 
Supersport
Member
Username: Supersport
Post Number: 11317
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 11:59 pm: |    |
Just got my combined gas and electric bill for the month. Since we typically have a thread seeing who got hit the hardest, let me start.
$583.12 |
Mind_field
Member
Username: Mind_field
Post Number: 687
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 12:02 am: | |
wowwwww, thank god i don't have to pay heating costs in my rent payment. |
Wsugrad
Member
Username: Wsugrad
Post Number: 16
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 12:13 am: | |
$527.61 |
Wash_man
Member
Username: Wash_man
Post Number: 344
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 12:18 am: | |
$144 |
Yaktown
Member
Username: Yaktown
Post Number: 112
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 12:34 am: | |
Supersport, how big is your residence? Also, how many people living there? Just so shocked to see such a large dollar amount! BTW, $99 for me this month. |
Kathinozarks
Member
Username: Kathinozarks
Post Number: 213
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 12:44 am: | |
My brother lives in a two bedroom two story frame home in Ferndale. He works full time, turns the heat real low before leaving for work, and is conservative with his thermostat when at home. His latest gas bill was $275.
Mom and friends in SCS were also above $200. These are single retired women who are frugal.
Gas company told my brother some story about the cost of fuel going up and - get this - the rep said, "it has been unusually cold". It's WINTER! Yikes! |
Jtw
Member
Username: Jtw
Post Number: 116
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 1:22 am: | |
SS is a slumlord, and he's telling us the combined cost of the 5 apartment complexes he owns. |
Jtw
Member
Username: Jtw
Post Number: 117
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 1:26 am: | |
my gas + electric cost for the last month was about $180, for my house here in farmington. just me living here - pricy, but nowhere near $500! |
Jtw
Member
Username: Jtw
Post Number: 118
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 1:28 am: | |
my electric was about 33% higher this past month than the previous one, and the gas was about 50% higher than the previous month. considering that most of february was horrendously cold, i think it's reasonable. |
Superduperman
Member
Username: Superduperman
Post Number: 210
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 1:42 am: | |
$560 for a 1500 sqf loft |
Ptero
Member
Username: Ptero
Post Number: 90
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 1:46 am: | |
315.66 combined... 1300sq.ft. house
dte 1/4/07 - 2/6/07
gas 1/16/07 - 2/13/07
I'm afraid of what's coming. Early Jan. was still not really cold.
What do folks turn thermostats down to for sleeping? and for going away to work ?? |
Ptero
Member
Username: Ptero
Post Number: 91
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 1:59 am: | |
I'll start. I'm a weenie, I'll do 68 for sleeping. For work it usually goes to 65. Somewhere I heard it was counter productive to swing it across a larger range, ie: down to 60 fr'instance, unless for a longer time than the 8 - 10 hour work gap. Dunno if that's true or not.
I may well move all of that downward with what might be coming in the next bills. |
Ddaydave
Member
Username: Ddaydave
Post Number: 446
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:40 am: | |
two summers ago I put extra insulation in my attic bringing it up an r factor of 50 had cellulose insulation blown in the walls and my furnace was shot so I got a new high efficiency furnace and its been paying off ..
I just got my gas bill it was 80 dollars and my electric was 56
as a matter of fact I havent had a gas bill over 80 since I did all that most are around 50 dollars ..
my house is small 1100 sq ft |
Ptero
Member
Username: Ptero
Post Number: 92
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:43 am: | |
Ddaydave, is your house one or two levels? Mine is one floor with lots of attic and roof, unfortunately. |
Ddaydave
Member
Username: Ddaydave
Post Number: 447
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:46 am: | |
bungalow ..attic turned into a bedroom |
Wsugrad
Member
Username: Wsugrad
Post Number: 17
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 11:48 am: | |
2500 sq. ft. Victorian. Old house/no insulation in attic. 25 large windows (all covered in plastic!) We keep thermostat at 61 - BRRRR!!! And still in the $500 range. We rent - so the home improvement is not our responsibility - at least the rent is quite low to accommodate for this ridiculous cost. Even with astronomical gas/electric bills - I this is the most beautiful and wonderful place I've lived in in my decade in the city! |
Detroitplanner
Member
Username: Detroitplanner
Post Number: 1021
Registered: 04-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 12:42 pm: | |
bungalow here, $210 last month. Mine was an estimated reading. My house is relatively small, has double pane windows, and lots of lights have been turned over to florescents
(Message edited by Detroitplanner on February 25, 2007) |
Docmo
Member
Username: Docmo
Post Number: 242
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 1:39 pm: | |
Superduperman,
Man, your bill is twice what mine is. The difference is that you are the top floor with your ceiling exposed to the elements and my 3rd floor has two warm loft apartments sitting on top of it. I also share a warm wall with 1515 Broadway. You also have quite a few more windows than me. Sorry. It'll be better soon.
Docmo |
Detroiternthemist
Member
Username: Detroiternthemist
Post Number: 79
Registered: 01-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:04 pm: | |
I suggest programmable thermostat its not the cure all but it does help. |
Cambrian
Member
Username: Cambrian
Post Number: 670
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:19 pm: | |
My highest heat bill over the last two winters was $110. My electric bills have been up there, around $80 to $100. I let a friend rent my basement to run his air compressor and space heaters for his small business restoring plastic car parts. So, combined would be less then $200 / month in the cold season. I live alone, so when I'm not there I keep the thermostat at 53 degrees and all external room doors shut. |
Bobj
Member
Username: Bobj
Post Number: 1746
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:22 pm: | |
My last couple have been over $500, old house (1923) with beautiful leaded glass windows that pretty much let all the cold in. I have storms over them, but they are pretty old as well. |
Bibs
Member
Username: Bibs
Post Number: 669
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:22 pm: | |
1200 sq ft two story duplex built in 69. Gas was $104 and electric was $43. This will be my highest gas bill for the year and it will be about $25 lower that my highest gas bill last year. Consumers Energy lowered the rate last fall. Hopefully, rates will continue to fall. DTE just raised their rates so I will have to conserve more energy to keep the cost the same. |
Aiw
Member
Username: Aiw
Post Number: 6177
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:54 pm: | |
I have a programmable thermostat, it goes down to 58 when we're at work. 63 when we are home, if I get chilly, I bump it up to 65-66.
Large Queen Ann Victorian, built 1891...
$389.11 |
Chitaku
Member
Username: Chitaku
Post Number: 1198
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:56 pm: | |
In the Boydell we have steam heat I haven't closed my windows yet this winter, it gets so hot. But considering I don't pay for it I can't complain. |
Yaktown
Member
Username: Yaktown
Post Number: 114
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 4:02 pm: | |
I also have a programmable thermostat. Overnight I set it at 62. Just before I wake up, it warms up a few degrees. While I am away at work it's back down to 62, and before I come home from work it goes up to 69. I also am enrolled in the Consumers Energy budget plan which costs me $71 per month. When I first enrolled in that, it was $100/month but they keep adjusting it down. Last year I did not pay a gas bill for 3 months! I highly encourage people to get a programmable thermostat and enroll in the budget plan. |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 1158
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 4:27 pm: | |
For comparison purposes, we have a 1600 SF single story home in suburban Las Vegas, NV. Built last year, it is extremely energy efficient. January gas bill was $ 91, and that includes gas hot water heater, range, and clothes dryer. Electric bill was $76. Of course, the electric bill doubles or better in summer with our 100+ temps.
Oh....no state or local income tax, either.
And you wonder why I left Rosedale Park........ |
Jt1
Member
Username: Jt1
Post Number: 8386
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 5:29 pm: | |
Funny how the media doesn't discuss this but a $15 annual increase in water is a pissing match and covered every other day in the news.
I guess people don't mind getting fucked as long as it isn't the city raising rates. |
Wash_man
Member
Username: Wash_man
Post Number: 345
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 8:26 pm: | |
Speaking of getting fu...! I have a second home in northern Michigan. It was built in 1985 and is well insulated. It has electric base board heat. I keep it at 50 when I am not there to protect drywall, furnishings, etc. I just got my highest bill ever, $210! I did some research and found out that I am paying a higher rate than my neighbors because I don't live there full time. Same with taxes, but I knew that when I bought it. I didn't realize there were different rates for electricity. BTW, I only spent two nights there during that billing period, turning it up to 74 while I was there. No gas bill, everything is electric. |
Ltdave
Member
Username: Ltdave
Post Number: 35
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 9:54 pm: | |
our electric has stayed the same at about $65-70...
im not sure on the gas. we might be on the budget with Semgco but would venture it not being much more than $150. like i said tho, thats the budget...
we keep the house at 68 when were home, and 64 to sleep and while gone...
david |
Goat
Member
Username: Goat
Post Number: 9244
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 10:48 am: | |
My bill for heat was $367.00 CDN and my electric bill was $85.00CDN. 1902 Edwardian home approx. 3000sq ft.
I keep my thermostat at 59 degrees until 8:00, then I jump it up to 65 until I go to bed then it is down to 59 again.
I still believe that heating and electricity should be controlled by the gov't. These utilities are too essential to be left to the privateers. |
Gravitymachine
Member
Username: Gravitymachine
Post Number: 1516
Registered: 05-2005
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 10:57 am: | |
$384 for a 1500 sq ft upper flat with poor to zero insulation in the attic.
gas and electric rates must've gone down from the previous month though. my usage of both went up 20 and 40% respectively from the last month, but my bill was only $15 more.
steps i've taken to keep the bill down:
-all unused rooms closed off
-the kithen door closed whenever possible because its the coldest room in the joint
-cycle the theromostat between 58 at night, and 62 in the day when i'm home.
-have plastic on the windows.
-I put a water heater blanket on the tank and pipe insulation on the hot water feeds.
-put styrofoam insulation board over the crappy uninsulated wood door with single pane glass that goes to the porch
If i owned the place i'd insulate the bejesus out of the attic and replace that uninsulated wooden door with a proper, modern exterior door.
(Message edited by gravitymachine on February 26, 2007) |
Carolcb
Member
Username: Carolcb
Post Number: 95
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 11:41 am: | |
We have a 4 bedroom house 2 story and the gas bill was $217 and the electric was $98.00 - the gas jumped from $144.00 the previous month, all were actual readings. I whine about money more than I talk about anything else but the kids..... |
Burnsie
Member
Username: Burnsie
Post Number: 869
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 11:49 am: | |
Mind_field wrote, "wowwwww, thank god i don't have to pay heating costs in my rent payment."
You certainly DO pay heating costs through your rent. Your landlord takes the cost of heating the whole building and divides it up among the tenants. He isn't paying it out of his own pocket! |
Neilr
Member
Username: Neilr
Post Number: 461
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 12:01 pm: | |
My most recent combined bill (Jan. 9 - Feb. 9) was just under $150. I have a 1,300 sq. ft. townhouse with floor to ceiling, wall to wall glass in all the north and south walls. I keep the thermostat at 70° all the time. Several years ago, my coop replaced all the regular glass curtain walls with thermopane glass with new frames. It makes a difference.
I often sit within 2 feet of the window and on really cold days I can still feel the cold radiating off the glass. Then I dress for more warmth.
I expect the bill for February to be much higher.
When I was a child, my father used to wrap our back screen porch with plastic wrap every winter. I swore to myself, that I, with my infinitely more refined taste, would never do anything as tacky as that when I got older. Years later, when I purchased my first house, I sat on a Fall day in the sunroom (6 windows and a glass-paned exterior door and no storms) and watched the curtains blowing the breeze. I went directly to Federal Hardware and came home with rolls of plastic, furring strips, and a staple gun. Good times in Detroit! |
Eastsidedog
Member
Username: Eastsidedog
Post Number: 914
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 1:24 pm: | |
1500 sq. ft. four square built in 1917 with new windows and fair insulation.
January Gas + Electric: $361 (Gas = $190, Forgetting to turn off my 2 space heaters = $170 dammit!)
I keep the thermo at 50 when sleeping and at work. It's 65 when I'm at home and conscious. Gas usually averages $200 a month in the winter, negligible during the rest of the year. I eliminated the space heater in the basement and moved my home office into an upstairs bedroom. I think Feb. will be much better. Here's hoping!
So Ray, how much are your water bills, and how much does your AC cost you in the summer? |
Eastsidedog
Member
Username: Eastsidedog
Post Number: 915
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 1:47 pm: | |
Programmable thermostats are ESSENTIAL. And always turn it down as low as possible when you leave. Remember, in the wise words of Gannon, water freezes at 32 degrees, the rest is just comfort.  |
Diehard
Member
Username: Diehard
Post Number: 26
Registered: 03-2005
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 2:29 pm: | |
1600-sq-ft bungalow, upstairs is a converted attic with 15-foot ceilings, paid $320 last month. After that shock, we keep the temp at 60 all the time, use the fireplace more, closed off a room, wash clothes in cold water, and put up a clothesline in the basement to avoid using the dryer. We'll see if that makes a difference this month. |
E_hemingway
Member
Username: E_hemingway
Post Number: 1071
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 2:32 pm: | |
Hey Ddaydave: How much did your high-efficiency furnace cost? |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 1160
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 5:32 pm: | |
Eastsidedog said:
"So Ray, how much are your water bills, and how much does your AC cost you in the summer?"
Fair question. Water bill runs $16.00 a month, and there's a $20 sewage fee also attached to it. Power bill at the peak of summer will run about $160 in our current home, nearly double that in the place we had before this. Old place was built in '72 and was two-story (inefficient), new place was built in '06 (no, not 1906) and is one story. Was one of the reasons we moved last year.
Interesting thing is that our furnace is in the attic. No basements out here; all homes are built on slabs.
Should mention I have desert landscaping. Drip watering on the plants and trees and no grass. Shot of my back patio here will give you an idea.
|
Blort
Member
Username: Blort
Post Number: 24
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 6:12 pm: | |
Mine is about 130$ for a small two bedroom.
I keep my heat at 50-55 at all hours of the day, sometimes I turn it off completly when I leave.
According to the thermostat I have on my wall, inside my apartment is usually about 45-55 degrees. Kind of chilly.
My pipes have even froze. The landlord is cheap and never put proper insulation. The lease says I have to keep the apartment at 65 degrees or else all thermo-damage is my fault. That's outrageous, I WILL NOT keep it that high, I'm not made of money. |
Ohudson
Member
Username: Ohudson
Post Number: 198
Registered: 09-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 6:18 pm: | |
appx 2400 sq. ft. townhouse ... $411
I feel much better after seeing that I'm not alone in getting screwed....... On second thought I really don't feel any better. My bill is still $441 with electric.... :-( |
Jimaz
Member
Username: Jimaz
Post Number: 1605
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 6:26 pm: | |
Ray1936, nice patio. An awning might help beat that sun. |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 1162
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 7:04 pm: | |
Morning sun; afternoon shade. House is laid out right. BTW, I read my morning paper out there nearly every morning. Once in a while it's chilly or too windy, but 4 days out of 7 ain't bad for February. |
Karl
Member
Username: Karl
Post Number: 6381
Registered: 09-2005
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 10:01 pm: | |
This should make everyone feel better aout their bills:
POWER: GORE MANSION USES 20X AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD; CONSUMPTION INCREASE AFTER 'TRUTH'
Mon Feb 26 2007 17:16:14 ET
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy solutions, issued a press release late Monday:
Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
Gore’s mansion, [20-room, eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.
Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.
Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.
Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.
“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.
In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006. |
Eastsidedog
Member
Username: Eastsidedog
Post Number: 916
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 - 10:25 pm: | |
Now that's frugal living Ray I have to admit.
Thanks for the awesome article Karl! |
Ddaydave
Member
Username: Ddaydave
Post Number: 452
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - 8:24 pm: | |
E_hemingway I cant remember exactly what I paid for it a friend put the in the heater and central air and cut me a hell of a deal ..
all I know is between that and the insulation I did my heat bills are cheaper now then before the hurricane hit 2 years ago and gas prices went through the roof ..
my house was built in 1951 and there was no insulation in my walls so I also had cellulose insulation blown in them that cost me 900 dollars and that was done by sparks and sommers ..like I said an 80 dollar heating bill for me is very high and I keep my heat at 72 when i`m home |