Is it possible my electric bill is this high?

[kevinrf]

I just moved into my first "OWN" place last May.
2nd floor apartment with a loft 1200sqft.
complex is 5 yrs old
central air
washer/dryer/dish washer in unit
I don't have a tank setup yet.

We were keeping it at 75 during work hours and 70 at night. Bill started in June and the first one was $131. The next month the maintence guy said to keep it on 70 at all times so the a/c doesnt have to work harder if you set it to something higher then want it lower. Well, the following bill came out to $212! I almost ****ed myself!!!
Hmm.. I should check if the a/c filter needs to be replaced.

[rackman]

Originally Posted by kevinrf

I just moved into my first "OWN" place last May.
2nd floor apartment with a loft 1200sqft.
complex is 5 yrs old
central air
washer/dryer/dish washer in unit
I don't have a tank setup yet.

We were keeping it at 75 during work hours and 70 at night. Bill started in June and the first one was $131. The next month the maintence guy said to keep it on 70 at all times so the a/c doesnt have to work harder if you set it to something higher then want it lower. Well, the following bill came out to $212! I almost ****ed myself!!!
Hmm.. I should check if the a/c filter needs to be replaced.

70 degrees!!!

that maintence guy is just looking for some work when your ac blows up

[marco j]

My family must think I'm an AC nazi because I keep our house at 76-77 during the day and 78 at night. :/

[kevinrf]

Originally Posted by rackman

70 degrees!!!

that maintence guy is just looking for some work when your ac blows up

lol, well, doesn't matter to me. Thats on the complex to pay him!
90degree's with 70%+ humidity in NJ is fun!

[keh9qd]

After much thought and careful planning I have figured out how to cut my electric bill. It is called the Pre 1950's method. What you have to do is to set your thermostat on 100 degrees. This is very energy efficient and will save big $. Next, in case your tempted, o to your A/C unit with rubber gloves and wire cutters and go to town. What this will do is prevent you from turning your A/C on again.

I hope that helps

[dbuesking]

Originally Posted by keh9qd

After much thought and careful planning I have figured out how to cut my electric bill. It is called the Pre 1950's method. What you have to do is to set your thermostat on 100 degrees. This is very energy efficient and will save big $. Next, in case your tempted, o to your A/C unit with rubber gloves and wire cutters and go to town. What this will do is prevent you from turning your A/C on again.

I hope that helps

Then call me when the wife gets you by the short hairs and I will hook it back up for a small fee.

[rackman]

Originally Posted by kevinrf

lol, well, doesn't matter to me. Thats on the complex to pay him!
90degree's with 70%+ humidity in NJ is fun!

you won't get any sympathy for your humidty in this forum, we know what your dealing with. our humidity goes 80+

[keh9qd]

Originally Posted by dbuesking

Then call me when the wife gets you by the short hairs and I will hook it back up for a small fee.

No I've learned how to deal with her. She has no say because I pay the bills. Oh wait what am I thinking, Im single .. I'll tell you what though, if my future wife decides that A/C is a necessity then you will be the one I call. hehe

[ReeferBill]

My bill was approx. 100.00 per month and now with 46 bow and 38 gallon refugium I pay 180.00 per month. Lights are are 96 pc for refuge on 24/7 and 1@250 MH on 8 hours/day and 4@ 39 watt on 12 hours/ day. My villa is 1370 square feet and stays at 65 degrees at nite to 66-68 degrees during the day.....Looking forward to building a new LED Light for my 46 Bow Display...

[sbshady]

Originally Posted by marco j

My family must think I'm an AC nazi because I keep our house at 76-77 during the day and 78 at night. :/

Same here. If she complains I tell her to turn the fan on and wear less to bed. Now since she is preggo I don't say that because I don't want to become the next victim of spousal abuse.

[sbshady]

We have a 2700 square foot house. Our bills usually run about 250ish in the winter. We have all electric, no gas. So far this year, from Feb through last month our bill was around 100 bucks. This last month it went up to 190 but I had ac problems. Our outside condenser ran 24/7 because the contactor went bad and I was waiting on the part. I can normally go from September through almost November and keep the bill under 100. Our house is built into a hill and we are surrounded by trees so the house keeps fairly cool. If I could get my wife to leave the thermostat alone I could get it pretty low.

[streak]

It would be nice if I could get get my hands on solar panels. My grage I could put them on both sides on top and I could put them on the Front roof of my house. I bet I could actually make some money back each month they would have to pay me somthing. But I dono how expensive It would be I used to have 2 meters till they replaced it with 1 bigger one so i could have 200 amp service to the grage. Anyone know in the southeast missouri area where you could look into solar?

[reefslugs]

Two months a go I to was complaining of my bill. Here something you may want to look at. I posted in reef discusions about this issue. Hopefully Nanook can put up a direct link to it. I don't know how to do it. The title of the post is,

Any ideas on how to save energy on a reef tank system.

[rackman]

here's your link

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2031608

[Paul B]

Anyone know in the southeast missouri area where you could look into solar?

I got mine through these people. They could tell you where to get them in your area.
http://www.npcpsolar.com/

[u4ick]

Here is a couple of things to know about your A/C system.

1st --- If your system was sized properly and installed correctly, then the following will apply.

Furnace and Air Conditioning systems are sized based on heat loss/ heat gain calculations of a given dwelling. Not to bore you with all the tech stuff of how one house can be different from another, A/C systems are all sized here in the St. Louis area for a 95 degree ambient air temp. This means that if it is 95 or hotter, in theory, your A/C system should stay running as it is getting rid of the same amount of heat as the house is absorbing. The higher the temp gets above 95 the more it begins to "loose ground" on the desired temp. And why your system cycles on and off when it's cooler than 95. Here in the STL area we have approximately 1000 cooling hours and 2000 heating hours per year as a general rule of thumb.

One way you can do a quick check on determining if your A/C system is cooling properly is to Stick a thermometer in the return air as close as you can before it enters the furnace/air handler. Take another temp reading as close as possible after the evaporator coil (the "A" coil)in the supply air duct.....after taking the 2 temp readings subtract the supply air temp from the return air temp.

The acceptable range for this is 18 to 22 degrees, with your preferred target temp being 20. If you are out side of those ranges then something is wrong and you are paying too much to cool your house.

And as stated before. Clean the Condenser coil of the outside unit. Grass clippings, dirt, and especially cotton wood seeds can dramatically reduce the airflow across the coil and cause the unit to use alot more energy than it needs to just to over come the airflow restriction.

[mkart]

Well my bill just hit $400 for the first time. My wife keeps our bedroom at a cool 68 at night. 3 250w MH, 2 54w t5 and 24 3w LEDs. All LED lighting is looking better and better.

[evsalty]

I live in a 900 sqft th and until a few weeks ago I was paying $14 per day for electricity at $.119 per KWH. My AC unit was yes WAS 30yo and was drawing 5kw's when on but was only a 2.5 ton unit. My new unit is also a 2.5 ton unit and it only draws 2.6 kw's. My electric dropped by $7 per day do to this. My July costs were $364 and that was with a week of the new AC unit so it should have gotten to $400 +. This month I should pay less then $200. Get that ac init replaced.

Oh and FWIW we actually keep the place 2 degrees cooler now and still save $7 per day.

[reefergeorge]

Skimmed through, but just wondering where you got those prices from, and when? I have not seen under .14 per kwh in st louis co, and pretty sure they just raised it again two months ago. I have been wrong before tho..

U4ick.. Thanks for the info.. Now I have to check that out..

[MyBoyGus]

How about budget billing? No surprises. Forget the huge gas bills in winter and electric bills in summer.

$175 per month. 3,000sf, 2 tanks (1 MH, 1 T5), and 2 adult children who forget that light switches turn lights off as well as on.

[marco j]

Originally Posted by mkart

Well my bill just hit $400 for the first time. My wife keeps our bedroom at a cool 68 at night. 3 250w MH, 2 54w t5 and 24 3w LEDs. All LED lighting is looking better and better.

It's not the halides causing this it's setting the thermostat at 68 that's doing it! Setting your thermostat below 70 is simply ridiculous and unnecessary. I have approximately 2800sqf and the lowest I will ever set it is at 75. The only times this may not e enough are on the 100+ days and even then it is only on the second floor that gets too warm. Raise your temperature and take off some clothes and turn on a few fans or run your AC to death and burn out your compressor. Your choice.

[streak]

I like the cloths off idea expecially when involves women

[mkart]

Of course it's the temp setting that causes the high electric use. We are much happier sleeping in a cool room so that won't be changing. We raise the temp to 77 during the day when we're out and 73 when we are hope and awake. Keeps me from needing a chiller also. Only one more month to think about it then fall is here.

[Ryan45]

Originally Posted by marco j

My family must think I'm an AC nazi because I keep our house at 76-77 during the day and 78 at night. :/

LOL I get the same thing from my family. 78 during the day and 82 at night...