Just guesstimations on your part about energy bills...

BlochWave

with half-assed to moderate attempts at energy saving, my monthly electric bill is around 120 dollars for my 683 sq. ft. 1 BR apartment.

I have a west facing wall so the sun beats in on 2 of my 3 windows(one being a patio door)most of my waking hours there during the week and I only have blinds covering the windows, I'm not sure how much a difference that makes

Anyhoo, I'm thinking of staying in the complex but moving to a 2 BR 900 sq. ft. apartment(it's only like 110 dollars more a month)

So same type of building, same power company, and all the 2 BRs have their windows facing north and south. How much do you think my electric bill would increase?

Zifnab

I'm not sure about the increase/decrease, but you should be able to get the address of the place you're possibly moving to and call the power company and ask about the average use/monthly max/min on the property. I know that's what I did before I moved into this place. Just call and tell them you want to inquire about usage for an address that you're looking at renting, and they should help you out.

embrik

What are you doing for heating/cooling? Is that on your electric bill? When winter comes, is that heating on a separate bill? $120 seems really high to me. What else is running in your place?

Blake T

My average spend (though keep in mind this is in australia) is 53 cents a day. In Summer in Balloons out to 80 or so.

I am seriously wondering how you can spend that much on power. Do you stick all your clothes in the dryer? Keep the place lit up like a lighthouse? Run your computer 24/7? Constant Heating or cooling?

The only thing that should be on 24/7 should be your fridge.

necroSYS

My wife and I live in a well-insulated, non-direct sunlight apartment in Texas. 900 sq foot 2 bedroom 2 bath with external W/D and our power bill is easily over $200 a month in the summer.

Thanatos

Where do you live, Blochwave? And what sorts of things do you generally use?

My roommate and I live in Seattle (where I suspect power is pretty fucking cheap) and our last power bill was $50 for 2 months.

Dance Commander

If everyone listed their power consumption in kW-h we could actually compare these numbers.

BlochWave

I don't think price per kW*hr varies too much, Seattle will be cheap because you guys don't have 100 degree days in summer with 90 percent humidity(I'm in Houston fyi)the guy giving the number from his 2BR in Texas is about what I'd expect

EggyToast

The real answer is that "it depends," because you're renting. I moved from a 600 sqft apt to a 1200 sqft, 2 story house, and my electricity bill is usually less. Why? Because we have appliances that actually use energy efficiently. Our fridge, which we purchased, is off the chart for the US Energy Star rating -- it only shows up on the Canadian scale. We replaced the stove, few other things as well.

On top of that, the windows are better, and we can control the temperature MUCH better because we have a fancy thermostat. So it's off during the day and turns on shortly before we come home from work, and flips off again after we've been asleep again.

So it's really a crapshoot. Arguably, if you keep everything else constant, it will not take much more energy to maintain a slightly larger apartment, because the only change is more space. If it's better insulated, your bill will probably go down. But it's the same complex so that's unlikely.


Of course, it's likely that the extra space will cancel out the window difference so your bill will probably end up being the same. You're unlikely to live any differently simply by moving, so if you want the extra space, go for it.

Quid

My last bill was about 90$ and I live in a two bedroom apartment facing east on the Mississippi coast. Though I'm pretty big on using the celing fans and one of the bedrooms is pretty much closed off and unused.

grungebox

I like your name, BlochWave. By the way, I'm also in Houston, and my gf and I have bills upward of $190 in the summer for an 1100 ft^2 second-floor apartment. Never broke $200, though. That's with one computer on 24/7 (the homebuilt Tivo), and the other computer on a lot as well, but that's it. We don't have a working dishwasher, and we don't do all that much laundry. I'd recommend just running the A/C at a degree or two higher than normal, and turn it up to 85 before you leave in the morning.

As for your original question, I'd guess it'd increase by at least $20 just because it'll be a lot to cool down the extra space. A/C is probably the biggest source of your electric bill.

RocketSauce

1200 sq ft townhome with 2 stories and a basement. $90s in the summer, $20s in the winter. You're paying a shit ton of money for energy.

Dance Commander

BlochWave wrote: »

I don't think price per kW*hr varies too much, Seattle will be cheap because you guys don't have 100 degree days in summer with 90 percent humidity(I'm in Houston fyi)the guy giving the number from his 2BR in Texas is about what I'd expect

I'm paying double for electricity in upstate New York than my parents pay in Colorado, so it can vary quite a bit.

JimJimBinks

Two quick energy saving questions (not to hijack the thread)
#1, would turning off my computer every night make a big difference on my electric bill. I used to think it wouldn't, but now that I'm running a 700+ watt Power supply I'm starting to think otherwise.
#2 does anyone know of energy saving bulbs that work on dimmer switches?
I've tried the type of energy saving bulbs that work in lamps that click through three different brightness settings, but I haven't seen any that work on actual dimmer switches.

embrik

If anyone is interested, here's my last bill:
Energy Charge........................ 681 KWH X $ .104119 = .... $ 70.91
Customer Charge........................... 28 Days X $ .2522 = .... $ 7.06
State Low-Income Assistance Fee.... 3.00% X $ 77.97 = .... $ 2.34
DANE County Tax.............................. 0.50% X $ 77.97 = .... $ 0.39
Wisconsin Sales Tax......................... 5.00% X $ 77.97 = .... $ 3.90
TOTAL ......... $ 84.60


I run a crap-ton of computer stuff, even when I'm not at home, plus I do laundry once a week. I think I'll look into that "alternative energy" stuff they keep pushing. At any rate, my average usage is around 600-650 KWH. Those rates above are for Madison, WI

BlochWave

#1, would turning off my computer every night make a big difference on my electric bill. I used to think it wouldn't, but now that I'm running a 700+ watt Power supply I'm starting to think otherwise.

Modern computers with energy saving sleep modes draw about as much, maybe a little more, current as a computer that's turned off. The argument used to be that turning comps on and off was bad for them, but they're designed to do it like half a million times now, so really doing either works. I cut if off because the blinking CPU light attracts my curious cat

stigweard

The 700 watt psu is irrelevant. Switching power supplies draw what they need, when they need it. The more important factor is how efficient it is at its current power draw. When idling, with all high end components, it is probasbly drawing about 180 watts, or three incandescant light bulbs. If the psu is only 50% efficient at 25% output (near 180 watts), you are pulling 360 watts from the wall. If that is the case, you want to turn it off when you aren't using it for sure. If you leave it running 24/7, you are using anywhere from 130-260kWh per month, or 13 - 26$ at .10$/kWh That is a pretty high example as well, since most computers draw less than that when idle thanks to all the eco friendly features built into software and hardware now.

Seaborn111

120 does seem pretty high...my 3 bedroom 2000 sq ft house has a 105 dollar bill every month, fluctuating about 10 dollars each way

i'm in Oklahoma city, by the way

EggyToast

My dual G5 mac is a powerhog, and the electricity difference between sleeping it and leaving it run when I'm sleeping or at work has been rather significant.

Also, even with sleeping my computer so it's really only on for about 6-8 hours a day, my gas/electricity bill has never been less than $70.

necroSYS

Dance Commander wrote: »

If everyone listed their power consumption in kW-h we could actually compare these numbers.

~1200 kilowatt hours per month

Soggybiscuit

JimJimBinks wrote: »

Two quick energy saving questions (not to hijack the thread)
#1, would turning off my computer every night make a big difference on my electric bill. I used to think it wouldn't, but now that I'm running a 700+ watt Power supply I'm starting to think otherwise.
#2 does anyone know of energy saving bulbs that work on dimmer switches?
I've tried the type of energy saving bulbs that work in lamps that click through three different brightness settings, but I haven't seen any that work on actual dimmer switches.

1) Uhh, yes. Turn it off if you are not using it. You are probably getting about 4.8 kWh a day (assuming that the computer idles at about 200W) from just leaving it on 24/7.

2) Most CFLs will not work on dimmer switches. You can purchase ones that will, but they will be more expensive.

Zonkytonkman

Opening the blinds on the sun facing windows should provide a little extra heat in the winter, doubly so if the sun is hitting the floor, and not like, the side of a couch. Triply so if your floor/carpet is a dark colour.

That being said, west facing is not the best for passive solar.

Turning yoru computer off at night is a very good idea. Everyone should be doing it.

Al_wat

I get charged about 11 cents per kWh here in Edmonton.

Thats around double what was I was paying in Ontario.

Fats

Al_wat wrote: »

I get charged about 11 cents per kWh here in Edmonton.

Thats around double what was I was paying in Ontario.

Boy, and I was a little angry that ours went up to 3.6 cents. Hooray for hydroelectricity, I guess.

I did a complete CFL swap this summer, and it's shaved at least a hundred kWh off my bill. Combine that with my lack of A/C and refusal to use electric heat, and I barely spend anything. 3-400 kWh average.

slugabed

I just moved into a very energy inefficient house with high ceilings, lots of large old windows and multiple levels. So I've been trying to learn more about electricity costs. Some fun facts I've learned:

How to calculate the cost of running something (learned from here):

Amps x volts (115 or 230 volts) = watts x hours per day of operation ÷ 1000 x cost per kilowatt hour.

I think it is a requirement of electronics (at least in the US) that they list the power requirements somewhere on the product. Also, something like this can measure how much it is actually using. This is important for items that use varying amounts.

FYI My power in Georgia is slightly less than $0.11 per kwh.

Apparently newer windows can save HUGE amounts on heating and cooling. If the newer place was built more recently, it might be more efficient.

Nogs

get window kits. like the things that will seal up your windows it will help keep cool air in. Is your A/C auto(like after a certain tempurature is reached, it switches on/off), or manual? If Manual, try and keep it off unless oyu really really need it. If auto, make sure the therometer is in the shade(if this is even possible).

how many computers do you have, and how often must you have them all on all the time? Those things suck up a lot of juice.

Do you have a gas or electric stove/oven?

Also, you can maybe try and buy those energy saving bulbs - however, some people think paying $15 for bulbs will only recieve a profit after quite a few years of using them. Add this to the fact that you are in an apartment, and this is something your landlord should do - so maybe ask him.