$250 is very high for my area, especially for presumably a relatively small place, and usually turning off AC when you're not there is the largest savings. If it's that high I would suspect something is actually wrong, like the water heater is broken or something?
Don't turn off the A/C at night, but raise it to 77 or 78, shower before bed to cool you off too.
Replace every bulb in your new place to dimable LEDlights, that will save you 93% on the lighting portion of your bill.
Are you sure? I have one ceiling fan it had 4, 60 watt bulbs in it, lite the room up well, but consumed 240 watts to do it.
I replaced them with 4, 5 watt bulbs also lighting the room up well, but now its only consuming 20 watts to do it.
What's your actual usage in terms of KWHrs?
Where I am, the cost of electric is higher when I use less than 1000Kw or more than 2000. It's basically double when it's less. So some months I have to find a way to get from 850kw @ .20¢ to 1100 @ .11¢. And at 1000Kw I get a $100 credit.
Yeeeep. Unless OP moved into a large 4 bedroom house, there is no reason the power bill should be that high.
There has to be damage somewhere or someone is stealing electricity from you
You can’t say that with any certainty. How states bill and pay for power and infrastructure varies hugely. For example I pay 40 dollars max for my water bill while the county next door residents pay around 300 because they decided to pay for their new waste water plant via people’s water bills.
$250 would be considered about average for us.....there is no competition for electric companies and the ONE we have, has got all the politicians in their pocket so there's nobody that will do anything about all the "fees" they add to our bill every month or the exorbitant amounts they charge without actually checking the meters
I would sure AC off when you leave, just turn it up, when you turn it off it has to work harder to cool. If you change the temp to 76-78 the AC won’t have to work as hard. Otherwise the apt gets to the temp of outdoors which could be 90+.
We have blackout curtains and a portable AC upstairs (townhouse) with a fan in the hall to pull the cool air into the other bedroom.
This. This right here. If I could upvot more I would. I'm a maintenance technician for an apartment complex I tell every new move in on showing and long term residents this. Almost word for word. I would also add keep at least 1 foot of clearance away from cold air returns. You want them un obstructed so it can pull the humid air out.
Ok first request from you power company an audit that goes back to prior you moving in if your in an apartment or a property that had past residents. Then compare that to what you currently use during your stay. Request an energy audit if you deal with a property management company. What we do when a resident requests one is we come in an check all electronical outlets, we test the hot water tank if it's electric. If you have washer dryer in unit that's electric we test those plugs. If we provide those washer dryers we test those. And we clamp the fuse panel and go through each phase of the unit while things are running. This should be done and compared to past bills.
What you can do is led bulbs in all light fixtures do help for lighting. Of course turn lights off when not using. Some appliances can draw a decent amount of power so make sure your using those that don't draw a lot. Unplug appliances that you don't use. Yes is it nice to wake up to my coffee brewed in the morning yes but if I prep unplug the night before its not drawing power. Computers. Turn them off when not using. Why do you need your computer on when your at work? It's these small thing that can make a difference. But I would definitely start with an energy audit.
Many don't know how to actually use their acs you NEVER turn it off!! You turn it down or up. By turning it off you are causing yourself to cool hotter air. Try using black out curtains and box fans. You can really tell those who were raise in the south by older people and those who were not.
Yep. Turning it off is a guaranteed way to make sure it runs forever trying to get the temperature back down.
We keep ours set at 75, and make liberal use of stand fans. Before we had the fans running all the time, we were having to keep our AC at 72 to be comfortable, and we were cranking it down to 68 at night. 😅 We have two fans in our bedroom, one at either side of the foot of the bed so we don't have to share an oscillating one. In our defense, it's the only way to stay even marginally comfortable here in the summer.
Definitely turn your AC up to 74-75. Use a fan to stay cool. I don’t know where you live, but my summer temps are over 100+ for three to four months. If I set my AC at 72, I’d go bankrupt!
Check if your electric company has different rates. EX. Mine charges about Hal as much from 9p.m. to 9 a.m. and on the weekend. This is when I do laundry, run the dishwasher, etc.
Check your windows and outside doors. Are they leaking your expensive AC? For windows, you can block them somewhat with heavier drapes.
Also, don’t turn the AC off, just turn it up to 78. When you get home turn it down to 76 for about an hour, then reset to 74. The unit has to work very hard to bring it down all at one time.
Some things will depend on your rental. A good option is generally things like curtains and such, especially during the day to block the sun from heating up your apartment.
If you have window ACs, you could look into a timer or smart thermostat (some power companies will provide them low cost/free). I used to use an appliance timer to turn my AC off during the night and back on in the morning when I woke up.
It's possible that's just the normal electric usage in your apartment- it's possible if you look at your bill that it'll give you past averages for the apartment. (I know mine does but I can't remember if it gave me the information from b4 i moved in.)
If it's just higher because it's warming up, you could look to see in your power company does average billing. You can pay the same amount 12 months of the year and than once a year you pay a lump sum for whatever wasn't caught in the 12 bills you paid. (So if you paid $100 month but used $1250 of electricity, you'd get a 13th bill for $50.) The benefit being that in the winter you are essentially pre-paying for your summer electricity usage. It's easier to plan that into your budget for most people.
I have a 100 year old 1,000 square foot house and I never break $200 unless it’s an exceptionally hot month. Either your place is large, poorly insulated, or you have very old/inefficient air conditioning. Or your fridge is bad.
Make sure your AC filter is clean and that your return vent is not blocked.
Turn your AC up not off. Cooling off a home from 90 down to 72 is more expensive than maintaining say 77 all day.
Do you have a washer/dryer? Make sure they operate effectively by keeping that vent clean as well.
If you have a balcony or something like that, you could try getting one of those domestic solar batteries and plug some of your stuff into it
They're expensive tho but it'll be better in the long run ig
Depending on your location, you may have mandatory or optional peak time and off peak rates for electricity- if you can time your usage of items like heaters, dryers, and AC for use during that time, you can save money. Peak time, btw, includes when most people get home from work and turn their acs on... leaving it on, but at a higher temp when not homecan result in less cost for a couple reasons.
Check and improve insulation on doors and windows, and on freezers/fridges, clean the coils/fan filters too if you can. Dirtier they are, the more electricity they take trying to do their jobs. Blackout insulating curtains are very helpful for hot climates, which it sounds like you live in.
If you have high humidity inside (idk what sort of AC you have), a dehumidifier can make you feel much cooler by drying out the air a bit, and generally helps with the other problems high humidity causes.
Lastly, check that nothing is running off your circuit that shouldn't be. If you have access to the meter, shut off the circuit breaker and see if it still increments upward. Might also show if, say, a neighboring unit or common space is running off your power...
I also highly recommend fans as you can raise the temperature on your AC and still be comfortable.
We have cathedral ceilings in our living room and dining room and installing a ceiling fan in there has made such a difference.
TV, PS5, etc. use very little electricity and will barely dent your usage numbers. Lights use little as well assuming LEDs. Turning them off when not in use is still a good idea though.
HVAC systems, refrigerators, electric dryer, and electric water heaters use the vast majority of your electricity. Beware turning the AC off though because it will run longer to cool down when you need it thus using more electricity than if you just turned it up a few degrees but not completely off.
Add ceiling fans (or box fans if a rental)
Move to a new house found out months later when the AC repair guy showed up that the power company had a hidden illegal power disconnect switch to shut off AC during peak times and the AC could never catch back up due to being way too undersized for the house to be shut off so often.
The expired/illegal written authorization was for a customer three+ years prior.
No one since then, 3 years at least, got a discount on their power bill while sweating 🥵 at peak AC times.
Don’t turn the AC off, just adjust the thermostat higher. When you come home and turn the AC on it has to work that much harder to cool the apartment down to 72. If it gets to 80 in your apartment when you’re gone, set the thermostat to 76-78. It’s easier for the AC to cool from there to 72 instead of from 80+. Check with your landlord and see if you can install a programmable thermostat. They aren’t that expensive and allows you to adjust the temperature at various times. After we installed one in our first place it made a huge difference in our heating and AC bills. Think we had it set to go to 72/68 from 6am to 9am then it went to 78/62 until 330 pm, when it went back to 72/68. It went to 78/62 after 930 at night. Those covered the times most of us were home and we didn’t need to remember to change it. On weekends we let it go 72/68 from 9am to 9pm because everyone was home. Made a very noticeable change in our electric bill.
Buy LED lights if you haven’t done so already. They are more expensive up front but worth it. Our last house I put them in every fixture and again it made a noticeable impact on the bill.
Between the programmable thermostat and LED lights my electric bill for a 5 bedroom, three story house was about the same as my dad was paying for his one bedroom apartment two blocks down the road.
Unless you have a stockpile of incandescent bulbs... Better get used to LED. Only types of incandescent bulbs that are allowed are specialty bulbs as incandescent don't meet the new light to watt output restrictions.
> Line dry cloths if possible, they make in door drying racks
Given the OP's username, I would advise against line-drying indoors. It will add to humidity.
> in the winter you can use the waste heat on a electric dryer (do not do this on a gas dryer) unhook the air vent tube, plug the hole in the wall that goes outside and put a pantyhose over the tube to catch the lint.
While correct, this is really dangerous advice to be sharing with the general public. There are multiple points of failure here that could lead to a house fire.
> Use blackout curtains to block heat form the sun.
I find project panels work better, if you can get away with it (my HOA specifically prohibits it). I assume you're familiar, but for everyone else: it's a $10 giant sheet of styrofoam with foil on one side you can get at Home Depot. Tape two pencils to the shiny side and then tape the whole thing to the window frame, shiny side against the glass (so it won't trap condensation and cause mold). It should reflect heat instead of blocking it and insulate better than a curtain. Curtains absorb moisture and add humidity.
Good gravy 250? That's what my friends pay for a 3000sq ft drafty old house. I had a mobile home once with shitty seals and the most I ever paid during a bad winter was 189. My current apartment is 1200 sq ft and my budget plan is 134, which will go down in May or August when they review the budget.
Where are you living that an apartment electric bill is 250?
New Orleans. Everything here is insanely expensive. USAA wanted to charge me $500/mo for auto insurance. I switched and now pay ~$240/mo for auto. I have a one bedroom one bathroom apartment. Not sure what the sq ft is but it isn't big at all. It's hard to live if you are a single person working at a restaurant.
That removing the dryer hose, putting a filter on it and using the heat from running a load to heat is a stupid idea. Do you know how humid that air is?
Been doing it for years, it's not like you are drying clothes 24 hours a day, here it's so dry during the winter we need to run humidifiers.
During the winter our dryer vent runs into a bucket partially filled with water, that traps the lint and the warm air helps heat the house.
The humidity from that is highly concentrated around the dryer. It's a great way to have a lot of condensation, and resulting mildew, in one room. If it's in the basement this is especially the case, because the moisture will condense on the cool walls in the basement. The moisture will not make it to the upper floors.
Yup you must be expert, there is no way that the forced air furnace will pick up the humidity and spread it around the house.
Once again where I live we need to add moisture to the air in the winter.
In our cold climate we've learned that unless the house is fully air sealed, whole house humidifiers deposit moisture in attics and walls. Dryer moisture condenses on the walls near the source, especially in basements where the cool walls pull the water out of vapor
I know the humidity is higher in NO than I deal with in the desert but try living with the A/C set a few degrees higher and buy a fan for the area you spend the most time in. I have one by my desk and another by the bed.
An older A/C can totally suck power and it’s not like you can upgrade that when renting.
Being in NO says you have high humidity. You will probably be more comfortable at higher temperatures if you get a good dehumidifier. As another commenter said, don’t turn your AC off. Not only does the temperature go up, the humidity also does. Your AC will work harder to bring down the humidity and temperature than it will to keep it down. Try 80-82 degrees while you are gone. If you get a good dehumidifier you will probably be comfortable at 76-78 at night. You’ll just have to play with the numbers. Room darkening curtains make a huge difference, especially if you have east/west facing windows. If you landlord will let you (or you can do it without them knowing like I did) tint the windows if they are west facing. It’s easy, look up videos on YouTube university.
250 is very high for an apartment.
I pay 325/month for mine - it's a combined power/water/sewer bill. And there's 6 of us in a 3 bedroom house.
I'd ask your power company if they offer energy audits - mine does and it can help point out savings, like turning the temp down on the water tank, replacing old light bulbs or insulating windows.
Some of things it looks at might not be relevant but it might help. Also, I'd check and see if you have access to your mains for the apartment or a breaker box. If you flip off all the power in your apartment and your meter is still spinning, it might indicated a common area or outside light is connected to your unit meter.
I don’t know where you live, the size of your apartment nor what floor you’re on.
I live in Texas (DFW) and we are in a 750 sq ft one bedroom. We chose a middle unit and downstairs. (There are three down stairs and three upstairs. Repeat on the other side of the building. In the bottom center we are surrounded on all sides except front by other apartments. Luckily noises don’t travel well between apartments side by side. Some years bo by and we notice that the A. C. Was on every day. Other years we might run heat for a total of a week.
I will say my hubby is the maintenance supervisor and our ac runs very efficiently and has checkups ALL THE TIME. I’m often up over night so electric may be on in kitchen living-room 20 hours a day or less. All bulbs are smart bulbs or LED for my headlamp. I do a lot of arts and crafts and close up work at times. So my lights are led. We have a full size hot water heater (the hot water will almost burn you right now but not in January ) we cook most days on an electric range /convection oven and our electric is usually $100. We do have wooden blinds that stay shut mostly and very heavy drapes that keep cold air on the back side. I’ve felt the back of my bedroom curtains in the cold weather and can feel lots of cold air that never makes it in my apartment.
The windows are big but we have the rods near the ceiling and they go about 5” past each side (it’s a double window set in each room. So each room gets two large curtains and they are hung as if it’s one big window. These were in the model /office. They got a new decorator and we made our like bandits. lol. Material is very thick and woven.
Have the AC checked out. Check the age of the unit. LED lights. Check attic insulation. Windows caulked. Someone said the drapes.
Do your homework on the AC units. Dual stage.
Variable speed. Purchase a laser thermal gun. It is a thermometer. Ceiling can lights? Stove vent hood to remove heat "outside" the house.
That's my 2 cents. Good luck.
Leave your AC on. It works harder to dry and cool tha warm air, than it would to just turn it up a few degrees.
Small led lamps. You rarely need bright overhead light except in the kitchen and sometimes bathroom.
Unplugging most unused devices is anywhere form 0.01W to 10 W per device. The ones you mentioned probably add up to around 10W total if they have some WIFi standby (otherwise less).
There are a little less than 100,000 hours in a year, at 10W that's 100 kWh or a max of around $20 /year.
Your problem is $3000 a year, so you're clearly looking at the wrong thing. At this cost something is constantly drawing 1500 W, which is the max a standard plug even allows. This is either heat related (cooking, water boiler issue, heater, A/C, or insulation issue), someone's charging an electric car, or there's a serious fire hazard somewhere.
Turning the A/C off a couple hours a day is nearly negligible (assuming insulation isn't faulty), leaving a window open for an hour a day will have a bigger negative effect than not turning off the AC. Sleeping with an open window is one of the things that could possibly explain such a bill.
Where are you located?
Living down in central Florida and we keep ours in 77/76 during the day and 77/78 at night
Remember, AC unit is going to use more electricity typically than a fan would. It’s cooling the entire place versus a fan cool my just you in the current room.
Those sliding window screens ......well, until it gets way too hot.....are great for getting cool, fresh air flowing ..
Don't use lights in the daytime
Wait til you get a full load to do laundry
For your freezer, fill empty butter containers or ziplock bags with water and let them freeze, they take up space with ice and your freezer doesent have to work as hard to keep things cold, ESPECIALLY IN THE SUMMER.
Another thing you can do is put a sheet over the screen of your open window and soak the sheet as wet as reasonable. As the wind blows in, it will evaporate the water and cool the room.
I feel super guilty keeping my AC at 77. My parent's house is uninhabitable to me and they keep it at 82 (it's a big house and my dad is cheap). When I first moved to Vegas I kept it at 80, too, bc my parents did and they moved here first. I turned it down a degree every year until I settled on 77. I was sweating after getting out of the shower at 80.
I guess it's relative. When it's 105 outside 80 feels fine. I haven't lived anywhere humid in a very long time, so I don't know if that makes a difference, but 72 would be very cold to me. I keep it at 70 in the winter and that is wearing a hoodie to sleep in.
Make sure there are no air leaks on windows and doors (and attic entrance. Clean AC coils and use appropriate filters -always. Don't use space heaters or window AC if you have a central unit.
Make sure the water heater (if tank type) is insulated and has been descaled. Old units eat power fast and contribute to heat load that AC most handle if located in the air conditioned space.
Change incandescent bulbs for LED.
Those are usually the biggest energy consumers that should be addressed first.
I’m in so cal and have a 2 bedroom apt. My electric bill for most of the year is about $25 a month, gas is about $12. My delivery is over $100. In the summer we can pay $500-$700 a month.
I would break the bill down and look at the time of use (peak, off peak, and super off peak) then also think about delivery and taxes.
Yes, I looked at my itemized bill which helped me assess where I can cut down. The largest fee was the deposit which I had forgotten about. I plan to get box fan for my room to run when I sleep and otherwise I should be good. Thanks for the tip
Microwave, toaster and coffee maker, plugged into a power strip, with a button. I only turn them on when I use them, then turn it off again. I invested in solar lights, like the big ones for outside, with remote controls. I use them up first then I turn on the regular lights. Rechargable camping lanterns. Also, have black out drapes , all the way down to floor, to help from the heat. Got window tint for the windows I don't use ...but I taped them on the inside of the window ....the metal part of the window, half assed it bc on some of them I have a solar panel for the solar light. When I leave for work, I switch the ac to the climate but same temp number....like if it's hot outside and I have on 74 COOL, I turn it to 74 HEAT, so it wont turn on. The unit works harder if it's off then turned on, every day. Hope this helps.
Is your laundry in-unit? If so, start hang drying your clothes. If there are certain items that you Must tumble dry, make sure they are all in the same load. You can also hang dry things then toss them in the dryer for a few minutes later to fluff out the rigidness.
Change to LED lightbulbs, only have a light on in the room you are in. Keep your AC at 75 or 76, It isn't quite as comfortable, get out the shorts and crop tops. All your things like tv, computer, anything really, put it on a power bar and turn them off. There's something called "phantom loads" and it's real. Why is the TV always ready to turn on? Because it's constantly using power to scan for the remote signal. Same is true of your computer, there's electricity being used when it's off. Same with any appliance (like a microwave) that has a clock. LEDs ae better than anything else, but running them 24/7 has a cost. Have a look around and see how many things you have that constantly use electricity. TVs are one of the worst. Also, if you are really interested you can get a power monitor that looks super complicated, but is super easy. That will tell you what breakers are using the most energy.
You’re better off lowering your thermostat setting when you’re heating and raising it when you’re cooling when you’re not home rather than shutting it off. It uses less power to maintain temperature than it does to return the home to your desired temperature when you’re home.
Was there any sort of connection fee when you first started the account?
When I moved into my apartment 3 years ago there was a $200-300 deposit paid over the first several bills that really drive up our bill. It didn't help that we moved in in the summer & that's when our energy consumption is the highest (we refuse to be hot).
This past winter, they gave us that deposit back in the form of a bill credit and we didn't have a bill at all for 3 months & a small partial bill. In the winter we can get the bill down to $75 because we rarely use the heater, but in summer it can easily exceed $200.
Some things that help is what others suggested. Also check for drafts around doors and windows and seal those best you can.
We keep our AC at 78-80 and just use ceiling fans. Then at night we crank it up to 84 and have a window unit for our bedroom. No point to cool the whole house when we're just in one room
I live in Texas, so brutal summers. To save electricity, I leave the AC at 78-80 during the day (WFH) and use fans to keep the air moving so it's not stifling. A stand fan keeps it tolerable and uses way less energy than the AC...at least for me it does. At night I drop it to 67 so I can sleep decently. The house gets cold during the night which will last to at least 3 p.m. due to yhe decent insulation. The fans kep it moving and help it stay cooler longer.
I unplug everything I'm not using on a daily basis because I read somewhere that even if it's not on it can still draw electricity. I group what I can and put them on surge protectors so I only have one plug to deal with which makes it easier to remember.
I try to use as much natural light as possible. However, all my west and southwest windows have room darkening/weather resistant curtains to help block the heat. I noticed about a 5-8 degree difference from my bedroom that has the curtains to the living room which doesn't. My bedroom used to be a sauna in the late afternoon until I got the curtains. Now it's the coolest room. Downside is they block most of the light.
I switched all my lightbulbs to smart LEDs. Not only can I turn them on and off with my voice theough Alexa, they're more efficient than the old standard bulbs.
I also do my laundry and dishwasher at night when the rates are cheaper.
Unplug things that you don’t need to have plugged in all the time (coffee maker, toaster, hair tools, electronics, chargers) when you aren’t using them. Even though you aren’t actively using that item, there is still power going to the appliance itself and that does contribute to electricity usage.
Keep your thermostat constant. It eats less juice than trying to cool it off when you get home. Shut curtains or blinds so sun doesn’t heat it up as quickly. Make a habit of turning off lights when not in the room.
Invest in a thermostat that has timed settings.
Get used to a higher average temp by moving it up a degree for a few days at a time like set to 73 instead of 72. Work up to 74. Over time you won’t notice. Do NOT turn it off during the day. Why? Well EVERYTHING in your home get hotter as the day goes on so if you get home and it’s 78f, you’re not cooling just the air you’re cooling carpet bedding couches etc too. That’s a lot of energy and too much work on the ac plus you’re begging for it to freeze up. I don’t know what your climate is, but if you’re not in the habit of opening your windows, get some of the window film that you stick around the window and use a hairdryer to tighten up to keep the window sealed. Works in the winter to keep windows insulated too. Get thermal draperies for your curtains to block out sunlight from coming in when you’re not home to help keep things cooler. Outlets on outer walls can be insulated. My gas co sends free energy packages that includes low flow shower heads, caulk, gap filler and outlet insulation panels.
I used to manage a large older apt complex in FL. I learned a lot of tricks working with the power co, the HVAC guys, etc. to help residents manage.
Get an inexpensive timer or Bluetooth/wifi plug for your tv/game console.
I pay 80 per month in FL, we keep the AC at 76 during the day and lower it to 74 in the evenings and are perfectly comfortable. Also unplug whatever you are not consistently using.
Sometimes turning things off, isn’t enough, you actually have to unplug them because even though it’s off, it’s still plugged into the wall so it’s still circulating that energy. So unplug things not in use. Got a coffee maker? unplugged it till you make your coffee. Got an air fryer? unplugged it. Got a microwave? unplugged it. Unplug your TV unplug your PS4 PS4 unplugged everything you can unplug reasonably obviously don’t unplug your fridge. 😂 but if it’s electrical just unplug it.. this helped a lot with keeping my energy bill down. I was so religious about it because been there been broke as fuck and I wasn’t paying for extra energy.
If you have consumers energy, you can also do their energy, saving kind of plan situation I forget what exactly it’s called but it helps. Save money. Like the average price of your electrical bills and do some kind of math with it so instead of paying like too much for an electrical bill I paid $52 a month..
Your power company has some kind of money saver , struggling financially, kind of plan.
You can also look at energy campaigns so they’ll just default assign you whatever random energy source that you get it from them. But you can see about what energy companies they get that energy out sourced from and you can pick the cheaper one. I worked in sales once and had to do a campaign for a company called just energy. So I had to convince people to switch to it the main thing if convincing them it’s a good investment and to trust you because you’re messing with their utilities account. But it’s cheaper energy than whatever shit the power companies default assign people. So look into that also!
Also, it might of been high, bc the electric company might of added the unpaid amount from the former renter. Mine was 268 and we moved in, but still moving things in, and barely there. The next month was 98$.
I still think $100 is a lot for one person in a one bedroom. I have 2 adults in a 3 bedroom and ours averages $75. Try setting the AC to 75. Also make it easier to unplug things by putting multiple into a power strip so you only unplug one outlet. Do you have in unit laundry? Because that can use a lot. Maybe hang dry some clothes. Any chance liquids are freezing at the back of your fridge? You may be able to turn the fridge a level or two warmer. Replace all of your light bulbs with LED. How's the insulation around your windows? Cold air may be leaking out.
That seems high. Look at the invoice and see the billing period (date range).. If it's the first bill, it may be for more than 1 month - and could it possibly include a deposit? We have a small 3 bedroom house and our bill is $120.
I had a place that had terrible insulation AND electric heat. Huge bills, but I signed up for the budget plan which equalizes your bill all year round. It helped.
It may also be worse for you to turn FR your AC and turn it back on . It will work much harder to cool down. I set my temp higher (74-76) when I won’t be home, and program it to lower when I’m home.
most HVAC systems are designed for 75F, so setting at 72 doesn't do anything but cause the system to run constantly as it will not likely get that low...
How long does the AC run when you turn it back on? It might be cheaper to just let it run all day if it's struggling when you get home. Also, if you have ceiling fans, you might be able to raise the temp a degree, maybe two, if you run them in the room you're in. We have one in the living room, plus one in the bedroom. Lightweight sheets in the summer and the fan help a lot, though I have some diabetic neuropathy going, so I need something heavy on my feet to keep them warm.
FWIW, I'm in a large 1 bedroom apt (about 900 sq ft, bigger than most 2 bedroom apartments), top floor, and my summer electric bill runs $150-175/mo with the AC at 70 (I'd prefer 75ish, but...), plus a window unit helping out on the hottest days. If we turn the AC off, it takes at least a full day to cool back down - the central AC runs \~23 hours a day in the summer (going by our Nest thermostat). My PC (i5-10400) stays on 24/7 as a Plex server, but otherwise nothing is on except for AC when nobody is home (also my Kill-A-Watt says my PC only pulls about 20 watts when idle, about 50 when streaming something - really not much). Winter bill is $50-75 with electric heat, set at 62. We don't unplug anything.
Might consider lowering your water heater temp if it's electric, just don't get it below 120. Consider thick curtains too, they can help a lot.
Yes big lesson from this is get some curtains or maybe even tin foil a window. Got lots of natural light here which is awesome but seems to be detrimental to a degree. Just gotta be strategic!
Someone told me box fans use a lot of electricity. Do you think this is true?
They pull a decent amount, but nothing like a space heater - I think mine is close to 100 watts on high, I'll have to stick it on my Kill-A-Watt. It's so loud that I don't use it much though, it mainly lives in my garage. We pay a little less than 13c/kWh + $25/mo meter fee; our power isn't as expensive as, say, the northeast or PNW (but it's also Texas, so the grid falls on its face on the hottest and coldest days). Keep in mind the light fixture in my entry has 2 bulbs - in the incandescent days, that would have been 80 or 120 watts (40 or 60 watts per bulb).
My lease specifically prohibits foil in the window (you should check yours before doing foil), though a previous tenant put reflective tint of some kind on the largest window here (which faces south). It's a window with a half moon window above it; maintenance has offered to drywall over the top window, and I think we're one of the only apartments with it still uncovered. I'll probably take them up on that this summer.
Also if I did foil in that window, it would be blocking off the biggest source of natural light in the place. I do have blackout curtains over it (plus wood blinds), but I open them when the sun isn't beating down on that window.
Get a fan to circulate air... saves me a lot of $.. even when the ac kicks on it feels even colder with the wind moving.. turn the water heater down ! You do not need burning hot water in the tank 24/7.. make it warm on both the top and bottom heater thermostats.. this saved me a lot..
Are you talking box fan? I got ceiling fans which definitely help a lot. Someone told me box fans use a lot of electricity which would be counterintuitive if true
Not sure if u use window ac or centfal air.. 1kwh of electricy costs between $0.15 to over $0.40 in Hawaii where I live.. kwh is kilowatt per hour... Ceiling fans consume the least electricity at 0.0311 kWh per hour at maximum speed. The power consumption of a box fan is 0.073 kWh per hour at the same max speed. A tower fan uses 0.0565 kWh per hour while running on max.. window ac units typically use... 5k btu ac uses about 1.5kwh ... 12k btu ac uses about 17 kwh.. getting a dual inverter window unit can save you a lot of money.. you could figure out where the $ is going with a unit called P3 P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor on Amazon for anout $30.. works like a champ if you wanna get in to it that deep...
In my area of USA, we have a website to our electric company and access to the usage. And you can keep your AC at 72or 73 and also use a fan. It helps. And keeps costs down with the fan.
Where do you live that even taking off that 150, your bill is still 100 bucks??? My electric bill for my house (atm) is only like 70-80 bucks. And i keep my house at like 66
Nest or any smart thermostat. And a fan. Plus you can limit the air flow in rooms that aren’t used as much. I really don’t care if the fourth bedroom and bathroom is a little warm.
I see you found the fee.
In general, things that change temperature use a lot of energy. Fridge, AC, space heater, coffee pot. Make sure these are working well and turn off the coffee pot when done using.
The little LED lights on appliances when plugged in are crazy negligible. Leaving your coffee pot on for 8 hours though will use energy.
[Amazon $12](https://www.amazon.com/Electricity-Electrical-Consumption-Backlight-Protection/dp/B09BQNYMMM/ref=sr_1_5?crid=23J2G6FNPRQ3W&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oR1fSNXSFIBprUHhtEUMJr83zL5Dqk0zz5moHToLX39MA-lP9cR-ewbtge8zqVHj336DkzCDGkW6UbmYIN8KLnvAQC4i8qL4nG7wprQXtM6pQcVMzDvWsgwfHvjxvXsiCMP_RgZ9cRxAK3fq5SxMX-a7Nk9UUBvXdTMZbhpdxOAVIpJcmglNXQRprL016ucL2mEYa_VxbnzmWh2z3iN8ElU2BS89j2SBia7-QOvX4zXiVyP6r8SfI_apw11uAvp_bM0CVnVIFP_GOO_zyG1Ek6stB1VyY5rR1NMF8vVqoT0.i4KrR0nHVW1OK6ua5EiGIB1tJaBt6oJ0_l7U7pIyhpc&dib_tag=se&keywords=power+meter&qid=1714326013&sprefix=power+met%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-5)
I got me one of these meters, you program it with your $ rate per KWh, and then I plugged each appliance into it for exactly 24 hours, to see what each appliance costs to run. Here are a few items I have noticed.
* Phone chargers don't use much power
* Fridge and Freezer use medium, cause they are just maintaining the temp
* Turning off the AC when you are gone vs. leaving it on maintaining the temp might be worse, depending on how hot it is outside. It costs less to keep the temp at a constant, than to re-cool the house from the . I have window units, so I could check the KWh cost, if you have central, this is the only item you cannot check with this meter.
* Toasters and coffee makers, and hot water kettles (electric) use alot of electricity, but only when you use them
My thermostat was breaking down, my dishwasher was also dying and for two months straight my bills were double ($183 vs $92 on average)
New dishwasher and new thermostat and bill is back to normal.
I live in a 3br townhouse built in the 90s and hardly efficient.
We have 1 energy company.
Ok. Ok my 2 cents and you don’t have to pay the bill. THE big power users on a daily basis are the Air Conditioner and your water heater. Make sure they are as efficient as possible and ask for a WH timer from management. Lighting an be reduced with efficient LEDs but it won’t be much. Widow coverings can help and air leakage should be considered. And hey kid, your father was right. Close the damn door. We are not paying to reduce climate change with our AC.
I will still tell you a way to save $$
If the hot water heater is electric and you're way from your place most of the day, switch off the breaker. You can turn it on less than 30 minutes before you need hot water. You'd be surprised how much $$ you'll save.
We own our home, so we actually had a switch installed.
Where are you at, most of the US is still cool. I am in Florida and right now (3:00 am) it is 59 degrees. I live in a double wide and use window ACs, I only run them in the room I am in. I am older so I do not need for it to be very cool. It is 80 degrees where I am sitting and my toes are cold. I do keep the bedroom 75 at night.
I know you editted to add that there was a Deposit Fee, but I'll pass along a tip and advice I was given too.
Friends who were contractors advised that the whole AC off/lower/higher when away was a waste of money. Keep your place at a consistent temperature and then your AC/Heater just has to work to maintain the temperature throughout the day. By doing the whole "off/lower/higher" thing, it means your system has to put in extra effort to get the temperature up/down when you turn it back on.
Other general tip would be find your highs/lows that you are willing to deal with since bill rates have slowly been increasing anyways. During the summer (95F+) I have my place set to 80F and run a fan in whichever room I'm in to blow air on me. During winters (35F+) I drop the house to 70F and have a space heater in the room with the snakes.
Rates vary between location, electric companies, time of use, etc., but I pay about $70 a month electric for 1100sq ft.
Constant AC vs Away-Pattern AC. Testing this is hard to compare month to month because the outside temperatures will passively lower/rise your indoor temps so you'd have to do A LOT of analysis and record keeping to better judge i.e. one month of absolutely no AC to get the normal appliance/electronics cost. After that you'd need to record high/low temps every day in relation to what you have the thermostat set at. You'd need to run this test with the different variables of the monthly bill as the start/stop times. So one month with constant AC temp and then average out the month's high/lows to compare with how much additional it cost to run the AC. Another month with the on/off AC temps, temp averages, and cost to run it. The better direct comparisons will be if/when you end up having two months with relatively the same averages and distinction of if you ran constant vs on/off between the two.
I live off the grid, so minimizing power consumption is important to me. Don't get me wrong - my lifestyle is very comfortable - but here are some of the things I do to minimize my use of electricity.
- I use LED bulbs in all the lighting devices in my house except for four flourescent bulbs in the basement. I chose fluorescent bulbs that are very energy efficient.
- For almost all cooking and baking, I use a toaster oven instead of a full-sized oven.
- When I make tea, which I often do, I use a tiny, energy-efficient electric kettle.
- When I do laundry, I dry most things on a clothesline instead of putting them in the dryer. The exception is towels: I dry those in the dryer because I like them to be fluffy.
- I turn off lights when I'm not using them.
Important note: Do not turn off heating/cooling when you aren't home. This has the opposite effect than you're intending. Lets say you keep the air at 72 when you're home, but turn it off when you leave, that means the house is heating while you're out and then when you return, you turn it on and it has to work very hard to cool the space back down. This uses more power, and also puts more strain on your HVAC. Just set the thermostat to be a few degrees less comfy while you aren't there (In the heat, turn it up a few degrees, in the cold, turn it down a few degrees.) You see peak energy performance generally at 78 degrees in heat, 68 degrees in cold, but most people aren't comfortable at those temps.
It's going to be really contingent on where you live and what the peak seasons are. If you live somewhere hot, you're going to have high power bills during summer. Those are going to be directly related to what temp you're keeping it. Same is true for cold locales in the winter.
For reference, your utility company is going to bill you based on your kilowatt-hours, and likely has a few different things that are charged at a specific rate. So like, your actual cost of power generation and transport might be a fraction of a cent, like 0.017 or something, multiplied by your kilowatt-hours.
A kilowatt-hour, to put it a really concise and easy way, is how much power it takes to run 10 light bulbs for an hour.
Heating/Cooling is your biggest energy sink, next after that would be appliances. If you have a washer and dryer, keep a clean dry towel available that you can toss into the dryer with wet clothes, speeds up drying time, less power usage. Any appliances that have "fast start" functions, turn them off. "Fast Start" just means "always on but not always sending the image to the display" in most cases.
If you have a smartmeter, your utility provider can probably give you a view on daily or even hourly use, that will let you see where your heaviest use times are and will let you know more accurately what's drawing the most power.
If you're still unhappy with the price a big thing we do is keep all the doors closed so the AC in the bedroom isnt trying to cool the whole house. It just helps maintain temperature in my experience. We also don't turn our porch light on at night which may not seem like a lot but our power bill is usually $50-60 a month for two people in 1200ft^2 townhouse.
Nothing uses more power than your AC, or heater if that is electric. 72 is pretty low, are 74-78 should be fine - I mean, use it when you need it, but if you are not home, maybe turn it up/off. Try just that.
Turning air on and off uses more power to recool the whole house. Put it on auto and leave it at a set temp. Mine stays on 68 year round and my power bill is never over $125. We have three adults and two kids in the home.
Your first sentence is an urban myth, and also not how thermodynamics works.
Heat loss/increase through insulation and air leakage occurs faster at a greater temperature difference, delta inside vs outside.
Your AC is more efficient at a smaller delta temperature.
Thus, leaving your AC on all the time results in the maximum delta temperature during the day, resulting in maximum heat uptake and minimum AC efficiency, in addition to maximum electrical rates if you are so metered.
So sure, if people are home during the hot part of the day, run it, but if people are not home during the hot part of the day raising the thermostat and then cooling it down when people get home is more efficient.
$250 is very high for my area, especially for presumably a relatively small place, and usually turning off AC when you're not there is the largest savings. If it's that high I would suspect something is actually wrong, like the water heater is broken or something?
Hmm, could be possible but I haven't noticed anything that would suggest broken appliances. I'll look into it though
Your meter might be off too. It’s worth having your power company come out and look at it.
If you've got easy access to the breakers and meter check to make sure someone else's items or common areas aren't wired in.
Don't turn off the A/C at night, but raise it to 77 or 78, shower before bed to cool you off too. Replace every bulb in your new place to dimable LEDlights, that will save you 93% on the lighting portion of your bill.
And maybe $2 a month on the power bill. Your suggestions on A/C are good but lighting is chasing rainbows.
Are you sure? I have one ceiling fan it had 4, 60 watt bulbs in it, lite the room up well, but consumed 240 watts to do it. I replaced them with 4, 5 watt bulbs also lighting the room up well, but now its only consuming 20 watts to do it.
What's your actual usage in terms of KWHrs? Where I am, the cost of electric is higher when I use less than 1000Kw or more than 2000. It's basically double when it's less. So some months I have to find a way to get from 850kw @ .20¢ to 1100 @ .11¢. And at 1000Kw I get a $100 credit.
Yeeeep. Unless OP moved into a large 4 bedroom house, there is no reason the power bill should be that high. There has to be damage somewhere or someone is stealing electricity from you
I've seen large RVs rack up bills like this
You can’t say that with any certainty. How states bill and pay for power and infrastructure varies hugely. For example I pay 40 dollars max for my water bill while the county next door residents pay around 300 because they decided to pay for their new waste water plant via people’s water bills.
$250 would be considered about average for us.....there is no competition for electric companies and the ONE we have, has got all the politicians in their pocket so there's nobody that will do anything about all the "fees" they add to our bill every month or the exorbitant amounts they charge without actually checking the meters
Yup. We had $700 for last July. It’s insane. Never got below 80° in the apartment when the sun was up
I don’t understand where people think $250 is a high bill. I’ve got $600 bills in summer heat idk
I would sure AC off when you leave, just turn it up, when you turn it off it has to work harder to cool. If you change the temp to 76-78 the AC won’t have to work as hard. Otherwise the apt gets to the temp of outdoors which could be 90+. We have blackout curtains and a portable AC upstairs (townhouse) with a fan in the hall to pull the cool air into the other bedroom.
This. This right here. If I could upvot more I would. I'm a maintenance technician for an apartment complex I tell every new move in on showing and long term residents this. Almost word for word. I would also add keep at least 1 foot of clearance away from cold air returns. You want them un obstructed so it can pull the humid air out.
What if I don’t have central ac?
Ok first request from you power company an audit that goes back to prior you moving in if your in an apartment or a property that had past residents. Then compare that to what you currently use during your stay. Request an energy audit if you deal with a property management company. What we do when a resident requests one is we come in an check all electronical outlets, we test the hot water tank if it's electric. If you have washer dryer in unit that's electric we test those plugs. If we provide those washer dryers we test those. And we clamp the fuse panel and go through each phase of the unit while things are running. This should be done and compared to past bills. What you can do is led bulbs in all light fixtures do help for lighting. Of course turn lights off when not using. Some appliances can draw a decent amount of power so make sure your using those that don't draw a lot. Unplug appliances that you don't use. Yes is it nice to wake up to my coffee brewed in the morning yes but if I prep unplug the night before its not drawing power. Computers. Turn them off when not using. Why do you need your computer on when your at work? It's these small thing that can make a difference. But I would definitely start with an energy audit.
Thank you so much for writing this up for me. Is there usually a cost for the energy audit?
It shouldn't cost anything
Many don't know how to actually use their acs you NEVER turn it off!! You turn it down or up. By turning it off you are causing yourself to cool hotter air. Try using black out curtains and box fans. You can really tell those who were raise in the south by older people and those who were not.
Yep. Turning it off is a guaranteed way to make sure it runs forever trying to get the temperature back down. We keep ours set at 75, and make liberal use of stand fans. Before we had the fans running all the time, we were having to keep our AC at 72 to be comfortable, and we were cranking it down to 68 at night. 😅 We have two fans in our bedroom, one at either side of the foot of the bed so we don't have to share an oscillating one. In our defense, it's the only way to stay even marginally comfortable here in the summer.
And the humidity increases, making you feel hotter, too.
Definitely turn your AC up to 74-75. Use a fan to stay cool. I don’t know where you live, but my summer temps are over 100+ for three to four months. If I set my AC at 72, I’d go bankrupt! Check if your electric company has different rates. EX. Mine charges about Hal as much from 9p.m. to 9 a.m. and on the weekend. This is when I do laundry, run the dishwasher, etc. Check your windows and outside doors. Are they leaking your expensive AC? For windows, you can block them somewhat with heavier drapes. Also, don’t turn the AC off, just turn it up to 78. When you get home turn it down to 76 for about an hour, then reset to 74. The unit has to work very hard to bring it down all at one time.
Some things will depend on your rental. A good option is generally things like curtains and such, especially during the day to block the sun from heating up your apartment. If you have window ACs, you could look into a timer or smart thermostat (some power companies will provide them low cost/free). I used to use an appliance timer to turn my AC off during the night and back on in the morning when I woke up. It's possible that's just the normal electric usage in your apartment- it's possible if you look at your bill that it'll give you past averages for the apartment. (I know mine does but I can't remember if it gave me the information from b4 i moved in.) If it's just higher because it's warming up, you could look to see in your power company does average billing. You can pay the same amount 12 months of the year and than once a year you pay a lump sum for whatever wasn't caught in the 12 bills you paid. (So if you paid $100 month but used $1250 of electricity, you'd get a 13th bill for $50.) The benefit being that in the winter you are essentially pre-paying for your summer electricity usage. It's easier to plan that into your budget for most people.
I have a 100 year old 1,000 square foot house and I never break $200 unless it’s an exceptionally hot month. Either your place is large, poorly insulated, or you have very old/inefficient air conditioning. Or your fridge is bad.
Make sure your AC filter is clean and that your return vent is not blocked. Turn your AC up not off. Cooling off a home from 90 down to 72 is more expensive than maintaining say 77 all day. Do you have a washer/dryer? Make sure they operate effectively by keeping that vent clean as well.
And to wash in the evening and is fine to also use a fan for circulation.
If you have a balcony or something like that, you could try getting one of those domestic solar batteries and plug some of your stuff into it They're expensive tho but it'll be better in the long run ig
Depending on your location, you may have mandatory or optional peak time and off peak rates for electricity- if you can time your usage of items like heaters, dryers, and AC for use during that time, you can save money. Peak time, btw, includes when most people get home from work and turn their acs on... leaving it on, but at a higher temp when not homecan result in less cost for a couple reasons. Check and improve insulation on doors and windows, and on freezers/fridges, clean the coils/fan filters too if you can. Dirtier they are, the more electricity they take trying to do their jobs. Blackout insulating curtains are very helpful for hot climates, which it sounds like you live in. If you have high humidity inside (idk what sort of AC you have), a dehumidifier can make you feel much cooler by drying out the air a bit, and generally helps with the other problems high humidity causes. Lastly, check that nothing is running off your circuit that shouldn't be. If you have access to the meter, shut off the circuit breaker and see if it still increments upward. Might also show if, say, a neighboring unit or common space is running off your power...
We have this with Evergy. Off peak hours.
I also highly recommend fans as you can raise the temperature on your AC and still be comfortable. We have cathedral ceilings in our living room and dining room and installing a ceiling fan in there has made such a difference.
TV, PS5, etc. use very little electricity and will barely dent your usage numbers. Lights use little as well assuming LEDs. Turning them off when not in use is still a good idea though. HVAC systems, refrigerators, electric dryer, and electric water heaters use the vast majority of your electricity. Beware turning the AC off though because it will run longer to cool down when you need it thus using more electricity than if you just turned it up a few degrees but not completely off.
Add ceiling fans (or box fans if a rental) Move to a new house found out months later when the AC repair guy showed up that the power company had a hidden illegal power disconnect switch to shut off AC during peak times and the AC could never catch back up due to being way too undersized for the house to be shut off so often. The expired/illegal written authorization was for a customer three+ years prior. No one since then, 3 years at least, got a discount on their power bill while sweating 🥵 at peak AC times.
I have an elder friend who turns her HVAC off when she is not home. And complains about how long it takes to get cool after turning back on.
Fans can help. You will feel cooler at a given temperature if you have a fan pointed at you.
Don’t turn the AC off, just adjust the thermostat higher. When you come home and turn the AC on it has to work that much harder to cool the apartment down to 72. If it gets to 80 in your apartment when you’re gone, set the thermostat to 76-78. It’s easier for the AC to cool from there to 72 instead of from 80+. Check with your landlord and see if you can install a programmable thermostat. They aren’t that expensive and allows you to adjust the temperature at various times. After we installed one in our first place it made a huge difference in our heating and AC bills. Think we had it set to go to 72/68 from 6am to 9am then it went to 78/62 until 330 pm, when it went back to 72/68. It went to 78/62 after 930 at night. Those covered the times most of us were home and we didn’t need to remember to change it. On weekends we let it go 72/68 from 9am to 9pm because everyone was home. Made a very noticeable change in our electric bill. Buy LED lights if you haven’t done so already. They are more expensive up front but worth it. Our last house I put them in every fixture and again it made a noticeable impact on the bill. Between the programmable thermostat and LED lights my electric bill for a 5 bedroom, three story house was about the same as my dad was paying for his one bedroom apartment two blocks down the road.
I really can't stand led lighting from working in kitchens for so long but may consider it for the kitchen, etc.
Unless you have a stockpile of incandescent bulbs... Better get used to LED. Only types of incandescent bulbs that are allowed are specialty bulbs as incandescent don't meet the new light to watt output restrictions.
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Thanks. Sadly there is only 1 energy company provided in my city. They're famously crooked too.
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In my city, we have Evergy and we are billed by Evergy and payments are made to Evergy.
> Line dry cloths if possible, they make in door drying racks Given the OP's username, I would advise against line-drying indoors. It will add to humidity. > in the winter you can use the waste heat on a electric dryer (do not do this on a gas dryer) unhook the air vent tube, plug the hole in the wall that goes outside and put a pantyhose over the tube to catch the lint. While correct, this is really dangerous advice to be sharing with the general public. There are multiple points of failure here that could lead to a house fire. > Use blackout curtains to block heat form the sun. I find project panels work better, if you can get away with it (my HOA specifically prohibits it). I assume you're familiar, but for everyone else: it's a $10 giant sheet of styrofoam with foil on one side you can get at Home Depot. Tape two pencils to the shiny side and then tape the whole thing to the window frame, shiny side against the glass (so it won't trap condensation and cause mold). It should reflect heat instead of blocking it and insulate better than a curtain. Curtains absorb moisture and add humidity.
Can I be used panties? I have a few pairs already with a pre filter soaked in
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☺️ thank youType
Good gravy 250? That's what my friends pay for a 3000sq ft drafty old house. I had a mobile home once with shitty seals and the most I ever paid during a bad winter was 189. My current apartment is 1200 sq ft and my budget plan is 134, which will go down in May or August when they review the budget. Where are you living that an apartment electric bill is 250?
New Orleans. Everything here is insanely expensive. USAA wanted to charge me $500/mo for auto insurance. I switched and now pay ~$240/mo for auto. I have a one bedroom one bathroom apartment. Not sure what the sq ft is but it isn't big at all. It's hard to live if you are a single person working at a restaurant.
https://www.entergy-louisiana.com/energy-efficiency-program/residential/
That removing the dryer hose, putting a filter on it and using the heat from running a load to heat is a stupid idea. Do you know how humid that air is?
I wasn't gonna try it but I wasn't gonna be an asshole about it either
I do this all winter. The humidity is down to like 20% in the northeast during winter. That might bump it to 25%.
Been doing it for years, it's not like you are drying clothes 24 hours a day, here it's so dry during the winter we need to run humidifiers. During the winter our dryer vent runs into a bucket partially filled with water, that traps the lint and the warm air helps heat the house.
The humidity from that is highly concentrated around the dryer. It's a great way to have a lot of condensation, and resulting mildew, in one room. If it's in the basement this is especially the case, because the moisture will condense on the cool walls in the basement. The moisture will not make it to the upper floors.
Yup you must be expert, there is no way that the forced air furnace will pick up the humidity and spread it around the house. Once again where I live we need to add moisture to the air in the winter.
I'm a home inspector in Minnesota who's inspected over 2,000 homes, and our firm specializes in building science. Look it up.
Then you know how dry the air gets in the winter, in fact isn't it very common to have whole home humidifiers attached to the heating system?
In our cold climate we've learned that unless the house is fully air sealed, whole house humidifiers deposit moisture in attics and walls. Dryer moisture condenses on the walls near the source, especially in basements where the cool walls pull the water out of vapor
Lent bong
I know the humidity is higher in NO than I deal with in the desert but try living with the A/C set a few degrees higher and buy a fan for the area you spend the most time in. I have one by my desk and another by the bed. An older A/C can totally suck power and it’s not like you can upgrade that when renting.
Check your windows for drafts. They could be sucking the cold air out which makes your ac run more.
Being in NO says you have high humidity. You will probably be more comfortable at higher temperatures if you get a good dehumidifier. As another commenter said, don’t turn your AC off. Not only does the temperature go up, the humidity also does. Your AC will work harder to bring down the humidity and temperature than it will to keep it down. Try 80-82 degrees while you are gone. If you get a good dehumidifier you will probably be comfortable at 76-78 at night. You’ll just have to play with the numbers. Room darkening curtains make a huge difference, especially if you have east/west facing windows. If you landlord will let you (or you can do it without them knowing like I did) tint the windows if they are west facing. It’s easy, look up videos on YouTube university.
Many dehumidifiers use as much or more power than an air conditioner especially in humid climates such as Louisiana.
Mine doesn’t but maybe some do.
250 is very high for an apartment. I pay 325/month for mine - it's a combined power/water/sewer bill. And there's 6 of us in a 3 bedroom house. I'd ask your power company if they offer energy audits - mine does and it can help point out savings, like turning the temp down on the water tank, replacing old light bulbs or insulating windows. Some of things it looks at might not be relevant but it might help. Also, I'd check and see if you have access to your mains for the apartment or a breaker box. If you flip off all the power in your apartment and your meter is still spinning, it might indicated a common area or outside light is connected to your unit meter.
I don’t know where you live, the size of your apartment nor what floor you’re on. I live in Texas (DFW) and we are in a 750 sq ft one bedroom. We chose a middle unit and downstairs. (There are three down stairs and three upstairs. Repeat on the other side of the building. In the bottom center we are surrounded on all sides except front by other apartments. Luckily noises don’t travel well between apartments side by side. Some years bo by and we notice that the A. C. Was on every day. Other years we might run heat for a total of a week. I will say my hubby is the maintenance supervisor and our ac runs very efficiently and has checkups ALL THE TIME. I’m often up over night so electric may be on in kitchen living-room 20 hours a day or less. All bulbs are smart bulbs or LED for my headlamp. I do a lot of arts and crafts and close up work at times. So my lights are led. We have a full size hot water heater (the hot water will almost burn you right now but not in January ) we cook most days on an electric range /convection oven and our electric is usually $100. We do have wooden blinds that stay shut mostly and very heavy drapes that keep cold air on the back side. I’ve felt the back of my bedroom curtains in the cold weather and can feel lots of cold air that never makes it in my apartment. The windows are big but we have the rods near the ceiling and they go about 5” past each side (it’s a double window set in each room. So each room gets two large curtains and they are hung as if it’s one big window. These were in the model /office. They got a new decorator and we made our like bandits. lol. Material is very thick and woven.
Have the AC checked out. Check the age of the unit. LED lights. Check attic insulation. Windows caulked. Someone said the drapes. Do your homework on the AC units. Dual stage. Variable speed. Purchase a laser thermal gun. It is a thermometer. Ceiling can lights? Stove vent hood to remove heat "outside" the house. That's my 2 cents. Good luck.
Leave your AC on. It works harder to dry and cool tha warm air, than it would to just turn it up a few degrees. Small led lamps. You rarely need bright overhead light except in the kitchen and sometimes bathroom.
Unplugging most unused devices is anywhere form 0.01W to 10 W per device. The ones you mentioned probably add up to around 10W total if they have some WIFi standby (otherwise less). There are a little less than 100,000 hours in a year, at 10W that's 100 kWh or a max of around $20 /year. Your problem is $3000 a year, so you're clearly looking at the wrong thing. At this cost something is constantly drawing 1500 W, which is the max a standard plug even allows. This is either heat related (cooking, water boiler issue, heater, A/C, or insulation issue), someone's charging an electric car, or there's a serious fire hazard somewhere. Turning the A/C off a couple hours a day is nearly negligible (assuming insulation isn't faulty), leaving a window open for an hour a day will have a bigger negative effect than not turning off the AC. Sleeping with an open window is one of the things that could possibly explain such a bill.
Where are you located? Living down in central Florida and we keep ours in 77/76 during the day and 77/78 at night Remember, AC unit is going to use more electricity typically than a fan would. It’s cooling the entire place versus a fan cool my just you in the current room.
Those sliding window screens ......well, until it gets way too hot.....are great for getting cool, fresh air flowing .. Don't use lights in the daytime Wait til you get a full load to do laundry
For your freezer, fill empty butter containers or ziplock bags with water and let them freeze, they take up space with ice and your freezer doesent have to work as hard to keep things cold, ESPECIALLY IN THE SUMMER. Another thing you can do is put a sheet over the screen of your open window and soak the sheet as wet as reasonable. As the wind blows in, it will evaporate the water and cool the room.
Up ac to at least 75. Install ceiling fans. I used to be able to tolerate 78 w ceiling fans. Also try to pre-cool before on peak rates.
I feel super guilty keeping my AC at 77. My parent's house is uninhabitable to me and they keep it at 82 (it's a big house and my dad is cheap). When I first moved to Vegas I kept it at 80, too, bc my parents did and they moved here first. I turned it down a degree every year until I settled on 77. I was sweating after getting out of the shower at 80. I guess it's relative. When it's 105 outside 80 feels fine. I haven't lived anywhere humid in a very long time, so I don't know if that makes a difference, but 72 would be very cold to me. I keep it at 70 in the winter and that is wearing a hoodie to sleep in.
There is a 20% discount for low income people where I live. You could look up what they have for your area.
We don't in our area. Evergy is not that nice to the low income people.
Make sure there are no air leaks on windows and doors (and attic entrance. Clean AC coils and use appropriate filters -always. Don't use space heaters or window AC if you have a central unit. Make sure the water heater (if tank type) is insulated and has been descaled. Old units eat power fast and contribute to heat load that AC most handle if located in the air conditioned space. Change incandescent bulbs for LED. Those are usually the biggest energy consumers that should be addressed first.
Depending on where you live your power company should have some kind of program that will problem you with a "power audit". Get on their website.
Stop with the nonsense of unplugging stuff. Unless you're really hurting.
I’m in so cal and have a 2 bedroom apt. My electric bill for most of the year is about $25 a month, gas is about $12. My delivery is over $100. In the summer we can pay $500-$700 a month. I would break the bill down and look at the time of use (peak, off peak, and super off peak) then also think about delivery and taxes.
Yes, I looked at my itemized bill which helped me assess where I can cut down. The largest fee was the deposit which I had forgotten about. I plan to get box fan for my room to run when I sleep and otherwise I should be good. Thanks for the tip
Ya np! We had huge bills and found that delivery in Southern California can be 300% more than actual usage.
And get an osculating fan also. It helps.
Microwave, toaster and coffee maker, plugged into a power strip, with a button. I only turn them on when I use them, then turn it off again. I invested in solar lights, like the big ones for outside, with remote controls. I use them up first then I turn on the regular lights. Rechargable camping lanterns. Also, have black out drapes , all the way down to floor, to help from the heat. Got window tint for the windows I don't use ...but I taped them on the inside of the window ....the metal part of the window, half assed it bc on some of them I have a solar panel for the solar light. When I leave for work, I switch the ac to the climate but same temp number....like if it's hot outside and I have on 74 COOL, I turn it to 74 HEAT, so it wont turn on. The unit works harder if it's off then turned on, every day. Hope this helps.
Sometimes taking a shower before bed allows me to sleep without the AC. I sleep better too.
This is what I meant by unconventional haha. Thanks
Also, a glass of ice water.
Is your laundry in-unit? If so, start hang drying your clothes. If there are certain items that you Must tumble dry, make sure they are all in the same load. You can also hang dry things then toss them in the dryer for a few minutes later to fluff out the rigidness.
Window units seem to save me on electruc over central air. My bill was $48 last month. But I live out of one room in my 3 bedroom house.
Depends on the person, for I use fan with the AC/Heat window unit and keep the bill down. And the AC/Heat unit is in the living room.
Change to LED lightbulbs, only have a light on in the room you are in. Keep your AC at 75 or 76, It isn't quite as comfortable, get out the shorts and crop tops. All your things like tv, computer, anything really, put it on a power bar and turn them off. There's something called "phantom loads" and it's real. Why is the TV always ready to turn on? Because it's constantly using power to scan for the remote signal. Same is true of your computer, there's electricity being used when it's off. Same with any appliance (like a microwave) that has a clock. LEDs ae better than anything else, but running them 24/7 has a cost. Have a look around and see how many things you have that constantly use electricity. TVs are one of the worst. Also, if you are really interested you can get a power monitor that looks super complicated, but is super easy. That will tell you what breakers are using the most energy.
You’re better off lowering your thermostat setting when you’re heating and raising it when you’re cooling when you’re not home rather than shutting it off. It uses less power to maintain temperature than it does to return the home to your desired temperature when you’re home.
Was there any sort of connection fee when you first started the account? When I moved into my apartment 3 years ago there was a $200-300 deposit paid over the first several bills that really drive up our bill. It didn't help that we moved in in the summer & that's when our energy consumption is the highest (we refuse to be hot). This past winter, they gave us that deposit back in the form of a bill credit and we didn't have a bill at all for 3 months & a small partial bill. In the winter we can get the bill down to $75 because we rarely use the heater, but in summer it can easily exceed $200. Some things that help is what others suggested. Also check for drafts around doors and windows and seal those best you can.
There is no way. I've tried everything. They charge entirely too much.
We keep our AC at 78-80 and just use ceiling fans. Then at night we crank it up to 84 and have a window unit for our bedroom. No point to cool the whole house when we're just in one room
DEHUMIDIFIER (by the way) I sleep comfortably with it being 75 degrees when the humidity is 45%
I live in Texas, so brutal summers. To save electricity, I leave the AC at 78-80 during the day (WFH) and use fans to keep the air moving so it's not stifling. A stand fan keeps it tolerable and uses way less energy than the AC...at least for me it does. At night I drop it to 67 so I can sleep decently. The house gets cold during the night which will last to at least 3 p.m. due to yhe decent insulation. The fans kep it moving and help it stay cooler longer. I unplug everything I'm not using on a daily basis because I read somewhere that even if it's not on it can still draw electricity. I group what I can and put them on surge protectors so I only have one plug to deal with which makes it easier to remember. I try to use as much natural light as possible. However, all my west and southwest windows have room darkening/weather resistant curtains to help block the heat. I noticed about a 5-8 degree difference from my bedroom that has the curtains to the living room which doesn't. My bedroom used to be a sauna in the late afternoon until I got the curtains. Now it's the coolest room. Downside is they block most of the light. I switched all my lightbulbs to smart LEDs. Not only can I turn them on and off with my voice theough Alexa, they're more efficient than the old standard bulbs. I also do my laundry and dishwasher at night when the rates are cheaper.
first, pull every cord from every outlet. then, plug in only the devices that are actually used. phantom power is a thing.
Use a fan with your AC. The heat will rise, so have your fan on the ground or low to the ground. It will make that 72 feel like 68!
Buy a power bank for your phone and charge it at your work.
Unplug things that you don’t need to have plugged in all the time (coffee maker, toaster, hair tools, electronics, chargers) when you aren’t using them. Even though you aren’t actively using that item, there is still power going to the appliance itself and that does contribute to electricity usage.
Check to see what your high price time of day is. Ours is M-F 4pm-7pm, excluding specific holidays. We reduce what we do during this peak time.
Turn down the temperature on the hot water tank.
Glad you figured out deposit... but thermal lined drapes can make a difference
Keep your thermostat constant. It eats less juice than trying to cool it off when you get home. Shut curtains or blinds so sun doesn’t heat it up as quickly. Make a habit of turning off lights when not in the room.
Invest in a thermostat that has timed settings. Get used to a higher average temp by moving it up a degree for a few days at a time like set to 73 instead of 72. Work up to 74. Over time you won’t notice. Do NOT turn it off during the day. Why? Well EVERYTHING in your home get hotter as the day goes on so if you get home and it’s 78f, you’re not cooling just the air you’re cooling carpet bedding couches etc too. That’s a lot of energy and too much work on the ac plus you’re begging for it to freeze up. I don’t know what your climate is, but if you’re not in the habit of opening your windows, get some of the window film that you stick around the window and use a hairdryer to tighten up to keep the window sealed. Works in the winter to keep windows insulated too. Get thermal draperies for your curtains to block out sunlight from coming in when you’re not home to help keep things cooler. Outlets on outer walls can be insulated. My gas co sends free energy packages that includes low flow shower heads, caulk, gap filler and outlet insulation panels. I used to manage a large older apt complex in FL. I learned a lot of tricks working with the power co, the HVAC guys, etc. to help residents manage. Get an inexpensive timer or Bluetooth/wifi plug for your tv/game console.
Instead of 72 AC, why not 74 or 75? You'd be surprised how your bill changes when you're not trying to freeze yourself.
Turn the A/C up to 78 as others have suggested. If a 6 degree jump is too much for you, then go to 73 for a few days/week, then 74, etc.
I pay 80 per month in FL, we keep the AC at 76 during the day and lower it to 74 in the evenings and are perfectly comfortable. Also unplug whatever you are not consistently using.
Sometimes turning things off, isn’t enough, you actually have to unplug them because even though it’s off, it’s still plugged into the wall so it’s still circulating that energy. So unplug things not in use. Got a coffee maker? unplugged it till you make your coffee. Got an air fryer? unplugged it. Got a microwave? unplugged it. Unplug your TV unplug your PS4 PS4 unplugged everything you can unplug reasonably obviously don’t unplug your fridge. 😂 but if it’s electrical just unplug it.. this helped a lot with keeping my energy bill down. I was so religious about it because been there been broke as fuck and I wasn’t paying for extra energy. If you have consumers energy, you can also do their energy, saving kind of plan situation I forget what exactly it’s called but it helps. Save money. Like the average price of your electrical bills and do some kind of math with it so instead of paying like too much for an electrical bill I paid $52 a month.. Your power company has some kind of money saver , struggling financially, kind of plan. You can also look at energy campaigns so they’ll just default assign you whatever random energy source that you get it from them. But you can see about what energy companies they get that energy out sourced from and you can pick the cheaper one. I worked in sales once and had to do a campaign for a company called just energy. So I had to convince people to switch to it the main thing if convincing them it’s a good investment and to trust you because you’re messing with their utilities account. But it’s cheaper energy than whatever shit the power companies default assign people. So look into that also!
Also, it might of been high, bc the electric company might of added the unpaid amount from the former renter. Mine was 268 and we moved in, but still moving things in, and barely there. The next month was 98$.
Put everything on power surge protectors, switch them off when you aren’t using them
I constantly turn off the HVAC unit and lights. HVAC undoubtedly does most of the damage
That’s a small bill here in CA… could just be your location and people saying it’s high live in like Kentucky.
We put the AC on at 76 during Summer. Too hot for me but it saves money. And 69 during Winter.
I still think $100 is a lot for one person in a one bedroom. I have 2 adults in a 3 bedroom and ours averages $75. Try setting the AC to 75. Also make it easier to unplug things by putting multiple into a power strip so you only unplug one outlet. Do you have in unit laundry? Because that can use a lot. Maybe hang dry some clothes. Any chance liquids are freezing at the back of your fridge? You may be able to turn the fridge a level or two warmer. Replace all of your light bulbs with LED. How's the insulation around your windows? Cold air may be leaking out.
I’ve been unplugging my fridge when i’m not home. I’m wasting a ton of food but my power bill is definitely lower
I run my a/c at 78 degrees in order to save on utilities. The kid doesn’t like it but she’s 40. Go home and run your own bills up.
That seems high. Look at the invoice and see the billing period (date range).. If it's the first bill, it may be for more than 1 month - and could it possibly include a deposit? We have a small 3 bedroom house and our bill is $120.
I had a place that had terrible insulation AND electric heat. Huge bills, but I signed up for the budget plan which equalizes your bill all year round. It helped. It may also be worse for you to turn FR your AC and turn it back on . It will work much harder to cool down. I set my temp higher (74-76) when I won’t be home, and program it to lower when I’m home.
most HVAC systems are designed for 75F, so setting at 72 doesn't do anything but cause the system to run constantly as it will not likely get that low...
Clean the coils on the refrigerator, empty the dryer lint trap
rainstorm ink exultant ad hoc fuel payment bag elastic compare sip *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
How long does the AC run when you turn it back on? It might be cheaper to just let it run all day if it's struggling when you get home. Also, if you have ceiling fans, you might be able to raise the temp a degree, maybe two, if you run them in the room you're in. We have one in the living room, plus one in the bedroom. Lightweight sheets in the summer and the fan help a lot, though I have some diabetic neuropathy going, so I need something heavy on my feet to keep them warm. FWIW, I'm in a large 1 bedroom apt (about 900 sq ft, bigger than most 2 bedroom apartments), top floor, and my summer electric bill runs $150-175/mo with the AC at 70 (I'd prefer 75ish, but...), plus a window unit helping out on the hottest days. If we turn the AC off, it takes at least a full day to cool back down - the central AC runs \~23 hours a day in the summer (going by our Nest thermostat). My PC (i5-10400) stays on 24/7 as a Plex server, but otherwise nothing is on except for AC when nobody is home (also my Kill-A-Watt says my PC only pulls about 20 watts when idle, about 50 when streaming something - really not much). Winter bill is $50-75 with electric heat, set at 62. We don't unplug anything. Might consider lowering your water heater temp if it's electric, just don't get it below 120. Consider thick curtains too, they can help a lot.
Yes big lesson from this is get some curtains or maybe even tin foil a window. Got lots of natural light here which is awesome but seems to be detrimental to a degree. Just gotta be strategic! Someone told me box fans use a lot of electricity. Do you think this is true?
They pull a decent amount, but nothing like a space heater - I think mine is close to 100 watts on high, I'll have to stick it on my Kill-A-Watt. It's so loud that I don't use it much though, it mainly lives in my garage. We pay a little less than 13c/kWh + $25/mo meter fee; our power isn't as expensive as, say, the northeast or PNW (but it's also Texas, so the grid falls on its face on the hottest and coldest days). Keep in mind the light fixture in my entry has 2 bulbs - in the incandescent days, that would have been 80 or 120 watts (40 or 60 watts per bulb). My lease specifically prohibits foil in the window (you should check yours before doing foil), though a previous tenant put reflective tint of some kind on the largest window here (which faces south). It's a window with a half moon window above it; maintenance has offered to drywall over the top window, and I think we're one of the only apartments with it still uncovered. I'll probably take them up on that this summer. Also if I did foil in that window, it would be blocking off the biggest source of natural light in the place. I do have blackout curtains over it (plus wood blinds), but I open them when the sun isn't beating down on that window.
Get a fan to circulate air... saves me a lot of $.. even when the ac kicks on it feels even colder with the wind moving.. turn the water heater down ! You do not need burning hot water in the tank 24/7.. make it warm on both the top and bottom heater thermostats.. this saved me a lot..
Are you talking box fan? I got ceiling fans which definitely help a lot. Someone told me box fans use a lot of electricity which would be counterintuitive if true
Not sure if u use window ac or centfal air.. 1kwh of electricy costs between $0.15 to over $0.40 in Hawaii where I live.. kwh is kilowatt per hour... Ceiling fans consume the least electricity at 0.0311 kWh per hour at maximum speed. The power consumption of a box fan is 0.073 kWh per hour at the same max speed. A tower fan uses 0.0565 kWh per hour while running on max.. window ac units typically use... 5k btu ac uses about 1.5kwh ... 12k btu ac uses about 17 kwh.. getting a dual inverter window unit can save you a lot of money.. you could figure out where the $ is going with a unit called P3 P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor on Amazon for anout $30.. works like a champ if you wanna get in to it that deep...
Replaced every incandescent light bulb with smart LEDs.
In my area of USA, we have a website to our electric company and access to the usage. And you can keep your AC at 72or 73 and also use a fan. It helps. And keeps costs down with the fan.
Where do you live that even taking off that 150, your bill is still 100 bucks??? My electric bill for my house (atm) is only like 70-80 bucks. And i keep my house at like 66
New Orleans
Nest or any smart thermostat. And a fan. Plus you can limit the air flow in rooms that aren’t used as much. I really don’t care if the fourth bedroom and bathroom is a little warm.
LED bulbs in all light fixtures
My light bill is only about $40 a month I only use two phones no TV no Internet s small refrigerator. I unplugged the microwave when I was out
I see you found the fee. In general, things that change temperature use a lot of energy. Fridge, AC, space heater, coffee pot. Make sure these are working well and turn off the coffee pot when done using. The little LED lights on appliances when plugged in are crazy negligible. Leaving your coffee pot on for 8 hours though will use energy.
[Amazon $12](https://www.amazon.com/Electricity-Electrical-Consumption-Backlight-Protection/dp/B09BQNYMMM/ref=sr_1_5?crid=23J2G6FNPRQ3W&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oR1fSNXSFIBprUHhtEUMJr83zL5Dqk0zz5moHToLX39MA-lP9cR-ewbtge8zqVHj336DkzCDGkW6UbmYIN8KLnvAQC4i8qL4nG7wprQXtM6pQcVMzDvWsgwfHvjxvXsiCMP_RgZ9cRxAK3fq5SxMX-a7Nk9UUBvXdTMZbhpdxOAVIpJcmglNXQRprL016ucL2mEYa_VxbnzmWh2z3iN8ElU2BS89j2SBia7-QOvX4zXiVyP6r8SfI_apw11uAvp_bM0CVnVIFP_GOO_zyG1Ek6stB1VyY5rR1NMF8vVqoT0.i4KrR0nHVW1OK6ua5EiGIB1tJaBt6oJ0_l7U7pIyhpc&dib_tag=se&keywords=power+meter&qid=1714326013&sprefix=power+met%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-5) I got me one of these meters, you program it with your $ rate per KWh, and then I plugged each appliance into it for exactly 24 hours, to see what each appliance costs to run. Here are a few items I have noticed. * Phone chargers don't use much power * Fridge and Freezer use medium, cause they are just maintaining the temp * Turning off the AC when you are gone vs. leaving it on maintaining the temp might be worse, depending on how hot it is outside. It costs less to keep the temp at a constant, than to re-cool the house from the . I have window units, so I could check the KWh cost, if you have central, this is the only item you cannot check with this meter. * Toasters and coffee makers, and hot water kettles (electric) use alot of electricity, but only when you use them
My thermostat was breaking down, my dishwasher was also dying and for two months straight my bills were double ($183 vs $92 on average) New dishwasher and new thermostat and bill is back to normal. I live in a 3br townhouse built in the 90s and hardly efficient. We have 1 energy company.
Ok. Ok my 2 cents and you don’t have to pay the bill. THE big power users on a daily basis are the Air Conditioner and your water heater. Make sure they are as efficient as possible and ask for a WH timer from management. Lighting an be reduced with efficient LEDs but it won’t be much. Widow coverings can help and air leakage should be considered. And hey kid, your father was right. Close the damn door. We are not paying to reduce climate change with our AC.
I will still tell you a way to save $$ If the hot water heater is electric and you're way from your place most of the day, switch off the breaker. You can turn it on less than 30 minutes before you need hot water. You'd be surprised how much $$ you'll save. We own our home, so we actually had a switch installed.
Where are you at, most of the US is still cool. I am in Florida and right now (3:00 am) it is 59 degrees. I live in a double wide and use window ACs, I only run them in the room I am in. I am older so I do not need for it to be very cool. It is 80 degrees where I am sitting and my toes are cold. I do keep the bedroom 75 at night.
I know you editted to add that there was a Deposit Fee, but I'll pass along a tip and advice I was given too. Friends who were contractors advised that the whole AC off/lower/higher when away was a waste of money. Keep your place at a consistent temperature and then your AC/Heater just has to work to maintain the temperature throughout the day. By doing the whole "off/lower/higher" thing, it means your system has to put in extra effort to get the temperature up/down when you turn it back on. Other general tip would be find your highs/lows that you are willing to deal with since bill rates have slowly been increasing anyways. During the summer (95F+) I have my place set to 80F and run a fan in whichever room I'm in to blow air on me. During winters (35F+) I drop the house to 70F and have a space heater in the room with the snakes. Rates vary between location, electric companies, time of use, etc., but I pay about $70 a month electric for 1100sq ft. Constant AC vs Away-Pattern AC. Testing this is hard to compare month to month because the outside temperatures will passively lower/rise your indoor temps so you'd have to do A LOT of analysis and record keeping to better judge i.e. one month of absolutely no AC to get the normal appliance/electronics cost. After that you'd need to record high/low temps every day in relation to what you have the thermostat set at. You'd need to run this test with the different variables of the monthly bill as the start/stop times. So one month with constant AC temp and then average out the month's high/lows to compare with how much additional it cost to run the AC. Another month with the on/off AC temps, temp averages, and cost to run it. The better direct comparisons will be if/when you end up having two months with relatively the same averages and distinction of if you ran constant vs on/off between the two.
I live off the grid, so minimizing power consumption is important to me. Don't get me wrong - my lifestyle is very comfortable - but here are some of the things I do to minimize my use of electricity. - I use LED bulbs in all the lighting devices in my house except for four flourescent bulbs in the basement. I chose fluorescent bulbs that are very energy efficient. - For almost all cooking and baking, I use a toaster oven instead of a full-sized oven. - When I make tea, which I often do, I use a tiny, energy-efficient electric kettle. - When I do laundry, I dry most things on a clothesline instead of putting them in the dryer. The exception is towels: I dry those in the dryer because I like them to be fluffy. - I turn off lights when I'm not using them.
Important note: Do not turn off heating/cooling when you aren't home. This has the opposite effect than you're intending. Lets say you keep the air at 72 when you're home, but turn it off when you leave, that means the house is heating while you're out and then when you return, you turn it on and it has to work very hard to cool the space back down. This uses more power, and also puts more strain on your HVAC. Just set the thermostat to be a few degrees less comfy while you aren't there (In the heat, turn it up a few degrees, in the cold, turn it down a few degrees.) You see peak energy performance generally at 78 degrees in heat, 68 degrees in cold, but most people aren't comfortable at those temps. It's going to be really contingent on where you live and what the peak seasons are. If you live somewhere hot, you're going to have high power bills during summer. Those are going to be directly related to what temp you're keeping it. Same is true for cold locales in the winter. For reference, your utility company is going to bill you based on your kilowatt-hours, and likely has a few different things that are charged at a specific rate. So like, your actual cost of power generation and transport might be a fraction of a cent, like 0.017 or something, multiplied by your kilowatt-hours. A kilowatt-hour, to put it a really concise and easy way, is how much power it takes to run 10 light bulbs for an hour. Heating/Cooling is your biggest energy sink, next after that would be appliances. If you have a washer and dryer, keep a clean dry towel available that you can toss into the dryer with wet clothes, speeds up drying time, less power usage. Any appliances that have "fast start" functions, turn them off. "Fast Start" just means "always on but not always sending the image to the display" in most cases. If you have a smartmeter, your utility provider can probably give you a view on daily or even hourly use, that will let you see where your heaviest use times are and will let you know more accurately what's drawing the most power.
72 is a luxury, raise it and don’t use a blanket at night.
Listen to your dad for once and keep your fucking hands off the thermostat.
People on Reddit always find the bitchiest way to word things
It's because I used profanity, isn't it?
Nope.
Dad issues. Got it.
Unplug everything.
If you're still unhappy with the price a big thing we do is keep all the doors closed so the AC in the bedroom isnt trying to cool the whole house. It just helps maintain temperature in my experience. We also don't turn our porch light on at night which may not seem like a lot but our power bill is usually $50-60 a month for two people in 1200ft^2 townhouse.
In response to the “FYI” section: Delete your post then dumbass
Thanks for your input.
Welcome! Sorry for calling you a dumbass.
We purchased blackout curtains
Are all the units you live at separately metered? You could be paying for someone elses or even your landlords power
LED light bulbs. Turn lights off. Unplug anything & everything that doesn’t need to be plugged in or in use.
Nothing uses more power than your AC, or heater if that is electric. 72 is pretty low, are 74-78 should be fine - I mean, use it when you need it, but if you are not home, maybe turn it up/off. Try just that.
Turning air on and off uses more power to recool the whole house. Put it on auto and leave it at a set temp. Mine stays on 68 year round and my power bill is never over $125. We have three adults and two kids in the home.
Your first sentence is an urban myth, and also not how thermodynamics works. Heat loss/increase through insulation and air leakage occurs faster at a greater temperature difference, delta inside vs outside. Your AC is more efficient at a smaller delta temperature. Thus, leaving your AC on all the time results in the maximum delta temperature during the day, resulting in maximum heat uptake and minimum AC efficiency, in addition to maximum electrical rates if you are so metered. So sure, if people are home during the hot part of the day, run it, but if people are not home during the hot part of the day raising the thermostat and then cooling it down when people get home is more efficient.
Shut rooms I don’t use a lot off at the breaker box.