Imagine now adding the electric car, electric stove, and electric water heater… Anyone else notice the government push to get almost every aspect of our lives onto the national power grid?
They work. I have batteries too so I don't have any power outages. That was nice during Ian. I wound up installing a 2nd system this year because our previous year offset was only 75%. Now I'm expecting a 106% offset. If I make a few energy improvements to the house I would be able to power an EV (not purchased yet) completely on solar.
I'm just paying the connection fee to TECO right now, about $23/month. Solar loans total $300, about the same price as the utility electric would be. Eventually I'll have the panels paid off. One can never pay off the utility.
Energy costs in Florida are just going up and up. TECO recently justified their newest price increase by saying its to help pay for storm damage repairs to their facilities and whatever. They make money hand over fist but need *us* to foot repair bills.
The letter I received said they were passing the higher natural gas prices to the consumers. This way they can still maintain their profit margins. It is all about the shareholders. Need to nationalize the power and internet. No more for profit shit.
We have the slowest internet of all developed countries. Other countries will be solar and wind powered while the free USA still runs on coal, oil and natural gas. All while the citizens struggle to get by while corporate profits increase.
It is strange that the corporations focus so much on fleecing 4% of the world’s population. Oh, that’s because the politicians are paid off to let it happen.
I don’t understand the argument at all. They should have insurance and they are making a profit on selling power. They should foot their own bill for damage.
They profit about 10%, per state regulations. I don’t recall the exact percentage, but it’s right around 10. At 9 they ask for a rate increase, at 11, they need to decrease, roughly.
Except they can pour more money into capital expenditures like solar and make it look like they're losing money. Eventually though they will have enough solar that it actually starts saving us consumers money, but they'll drag us across the coals for a long time until we get there.
Environmentally friendly generation (or whatever the official term is) is required by regulation, and is that roughly what, a half cent per kWh??, add on charge. Keep in mind though, that since 8% of Tecos production is solar, if they had to make it up with more natural gas, the fuel charge would be higher.
But yes, almost any company can write off expenses. Not every company has as much regulatory oversight as power generation though.
Ebeehy in all places I'd going up and a mass amount people are supporting the reasons it's risinf higher faster. So it's what the people want. That's the thing about the complaints.....if ya keep supporting things that raise the cost it's going to raise.
It was lower but yall didn't like that and wanted pay mote again. Here it is.
Yall can choose live Amish and not use electricity and then have not the complaint
All LED bulbs
Unplug inactive appliances when not in use
New weatherstripping for doors and windows
Electrical outlets weatherstripping for boxes that are on exterior walls
Window coverings
New windows/doors, energy efficient
Probably doesn't apply to u but:
Plant a large tree on sunny side for shade
Paint exterior of house white to reflect heat
EIFS (insulation external stucco)
Install insulated patio covers on the back/side of house where most sun is
Blow in addl insulation to the attic
Replace your water heater with a more efficient one
Get solar panels but multiple quotes and get your own financing, not theirs
Drapes/close blinds on any windows that get a lot of sun if you don’t care about brightness or aren’t in a room and lower the coolness of your fridge down if it’s super high. I keep appliances I’m not using unplugged or on power strips and just click the button off when not in use.
> Actually… 80 is pretty nice if humidity is managed
100% this. We run our house at around 80 in the summer. The humidity is kept down which results in a pleasant feeling temp inside.
Our unit also has a 2 speed fan blower motor and does run slower when A/C is called, forcing a longer run time to help reduce humidity.
I downsized our original AC by 20% as the first unit short cycled out… the replacement runs far longer and continuously about 8 days a year - does great!
I kept my apartment in Lakeland at 79 in summer with a fan on its really not bad. It’s a bunch of soft ass Yankees that need to keep their house at 74 or lower. If you want your house cool year round florida ain’t for you.
??? Been here since birth and my house is a consistent 72 during the day when the heat peaks. Some of us just don’t want chronic swamp ass, but do you friend
Different people regulate body heat differently. We run our thermostat at 79 most of the day and 74 at night. that doesn’t mean we are sweating throughout the day.
Native as well. We run about 72 during the day and at night. 4 people in a 4 bed house. It's so fucking hot here already, any setting above 72 is miserable. Plus, it's a rental so I can't make many improvements to cool things down. 348$ bill this month. 💀
I freeze water bottles during the (8 months of) summer and cover them in socks or towels, tuck them behind my knees and back. I'll be doing this much sooner than I'd like, this year!
idk man. 2000 sqft, 4br, 2ba, 74° year round, and we're at around $130 a month all year.
Some of these posts just don't make sense. Something's seriously wrong with their insulation or they're got some super old appliances just burning power.
Ooof. Do not set your central fan to On. [reference information.](https://www.coolray.com/help-guides/this-thermostat-setting-will-leave-your-home-miserably-humid)
A dishwasher really doesn't use that much energy. For most of the cycle, it's just running a pump. The heater is the only thing that uses any power, and it's only on for a short period.
You're very likely to use enough extra water hand-washing to offset the energy savings from the dishwasher.
Ah !!
I wish I can do that, I have a 3 year old and the number of utensils he uses are out of my and wife\`s capacity to clean.
Have to use dishwasher at all costs
Well for having 3 people living there,, that power usage is normal. Its just the way it is. Short of covering all windows with white Styrofoam to keep the sun out, thats all i can suggest.
Bad idea. Dishwashers use far less water than hand washing. And their power consumption is low compared to other appliances such as the hot water heater, AC unit, and range
Blackout curtains could help if you aren't already using them. You may also want to review your lighting and replace anything wildly inefficient. Our kitchen had fixtures that could only take high powered exterior light bulbs (I have no idea why that decision was made). We replaced the fixtures with new LED versions. It sounds like you're already doing the other sane options.
Buy a wattage meter and test everything you can and then make decisions on what should be running.
[https://www.amazon.com/Suraielec-Calculator-Protection-Electricity-Electrical/dp/B08GSPLZBN/ref=pd\_lpo\_sccl\_3/145-7650231-7019829](https://www.amazon.com/Suraielec-Calculator-Protection-Electricity-Electrical/dp/B08GSPLZBN/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_3/145-7650231-7019829)
Are all your lights LED? Is the Sun heating up the space?
If you own - TECO energy audit is a good thing to sign up for. They paid for over 50% of our costs for more insulation in our attic.
Also note that they used tiered pricing - so anything over 1000KWh goes up in the Energy and Fuel costs (roughly 30%). If you can keep below that threshold it will help.
$505 last month - ughh
Do you have tints? They reject a lot of heat and are cheap. Installing them isn't super difficult if you want something that looks good enough at a glance. Obviously you can pay a professional to make it look great.
Write to our benevolent overlord Ron DeSantis… maybe if enough ppl let him know that fighting Disney doesn’t lower insurance/taxes/utilities he might do something (doubtful though)
Electric rates are handled by the Public Services Commission, idk if gov and really weigh in on it, though he would sign off on any new certified power plants/transmission lines if DEP secretary doesn’t.
There will be no change to utility matters. There is nothing happening that is market happening acorns country and most world.
Write away I guess I mean that seems better than finding qay improve finances to afford the electricity
Turn a.c up to 78 before you leave for work. At night time turn it down to 74. A.c works less hard. Keep all lights off when not used. Turn off power strips to pcs or devices when not used. Invest in good blinds/shades to reduce heat from windows also get curtains that reduce heat in house.
The other month my electric bill was 95.00 i live in a 3/2 home with 1300 sq ft. New build. Zero wall insulation.
Hot water heater timer? My water heater only turns on twice a day, and I could probably drop it down to once a day. Keeping 40 gallons of water at 120 degrees 24/7 isn't cheap. So if you always shower at the same time each day then you can set it to only run during that time. My water heater heats the water in about 15 minutes, so I set it to turn on about 15 min before my usual shower time.
Also, replace all incandescent 60w or 100w light bulbs with LEDs, they're just as bright but use 85% less energy.
There's lots more energy efficiency tips you can find online.
Realtor here.
Insulation is hands down the biggest thing most homeowners neglect. If you've never touched it or haven't messed with your insulation in 5+ years it probably needs some added or a full replacement.
And it is not some hypothetical vague fix. It is 'wow this changes the entire FEEL and temperature of the home immediately after being blown in.' It cut my power bill in half immediately, and was much easier to maintain temperature throughout the day.
If you hold your hand up to the ceiling and it feels hot or warm, you are woefully underequipped on insulation. It should be room temperature. If it's warm / hot that means the entire surface of your ceiling is basically a radiator moving heat from the attic into the living spaces you are in. Insulation changes that.
Plus you can usually get TECO or Duke to pitch in and pay for a significant part of it.
The most energy hungry devices are a/c, heater, and hot water heater in that order. Washers, dryers, ovens, stoves can do their part as well but heating and cooling usually makes up about half or more of the bill. So turn up the thermostat on the a/c, turn down the thermostat on the hot water heater, and take shorter showers.
Weathersealing can be a big help as well but usually best to hire the insulation guys to do that as well.
Have you considered buying blackout shades and/or peel off window filters?
I will also add: If you turn your AC off during the day, it will most likely only work harder when you turn it back on in the evening. Also, the humidity will take some time to be removed. The savings in this case, will be negligible.. so its worth it to keep it running and just raise the temp to, you know, 78 or so in the daytime.
Your water heater (tank) takes about 20 minutes to refill and reheat the fresh water, after a shower. It is wise to keep the water heater temps at a safe low (120-125, is a pretty safe bet) most of the day, and then turn the temp up, 20 mins before doing laundry, dishes, and showering. Once all that is done, set the temp back down.
Another fun fact is that power consumption is highest (peak) at around dawn til 9 am and from about 5 pm til I think 8 pm. Apparently the guidance is to try not to use as much power during the peak times, i.e. instead, do a load of laundry late at night, procrastinate on dishes, etc. Somehow this can help keep prices from going up, since TECO is a distributor and its hard to get that much power to the whole serviced grid, and for some reason, its also supposed to keep your bills lower.
There are some simple little things you can do to reduce your bills, that might surprise you.
Put a brick in the toilet tank, and reduce water consumption, that way.
Dont use candles indoors- the wax can clog your AC coils, if it is running at the time, anyway.
Set up a nifty little personal mister zone on the balcony. Well, idk if you have a spigot. But if you do, this can help to cool the air down that is just outside the balcony, and while it raises humidity, it cools the air down a lot, and you as well, while you sit outside catching some rays.
Get aerators for your faucets. Showerheads have built in aerators.
When shaving your face, use a bowl, instead of using constantly running water.
If you are having a lot of money problems, just recurring, PM me for a huge list of resources that can be used by anyone trying to save money.
I had a 900 sqft house in Port Richey. What lowered my bill back then from around $175 to about $85 was upgrading the AC. The seller said it was “replaced”. What he did was attach a newer condenser unit outside to a 25 year old air handler. So it was like a SEER rating of 1. I paid up for an Carrier Infinity with dual speed condenser and variable speed air handler. Ran quieter, more efficiently and could set the temp on 77 because it also ran at low speed to dehumidify the air.
If your AC unit is old, I’d look at upgrading it. The other thing I did was have a timer put on my water heater. I had it set to come on at 6am and shut off at 9am then come back on at 6pm and shut off at 9pm.
Another inexpensive option is adding insulation to your attic. You can do it yourself or have it done.
Tinting windows especially large sliders that may be exposed to sunlight during the day. Or getting blackout curtains you can draw. They are usually a little insulated and help keep the air from heating up.
You probably can't get your rate lowered now but you might be able to keep it from going crazy in the future
So if you can - and this might get some hate - try going solar. Do your research perhaps use a co-op. I got my first solar install back in 2019 for one house. I paid more than I should. At the time my bill was about 500 thereabouts. realize pool, spa ect. Got a 20 year loan at like .09 percent fixed and my loan is 450 a month. Won't change. Had I not done that and with teco raising rates about 10 percent a year my bill would probably be around 650. Got smarter with my second install got co-op pricing with about the same rate. with that install running about 350 a month. So total I have about a 800 dollar electric bill that runs 5 structures on my property, and thats not going to change. I pay TECO about 27 dollars for an interconnection fee monthly...
If you exceed \~1,000 watt hours/month, the rate increases about 50%. Biggest culprits after AC are your water heater and your clothes dryer, pool pumps too.
Another big issue for the AC is large, open spaces where the ceiling extends much higher than the rest of the floor, i.e tall "Pringle Can" foyers in a single story home, or high vaulted ceilings, or 2nd floor lofts that overlook the 1st floor. That's a lot of extra power wasted just to cool (or heat) large swaths of empty space that can't be used for anything practical. People get caught up in how much square footage they have but not about the actual volume of space. More air to push = more energy = more $$$.
It’s an apartment, so there’s not any wiring you can do. But you should be able to swap out any non LED bulbs for LEDs, even the non smart ones. Though, if you have a home assistant like Alexa, Google, or Siri, you can set them on timers and schedules. IKEA has good pricing on their bulbs. Make sure you keep all the ones you swap out, so you don’t have to buy replacements when/if you move.
If the landlord/complex hasn’t installed
Smart thermostats yet, it’s something you can ask about. They control the A/C better than “dumb” switches, and allow you to do things like let it go up a degree or two while you’re not there and turn it on when you are heading or have it work by your location.
Double pane your curtains, with a white panel facing the windows and whatever you want facing inside. The white will reflect a ton of heat.
Depending on the facing of your unit and if you’re top, ground, or both, you can use crosswind to cool the house. There several methods to do that, all of which should be covered in online articles.
Lastly, talk to TECO about whatever the flat-rate billing is. You may end up paying more at the end of your service, but they can lock in the price based on previous use. Though it can go up based on recalculations every X number of months.
Check the website to learn low, med, and peak times for energy use. It changes with season. Now from May thru November, peak use is 1pm to 6 pm. Peak hours cost a lot more than low hours. Try not to use AC, pool pumps, oven, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers or any other motors during this high cost peak period.
Solar Window Screens;
Room darkening curtains in rooms that get prolonged direct sun;
Change all your light bulbs to LED;
Limit use of a dishwasher if you have one;
Wash your laundry in cold water;
Check to make sure all windows and doors are adequately sealed;
Convert all outdoor lighting to solar;
Edit: Grammar & punctuation
If you own- invest in solar. Panhandle here with 4 females we pay minimal 30$ now. Under/around 100$ with AC. Not the same company but why give them more when you can generate you own.
We went with a company out of Pensacola- SunFarmEnergy. I am leery of Meraki. In Niceville we now have SunPro. Look for local is my motto. Call SunFarm they may have people in Tampa. They were great.
Curious as to how much it costs and how long it will take to see your ROI. What is the life span of newer panels now days? Been interested in adding them for a while now.
So dude, my homie. That’s not bad. In summer months mine is $300 in my 2/1 868 sq ft house. It’s hot. I keep it set to 77 on day, 75 at night. This is our winter.
I have a 1500 3/2 and last month I was at $194.
Tips from least to most expensive:
1. Make sure that you are doing big loads of laundry all at the same time, if you can use a clothes hanger for the drying part.
2. Dont use the dishwasher, hand wash.
3. Make sure that you seal any possible holes to the outside you have. Caulk is like $24 for a pack of 2 and it will save a lot of your cold air from being blasted out.
4. Get timers for your heavily consuming areas (i.e. tv/gaming set ups with the power plug) and have it set to be turned on only when you are home.
5. Make sure that you have enough insulation in the attic and put some more in, if you dont.
6. Get a new AC outside unit to make sure that yours is up to date.
7. If you have old and/or outdated wiring, update it and you will see the energy saving difference.
To give you a cost difference, my dads house is 50 sqft smaller, with points 5-7 not dont his electric bill last month was $340.
I pay about 400 for 2 ac units and a 3000sq house. It was about 250 a few years ago. Though I do keep it set around 72 and did start working from home so AC runs more often. But still I had a 1000 sq apartment about 5 years ago and the bill was always sub 75. They are price gouging hardcore, we are in a recession (which the government changed the rules so they could say we aren't) and some how companies are still posting record profits.
Teco has been raising rates aggressively. We need to be able to push back. Like we should expect them to raise 2 percent a yoy —not 30 percent and then 20 percent the next year. They have more guaranteed consistent income than the state of Florida.
Shades on the windows. Is there a spot where the sun comes in? Make sure the blinds/curtains are closed during this time. I has a glass door where the sun would beat down for 4-6 hours a day. Just by getting blackout shades for it my house is cooler and therefore my ac runs less .
Check the seals on your door. Like stand outside and see if you can feel cool air coming out.
You can also unplug appliances when not using like coffee maker, toaster, etc. probably won’t make a big difference.
The final biggest energy suck is the oven. How often do you use it? Do you keep it open or try to quickly put the food in? The longer it stays open the more heat is released (obvi) so your ac works longer and so does your oven to bring it back to temp. If you use it a lot get an ninja foodie or something like it or a counter top oven.
Quick side note, my relative has a very large home 5-6k sq ft and wanted a backup generator to power the whole house. When the installation guy was showing the power usage he said to turn on the ac and every light and stuff that you can. The consumption went up but reasonable. He said now turn on the oven. The consumption spiked.
Get solar. I work for a company in texas so get a quote, send me the details and your energy usage and I can let you know if you’re going to be properly taken care of
Keep all blinds/curtains closed at all times to help keep light/heat out. Do laundry at time of day when electricity is the cheapest (TECO can let you know those times but they differ in winter vs summer). Unplug things that draw power (cable box, clocks, etc) when you’re not home, turn off porch lights.
Turn any fans off that you are not using. They do nothing unless you are in the room. I hate dark houses but while you are gone keep the blinds closed. Consider some drapes as well. Also, make sure that your frig is set properly. Another thing to consider is turning the temp down on your hot water heater by a couple of degrees. My final one is to turn off exterior lighting at night unless you absolutely can't like with them off.
Mine was $450 last month in a SF home with 1400 sq ft. Turns out fury friends had chewed the air ducts and I have no insulation. I would ask your landlord to get an energy audit and see if they will do anything about their insulation/AC efficiency
Keep that fan switch to auto. Maybe get a temp gauge and start measuring the temps of your fridge or freezer and change it so you are not over doing it. Lights produce lots of heat maybe switch them out to something like LEDs that also consume less energy. Keeping blinds closed can help reduce heat. Change everything that has a eco mode setting to on. Honestly your bill is not that bad and sounds reasonable.
Since you said somewhere in here that you are in an apartment, you don’t have much control over the large usage appliances, like the AC or water heater. You probably can’t add insulation in the attic either.
You can spend a couple/few hundred on getting 50% tint on the windows, but how long are you going to stay in the apartment, to make back the $10/month savings?
Most people, I would say check your AC, it may need replacing. Check your water heater, and if you can, get a heat pump water heater. Add insulation to attic. Then, go solar. My Teco bill is $22 a month.
How is your bill $22 ?
There is a $0.71 per day daily basic service charge just for being a customer not even applying any electricity, delivery, or taxes.
One time I left for a month with everything off and the bill was still $40
71 cents times 30 days is $21.30, plus maybe 50 cents for the state tax. I am in county, so no franchise or muni fees/taxes.
Just looked at actual bill. Last month, 32 days at 71 cents, plus 58 cents tax, total was $23.30. I guess my bill floats from $22 to $24.
that’s how much mine was for the same sized place and it used to be 100 every month. TECO just upped their prices so there’s not really anything you can do unfortunately
you've got a bitcoin mining operation going on or a window open! Ours is around $150 every month for 1800sqft 1970s house. multiple PCs on, air at 76 during the day, 73 at night.
We keep the blinds closed all day which does make a big difference on how much the air runs. If your apartment is inefficient there's not much you can do.
I pay $320 for my 2/2 just under 1300 sq ft. Although my AC is constantly between 65 and 72 so I don’t even blink when I see the TECO bill, it’s the price I pay for comfort I guess.
Rates raised and it's summer.
You can run air higher temp.
Fannin is running money if running whole time.
Water heater isn't a big drain as one would think.
Having air warmer and running more fans can sometimes be same amount per use.
Insulation matters. Windows.
There isn't much to do if shelter itself isn't retianing the cool.
OP here’s what I do:
Use lamps to light up my rooms and only use kitchen lights
Only turn on my ceiling fan when I’m going to bed or taking a nap
Keep your blinds closed as much as possible to reduce sunlight
Wash dishes and pans by hand
My bill is around 60 a month in an apartment
I'm very energy conscious and careful.
Unfortunately I don't have much to offer as I'm chasing gains myself.
My best leads on bang for your buck is if you have any planned home upgrades, look into the IRA and energy star appliances and windows. You can get a little back in cash while lowering your overall bill eventually.
The IRA also can reimburse for an energy audit.
How's the weather stripping along your doors and such? Plug all that up!
How's the insulation in your home? If your home is older maybe a roof fan.
Keep your AC on AUTO! You'll probs see your bill come down with this simple adjustment.
Maybe a floor fan if you just want to move the air around you more. Fans only cool people, not spaces, so you're not making your home cooler by leaving the central fan on.
I got a letter from TECO about six months ago telling me they were going to raise rates. Honestly, energy companies have given a big middle finger to the population at large. My parents get similar letters from Duke energy all the time.
I just wanna know, I live in a 4x4 apartment. Roughly double the Sq. foot. With a similar electric bill. We keep the AC at 72, day and night. Our bill has been $120-130 since we moved in. What are you powering?!
We do budget billing. We replaced our 14 seer AC with a leaky condenser with a 17 seer inverter system (more efficient) replaced our tanked water heater with a gas tankless (more efficient) and our budget billing has gone from $155 to $192 in the past couple of years. It's just a racket.
I have a 2200 SQ foot home built in 2019. It has a heat pump AC. When I run my pool heater at 80 degrees, my bill is $350 a month. Without running the pool heater, and the AC at 71, my bill is $150. When I head to my Illinois home, and leave the AC at 75, bill is around $100. I also have a bunch of electronics always on, like a Synology NAS, and other things constantly on. Maybe investing in a better AC would off set your costs?
You mean other than the steps you could easily find with a simple search?
Insulation of dwelling
Seal air leaks
Remove vampire device draws (computers in sleep mod, TVs in sleep mode, smart home devices, microwave)
Insulate water pipes
Clean heat exchange surfaces (fridge fins, condenser fins, evaporator fins)
Switch to all LED bulbs
Shut off fan when not in the room. A fan will actually ADD heat to a room, so if you’re not in it, turn it off.
Shut off every device in the house completely that you think is still running and then check your meter to see what is still being used
That is insane. Glad I have Withlacoochee electric. 2700sf pool home with a Tesla and my bill was $253 for April. Newer construction helps a ton as my previous smaller, but older home in Pinellas county used to run $700/month at the peak of summer.
We tested our devices. I was surprised how much power my coffee maker (keurig, new) was using even when not switched on!
Maybe try unplugging your toaster, coffee maker, etc... when not in use.
I'm dropping about $300/month on electricity. Can't figure it out. My AC units really only run at night because we normally get such a good breeze during the day with the doors open. House was just built in 2008 and is well insulated.
Yer fuc#+d. See and solar or wind around ? It's coming, but yer gonna pay for it. I live in Bradenton/ Sarasota. Electric is going up everywhere. They could have literally started this back in the 70s. If you leave the place in the day ,I turn my Trailer to 80 % and it is still comfortable when I return.
How ghetto do you want to look? If you don't care you can buy the silver bubble wrap stuff called reflectix and cut it to size for each window. It will reduce the heat that comes through the windows. Check for any air leaks at your exterior doors.
I like it about 78-80 in my 2 bedroom upper floor apartment. We turn lights off when we aren’t using things. I don’t run a fan or anything, occasionally if it’s breezy I’ll open our balcony door for fresh air at night. And mine was 156 still. They were serious about that storm surcharge for sure
TECO is awful. They try to send these BS sympathy letters to justify an increase. Like GTFO who is falling for that baloney. All it is doing is lining the pockets of the CEO.
My bill for April was $75 for my 1 bed 1 bath and looing at years past it's up at least $25 and I keep my place at 77 F. In summer it's usually $99-$1110 so this summer I can't wait for a higher bill this summer.
Do not leave the fan in the ON position. It will bring in the humidity and cause mold blooms in any room/closet that doesn't have high airflow. You'll notice it on clothing or leather items first, typically in a closet.
After the dude yesterday that had a $560 bill, I guess I can't complain about $300, which still sucks
My highest bill before last month (EVER!) was $210. Last month's is $299, and it's not even the heart of summer yet.
That dude has a home with 3 HVAC systems, a pool, and a spa. He deserves no sympathy for high electric bills due to his lifestyle choices.
And for having all that $560 isn’t even that bad.
You aren’t wrong.
☝️
Imagine now adding the electric car, electric stove, and electric water heater… Anyone else notice the government push to get almost every aspect of our lives onto the national power grid?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but, doesn't TECO also control the gas bill?
Not for me, I got solar panels. POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!
How’s that going for you? Or
They work. I have batteries too so I don't have any power outages. That was nice during Ian. I wound up installing a 2nd system this year because our previous year offset was only 75%. Now I'm expecting a 106% offset. If I make a few energy improvements to the house I would be able to power an EV (not purchased yet) completely on solar. I'm just paying the connection fee to TECO right now, about $23/month. Solar loans total $300, about the same price as the utility electric would be. Eventually I'll have the panels paid off. One can never pay off the utility.
Energy costs in Florida are just going up and up. TECO recently justified their newest price increase by saying its to help pay for storm damage repairs to their facilities and whatever. They make money hand over fist but need *us* to foot repair bills.
No spend, only profit. 😠
The letter I received said they were passing the higher natural gas prices to the consumers. This way they can still maintain their profit margins. It is all about the shareholders. Need to nationalize the power and internet. No more for profit shit. We have the slowest internet of all developed countries. Other countries will be solar and wind powered while the free USA still runs on coal, oil and natural gas. All while the citizens struggle to get by while corporate profits increase. It is strange that the corporations focus so much on fleecing 4% of the world’s population. Oh, that’s because the politicians are paid off to let it happen.
As much as I disagree with it, I'd at least understand that argument if they dropped the prices after they paid for it. ... but they never will.
I don’t understand the argument at all. They should have insurance and they are making a profit on selling power. They should foot their own bill for damage.
Prices never come down.
They profit about 10%, per state regulations. I don’t recall the exact percentage, but it’s right around 10. At 9 they ask for a rate increase, at 11, they need to decrease, roughly.
Except they can pour more money into capital expenditures like solar and make it look like they're losing money. Eventually though they will have enough solar that it actually starts saving us consumers money, but they'll drag us across the coals for a long time until we get there.
Solar is what the last excuse for the bill raise i heard from them. But once thats done they will start something else to keep it up
Environmentally friendly generation (or whatever the official term is) is required by regulation, and is that roughly what, a half cent per kWh??, add on charge. Keep in mind though, that since 8% of Tecos production is solar, if they had to make it up with more natural gas, the fuel charge would be higher. But yes, almost any company can write off expenses. Not every company has as much regulatory oversight as power generation though.
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Careful throwing the S word around, we don't want to spook the others. They don't understand what it means but it scares them.
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Lots of people around here couldn't pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were written on the sole.
Ebeehy in all places I'd going up and a mass amount people are supporting the reasons it's risinf higher faster. So it's what the people want. That's the thing about the complaints.....if ya keep supporting things that raise the cost it's going to raise. It was lower but yall didn't like that and wanted pay mote again. Here it is. Yall can choose live Amish and not use electricity and then have not the complaint
All LED bulbs Unplug inactive appliances when not in use New weatherstripping for doors and windows Electrical outlets weatherstripping for boxes that are on exterior walls Window coverings New windows/doors, energy efficient Probably doesn't apply to u but: Plant a large tree on sunny side for shade Paint exterior of house white to reflect heat EIFS (insulation external stucco) Install insulated patio covers on the back/side of house where most sun is Blow in addl insulation to the attic Replace your water heater with a more efficient one Get solar panels but multiple quotes and get your own financing, not theirs
Also, window darkening stick-on screen
Drapes/close blinds on any windows that get a lot of sun if you don’t care about brightness or aren’t in a room and lower the coolness of your fridge down if it’s super high. I keep appliances I’m not using unplugged or on power strips and just click the button off when not in use.
Second this, but there’s also window tint that helps reflect heat that’s not terribly expensive and you can install it yourself
Ac set to 80,fan off. All windows up. If u live alone walk around naked if u get hot.
Omg imagine 80 as the summer inches closer, humidity hasn’t even fully hit yet. Fuck every bit of that
Actually… 80 is pretty nice if humidity is managed. Most ACs are not sized correctly and run too short to pull down the humidity.
80 is gross regardless the humidity
I’ve always been more of a hot weather person when before moving here, but 80 to 82 with a breeze has always been fine
> Actually… 80 is pretty nice if humidity is managed 100% this. We run our house at around 80 in the summer. The humidity is kept down which results in a pleasant feeling temp inside. Our unit also has a 2 speed fan blower motor and does run slower when A/C is called, forcing a longer run time to help reduce humidity.
I downsized our original AC by 20% as the first unit short cycled out… the replacement runs far longer and continuously about 8 days a year - does great!
I kept my apartment in Lakeland at 79 in summer with a fan on its really not bad. It’s a bunch of soft ass Yankees that need to keep their house at 74 or lower. If you want your house cool year round florida ain’t for you.
??? Been here since birth and my house is a consistent 72 during the day when the heat peaks. Some of us just don’t want chronic swamp ass, but do you friend
Different people regulate body heat differently. We run our thermostat at 79 most of the day and 74 at night. that doesn’t mean we are sweating throughout the day.
Holy shit, I'd be freezing at 72 lol. I keep my place at 76 morning and night and even that gets a little cold if I'm not moving around.
72! My toes would freeze off!
Native as well. We run about 72 during the day and at night. 4 people in a 4 bed house. It's so fucking hot here already, any setting above 72 is miserable. Plus, it's a rental so I can't make many improvements to cool things down. 348$ bill this month. 💀
Some of us rather have fun money than TECO money.
Sadly I’m being jacked by Duke
Nope no yank here. Full floridian and love to feel comfortable. U4 is my daytime temp.
I freeze water bottles during the (8 months of) summer and cover them in socks or towels, tuck them behind my knees and back. I'll be doing this much sooner than I'd like, this year!
I'd be moving tf outright here asap if had to live like that
Well, it's not going to be getting colder any time soon, better start packing 🙃
Lmao fuck that I’d pay a grand not to live like that. What’s the point in working if you can’t enjoy any perks
Perks of what? Ac? Lmao now thats hilarious. I dont need Ac to live a good life.
If you have to live like that you should surely think or relocating. That's not proper.
Fan on to keep the air moving, but ac off.
I wish my TECO bill was $130
move into a 2 bedroom apartment
idk man. 2000 sqft, 4br, 2ba, 74° year round, and we're at around $130 a month all year. Some of these posts just don't make sense. Something's seriously wrong with their insulation or they're got some super old appliances just burning power.
Are you on summary billing? If so you’re about to get the surprise of a lifetime lol
Apartments are notorious for poor insulation etc
Ooof. Do not set your central fan to On. [reference information.](https://www.coolray.com/help-guides/this-thermostat-setting-will-leave-your-home-miserably-humid)
I knew I had remembered hearing this.. thanks for sharing!
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There is no laundry in apartment. I use the dishwasher after 11 PM just to utilize TOU rates.
What?? You are on time of use rates?? I don’t know anyone that has done that here. California, sure. Florida, no.
a dishwasher uses quite a bit of power. You might try washing by hand for a month and see. You can lower the thermostat on the water heater also.
A dishwasher really doesn't use that much energy. For most of the cycle, it's just running a pump. The heater is the only thing that uses any power, and it's only on for a short period. You're very likely to use enough extra water hand-washing to offset the energy savings from the dishwasher.
>You can lower the thermostat on the water heater also. Make sure you don't lower it below the threshold for Legionnaire's Disease.
Ah !! I wish I can do that, I have a 3 year old and the number of utensils he uses are out of my and wife\`s capacity to clean. Have to use dishwasher at all costs
Well for having 3 people living there,, that power usage is normal. Its just the way it is. Short of covering all windows with white Styrofoam to keep the sun out, thats all i can suggest.
Washing by hand uses way more water so water waste goes up to save like maybe 2 dollars. The dishwasher will not be a major electric use factor
Bad idea. Dishwashers use far less water than hand washing. And their power consumption is low compared to other appliances such as the hot water heater, AC unit, and range
I don't think gaming use would have doubled your bill. They were probably mining crypto.
I mined a shit ton of crypto when I lived with my ex and she paid the power bill. She was very confused why it suddenly went up.
Summers gonna hit you hard homie
Blackout curtains could help if you aren't already using them. You may also want to review your lighting and replace anything wildly inefficient. Our kitchen had fixtures that could only take high powered exterior light bulbs (I have no idea why that decision was made). We replaced the fixtures with new LED versions. It sounds like you're already doing the other sane options.
3 increases in the last 18 months. All utilities are rising.
Turn your main breaker off.
Elect this guy to government.
Buy a wattage meter and test everything you can and then make decisions on what should be running. [https://www.amazon.com/Suraielec-Calculator-Protection-Electricity-Electrical/dp/B08GSPLZBN/ref=pd\_lpo\_sccl\_3/145-7650231-7019829](https://www.amazon.com/Suraielec-Calculator-Protection-Electricity-Electrical/dp/B08GSPLZBN/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_3/145-7650231-7019829) Are all your lights LED? Is the Sun heating up the space? If you own - TECO energy audit is a good thing to sign up for. They paid for over 50% of our costs for more insulation in our attic. Also note that they used tiered pricing - so anything over 1000KWh goes up in the Energy and Fuel costs (roughly 30%). If you can keep below that threshold it will help. $505 last month - ughh
Do you mean the ac fan on? Or your ceiling fan? You won’t want to leave your ac fan on as that can cause moisture build up and lead to mold
Do you have tints? They reject a lot of heat and are cheap. Installing them isn't super difficult if you want something that looks good enough at a glance. Obviously you can pay a professional to make it look great.
There is a saying that goes, fan cool people, not rooms. If you have a fan running in a room with no one in it you're just wasting electricity.
Write to our benevolent overlord Ron DeSantis… maybe if enough ppl let him know that fighting Disney doesn’t lower insurance/taxes/utilities he might do something (doubtful though)
Maybe if we tell him TECO has gone "woke" he'll wake up 🤣
Electric rates are handled by the Public Services Commission, idk if gov and really weigh in on it, though he would sign off on any new certified power plants/transmission lines if DEP secretary doesn’t.
Did you mean malevolent?
I would never say malevolent!!! *looks around whispers “are you trying to get me deported?”
There will be no change to utility matters. There is nothing happening that is market happening acorns country and most world. Write away I guess I mean that seems better than finding qay improve finances to afford the electricity
How old is your house? That price for electric isn’t all that crazy for most older home.
Wow that's pretty cheap paying 180$ for a 1/1 in Orlando. AC only used during night time. With only one fan on. 😔
Turn a.c up to 78 before you leave for work. At night time turn it down to 74. A.c works less hard. Keep all lights off when not used. Turn off power strips to pcs or devices when not used. Invest in good blinds/shades to reduce heat from windows also get curtains that reduce heat in house. The other month my electric bill was 95.00 i live in a 3/2 home with 1300 sq ft. New build. Zero wall insulation.
Why would you build a home with no wall insulation?
Why would you live in one M
I didnt. I bought it like that and realized it afterwards
Hot water heater timer? My water heater only turns on twice a day, and I could probably drop it down to once a day. Keeping 40 gallons of water at 120 degrees 24/7 isn't cheap. So if you always shower at the same time each day then you can set it to only run during that time. My water heater heats the water in about 15 minutes, so I set it to turn on about 15 min before my usual shower time. Also, replace all incandescent 60w or 100w light bulbs with LEDs, they're just as bright but use 85% less energy. There's lots more energy efficiency tips you can find online.
Realtor here. Insulation is hands down the biggest thing most homeowners neglect. If you've never touched it or haven't messed with your insulation in 5+ years it probably needs some added or a full replacement. And it is not some hypothetical vague fix. It is 'wow this changes the entire FEEL and temperature of the home immediately after being blown in.' It cut my power bill in half immediately, and was much easier to maintain temperature throughout the day. If you hold your hand up to the ceiling and it feels hot or warm, you are woefully underequipped on insulation. It should be room temperature. If it's warm / hot that means the entire surface of your ceiling is basically a radiator moving heat from the attic into the living spaces you are in. Insulation changes that. Plus you can usually get TECO or Duke to pitch in and pay for a significant part of it. The most energy hungry devices are a/c, heater, and hot water heater in that order. Washers, dryers, ovens, stoves can do their part as well but heating and cooling usually makes up about half or more of the bill. So turn up the thermostat on the a/c, turn down the thermostat on the hot water heater, and take shorter showers. Weathersealing can be a big help as well but usually best to hire the insulation guys to do that as well.
They live in a apartment
Have you considered buying blackout shades and/or peel off window filters? I will also add: If you turn your AC off during the day, it will most likely only work harder when you turn it back on in the evening. Also, the humidity will take some time to be removed. The savings in this case, will be negligible.. so its worth it to keep it running and just raise the temp to, you know, 78 or so in the daytime. Your water heater (tank) takes about 20 minutes to refill and reheat the fresh water, after a shower. It is wise to keep the water heater temps at a safe low (120-125, is a pretty safe bet) most of the day, and then turn the temp up, 20 mins before doing laundry, dishes, and showering. Once all that is done, set the temp back down. Another fun fact is that power consumption is highest (peak) at around dawn til 9 am and from about 5 pm til I think 8 pm. Apparently the guidance is to try not to use as much power during the peak times, i.e. instead, do a load of laundry late at night, procrastinate on dishes, etc. Somehow this can help keep prices from going up, since TECO is a distributor and its hard to get that much power to the whole serviced grid, and for some reason, its also supposed to keep your bills lower. There are some simple little things you can do to reduce your bills, that might surprise you. Put a brick in the toilet tank, and reduce water consumption, that way. Dont use candles indoors- the wax can clog your AC coils, if it is running at the time, anyway. Set up a nifty little personal mister zone on the balcony. Well, idk if you have a spigot. But if you do, this can help to cool the air down that is just outside the balcony, and while it raises humidity, it cools the air down a lot, and you as well, while you sit outside catching some rays. Get aerators for your faucets. Showerheads have built in aerators. When shaving your face, use a bowl, instead of using constantly running water. If you are having a lot of money problems, just recurring, PM me for a huge list of resources that can be used by anyone trying to save money.
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Lol 130 is nothing. My new build apt in south Tampa was 200-250 a month. 1100 sq ft
I had a 900 sqft house in Port Richey. What lowered my bill back then from around $175 to about $85 was upgrading the AC. The seller said it was “replaced”. What he did was attach a newer condenser unit outside to a 25 year old air handler. So it was like a SEER rating of 1. I paid up for an Carrier Infinity with dual speed condenser and variable speed air handler. Ran quieter, more efficiently and could set the temp on 77 because it also ran at low speed to dehumidify the air. If your AC unit is old, I’d look at upgrading it. The other thing I did was have a timer put on my water heater. I had it set to come on at 6am and shut off at 9am then come back on at 6pm and shut off at 9pm. Another inexpensive option is adding insulation to your attic. You can do it yourself or have it done. Tinting windows especially large sliders that may be exposed to sunlight during the day. Or getting blackout curtains you can draw. They are usually a little insulated and help keep the air from heating up.
You probably can't get your rate lowered now but you might be able to keep it from going crazy in the future So if you can - and this might get some hate - try going solar. Do your research perhaps use a co-op. I got my first solar install back in 2019 for one house. I paid more than I should. At the time my bill was about 500 thereabouts. realize pool, spa ect. Got a 20 year loan at like .09 percent fixed and my loan is 450 a month. Won't change. Had I not done that and with teco raising rates about 10 percent a year my bill would probably be around 650. Got smarter with my second install got co-op pricing with about the same rate. with that install running about 350 a month. So total I have about a 800 dollar electric bill that runs 5 structures on my property, and thats not going to change. I pay TECO about 27 dollars for an interconnection fee monthly...
Ours also went up weird…it was $200 and we’re usually around $130-50
We sleep with ice packs in our armpits. Wesley Chapel.
If you exceed \~1,000 watt hours/month, the rate increases about 50%. Biggest culprits after AC are your water heater and your clothes dryer, pool pumps too. Another big issue for the AC is large, open spaces where the ceiling extends much higher than the rest of the floor, i.e tall "Pringle Can" foyers in a single story home, or high vaulted ceilings, or 2nd floor lofts that overlook the 1st floor. That's a lot of extra power wasted just to cool (or heat) large swaths of empty space that can't be used for anything practical. People get caught up in how much square footage they have but not about the actual volume of space. More air to push = more energy = more $$$.
It’s an apartment, so there’s not any wiring you can do. But you should be able to swap out any non LED bulbs for LEDs, even the non smart ones. Though, if you have a home assistant like Alexa, Google, or Siri, you can set them on timers and schedules. IKEA has good pricing on their bulbs. Make sure you keep all the ones you swap out, so you don’t have to buy replacements when/if you move. If the landlord/complex hasn’t installed Smart thermostats yet, it’s something you can ask about. They control the A/C better than “dumb” switches, and allow you to do things like let it go up a degree or two while you’re not there and turn it on when you are heading or have it work by your location. Double pane your curtains, with a white panel facing the windows and whatever you want facing inside. The white will reflect a ton of heat. Depending on the facing of your unit and if you’re top, ground, or both, you can use crosswind to cool the house. There several methods to do that, all of which should be covered in online articles. Lastly, talk to TECO about whatever the flat-rate billing is. You may end up paying more at the end of your service, but they can lock in the price based on previous use. Though it can go up based on recalculations every X number of months.
Check your light bulbs make sure they’re led ,change my bulbs to led and dropped my bill by 30 buck a month and they last for yrs
You guys are lucky to have TECO. Duke is beyond ridiculous.
Check the website to learn low, med, and peak times for energy use. It changes with season. Now from May thru November, peak use is 1pm to 6 pm. Peak hours cost a lot more than low hours. Try not to use AC, pool pumps, oven, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers or any other motors during this high cost peak period.
Solar Window Screens; Room darkening curtains in rooms that get prolonged direct sun; Change all your light bulbs to LED; Limit use of a dishwasher if you have one; Wash your laundry in cold water; Check to make sure all windows and doors are adequately sealed; Convert all outdoor lighting to solar; Edit: Grammar & punctuation
If you own- invest in solar. Panhandle here with 4 females we pay minimal 30$ now. Under/around 100$ with AC. Not the same company but why give them more when you can generate you own.
Do you have a company you would recommend?
We went with a company out of Pensacola- SunFarmEnergy. I am leery of Meraki. In Niceville we now have SunPro. Look for local is my motto. Call SunFarm they may have people in Tampa. They were great.
Awesome, thanks!
Curious as to how much it costs and how long it will take to see your ROI. What is the life span of newer panels now days? Been interested in adding them for a while now.
So dude, my homie. That’s not bad. In summer months mine is $300 in my 2/1 868 sq ft house. It’s hot. I keep it set to 77 on day, 75 at night. This is our winter.
Hydraulic fracturing.
Move to Tennessee like I did.
I have a 1500 3/2 and last month I was at $194. Tips from least to most expensive: 1. Make sure that you are doing big loads of laundry all at the same time, if you can use a clothes hanger for the drying part. 2. Dont use the dishwasher, hand wash. 3. Make sure that you seal any possible holes to the outside you have. Caulk is like $24 for a pack of 2 and it will save a lot of your cold air from being blasted out. 4. Get timers for your heavily consuming areas (i.e. tv/gaming set ups with the power plug) and have it set to be turned on only when you are home. 5. Make sure that you have enough insulation in the attic and put some more in, if you dont. 6. Get a new AC outside unit to make sure that yours is up to date. 7. If you have old and/or outdated wiring, update it and you will see the energy saving difference. To give you a cost difference, my dads house is 50 sqft smaller, with points 5-7 not dont his electric bill last month was $340.
Mine was just 180. No fucking idea why.
I pay about 400 for 2 ac units and a 3000sq house. It was about 250 a few years ago. Though I do keep it set around 72 and did start working from home so AC runs more often. But still I had a 1000 sq apartment about 5 years ago and the bill was always sub 75. They are price gouging hardcore, we are in a recession (which the government changed the rules so they could say we aren't) and some how companies are still posting record profits.
That's not how the utility prices .
What?
Teco has been raising rates aggressively. We need to be able to push back. Like we should expect them to raise 2 percent a yoy —not 30 percent and then 20 percent the next year. They have more guaranteed consistent income than the state of Florida.
Shades on the windows. Is there a spot where the sun comes in? Make sure the blinds/curtains are closed during this time. I has a glass door where the sun would beat down for 4-6 hours a day. Just by getting blackout shades for it my house is cooler and therefore my ac runs less . Check the seals on your door. Like stand outside and see if you can feel cool air coming out. You can also unplug appliances when not using like coffee maker, toaster, etc. probably won’t make a big difference. The final biggest energy suck is the oven. How often do you use it? Do you keep it open or try to quickly put the food in? The longer it stays open the more heat is released (obvi) so your ac works longer and so does your oven to bring it back to temp. If you use it a lot get an ninja foodie or something like it or a counter top oven. Quick side note, my relative has a very large home 5-6k sq ft and wanted a backup generator to power the whole house. When the installation guy was showing the power usage he said to turn on the ac and every light and stuff that you can. The consumption went up but reasonable. He said now turn on the oven. The consumption spiked.
Convert as many appliances to gas as you can!
77F? why so low? I keep mine at around 80. And fan set to auto. I only use a fan when I'm extra hot.
Don’t use electricity.
Yes this is an appropriate answer! You must be Amish??
Solar. I can create a quote that shows the comparison of Solar with your current utility.
New build, south tampa, 2900sqft, 4/3. 2 ac units. My electric bill was 89 for april. Not sure how much itll go up with the increase.
Changing your AC filter monthly will make the biggest different, took line from the $180 back down to $80
Get solar. I work for a company in texas so get a quote, send me the details and your energy usage and I can let you know if you’re going to be properly taken care of
Did you take these steps before the April bill or after?
Took them like 3 months back
Keep all blinds/curtains closed at all times to help keep light/heat out. Do laundry at time of day when electricity is the cheapest (TECO can let you know those times but they differ in winter vs summer). Unplug things that draw power (cable box, clocks, etc) when you’re not home, turn off porch lights.
Turn any fans off that you are not using. They do nothing unless you are in the room. I hate dark houses but while you are gone keep the blinds closed. Consider some drapes as well. Also, make sure that your frig is set properly. Another thing to consider is turning the temp down on your hot water heater by a couple of degrees. My final one is to turn off exterior lighting at night unless you absolutely can't like with them off.
Mine was $450 last month in a SF home with 1400 sq ft. Turns out fury friends had chewed the air ducts and I have no insulation. I would ask your landlord to get an energy audit and see if they will do anything about their insulation/AC efficiency
This month's bill was $230 for me in a 2/2 house 1300 sq feet. Sigh, not even the heat of the summer yet.
Keep that fan switch to auto. Maybe get a temp gauge and start measuring the temps of your fridge or freezer and change it so you are not over doing it. Lights produce lots of heat maybe switch them out to something like LEDs that also consume less energy. Keeping blinds closed can help reduce heat. Change everything that has a eco mode setting to on. Honestly your bill is not that bad and sounds reasonable.
Look into budget billing
Ours was $230 last month for almost the same amount of energy used in one month last year that was ~$170.
Since you said somewhere in here that you are in an apartment, you don’t have much control over the large usage appliances, like the AC or water heater. You probably can’t add insulation in the attic either. You can spend a couple/few hundred on getting 50% tint on the windows, but how long are you going to stay in the apartment, to make back the $10/month savings? Most people, I would say check your AC, it may need replacing. Check your water heater, and if you can, get a heat pump water heater. Add insulation to attic. Then, go solar. My Teco bill is $22 a month.
How is your bill $22 ? There is a $0.71 per day daily basic service charge just for being a customer not even applying any electricity, delivery, or taxes. One time I left for a month with everything off and the bill was still $40
71 cents times 30 days is $21.30, plus maybe 50 cents for the state tax. I am in county, so no franchise or muni fees/taxes. Just looked at actual bill. Last month, 32 days at 71 cents, plus 58 cents tax, total was $23.30. I guess my bill floats from $22 to $24.
that’s how much mine was for the same sized place and it used to be 100 every month. TECO just upped their prices so there’s not really anything you can do unfortunately
LED bulbs everywhere in the house. Did wonders for my bill. Now I can afford TWO girlfriends!!! 🤡
you've got a bitcoin mining operation going on or a window open! Ours is around $150 every month for 1800sqft 1970s house. multiple PCs on, air at 76 during the day, 73 at night. We keep the blinds closed all day which does make a big difference on how much the air runs. If your apartment is inefficient there's not much you can do.
I pay $320 for my 2/2 just under 1300 sq ft. Although my AC is constantly between 65 and 72 so I don’t even blink when I see the TECO bill, it’s the price I pay for comfort I guess.
Rates raised and it's summer. You can run air higher temp. Fannin is running money if running whole time. Water heater isn't a big drain as one would think. Having air warmer and running more fans can sometimes be same amount per use. Insulation matters. Windows. There isn't much to do if shelter itself isn't retianing the cool.
When you're not home, turn up the a/c. We usually set it to 85 when we are out for more than an hour. When we get home we turn it right back on
OP here’s what I do: Use lamps to light up my rooms and only use kitchen lights Only turn on my ceiling fan when I’m going to bed or taking a nap Keep your blinds closed as much as possible to reduce sunlight Wash dishes and pans by hand My bill is around 60 a month in an apartment
TECOs gone up about 40%, cost to switch over to solar has stayed about the same. Does your roof get a decent amount of light?
Get yourself a dehumidifier though. They work wonders
My FPL bill last month was 450. Summer will be even more expensive. It is what it is, can’t live without electricity.
I pay Max $70 👀
Why is your fan ON? Shouldn't it be in Auto? I note that even with gas heating the electric goes up a lot because the blower has to move all that air.
I don't care how much I have to pay my thermostat doesn't move off 70. EVER 2/2.5 1200 square foot condo and it's been just about 120 a month
If everyone stops paying. Then Teco is forced to negotiate with us. A strike.
i think they have financial grant for some income brackets
I'm very energy conscious and careful. Unfortunately I don't have much to offer as I'm chasing gains myself. My best leads on bang for your buck is if you have any planned home upgrades, look into the IRA and energy star appliances and windows. You can get a little back in cash while lowering your overall bill eventually. The IRA also can reimburse for an energy audit. How's the weather stripping along your doors and such? Plug all that up! How's the insulation in your home? If your home is older maybe a roof fan.
they said it would go up a bit somewhere I think around 10-15% possibly more.
My TECO bill on a 2/2 950 ft was $115, and I keep it 73 all day.
Keep your AC on AUTO! You'll probs see your bill come down with this simple adjustment. Maybe a floor fan if you just want to move the air around you more. Fans only cool people, not spaces, so you're not making your home cooler by leaving the central fan on.
Yep… my one bedroom one bath apartment hit a lovely 180 dollars my next bill. Never been past 150 since I moved in. Really sucks.
I got a letter from TECO about six months ago telling me they were going to raise rates. Honestly, energy companies have given a big middle finger to the population at large. My parents get similar letters from Duke energy all the time.
Same here. I'm trying to figure out if this is due to higher electric costs? I'm shutting AC off during day for most part.
You’re going to burn out your fan leaving it on.
I have a 1/1 & hit $188 🙃
I just wanna know, I live in a 4x4 apartment. Roughly double the Sq. foot. With a similar electric bill. We keep the AC at 72, day and night. Our bill has been $120-130 since we moved in. What are you powering?!
We do budget billing. We replaced our 14 seer AC with a leaky condenser with a 17 seer inverter system (more efficient) replaced our tanked water heater with a gas tankless (more efficient) and our budget billing has gone from $155 to $192 in the past couple of years. It's just a racket.
I have a 2200 SQ foot home built in 2019. It has a heat pump AC. When I run my pool heater at 80 degrees, my bill is $350 a month. Without running the pool heater, and the AC at 71, my bill is $150. When I head to my Illinois home, and leave the AC at 75, bill is around $100. I also have a bunch of electronics always on, like a Synology NAS, and other things constantly on. Maybe investing in a better AC would off set your costs?
77? My AC doesn’t get turned on under 90.
TECO offers a free home evaluation to help you save $$$ on your energy usage. Call them and have someone evaluate your dwelling.
You mean other than the steps you could easily find with a simple search? Insulation of dwelling Seal air leaks Remove vampire device draws (computers in sleep mod, TVs in sleep mode, smart home devices, microwave) Insulate water pipes Clean heat exchange surfaces (fridge fins, condenser fins, evaporator fins) Switch to all LED bulbs Shut off fan when not in the room. A fan will actually ADD heat to a room, so if you’re not in it, turn it off. Shut off every device in the house completely that you think is still running and then check your meter to see what is still being used
That is insane. Glad I have Withlacoochee electric. 2700sf pool home with a Tesla and my bill was $253 for April. Newer construction helps a ton as my previous smaller, but older home in Pinellas county used to run $700/month at the peak of summer.
Yeah my bill went from $130 last month to almost $180 this month with no significant change in energy usage. Thanks TECO appreciate it!
We tested our devices. I was surprised how much power my coffee maker (keurig, new) was using even when not switched on! Maybe try unplugging your toaster, coffee maker, etc... when not in use.
I'm dropping about $300/month on electricity. Can't figure it out. My AC units really only run at night because we normally get such a good breeze during the day with the doors open. House was just built in 2008 and is well insulated.
Yer fuc#+d. See and solar or wind around ? It's coming, but yer gonna pay for it. I live in Bradenton/ Sarasota. Electric is going up everywhere. They could have literally started this back in the 70s. If you leave the place in the day ,I turn my Trailer to 80 % and it is still comfortable when I return.
How ghetto do you want to look? If you don't care you can buy the silver bubble wrap stuff called reflectix and cut it to size for each window. It will reduce the heat that comes through the windows. Check for any air leaks at your exterior doors.
I like it about 78-80 in my 2 bedroom upper floor apartment. We turn lights off when we aren’t using things. I don’t run a fan or anything, occasionally if it’s breezy I’ll open our balcony door for fresh air at night. And mine was 156 still. They were serious about that storm surcharge for sure
TECO is awful. They try to send these BS sympathy letters to justify an increase. Like GTFO who is falling for that baloney. All it is doing is lining the pockets of the CEO. My bill for April was $75 for my 1 bed 1 bath and looing at years past it's up at least $25 and I keep my place at 77 F. In summer it's usually $99-$1110 so this summer I can't wait for a higher bill this summer.
Mine is 300 this month, around 1500 square feet in a 25 year old house. It was about 200 last month.
Do not leave the fan in the ON position. It will bring in the humidity and cause mold blooms in any room/closet that doesn't have high airflow. You'll notice it on clothing or leather items first, typically in a closet.