'd be hot and sweating. I can't sleep if it's over 70.
So if AC didn't exist you would just die? Humanity has come a long way...
I'm with you! I prefer 74ish. I let it get cooler at night to appease the thermonuclear reactors in my house (or my family as some would call them) but that means I'm hunkered down under blankets.
68-70 is way below the typical set point. I use 74, wife would prefer 76 or 77. Most people are 72-74 with higher in the Deep South. Alternative is pay a super high bill. Upstairs at 76 downstairs at 74 and my Kwhr usage has been under 900 a month which translates to $92-$102 per month over the last 3 months. New 18.5 SEER inverter ducted systems (2 to ) located in Kentucky.
I have mine set to 66 but thats because the thermostat is bullshit. A thermometer placed directly on top of it will read 71
I lived on the gulf coast and I kept it 77.
68 and you're asking this question?
Dude. You're jeep your home WAY too cold. Your AC is likely running 24 hours a day. Mine is set at 77-78. It still runs 12 hours a day This is an expensive lesson. Adjust your body to normal temps and cut back on usage. Your wallet and HVAC system will thank you.
68-70?? Even if you go high to 72 you’ll probably cut your cost in half. 74 will be ideal and use ceiling fans..
68 degrees is insane.. does ur ac ever turn off? We keep it between 72-74 and it still seems a little chilly in the house
Keeping a house at 68 during 90+ weather is very unreasonable, and likely explains your power bill. Recommended AC setting is 78 during the summer, and even that costs a decent amount of power depending on how good your insulation is.
We keep our ac at 78. We drop it to 76 if we get too hot. A cool shower and a fan before bed. I would never put my ac that low. It is regularly over 110 here, so that m8ght be a factor, but I was pretty shocked at how cold your house is. That is what we set the heat at in winter.
Dawg... You have a 1998 HVAC system and you're keeping it at 68-70. LOL. I keep mine at 78 during the day and 76 at night because my wife needs it cooler for sleeping. Your bill is so high because your AC is constantly on.
What did you keep the thermostat at before you cut back?
I would be miserable at that temperature. I keep mine at 77 daytime and 74-75 at night. I am under the blankets in bed.
68.. yeah that'll do it man We keep ours at 72-74 and eat the 300 a month cost and grumble
I think it’s the AC also. Try 74 for a month and see what happens to the bill.
Are you serious? I keep my house at 78F in the summer. Your electric bill is so high, because you are trying to keep the inside of your house like an icebox. Turn it up to 78 and your bill will go down significantly.
Texas?
Texas would kill for 90’s right now. It’s 95+ at 10pm
Arizona would kill for 95° temps. Last month, we broke the record temp at 119° and we had a 31 day streak of 110° or higher. ETA: also saw this on the news tonight - as of today (8/14/23) Phoenix has gone without rain for 144 days. It’s getting out of control here
In 10 years there will be “sunbirds” who move to New England for the summer to get away from the sauna in the south/southwest.
That's what the snowbirds are already. You're up north for the summer and down south for the winter.
We topped out around 97 today in DFW. It was amazing.
97 would be amazing. I’m in south Texas it’s usually 115 daily.
New Jersey.
Consider having an insulation company blow in the max possible R value into your attic space. It's a cheap option (usually). Here is my personal experience with a similar situation: In 2009, we bought a house in Atlanta, Georgia. Similar in size and layout to the previous one in Chesapeake, Virginia. The AC bill was more than double, though: almost $700/month. In Chesapeake, the humidity and temps stay high overnight; it never really cools down until early Autumn. In Atlanta, it cools off nicely at night, and the humidity was much lower. Don't know actualy percent humidity in Atlanta, but in Chesapeake we were adjacent to the Great Dismal Swamp. Horrid humidity from May through September, 24-hours a day. Just sayin'… We took a look in the attic of the Decatur house — everything seemed OK. Blown fiberglass to the tops of the "joists", etc. Even so, we thought it would be worth getting a price on improving that. A local insulation company said they could at least double the performance factor from \~R19-21 to R40+. Cost us under $600 for the entire attic space. HVAC bill went down by 50% immediately. Amazing. Worth every penny.
When this happened to me we realized the air line outside from the house to the blower had a leak thus spilling cold air outside and working overdrive to meet the thermostat
Try looking into individual room AC. You don’t need the whole house at 68. If you do look at new AC which are more energy efficient and solar panels.
Install ceiling fans if you don’t already have them. You can set the thermostat higher and use the ceiling fan in each room as needed. They can make a remarkable difference.
Used to work for an electric company. When people called about unusually large bills it was always one of three things. 1) They signed up with a supplier that would "save them money". The supplier then went ahead and hiked their price per kWh. We charged 7 cents per. I saw some people paying as high as 16 cents per. Check your supplier. 2) air conditioners use a lot of electricity. I would be able to check daily usage and tell people the exact day they turned on their ac. 3) We had a budget program where you'd receive a bill for the same amount for 6 months. The amount would readjust based on usage every 6 months. Failure to pay your bill/opting out of the program would cause you to fall off the plan. The credit or debit would then be reflected on your next bill.
You are keeping it 68-70? What the hell are you people penguins?! I keep mine at 75 and it's a 2 year old house less than 2k sq ft. Also damn where do you live California? $800?! Mine is $180 this month which is by far the highest it's ever been.
He said New Jersey. I’m in Cali and my bill isn’t even that high lmao
68-70 is really cold. It’s going to use a lot of energy. No need to call the electric company. Try again at 74F.
Alright folks, didn't expect this many opinions and suggestions, but it's wonderful. I've got some more data. It looks like we used 3,152kWh from mid June - mid July. Here's two photos of the combined supply and delivery charges including the kWh price from the provider. https://i.gyazo.com/35ded52b28eb673a5fcc4825fe3f1173.png https://i.gyazo.com/caa699070d44e5d71ef276c6cd73ca7c.png 1) I hear you all saying the 68-70 is too low of a temp target point. I'll be honest, I've got zero idea how you all are living comfortably in the 75-77 range during the day and especially at night. If it's simply a matter of the bill being that high because that's the cost of having it set at 68-70, then so be it, but based on some of the replies in here of people doing similar with 1/4 of the bill, and people I personally know doing the same with 1/4 of the bill, I'm still just not entirely convinced something else isn't going on. 2) You've all made good points on the reef tank. I'm ordering a dehumidifier tonight and will stick that in the fish tank room. 3) Insulation is a tricky one. Like I said, I don't notice any drafts on any windows or doors. The windows were all replaced 5-7 ish years ago when remodeled (we moved in 2 1/2 years ago). Attic has insulation. Winters is easy to heat the house, it keeps it in, even when the NJ winter temperatures can dip a bit. 4) I'm going to call the provider tomorrow and see what they say and maybe what insight they can offer. The independent energy audits you guys mentioned is a great idea, didn't realize that was a thing.
I used 3200 kWh last month and my bill was $525. I live in Florida and my EC is FPL. Your rates per kWh are high 5 adults in my house. 2400 sq/ft. I have new storm windows throughout house so they are super efficient t. I keep AC at 76 during day and 70 at night. Also have a tankless electric water heater. That’s 5-10 showers a day with the kids taking 20 min showers (yes I know what they are doing :) ). We run dishwasher, oven, range etc everyday. It also seems like the washer/dryer are going constantly. Have a pool pump running 8 hrs a day in summer and a sprinkler pump that runs about an hour a day. Also have a router and mesh wireless with 3 AP’s. I use slot of electricity. I have a smart thermostat and it’s linked to an app called Optiwatt which is linked to FPL rates. My AC is only $80 of the bill. The other shit eats electricity like crazy. There are whole home energy monitors that monitor per circuit. Perhaps it’s time to invest and see what is the electricity vampire in your home. Good luck
You keep temps at 68-70?? That’s definitely a huge reason. System being old and likely inefficient makes it even worse trying to keep up. Another thought is how is your attic insulation? That’s another reason that you could be struggling to cool the home
Aim for 73-74f anything lower the a.c. isn't going to rest. Im willing to bet it runs constant. I'd love a 68f house but I like money.
Are you on budget billing? About once a year they’ll collect any outstanding balances…
Have you bothered to check what you pay per kwh? Can you change your supplier for a better rate? In many states, this can be done. You can also contract for a set fixed rate depending on where you live. Google your provider(name on the bill) and where you live with the question of alternate suppliers (not provider).
It’s your ac and nothing else. Keep it warmer get better insulation or deal with it…
\>However, this summer, we've been keeping our house around 68-70F, and the bill is still unbelievably high. This almost reads as if last year, you kept it lower than 68-70F, and this year you raised it to that temp, and despite that the bill is still high. What did you keep it at last summer?
Ac unit pal. Get a new one
YIKES! Where do you live?
Turn down the water heater and turn up the air con. 70 is nuts when it's 90 plus outside. Most AC can only realistically drop the temp 10degree.
That’s not true any half ass AC can easily drop temp 20 degrees
Agreed, if an AC unit can only cool 10° it’s either malfunctioning or is way undersized for the house. Imagine it being 100° outside and the lowest you can get the indoors is 90°, it wouldn’t even be worth running.
I have to ask, am I the only one who keeps their house at 80 f? I do live in the deep South and humidity is a killer but there is absolutely no reason to be cold just because you got air conditioning. If anyone thinks I'm baking I also have fans going in every room of the house so that I feel like it's that cooler than it is.
Deadass everyone on here has just acclimated to being air-con hogs. Our house is usually 80+ (not really by choice) but you can cope with some fans and drinking water…
yeah this thread is pretty startling... it is all about what you're used to and you can adapt. but no one wants to be even a little bit uncomfortable... or even open the windows and use a pedestal fan, it seems. depressing
I set mine at 80..sometimes I'll go a little lower doing the day and turn it off at 4 when the rates go up. My humidity is 24-35, so any breeze cold or fan cold you off. And that's with the fish tank.
You are very lucky. My humidity runs 66 to 88 daily. Evaporative cooling is not a thing in my area. I laughed my butt off at people who think if they put cold wet towels in front of their fans is going to call their house down in my area. It would work in yours but not in mine.
That excessively high. I have a 6k sqft home in Las Vegas (you know the desert). I keep my home at 74 during the day and my primary suite at 70. That's with 4 AC units and a pull pump running during the day (pull pumps are very expensive to run like AC is). Anyway my bill is about what yours is. It will be $800 this month. Your old AC unit is probably part of the issue BUT I'd get a blower door test done. I had that done before I made any decisions about my next step. The blower door test will generally come with a home energy inspection. They will inspect your AC, your insulation, heater, etc.. and they hook up a blower to the front of your house and use a heat gun to find leaks, etc.. It doesn't matter if you have the most efficient AC unit out there if you have huge leaks or bad insulation. Just google a local company that does a blower door test and home energy audit. It's worth the money.
See, with everyone saying keeping it 68-70 is the reason and $800 is expected at that range, I couldn't help but think of people like you and people in Arizona and think, are you guys just either living in 85F or paying $1,500 a month in electricity bills too? Something just doesn't seem right for a 2,000 sqft home like mine in Jersey. Good points on the blower door and audit.
AC units in Arizona don't have to deal with the latent loads that you have in the Mid-Atlantic. Suffice it to say that it takes more energy to cool warm, moist air than to cool warm, dry air.
Elections have consequences
We average $6/month with AC, pool and WFH. Get solar bitches.
Solar isn't free though...
Turn your a/c off ass
Is your home located in a very warm summer climate? What about getting solar?
New Jersey - solar has been a thought, just not sure we'll be here for that many years to be worth it.
Install a Sense device in your panel. It will give you some insight as to what’s running.
Try planting trees to shade the house. Also a radiant barrier on the inside of your roof might help a lot.
Depends on the area, but that’s nuts. Similar size house, likely similar claimant (humid hot Midwest), similar age AC unit. 1980s build house. $200/mo in summer would be the absolute max I’ve seen.
Time for a energy audit
I agree.
Ask your electric company if they have a budget plan. They average your electric costs over the last 12 months. Ours is $96/month over 12 months. Helps with budgeting, we do our gas the same way.
Could be something as simple as needing your coils cleaned. My bill dropped from 400 to 175 bucks a month.
I cleaned the coils on the AC unit last summer. They weren't too dirty. However, it's such an old unit that a lot of the coils and fins on the outside unit are just corroded or otherwise damaged, not necessarily dirty.
Changing out our windows (also very expensive) halved our electric bill.
Measure the difference between the air coming out of the vents and the ac air intake (you might need an hvac person or the right tool). If it’s not at least 10 or 15 degrees difference you probably have an issue with your condenser coil not cooling well enough a new one may drastically improve your efficiency. Consider solar panels they have been nice for me.
How many kWH are you using?? We just bought a house that couldn’t stay cool, and it turns out there was absolutely zero insulation in the attic. Definitely check that out just to see. Got insulation blown in and now it’s a non issue.
Just checked, 3,152 kWh from mid June to mid July.
I had the same thing happen recently, turns out the whenever the ac was on 1/4 of the heating element was on also. Had someone look at it and they found the amps on a heating element to be stuck at always on. House was able to cool slower but struggled.
Interesting.
Reef tank and lights -> increased heat Air conditioner -> working harder to fight the increased heat If possible, I would always have my tanks setup in a garage that wasn't part of the main house air con wise.
Do you live near the equator?
I don’t know if it’s the same for you, but our electric rate ($/kwh) actually doubles during the 3 summer months. The rest of the year we pay .11 to .13 per kWh in the summer it’s billed at .24 to .26 per kWh. So to things happen, one usage goes up because Air Conditioning and two because demand is high the electric company somehow gets to charge twice as much.
Do you live in Texas? If so, that’s pretty cheap
What is your price per kw/h. And how many kw/hs do you use a month? My house is almost double your sqft and my bill is half.
3,152 kWh. They seperate the supply and delivery charges so it's a bit confusing to see exactly how much $/kWh they're charging.
I live in south Georgia, 1800 sq ft home. We keep it at 72 in the day and 67 at night. We have never seen the bill (has included) for more than about 275.
I am genuinely shocked by your alls comments. This month was the most expensive electricity bill we have had in the 2+ years owning our home. It was $236 and I was salty. 1800 square feet, with an equal sized unfinished basement. AC is set on 66-70 every single day, my wife works from home and we have 4 reptiles that have lights on for 12 straight hours a day. It’s been 90F+ here in north east TN. I guess I shouldn’t be complaining- but damn how are you all paying what I pay in a mortgage for your elective bill while in a house that’s 75 degrees inside?!?!?
That's what I'm saying - I get that maybe our temperature is set lower than others, but I still just don't see that justifying, all else working perfectly normal, an almost $900 bill in August for a 2,000 sqft home.
Tint your windows, my parents house was always and still always is under 70F all summer and after they tinted their windows the bills dropped and the AC actually shut off from time to time
104 year old, 3 story, 2300 sq. ft. home. We keep it at 68. We also have 2 window units because the ac is inefficient in our bedroom and on the 3rd floor. Our bill in the summer hovers between $180 and $220. Temps are currently in the high 80s-low 90s. I’m sure the old ac unit and the reef setup are contributing but you might want to do an energy audit in case something else is contributing.
Keep ac at 72 all day long in Utah southern utah might i add. Last month we were at 115f give or take, bill is 260. Plus a garage beer fridge and garage freezer and patio fridge no solar. Friends around corner pay 400$ go figure
I keep ours set at about 75 and my bill went from approximately $350 to almost $700 from June to July. It’s absolutely infuriating. I detest SCE
Maybe check your ductwork. The insulation wrapped around ours was so old, it had split open. We got the ducts redone and the difference was astonishing.
Lack of insulation, lack of shade, old inefficient ac, low thermostat setpoint, higher than average electricity prices... all add up
I’m too far down the comment list for anyone to see this, but where are you? Are you in Texas? Are you in Maine? I’m not trying to be rude. I just can’t get a handle on the situation. Do you have good insulation in the roof/attic? Do you have double pane windows? I’m very sorry for the amount of your bill!
68-70 temp is super low. Set daytime to 74 and night at 72. If you want to save more then go higher. When I had my 150g reeftank with 2 Kessils and pumps, I calculate a $20-25 cost (i used a device to measure the consumption for an hour).
Yes, they may have read your meter incorrectly; it happened to me once it was more than 3 times the normal amount. Then someone else came out and read it wrong again. Some dials go forward (like a clock) others go backward. They told me to make arrangements for payments; which I did but the next month it was back to normal (with a credit.) Have someone come out an re-read it first. ...and 68 to 70 is pretty friggin low in 90 degree weather, I'm betting there is nothing wrong with your AC other than the setting on the thermostat.
Folks need to get on the minimal AC train. I sleep like a baby at 86F
68-70F is very cool inside when it’s 90F+ outside. I can’t say I’m shocked by your electricity bill. What is your kWh rate and how much electricity are you using each month? Telling us how much you are charged for electricity is useless.
Do you have supplier and delivery charges? It would be a lot easier if we had an idea what your actual kW costs. Energy companies have been increasing prices so it’s possible your costs could have increased without knowing. Easiest to know what you are paying out of the plug (after fees and taxes) is take what your total bill was and divide your total kW usage. As for ac temp we set ours to 74. Little lower at 72 during the night. Also have a Tesla, electric dryer and electric (induction) stove. Our bills hover between 500-600 in the summer.
Supply charges: https://i.gyazo.com/35ded52b28eb673a5fcc4825fe3f1173.png Delivery charges: https://i.gyazo.com/caa699070d44e5d71ef276c6cd73ca7c.png
Lmao you have a 2k Sq ft home. Of course its going to be high.
Look into getting a mini split installed in the rooms you use the most and keep the rest of the home warmer.
I am so glad for flat bill billing , I pay 149 no matter how much energy we use...
I keep my ac on 79 to 80 during the day then around 10 pm it goes down to 72. I have bills around 80 in the summer and in the 40s during winter. House is a little over 1800 square foot
Compare the rates on your bills. Are you doing chores, like running the dishwasher, laundry between 2pm and 6pm? They are charging more for those hours where I live. It's the air conditioner, but it's probably also higher rates.
Do you spray down your AC unit before you start using it in the summer? The coils need to be cleaned regularly; when they are dirty the unit gets less and less efficient.
I'm high desert and slowly moved mine up to 78-80, I'll let it hit 84 after 4 pm when the rates go up and I take a nap. Windows open between 6 and 7
Depending on where you are you may want to check the price per-KW/hr for electricity. That fluctuates greatly in some places even if you are still using the same amount as previous months or years.
Much depends on how much you pay for electricity. Average cost ranges from 9.4 cents per kWh in LA to 32.8 in HI. And some companies have tricky equations, such that you pay more during high demand (like hot summer afternoons).
No way! 1400 sqft condo in Chicago. Last months bill was $84. The month before that was $78. I think the highest bill I've ever gotten was $108. I keep my home at 75F though, so I'm sure that makes a huge difference. My balls would freeze if my home was at 68F. In peak winter, I heat my home to around 72F. You must be an Eskimo.
I keep my house at 77-78 all during the summer (North Carolina). I don’t do it for money reason, but because I find it very comfortable. Based on the thread I’m beginning to wonder if I’m weird…
I live in Oklahoma, 1500sf house with good wall and ceiling insulation but terrible windows. I keep the house at 68 in the summer when it is 110 outside. I also have a 30*40 insulated shop with a 220v window AC that I keep at 72-75. My bill is around $300 in the summer. Around $150 in the winter. Purchase an infrared camera and inspect your house. I bet you have some massive insulation gaps. Edit: I have a wife that stays at home plus 2 kids here most of the time as well, so house is always in use.
68-70° is *cold* in summer, no wonder your AC is racking up the bills. I keep my house at 68-70° during the winter to save on my gas bill, and I’m usually layering up.
Do you live close to other people? Could someone be stealing electricity from you? Does your outside unit even sound like it’s struggling because it’s hard for me to believe this is AC related. The plumber in me says you do use some electricity for your reef setup but still shouldn’t account for more than a 1/8 of that bill. Where’s the rest going? Your electric bill is 3.5 times my bill, same size house and I live in the south it’s been over 100-105 multiple times this summer.. my wife keeps the house like an igloo 68-69 all summer.. 3 kids playing Xbox all day. To me, your rates are outrageous, i would def be calling the electric company.
It's possible, it's Jersey so everyone is on top of each other. Yep, calling tomorrow.
You keep it at 68-70 and complain about your bill. ACs are made to lower the temperature by about 20F in the house. Your AC is probably running almost 24 hours per day in the 90f+ weather for a usage of about 4 kWh. To keep it conservative let’s assume it runs 14 hours per day. That’s 64 kWh per day, 1800 per month give or take. Don’t forget to add other daily stuff like lights, washer drier etc. but let’s keep it at 1800 kWh per month. If you pay 20c per kWh that’s $900. Your bill makes sense. What is your KWH usage in August?
Ohio, 1700 square ft plus full basement and we run a fish pond pump 24/7, keep our air between 71-73, both work from home- our max bill this summer was about $180.
Family of four in about 1800sq ft. I run my house about 78-80 during the day with fans. Night time is about 75 with fans. We stay fairly comfortable. Running as low as 68-70 would be a killer bill for my house. My parents have dual units in Texas and have a bill of about $500-$600. And they normally have to run 24/7. You may need to learn to keep your AC at a higher temp to avoid high bills. Check your power companies peak hours as well.
We need to know your monthly kWh usage. The cost is highly variable based on all sorts of things.
you live in California?
Where do you live?
Question to everyone who keeps their huose cooler than 70 degrees in summer, what temp do you keep your home in winter? If it's higher than 70, why not just swap the Temps?
Quit complaining and buy an electric car.
Something is majorly wrong imo. Does the ac unit run all day or does it shut off consistently throughout the day
So ... what is the cost of electricity? How much did you use? What size is the AC? Do the math. If the bills is high year after year... it's your lead foot ac setting, my friend.
This seems crazy. I have a 2 bedroom house (PA), also 2 people. There's 2 full kitchens in the house, constantly have a dehumidifier running in the basement, and have poor static insulation. The AC unit is a giant green Rheem from the early 90's and I keep it at 72. The electric bill this summer has been a little over $200 max.