Help me identify why my Electric bill is nucking futs

prodarwin said:

Holy. berkeley.  That bill is alarming.  Like a serious emergency.

My house is ~1450 sq. ft. ranch with an equally sized basement and I dont think I've had a bill over 1/3 of yours.  All electric appliances.  All you guys who think that looks "normal" should get your head checked.

I agree. The radon fan is up on the side of my house so I can't check the wattage easily (but I am curious). I was hoping the attic air seal and 20" of new attic insulation would make a big dent in the energy usage.. but it still seems horribly inefficient based on KWH consumption. 
While I don't mind spending a couple hundred bucks a month to be comfortable in very hot weather - I was hoping it would be less costly this year. 
The state also decided customers must absorb all the plant Vogtle cost overruns. So it is what it is at the moment. 

My house has a radon fan also.  The power draw is low.  That's  definitely not where I would start looking.

Attic insulation wont change much in the summer months, your losses are likely through the floor/walls.  In the winter it makes a big difference though.  But I can't imagine in Atlanta you are using that much heat in the winter.

Maybe I missed it, what is your thermostat set at in the summer?  If you are setting it at 68 or something... yeah, its going to cost a berkeleyload.

In reply to prodarwin :

The AC runs a lot. I need to get serious about sealing the windows up tighter. 

In reply to OHSCrifle :

Is that showing the A/C set at 66 at night? What's the outside temp at that point?

This is what I have:

The Energy Detective

Are the set temps at night in the 60s? That's going to burn a lot of electricity. Every degree costs you around 2% on your bill. Setting from 72 to 61 will be a noticeable hit on the bill. 

Steve_Jones said:

In reply to OHSCrifle :

Is that showing the A/C set at 66 at night? What's the outside temp at that point?

Yep. Scroll up for the reason why. And it's been in the high 80's at night.

I already realized this years consumption isn't much more than years past .. and it's clear the AC is the culprit. 

Your August 2023 bill used 2012 KWH and was $51 less than your July 2024 bill where you used 2016 KWH. Since 4 KWH does not equal $51, I'd say your rates went up about 13ish percent in the past 12 months?

In reply to 90BuickCentury :

Agreed. The new nuke plant was a few billion over budget and the state said Georgia Power could raise the rates. 

..or, you know.. "inflation". 

There are web sites where you can choose which company supplies your electricity.    My son has helped me keep my electric rates to .047 per KWH.  He is out of town, when he gets back I'll post the site he uses. Your local supplier will charge for a delivery service but my guess is they are already doing that.  Here in Ohio they have to use the delivery service you choose.  My last months bill after numerous days above 90 deg.for my 2600 sq.ft. house was $66.00.

Have you considered solar?

We installed ours in 2013 or so in FL. With subsidies the pay off was about 5 years and we've had close to zero energy bills after that. I know the cost of solar has gone down since that, but unsure what subsidies are still available.

CrustyRedXpress said:

Have you considered solar?

We installed ours in 2013 or so in FL. With subsidies the pay off was about 5 years and we've had close to zero energy bills after that. I know the cost of solar has gone down since that, but unsure what subsidies are still available.

I'd love to but a couple dozen 100' tall oak trees on the south and west side make it impractical. 

I set the window AC at max so I can get the bedroom down to 41 degrees this time of year 

Off grid is awesome at times

My first thought was rate increases as well. 

We are using about the same amount of electricity per month the last 4-5 years and our electricity bill is probably up 40-50% in that time because of the ridiculous rate increases. And we just had another 6% rate increase that started July 1st. It's criminal. 

OHSCrifle said:

CrustyRedXpress said:

Have you considered solar?

We installed ours in 2013 or so in FL. With subsidies the pay off was about 5 years and we've had close to zero energy bills after that. I know the cost of solar has gone down since that, but unsure what subsidies are still available.

I'd love to but a couple dozen 100' tall oak trees on the south and west side make it impractical. 

Got it.

1. I'd look at ways to cool the house in zones. Like @antihero suggested a window AC at night for the bedroom seems like a slam dunk. Beyond that, do you really need to cool the entire house during the day?

2. If you're already boned on solar can you plant trees to shade the rest of the structure and surrounding areas? The area under our live oak tree is noticeably cooler, and shades the front part of our house.

Is it possible to have a window ac unit in the bedroom? That might draw less power to cool down the room rather than have the main ac unit run all night

In reply to OHSCrifle :

came in specifically to see if you're in GA, and sure enough.  not surprised.  we're all getting absolutely clapped paying for the Vogtle reactor.  its not just you.

Ouch.  Makes me glad about having a 600 sq. ft. house.  My electric bill has gone up a bit in the last few years, but not drastically.  

In reply to ScottyB :

I didn't notice his rates being as high as his usage is. Over 2000 kWH I a couple weeks, is not Southern Company's fault. 
Not that I'm a fan of theirs...

In reply to 03Panther :

yeah, on further review, you're right.  consider my post a knee-jerk venting....

might be worth a meter check.

My house is about 3,000 sq ft on 2 floors.  Gas heat, hot water, and stove.  Electric oven and AC.

Our electric use varies from 750-1100 KwH per month.  In June 2024 it was 1040 KwH.

We pay $0.18 / KwH from our city, and we don't have a choice about provider.

In reply to ScottyB :

I'm with ya on the venting! 
The plants are actually (comparatively) cheap to build and run. The costs are tide up in stupidity!

Alternatively, you could look into a bed cooling system like bed jet or something? 

I keep my thermostat at 72-73*, mostly because someone is always home. 

I'm curious as to how some of you can use as little electricity as you claim.  I'm in a 2000 ft2 house, 3BR, 2.5BA.  We heat, cool, and cook with electricity.  Been here about 20 years and the consumption has been steady.  House was built in this millennium, so not old.  Appears to be well constructed and insulated.  It does have a lot of windows, but they are double-glazed and in good repair.

Jul 23     1984

Aug 23     2214

Sep 23     2351

Oct 23     1600

Nov 23     1196

Dec 23     1823

Jan 24     2304

Feb 24     2439

Mar 24     1868

Apr 24     1500

May 24     1192

Jun 24     1766

Jul 24     2431

Over 2000 kWh is not abnormal from my perspective.  The rates have increased steadily, but usage generally varies only with the number of teenagers living at home.  Thermostat spends most of the time around 72.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

I assume you are using a decently efficient heat pump for HVAC?

If so, is your water heater electric?  That's a near-constant load.