How do you all cope with high electric bills?

[Horse with no Name]

My electric bill was $700 last month.
I don't know what we are going to do this winter.
My fireplace is not functional--I don't know what it will take to fix it--anyone have any idea who to call to see about something like that?

[Sweet Freedom]

1. No kidding

I've paid between $350 and $450 each month for the past four months and its killing me. I too am at a loss.

Myabe once its cold, I'll turn off the heat and just turn on an electric blanket and take it with me from room to room.

[crispini]

2. Your ELECTRIC is that high? Jeez, how big is your house?

I have 1200 square feet and my electric never got much above $150 / month this summer.

Now, I DO have an automatically adjustable thermostat. Pretty cool little gizmo, you can buy it at Home Depot and then program it to go up and down as you like. I set the AC up to 85 degrees when I am not there during the day. I am also pretty heat-tolerant, so I keep it at 78 when I *am* there.

As far as your fireplace I called this guy because I think my wood stove needs sweeping. He's coming Wednesday -- I'll let you know how good he is.

http://www.thechimneysweep.com/

However as far as heat generation, just a fireplace may not be that efficient. I believe that they lose a lot of heat up the chimney. You may want to look into putting an insert into your fireplace.

http://hearth.com/what/woodinserts.html

[Horse with no Name]

3. It's big

about 2600 sq feet. 9 rooms.
I spent $1275 in 2 months on electric bills- with last month being the larger one.
I am either going to completely close off the fireplace if I can't fix it. Was thinking about buying those big room heaters and using them instead of the central heat only when we are in the room (this house was built in the 50's).
It's just too big. Right now my plan is to do simple things without anything major:
1. Change all bulbs out to flourescent.
2. There is a paint additive you can paint the walls and add a layer of insulation that way.
3. Use those window kits on the outside.
4. Seal off the fireplace.
5. Seal off the attic.
6. Replace the weather stripping around the doors.
7. Get some energy efficient space heaters.
8. I bought the baby fleece footed sleepers to wear so that I can keep the house cooler.
9. Electric blankets.
10. Timers on the heaters. Hopefully can cycle them every 4-6 hours.
I have made up my mind this is my last winter in this house...so I really don't want to do too much to it.
I've already spent too much money on this house and really need to get into something smaller.
It really sucks!

[Horse with no Name]

4. Here is a pic of half of my house

during the snow we had on Valentines Day 2003.
Give you some idea.

[Longhorn]

6. You might want to check out your attic insulation, too.

Our house is 3300 square feet and we didn't have a bill over $500. When we lived in a 50-year old house ten years ago, I insulated the attic myself with that pink insulation that comes in rolls. It wasn't that hard to do and it cut our heating bills in half that winter. It paid for itself in one winter and we had natural gas at the time.

The programmable thermostats can also make a big difference, as already suggested. In the summer, we keep ours on 82 when we're not there and 78 when we're home. In the winter, we keep it on 64 at night and when we're not home and 68 when we're up and about. We also use electric blankets and the fireplace and we keep lots of afghans around for keeping warm when we're watching TV. We have propane heat but it sounds like our bills will get pretty high this winter so we'll need to be even more vigilant.

[Horse with no Name]

8. Do you just lay them out flat?

Or is there a trick to it?
I can definitely do that.

[Longhorn]

10. Yep.

The previous insulation was really flat, settled in, and somewhat decayed. I just laid the new insulation over the old. It fits right between the rafters. You need some sheets of plywood to stand on while you work and you need to be careful not to step through the ceiling. ;) You cut it with a utility knife. I used a long stick to kind of shove the insulation into the areas where the roof slants down and I couldn't stand or even crawl over there to push it by hand. You don't want to smash it or compress it as that reduces the effect.

Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts and use gloves to keep the fiberglass on your skin to a minimum. And shower as soon as you're done for the day. If I recall, it took me a couple of days to do the whole attic. I did it in December -- I recall that I was listening to NFL playoff games while I worked. It's a good time to do it, too. Even in December, it was warm up there -- I can't imagine doing it in the summer!

That house was only 1500 square feet -- a one story. But the difference was amazing -- less drafty in the winter and more uniform temps. There was no carpeting in the house -- all wood floors -- and the insulation even seemed to help muffle the noise. And then when the lower bills came -- wow!

I'd say it's worth a peek to see what you have up there and what condition it's in. Even if you had to hire someone, it could be worth it in the long run. Good luck! :)

[flamin lib]

15. You can have insulation blown in for $6-700.

I priced an additional 6" on my 1900 sq foot house. If you have flooring in the attic for storage it might complicate it's usage.

[crispini]

7. Electric blankets...

if you don't already have them and you're buying, look for electric MATTRESS pads instead. I found mine at Bed Bath and Beyond. They are da bom, because you can't throw them off of you in the middle of the night. :D

[Horse with no Name]

9. ooooo cool

I love BB&B.
Of course I have to travel to Texarkana to get to one...but that is at least closer than Dallas.

[Longhorn]

11. BB&B and Linen's and Things both have online stores.

I especially like Linen's and Things and last I checked, they're both now considered "blue" companies -- they contribute more to progressive causes and candidates than conservatives. Check 'em out at www.buyblue.org.

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

14. I'd be interested in your opinion of your chimney service.

I've never used my fireplace because the home inspector told me to get it checked out before using it, as the mortar was crumbling on the chimney (80 year old house). So I've been looking for a good chimney service. I think I need a cap on it too, because last year I had a squirrel drop in to visit. When I finally got him out the door, he was quite a sight: a black squirrel in a neighborhood of tan squirrels.
:rofl:

[tammywammy]

5. You have my sympathy

I live in a 700 square foot apartment on the 3rd floor.

I kept the thermostat at 80-85 if I was leaving for work. But I'm very sensitive to the heat, so I'd have to turn it down to 75 when I got home. I have yet to get a whole months worth of electricity bill in yet (I moved in in August), but for 11 days in August it was $27. So hopefully when I start getting Sept, I won't keel over.

I don't mind the cold, so I don't have to keep it too warm in the apartment, because I have plenty of blankets.

[fudge stripe cookays]

12. Holy crap!

I thought our $400 this summer was bad!

I've had to keep it much cooler in here than I normally do for health reasons, so I'm definitely looking forward to winter.

It's much easier to put on extra sweaters and sweats and an electric blanket than it is to turn into a vegetable when it gets too hot.

We've got about 1500 square feet and cathedral ceilings, so I know where ours is going.

FSC

[babylonsister]

13. Saw this info in the Energy forum and thought of this thread.

I hope it helps a bit!

101 Ways to Save Energy


PDF file
http://www.powerhousetv.com/stellent2/groups/public/doc...
Page it came from:http://www.powerhousetv.com/stellent2/groups/public/doc...


I can't post it here because it is too long.....
The PowerHouse site has alot of resources; check them out!

[Horse with no Name]

16. Great resource

Thanks.
:toast:

[yellowdogintexas]

18. where do you live, and do you have gas heat/

I have my electric on an all year averaging plan and my electric is about 200 a month.

my furnace is gas, and my winter bills are never above $70. Of course here in North Texas it doesn't get that terribly cold, I like to sleep in a cold room, and I have a water bed and four cats to take care of any night time chill I may encounter.


I keep my house very cool in the summer because I am not heat tolerant at ALL.


We so seldom have extremely cold weather that I just don't use much heat. The only other thing I have that uses the gas is the water heater; my summer bills are around $20. This will change when I get the gas stove, but then the electric will go down some.

We have 1900 sq feet but it is well insulated and we have a huge shade tree.

[TexasBushwhacker]

17. Yowza!

Geez, that's really high for that size house. Check with your energy company and see if they do energy audits. Some will come out to customer's homes and see what really needs to be done; caulking, insulation, etc.

If your attic isn't vented in some way, you need to do that before summer. Next time you need a new roof, choose a light color. It can really make a difference. Venting can be built in to the new roof as well, so you don't have those funky turbines sticking up.

Check the setting of your water heater. Too many people have their water heater set on super hot. Not only is it a waste of energy to keep 40 to 50 gallons of water at scalding temperatures, it's dangerous! Also, if the water heater is older, turn it off and let it cool down, then hook a water hose up to it and run it outside. It should have a faucet to do this. Open the spigot and drain the whole tank. You'll probably see some sediment washing out, maybe a lot. All that sediment effects the efficiency and capacity of your water heater. It hard water areas, you may need to do this "flush out" procedure every year. It will add years of life to the heater too.

As for electric blankets, I'm not so sure having that electric current and its electromagnetic fields around your body 8 hours a day, a hundred or so days a year is really healthy. Just get a good down comforter. They even have hypoallergenic ones now.

[ChickMagic]

19. We get ours averaged

That way, we pay roughly the same amount every month and can anticipate it. Our bill in our bitty apartment with virtually no insulation was $235, but with the average adjustment, we paid $160.
It's still high, but it helps some.