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Thread: Utility Bills

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Lebanon, TN
    Posts
    1,719
    We are about 4950 sq/ft, 3 levels, the third being a finished attic. We have 3 zones, one for each floor. The main floor is gas heat, while the second floor and attic are electric heat pump. We can close off the second floor and the attic so we only heat and cool as necessary. So my wife and I basically live on the ground floor, about 2000sq/ft.

    I have a two story standalone 30x30 garage with window heat pumps/AC on each floor. I use the heat and AC occasionally when out there.

    Electricity runs about $240 during the summer months and gas is negligible.

    Winter, our gas runs about $200 depending upon how cold it gets.

    Water is always around $40 per month as we are on city water but septic sewer.

    House is 20 years old.

  2. #17
    Every month local electric supplier sends out a report of how my usage compared with others. Their average house is only 1500 sq ft. Ours is right at 3000 sq ft, with detached shop (24 X 28.) We also have a booster pump for well that supplies water to two house and church next door. Well pump itself is on a separate meter, or at least it used to be till power company wanted $30+ a month just for meter. Without meter charge, bill for pump was around $4.00 a month. Despite being almost twice the size of comparable homes, we usually only use about $15 more than average. We heat water, dry clothes, and cook on propane. Last year replaced TWO 30+ year old heat pumps, and bill is almost $50 lower per month than before. Right now power company projects my current bill to be $134 for Dec 15 - Jan 15. One, 280 gallon tank of propane does the whole year most years.

  3. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Charlie Velasquez View Post
    Mike, Kev, is that your water bill only, or water and sewage?
    For me, seems they're charging for everything they can get away with-
    wbill.jpg
    this is 'equal pay' too...
    ========================================
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    ONE - vinyl cutter
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  4. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Wrenn View Post
    Every month local electric supplier sends out a report of how my usage compared with others. Their average house is only 1500 sq ft. Ours is right at 3000 sq ft, with detached shop (24 X 28.) We also have a booster pump for well that supplies water to two house and church next door. Well pump itself is on a separate meter, or at least it used to be till power company wanted $30+ a month just for meter. Without meter charge, bill for pump was around $4.00 a month. Despite being almost twice the size of comparable homes, we usually only use about $15 more than average. We heat water, dry clothes, and cook on propane. Last year replaced TWO 30+ year old heat pumps, and bill is almost $50 lower per month than before. Right now power company projects my current bill to be $134 for Dec 15 - Jan 15. One, 280 gallon tank of propane does the whole year most years.
    PECO sends me a similar love note every month. Unlike yours, our usage is twice the normal for our "neighbors". They have got to be freezing or baking and don't take showers since we are conservative on our temperatures (68ºF heating/74ºF cooling), don't leave lights burning (and have all LED with a few CFL and LV Halogen) and have on-demand hot water.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Bedford, NH
    Posts
    1,286
    Comparing Notes (NH):
    4,100 Sq.Ft. House, Artesian Well 425' deep-3/4 HP pump-20 GPM
    Utility Eversource $.0939/KWH-$2791/yr.
    20KW Kohler Standby Generator (Propane)-very infrequent outages-typically hour(s), had a 5 day outage (before Standby Generator )
    #6 Fuel Oil 1100 gal-$2.699/gal-$2968/yr.
    Propane 100 gal/3 tanks (backup only)-$1.679/Gal-$168/yr.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
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  6. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Griswold Connecticut
    Posts
    6,927
    Connecticut's rates are very high. They also make the bill as confusing as they can to read, to hide how everything is calculated and assessed. You have to break the bill down into two categories, Generation and Transmission and Distribution. Then add in all of the taxes and fees. I haven't looked lately but total KW/HR is probably right at 20 cents.
    Our house is electric heat, but you would go broke heating a house with electric heat alone in Connecticut. We actually rely on a Quadrafire 5700 and 4-5 cords of wood per winter. My electric bill actually goes down in the winter.
    Two things keep my bill high; A dehumidifier continuously runs in the basement, unless the wood stove is going. And we have parrots in a dedicated room that is electric baseboard heat. Get rid of those two loads and my bill would be under $100.00/month.
    Appliances, stovetop and oven,dryer, and water heater, are propane. We average18-20 gallons of propane each month.
    Curbside trash pickup is $27.00/month.

    One thing I have noticed through the years is that the people that try to keep their houses "cool" in the winter and "warm" in the summer to save money, are also ones that seem to be sick the most at work with every bug that goes around, especially in winter. It has been years since I've had a cold or flu bug. The ones trying to keep their houses at 62-64 through the winter are always sick at work. Just an observation.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  7. #22
    My shop is about 8k a year for electricity, don't pay attention to my house, it seems cheap whatever it is.

  8. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Wrenn View Post
    Every month local electric supplier sends out a report of how my usage compared with others. Their average house is only 1500 sq ft. Ours is right at 3000 sq ft, with detached shop (24 X 28.) We also have a booster pump for well that supplies water to two house and church next door. Well pump itself is on a separate meter, or at least it used to be till power company wanted $30+ a month just for meter. Without meter charge, bill for pump was around $4.00 a month. Despite being almost twice the size of comparable homes, we usually only use about $15 more than average. We heat water, dry clothes, and cook on propane. Last year replaced TWO 30+ year old heat pumps, and bill is almost $50 lower per month than before. Right now power company projects my current bill to be $134 for Dec 15 - Jan 15. One, 280 gallon tank of propane does the whole year most years.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    PECO sends me a similar love note every month. Unlike yours, our usage is twice the normal for our "neighbors". They have got to be freezing or baking and don't take showers since we are conservative on our temperatures (68ºF heating/74ºF cooling), don't leave lights burning (and have all LED with a few CFL and LV Halogen) and have on-demand hot water.
    Here's one of my 'love notes'-
    lb.jpg
    Fortunately, we make the name badges for several police departments, so at least THEY know we don't have some underground cave filled with metal halide lights
    What I find amusing is that the power company considers our usage 'FAIR'
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  9. #24
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Eastern Iowa
    Posts
    751
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    I'm not absolutely sure, but I think we pay sewage as part of our property tax bill. I'm pretty sure it's not included on the water bill. I'd have to go look up my property tax bill to be sure.

    Mike
    Sewage bill is often a function of your water bill, the more water you use the higher your sewage bill. So, the municipality often has the water company do the billing for them. In our community the sewage rate is almost twice the water rate. Those property owners that have a pool or do a lot of irrigating are buying a lot of water that never goes down the sewer.

    Talk with your water company. For a couple hundred dollars they may put in a deduct meter for one of your outside faucets. If you plumb your irrigation/pool to use that water point the water company will bill you for the water, but deduct it from your sewage bill.
    Not all utility companies do this, but if they do and you had, for instance, a pool, and you can sweat copper pipe, it pays for itself quickly..
    Comments made here are my own and, according to my children, do not reflect the opinions of any other person... anywhere, anytime.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    4,563
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Cutler View Post
    One thing I have noticed through the years is that the people that try to keep their houses "cool" in the winter and "warm" in the summer to save money, are also ones that seem to be sick the most at work with every bug that goes around, especially in winter. It has been years since I've had a cold or flu bug. The ones trying to keep their houses at 62-64 through the winter are always sick at work. Just an observation.
    That's funny. I see the exact opposite. I'm one who keeps the house cold in the winter, and barely tolerable in the summer (cool--76°F, but I would turn that temp down if it weren't so expensive), yet we don't often get sick in our house. At work, everyone else is sick all the time, but they like their offices hot (to me). I'll walk in to fix something, immediately starting pouring sweat, and they'll complain it's cold in there.

    As for utilities, we're about 2000 s.f. in a bi-level (garage part of basement level), range about $200/mo electric in summer to $120/mo winter (around $0.13/kWh), natural gas is about $40/mo summer to about $200 for the coldest month. Thermostat is set to 65°F while we're home in the winter, and 62°F while we're gone, then 60°F at night. A/C is on to 76°F in the summer any time the dew point exceeds 60°F (often). In the spring and fall, we open the windows as much as we can, provided the outside temperature is in the direction we want to go, and the humidity isn't too high.
    Jason

    "Don't get stuck on stupid." --Lt. Gen. Russel Honore


  11. #26
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Toronto Ontario
    Posts
    11,248
    Hi, I live in a 4 bedroom end unit 2 story townhouse.

    We use 500 to 600 KWh per month, which is about $80 per month.

    We have a 3 tier time of use rate.......Rod

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    What I find amusing is that the power company considers our usage 'FAIR'
    It is a politically correct grading system so as to not quash your self esteem.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    2,758
    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    Holy moly Ken, How many employees do you have in that shop?

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
    Posts
    7,551
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    I'm not absolutely sure, but I think we pay sewage as part of our property tax bill. I'm pretty sure it's not included on the water bill. I'd have to go look up my property tax bill to be sure.

    Mike
    Here sewer bill though separate from the water bill is based on water usage. That's a reasonable way to do it because this area doesn't do much in the way of irrigation. Areas that do irrigation like your area would be pretty inequitable if sewer were based on water usage.

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    My BIL lived in town but had a huge garden. The utility installed a separate meter for his outdoor water use that eliminated the sewer charge.

    Around here we don't have that problem - I know of no sewer system infrastructure outside of towns and cities. Every house, farm, mobile home, business has a septic system.

    JKJ

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