Submitted by vibrantashes t3_zw7v92 in RhodeIsland
Hi,
I live in an apartment community and recently got our electric bill. We’ve been paying $60-$65 monthly. We got our bill for 11/15-12/15 and it was $400.
We have electric heat, but keep it off at night and at 65° or so during the day in the rooms we’re in. It’s a 2 bed 1ba, but one bedroom has the heat off constantly. I got a PS5 recently but that’s the only thing that has changed along with minimal heat consumption. Anyone have advice?
Electric heat costs are pretty wild. I've heard friends quote some insane costs over the years, so with the rate hikes, $400 sounds possible.
It's worth noting that RIE gave some kind of financial credit to everyone that obscured the true cost of the bill recently. It shouldn't have made that much of a difference, but perhaps the credit and the warm days in fall can explain the difference.
Do you have neighbors you can compare with? are you a first floor hooked up to the water heater?
I also recommend against turning off the heat altogether in the evenings or certain rooms. Many leases list a minimum thermostat temperature like 55 to avoid risking frozen pipe damage.
Seems very possible to me. I recommend putting the window film on your windows if you haven't already. Makes a noticeable difference
Rates went up 45% in October. Electric heat is going to cost a lot of money now. That is quite the jump for you though. You should compare to what you were paying at this time last year.
Winter temps.
I burn about 100 gal of oil per month for a similar size (2 bed 1 bath). So at $4 a gallon that’s around $400, and I’m typically keeping the temp between 58-62. Plus another $100 for electric. So figure $500 total.
So I guess $400 for your heat and electric with the thermostat at 65 ain’t terrible. But I feel your pain.
Electric rates went up, plus it has been much colder. The heat is still working hard with the thermostat at 65 with the low outside temp, there's a lot of factors outside temperature insulation windows etc. Your bill seems about right. I had electric heat in one room and I only used it at night with the thermostat set at 63 and my bill went up 80 bucks, Just to barley heat that room.
Honestly for electric heat that sounds about right
Yeah this is just winter temps sorry to say. We had a relatively warm fall and cold coupled with a huge rate hike.
Not to say the rates aren't ridiculous, but if you consider how much the equivalent amount of oil would probably cost.
$400 actually isn't too bad, unfortunately.
Mine was $80 but I have gas heat
Ditto. My 2 bed 1 bath burns about half tank every five weeks. Another buck and a quarter a month for electricy. All my bulbs are LEDs now. Have modern appliances. I was actually reducing my bills using more energy efficient products UNTIL they hiked the rates 45%.
Just as a point of comparison, my gas bill, normally about $30 in the summer, was $440 this month.
That's the highest it has ever been, by about 50%. And it wasn't that cold.
It's your heat unfortunately. It's expensive. Fuck off commodities traders and Vladimir Putin is your answer. (People will defend the trading but the truth is that they panicked in the summer, prices went exponential, and then the energy suppliers had to buy and set rates at exorbitant prices because they are required to lock in before the season. This is different than heating oil which is set constantly by market, but supply is lower than usual because of a couple of refinery problems plus again, Putin - that's why heating oil and diesel fuel at the pump have not come down with gas prices ).
Turning your heat on and off prob isn’t helping. It’s better to keep it low instead of having the system start up everyday
Last month my electric bill was $0. That’s because they discounted us and I live alone. Anyway you should go to Walmart or Amazon and get some window sealer kit, those clear plastic bag you tape over your window do make a difference. I recommend getting a heavy duty duct tape because the adhesive on those kit suck. Also some weather insulation adhesive strip for your doors so there is no gap.
Electric furnaces use on average about 20,000 watts. Current RI rates w/all fees is about 31c per kilowatt hour. So for every 1,000 watts used per hour, you pay 31c. With your furnace, that's $6.20 for every full hour it is running. That can add up quickly.
PS5 uses about 200w (so about 6c/hr). Nothing to be concerned with.
The heating oil delivery I got a few days ago was $1.20/gal cheaper than the one I got in October, so it's coming down some.
Honestly, sounds right for electric heat. I had an 800 sq foot apartment three winters ago, kept it at 63 and my heating bill was like $300 on average.
I just got a delivery of oil, so I know how much it cost to heat my house over the last 54 days (since the last delivery). I have a 3 br single family house, with 1 heating zone (whole house), that I keep set at 18 ºC (~64 ºF) 24/7. I also get hot water from the oil. I paid $6.41/day for the oil, which would be $192.30 for 30 days.
Learn to read your electric meter and then figure out what costs what..... it's easy math. It's there (meter) for both parties to use it as a tool.
Ask a neighbor in your complex if they experienced a similar increase
Gotta set up balanced billing. It’ll be more each month, but it’s way more consistent and if your consumption is also constant ,you won’t be surprised by 400 dollar bills
install a wood burning stove - $300/cord for the season, 1.5-2 cords will do the job. We don’t use our heat except when the outdoor temp is below 25, we turn it to 58-60. Expect to get by with $1000-1200 total heat bill this winter.
This is our first winter here. I asked a friend who lives in the complex and hers went up but not by this much, and she has a two floor.
We’re in a new place this year, and had oil heat in the past.
Yup good old 64% increase in electric. We also live in an apartment in a complex that’s 2 years old. We have a hydro air system. Bill was $260 when it normally $100. Get used to it. They are calling it “the growing pains of going electric”
Sounds the same as mine for a 2 bedroom
Unfortunately sounds like they are in an apt so that wouldn’t work
On a positive note wealthy folks in places Barrington or EG can get tax subsidies for their 90K dollar electric cars, and rooftop solar arrays to offset the higher electricity costs. Something renters won’t get to take advantage of. Price of going green my friend
11/21-12/20 mine was 378…. Previous bill was 149
Sounds right for electric heat
Oil heat is much cheaper than electric
degggendorf t1_j1tayho wrote
Rates went up in October, but not enough to make that big of a difference.
Were you in this place last year? What was the bill from this period last year? Failing that, can you compare notes with others in the same building/complex?
Electric resistive hearing can indeed be incredibly expensive, and the PS5 would be a flash in the pan compared to it.