I live in a 1 bedroom in Walnut Creek...and my electric bill was $116 last month. My AC is set to 80, I'm not home probably 60 hours out of the week (I hit the AC to about 83-85 before I leave), and when I am home I maybe have on 1 or 2 lights and have my laptop desktop plugged in. I do maybe 5 loads of laundry a week...tops.

Is that bill high, or is it reasonable? I've always had roomates so I have no clue what a single bedroom should run me.

7/29/2009 11:25:07 AM

Quote :

"I do maybe 5 loads of laundry a week."

there's your problem. washer/dryers are electricity hogs, and 5 loads of laundry a week is a shit load for 1 person. I live with my GF and we probably do 3 a week combined. When I lived alone i was doing 1-2 a week. Make sure you don't do laundry unless you have a full load. That should help

7/29/2009 11:30:11 AM

Depending on sq. footage, I would say closer to $50 would seem reasonable to me. You sure it's not two months reported on one bill? Sometimes the statement drops before they recieve your last months payment, thus reflecting a bill roughly twice as large as it should be.

Then again, you do a SHITLOAD of laundry. I do 2 loads (1 color, 1 white) a week, and I'm married

~1,300 sqft apartment, last month was about $100, and that's at at 74* t-stat.


[Edited on July 29, 2009 at 11:32 AM. Reason : .]

7/29/2009 11:30:16 AM

Seems high to me. You might try just leaving the AC on, as I wonder if it doesn't use more energy to re-cool every time you come home instead of just holding at 80.

Edit: Oh, I didn't see five loads of laundry a WEEK. That is quite a bit.

[Edited on July 29, 2009 at 11:31 AM. Reason : hmm]

7/29/2009 11:30:28 AM

you probably have inefficiencies in your apartment that are driving up the bill too

window and door leaks are very common. you can fix them yourself for pretty cheap if you're interested. weather stripping on the door is one way. google for more.

7/29/2009 11:36:05 AM

That's high-ish, at the least.

The bill for June for two people on a well (means that all water usage includes an electric cost for the pump), two computers on pretty much 24/7, AC set in the mid-to-upper 70s, in a 1200sq ft house was 172. We're good about turning off the lights, but my husband is AWFUL about leaving ceiling fans running. There's an add-on previous owners converted from a patio to a kind of sunroom, and that has awful, awful insulation. It's so bad we've hung curtains in the doorway to help minimize airflow.

Quote :

"You might try just leaving the AC on, as I wonder if it doesn't use more energy to re-cool every time you come home instead of just holding at 80."

I thought it was commonly accepted that for central heat/AC, it's best to not vary the temperature too many, rather than to constantly be on and off.

And yes, 5 loads of laundry a week is INSANE. My husband doesn't wash his laundry until he's out of socks or underwear, so about every 2-3 weeks, and he has only 3 or 4 loads when he does his. All the household linens and towels are 3-4 loads, and we have a FUCKTON of towels that we go through (lining a dog crate for an incontinent older dog, as well as my habit of not hanging towels up to reuse as much as I should). I cannot fathom how you're doing 5 loads a week, unless they're all tiny loads, or you're doing someone else's laundry.

[Edited on July 29, 2009 at 11:40 AM. Reason : f]

7/29/2009 11:37:39 AM

Yeah, the 5 loads is mostly because I work in an enzyme lab and my clothes REEK when I get home, I can't let it sit around or my entire house stinks up like ass.

I think I'm about 600 squarefeet. The bill was for a 1 month cycle. I'm just debating if it's worth calling progress or not. It says my average is 32kw a day...which seems high considering I come home, tool around for maybe 2 hours, then go to bed, lol.

7/29/2009 11:39:56 AM

We've got 2 people in a 1500 sq ft house that is also on a well. We leave all the ceiling fans on 24/7 and have our AC set between 75-78 depending on if we are home or not. Our highest bill all year was $180.

But again, like I said, we only do laundry when we have full loads.

7/29/2009 11:40:09 AM

Quote :

"Yeah, the 5 loads is mostly because I work in an enzyme lab and my clothes REEK when I get home, I can't let it sit around or my entire house stinks up like ass."

Hang them outside?
If you can wait to do laundry or take it to a laundromat, see what savings you realize.

7/29/2009 11:42:01 AM

Check to see how much your washer, and more importantly, dryer consume, especially before you call. Damn, I only use roughly 27kw. I have 3 fans that run on the medium setting 24/7. I don't use a dishwasher either.

I'll bet that dryer is the killer. Wash clothes at home. Dry them at the laundrymat.

[Edited on July 29, 2009 at 11:42 AM. Reason : .]

7/29/2009 11:42:09 AM

Or air dry them, even.
I think there are hampers to be had meant to help contain smell. Look into that.

7/29/2009 11:43:29 AM

If this keeps up i'm unplugging the gold fish tank...lol.

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to cut back this month on laundry and see if that makes a difference. If not, it'll be time to call The Man.

7/29/2009 11:44:10 AM

electrical rates vary based on time of day. Do all your laundry after 8 or 9 pm and you should save a fair amount compared to what you currently spend.

7/29/2009 11:50:22 AM

seriously, the laundry is the problem. you don't need to make any more changes to your lifestyle.

I will even go so far as to say that keeping the AC at 80 is overdoing it a little.

7/29/2009 11:50:25 AM

80 is mostly because I'm always cold, haha. Yeah, laundry seems to be the culprit. Maybe I should just resign myself to knowing I'm always going to smell like fermentation broth...some guys may find that hot?

7/29/2009 11:55:54 AM

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be comfortable at 80. But I am the exact opposite as you, I am always hot. So even 75 is a bit of a stretch for me. When I lived alone I kept it at 70 pretty much year round.

7/29/2009 11:57:07 AM

A female with the username MeatStick is actually pretty cool imo. haha.

Unless you have a MeatStick, in which case, you would not be a female and I retract what I said.

[Edited on July 29, 2009 at 12:03 PM. Reason : .]

7/29/2009 12:03:02 PM

check out her post count

RUN AWAY!

I bet it takes a lot of electricity to heat Hell

[Edited on July 29, 2009 at 12:06 PM. Reason : a]

7/29/2009 12:05:48 PM

^lol.


you better believe i can't tolerate a summer time apt temp above 74...eek!

7/29/2009 12:15:15 PM

WARNING, BELOW IS [OLD]

Is Hell endothermic or exothermic?
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.

As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different Religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.

With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell
has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you, and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct...leaving only Heaven thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."

[Edited on July 29, 2009 at 12:31 PM. Reason : even better]

7/29/2009 12:26:26 PM

Our electric bill for roughly 1,100 square feet for two people is $30-$40 a month on average. It's a little higher in the summer ~$50 because we turn the AC on 75 at night and keep the ceiling fans running. We do an average amount of laundry/dishes/cooking. We just unplug appliances that are not in use, have switched to the energy saving lightbulbs, and turn lights off when we leave a room.

7/29/2009 12:31:24 PM

The boobs and vag say female, haha.

7/29/2009 12:32:28 PM

pics or it isn't true

7/29/2009 12:32:59 PM

Quote :

"If this keeps up i'm unplugging the gold fish tank...lol."

well i unplug everything im not using including the washer and dryer. i have to plug everything i need in when i need but i do see savings from this.

the 5 loads of laundry are killing you like everyone else said. also, take pat's advice on when you actually use these appliances. the later you use your stuff the cheaper it is.

for instance...i always run the dishwasher right before i go to bed for the night. never during the morning, day or right after work.

7/29/2009 12:37:12 PM

that's pretty high for an apartment

my 1620sqft house rarely tops $100 (especially since i put in more insulation, but even before that only when the weather was really bad)...i have a programmable thermostat that keeps the house at 78°F from about 4pm until 7am and 82°F when i'm not at home (7am - 4pm)

granted, i only do 3 loads of laundry every other week (a load of darks, a load of whites, and a load of towels/sheets) and i have an HE set that i only use cold water with, as well as the low setting for the dryer

june's bill was $92, we'll see what july's is in about a week

[Edited on July 29, 2009 at 12:42 PM. Reason : .]

7/29/2009 12:41:22 PM

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=524963

some info in that thread.

Quote :

"electrical rates vary based on time of day. Do all your laundry after 8 or 9 pm and you should save a fair amount compared to what you currently spend."

I'm pretty sure that's only if your utility company offers and extends to you a time of use rider as mentioned by CarZin in that other thread. He shows how it can really save you money, but if you fuck up you'll end up spending even more than your current bill.

I'm still trying to figure out how my roommates and I are using 1500-2000 kWh a month with such ease.

7/29/2009 12:45:11 PM

Quote :

"well i unplug everything im not using including the washer and dryer. "

how much power could a washer or dryer possibly draw when not in use?

7/29/2009 1:07:20 PM

The only electrical equipment that will save you any significant money by unplugging them is those that have displays or lights that stay on at all times. (i.e. the clock on the microwave, display on your DVD player, etc etc) Unless your washer/dryer fits that description, you are wasting your time unplugging them.

7/29/2009 1:12:29 PM

Quote :

"electrical rates vary based on time of day."

yeah thats wrong.

7/29/2009 1:20:41 PM

now with ^^ being said, if the washer/dryer has an electrical control panel (push button) then it may draw some electricity when not in use, even if it doesn't have any lights. However, it would only save you pennies and wouldn't be worth the extra effort to crawl back there and plug them in whenever you want to do laundry

if your washer and dryer is the type with the knob on it that you turn and push, then chances are it they use no electricity at all when not in use.

7/29/2009 1:24:27 PM

Yeah, we don't unplug Washer and Dryer. Just TV/computers/game systems.

7/29/2009 1:30:11 PM

i have a full-time job and i'm lazy...i don't unplug anything

7/29/2009 1:31:10 PM

Here is my question. If you unplug your cable/satellite receiver, wouldn't that just be a pain in the ass every time you want to watch TV? I assume it would go through that whole cycle process every damn time, which I know on Time Warner used to take forever sometimes.

7/29/2009 1:32:42 PM

Yeah, I never unplugged my cable box when we had dig. cable because it did take forever to cycle back on. But we have just standard now, so no problems for us. We also don't unplug our modem/router or lights.

7/29/2009 1:36:30 PM

the lowest bill i've ever had in my house is just shy of $50 (spring or winter months when i don't use the A/C or heat at all, but use the ceiling fans)

even assuming that every penny of that $50 is due to something that sucks power just being plugged in, $1.67/day is worth the convenience

realistically, it's probably no more than $15/month from vamp sources, so i'll be content with my $0.50/day convenience charge

7/29/2009 1:38:45 PM

MeatStick - I'm in the same complex, same floor plan. We're about 720 square feet. My bill last month was $60. I've hit $100 before (running the heat), but my average is around $60 (i've gone as low as $35).
Long hot showers and the laundry will get you. If you have the washer/dryer provided by the complex like I do, those things really really eat energy and don't work well. I try to keep blinds/curtains closed during the day when i'm not here to keep the heat out, and it seems to help. Buy CF lightbulbs too.

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 12:46 AM. Reason : ]

7/30/2009 12:45:59 AM

i agree with the person above me

i live in a 720 sq ft apt and i've gone as low as 28 and high as 83...average is about 50-60 or so

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 1:26 AM. Reason : and i'm low energy as fuck]

7/30/2009 1:26:20 AM

If you want to contain the smell from the clothes waiting to be washed, get a gamma seal lid and a bucket. Those things are great. MY cat is a picky little bitch and won't eat food after it's spent a couple days sitting in the bowl, but I've kept it in a bucket for months and she'll still try to climb into the bucket when it's open to get the fresh kibble.

7/30/2009 1:39:55 AM

Dominion Walnut Creek? Or whatever it's changed to now...

ya....I had some pretty ridiculous bills when I lived there. I now own a home that's more than 2x the size of my apartment and I have yet to have a bill as high as I did there. Plus, Im living much more comfortable as I too tried the 80-85 degrees to keep the bill down...but now it stays at 77 and Im good.


They're crappy, inefficient apartments.

7/30/2009 10:13:21 AM

maybe this might help clear some of this up. Progress energy has different charges for on and off peak usage times:

"The on-peak hours are defined as the hours between 10:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays considered as off-peak"

7/30/2009 10:29:41 AM

How do you guys live with the thermostat at 78? My wife would roast. we keep ours around 74 during the day while we are gone for the dag & around 70 at night while we sleep. Our bill is still only around 150 - 160 / month (3br / 2 bath) & we have a baby & run the washing machine all the time as well. However, our a/c unit is new as of last summer & the washer / dryer are HE front loaders which saves as well.

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 11:21 AM. Reason : v]

7/30/2009 11:20:42 AM

Quote :

"I live in a 1 bedroom in Walnut Creek...and my electric bill was $116 last month."

We have a 1500 sq. ft. house and keep the thermostat on 72 most of the time. If I get home and it's cold, I bump it up to 74. We do 5 loads of laundry a week probably (HE front loaders). We average around $140 or so. Something is way wrong

7/30/2009 11:26:57 AM

well one thing is that older apartments and hell even some newer ones have really shitty insulation.

7/30/2009 12:08:16 PM

yeah, no doubt. have you ever seen how quickly they put up apartment complexes these days? There is no way they spend any great amount of time on making them energy efficient.

7/30/2009 12:16:32 PM

^well they do have a code to follow, and I'm sure it has gotten a little more strict over the years.

Oh, and LOL at anyone that buys light bulbs that aren't incadescents. Do you have any idea how long it takes to get that money back?

7/30/2009 1:17:52 PM

Quote :

"Oh, and LOL at anyone that buys light bulbs that aren't incadescents. Do you have any idea how long it takes to get that money back? "

Quote :

"the total cost of a 60 watt incandescent bulb over a 30,000 hour lifespan is $187.82."

Quote :

"the total cost of a CFL bulb over a 30,000 hour lifespan is $43.65."

link

Or, you can you get them for free at a giveaway...

The point isn't to calculate on terms of that 30K hrs number, or to provide an answer to your question. It's to show the great difference between the two costs, and show that it's not nearly as long as you seem to think it is.
[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 3:53 PM. Reason : posted before I Was done]

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 3:53 PM. Reason : omgxtine]

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 3:54 PM. Reason : sd]

7/30/2009 3:51:40 PM

Quote :

"Oh, and LOL at anyone that buys light bulbs that aren't incadescents. Do you have any idea how long it takes to get that money back? "

about 500 hours of using the light. they may never pay for themselves at a bathroom light, but a desk light would pay for itself in about half a year.

7/30/2009 3:56:53 PM

I suppose I was thinking if you replaced everything in the house. I apologize

I abhor CFL light quality so you won't see me getting any of those things.

^^They don't last 30,000 hours.

Quote :

"For some, the issue is also one of broken promises. For example, manufacturers of CFL bulbs justify their higher prices by claiming that they last much longer than traditional bulbs. But a recent test by the environmentally-oriented consumer-protection magazine Öko Test found that 16 of the 32 bulb types tested gave up the ghost after 6,000 hours of use -- or much earlier than their manufacturers had promised."

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,638494,00.html

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 8:00 PM. Reason : k]

7/30/2009 8:00:12 PM

Ours was high this month because of predicted energy use.

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 8:15 PM. Reason : Oh and Chichi's been running the PS3 NONSTOP ]

7/30/2009 8:11:49 PM

^^That's why you should be going to LED bulbs. Cost isn't horrible anymore (40-50 bucks a bulb) and the fuckers last for like 20 years with ZERO chance of early failure.

7/30/2009 8:24:33 PM