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dr_nerdface t1_j57rfu8 wrote

u have electric heat? it's been cold out on these streets.

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RulerOfTheRest t1_j57u4q2 wrote

I'm guessing that you have a heat pump or some other form of electric heat, and this bill may cover the days when the artic blast hit before Christmas. When it gets that cold out, heat pumps will struggle to keep the temperature up, and will kick on the Emergency/Aux Electric Resistant Heat, and depending on the size of that E/Aux heat, it can consume a massive amount of power. I should be getting my bill any day now that covers that time, and I'm not looking forward to it...

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Whitney_Ashley OP t1_j59jlfj wrote

I'm hoping it just spiked from the arctic blast and this is not the new norm

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[deleted] t1_j59v6q7 wrote

[deleted]

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khuldrim t1_j59y7ko wrote

Because heat pumps don’t work when we had temps like we had at Christmas? My daily usage that day was 3x what it usually is this time of hmyear. That day it never got out of the twenties and was in the teens.

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Charlesinrichmond t1_j5avp10 wrote

a technical quibble - most heat pumps won't work, but a hyperheat inverter type will go to -5.

That said, you know if you have such a thing, and for 98% of the people out there you are correct

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throwingutah t1_j58g0l5 wrote

My last electric bill was $65. We won't discuss the natural gas bill.

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Intrepid-Branch8982 t1_j57zudu wrote

Yup mine doubled. 300ish dollars

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ChuckIT82 t1_j584zhh wrote

mine was 300 exact and i had my aux set to 68 - 1250sqf house

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Intrepid-Branch8982 t1_j5862t3 wrote

Glad I’m not the only one. I have 1800 sq ft and it was a bit more than that. I usually have it on 70

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GandhiOwnsYou t1_j5a7qaz wrote

Thank god for this thread. We moved over the summer, our new house is 2600 and has two old heat pumps, one for each story. I got a $350 bill and was terrified that was our new normal because of the age of the house or condition of the heat pumps. At least if it’s hitting that hard elsewhere too I know it WAS an outlier and I’m not gonna lose my ass on heating bills.

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BouncingWalrus t1_j5bmiy3 wrote

$220 for us, typically $120 - $150. 1600 sqft two stories, 68-71f depending on time of day.

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deenda t1_j580009 wrote

Mine was 583 dollars for an 1800 sf house

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Mmeeggggss t1_j5871rv wrote

I’m not upvoting this because I like anything about it, just because I can relate to the cost (mine is primarily spent on home heating oil though).

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MustryTree t1_j590l8j wrote

We have electric heat and after our December bill ($333) we lowered the heat from 68 to 60. Insulated all our windows and did everything we could to keep the heat in. We saved a whopping $8. The bill we got yesterday was $325, which was shocking because we feel like it hasn’t been warm in our house and the heat isn’t even blowing that much, but the usage on those really cold arctic blast days was crazy high. 2 bedroom, less than 1000 sq feet, but we do have an attic that has insulation falling out of it. I have no solution to it, just commiserating with all who have high electric bills.

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McFlare92 t1_j57ovzc wrote

I'm up about $90 too

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Daemonrealm t1_j58u78e wrote

Invest in a smart thermostat that can report if your emergency heat is kicking on (like an ecobee). Used that report to have my HVAC serviced and part replaced to correct an issue with it when I had no idea it was kicking on for such long times.

My ecobee has saved me about 23%+ comparing alike-external temp times with last year on monthly reporting.

Also get it linked to beestat for best reporting.

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upearlyRVA t1_j59ktv7 wrote

I got that warning back when it got really cold in December. Figured it was because it was really cold and that it was normal. Will keep an eye on next bill to be sure.

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Miss_Marna t1_j59wd78 wrote

I switched over to eco bee. Love it. I discovered during the artic blast my AUX was set at 35 degrees. I quickly changed that to 25 but at least it gave me a screen notification that AUX had been running. The reports are enlightening and if you connect it with Dominion, they reward you. Got a check for $35 from them a few weeks ago for letting them change my thermostat during peak times.

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Daemonrealm t1_j5aj2y2 wrote

I use 4 remote temp sensors in my home and found huge savings switching home mode (just downstairs temp control) and sleep mode (just my upstairs) in both heating and cooling.

The way it averages out temps when multiple remote temp sensors are used keeps my home the most even temp as well.

I also found out the thermostat was installed way way too close to the intake for my HVAC system. Just using a remote temp sensors saved a ton of overwork it was doing and short cycling that saved tons of $$$

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Charlesinrichmond t1_j5aw8p1 wrote

installation near the intake/return is generally considered good. But more sensors better

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Daemonrealm t1_j5b5oa2 wrote

You are correct. My home design however has a large (oversized for the home actually) system and the intake is in a small hallway near the front door (small amount of total air volume in that space).

When the system is on it pulls all the either heat or cold into that smaller hallway space which makes the thermostat on the wall miss read the rest of the house. Example. Temp gets push up or push down much more then the remaining of the house. This causes short cycling of the system as the air settles and the temp differential quickly changes. Kicking the system back on when it’s not needed for the rest of the home.

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Charlesinrichmond t1_j5ban1h wrote

interesting, it usually avoids that issue. But if your system is oversized that would be a complete issue.

You might be able to adjust airflow down a bit. Just don't go too far or the coils will freeze

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Daemonrealm t1_j5bqc1u wrote

True as well, my home has a giant 22 foot by ~18 foot window in it which makes it “unique” for hvac operations. Solar heating and cooling. Some drafting although the window is double sealed (a new window interior to it as it’s original steel and iron framed window from 1913, with all the original glass).

Looks great though and fills the home with a lot of light.

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Charlesinrichmond t1_j5kig48 wrote

ah, one of those. You can model that. Though they make life interesting. Usually more 70s houses have that

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Charlesinrichmond t1_j5avywi wrote

I have not dealt with ecobee, but have heard many good things about it. Much better than the Nest by all reports

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Whitney_Ashley OP t1_j59jh5t wrote

I replaced heating parts 1-2 years ago. So, it's not that.

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austramaus t1_j59waf9 wrote

Auxiliary or emergency heat is typically a setting in your thermostat. You can raise that threshold, so it won’t kick on or will kick on at a better temperature for your preference. All thermostats should have this if digital. Had to mess with this a lot when installing these due to high bill complaints.

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DJ_Black_Eye t1_j5896nd wrote

Our electric bill doubled as well

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Oostylin t1_j58h6wy wrote

$254 checking in.

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1151am t1_j59jp39 wrote

Alright those of you who moved from Buffalo, what do people in even colder climates do? I doubt someone in Buffalo just accepts the fact that their electric/power bill is 300-600 November-April?

Do they have different heating systems?

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llamalena t1_j59tjrl wrote

In colder places people typically have oil or gas heat, which (at least in my experience) works out to be cheaper. In New England my highest winter heating bill over the past 4 years was around $230, whereas my electric for last month here was nearly $350 for about the same square footage; I'm even keeping it colder here than I was up north.

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jantah t1_j5aosj2 wrote

Oil prices have gone up about 45% since last year. It's definitely not cheaper anymore

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guiltyofnothing t1_j5a2rs5 wrote

Houses are better insulated. My MIL lives in upstate NY. Went to visit her last month. She lives in an old 2 br and I was expecting it to be drafty as hell but she’s got triple-glazed windows and something like R9000 batting in the walls.

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TripawdCorgi t1_j59taw9 wrote

In Philly we had a furnace that got oil deliveries usually once a season. Big ass behemoth in the basement. Used to scare me as a kid. For cooling we had window/wall AC units because central air wasn't very common with old brick rowhomes.

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Charlesinrichmond t1_j5awbtj wrote

often yeah they pay that, they either accept it or move.

we moved south

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1151am t1_j5fbmnc wrote

Surely not many people can afford that, right? I mean, yes, there are some people who make good money, but you can't tell me someone who's making slightly more than minimum wage can afford a $500 electricity bill in addition to all other expenses?

I mean, we only had about 8 really cold days back go back and everyone's bill went from $75-$100 on average to about $300-400. Now imagine what would happen if we had those same cold days for 27 out of 30 days? That same bill would be $1,200.

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Charlesinrichmond t1_j5khpt2 wrote

It really eats up people's free income. It's one of the big reasons people move south. Thousands of dollars every winter

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JesusDied_LOLERZ t1_j5c3tc1 wrote

Our bill also went up but luckily we went solar last year and that has cut our usage down by over 65% and I am really thankful we did.

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BlueXTC t1_j5ef5mt wrote

We have our account on a budget plan so it is the same amount all year long. It gets adjusted every six months up or down. Same for gas. It makes it easier to have a monthly expense budget.

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BobbyFuckingB t1_j58u0d3 wrote

Last month was rough. My usage was about triple November per my bill.

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mklaman t1_j59mz0a wrote

$120 but my gas bill is another story!

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Wh1teMike88 t1_j59qcqk wrote

My heat bill was up a lot this past month too. I have two heat pumps, one for upstairs one for down. Definitely an expensive month..

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lemonartichoke t1_j59v62d wrote

Make sure you compare month to month KWH usage. You may have electric heat and used a lot in December during the cold snap.

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futureinroanoke t1_j67bwf7 wrote

My cousin in IL says his per kwh charge went from 4.3 to 12.1 cents. In my Roanoke apartment, my usual $40 a month electric went to $96. That was paid the beginning of January, it did not include the xmas arctic blast. (I dropped in here bc I may be moving.)

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khuldrim t1_j59ypx1 wrote

Sign up for their Budget billing and never have to worry about this again.

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Charlesinrichmond t1_j5awj5a wrote

you get the most random downvotes lately, you seem to have really pissed off the lunatic left still from that last bit

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guiltyofnothing t1_j5a2evx wrote

Mine has steadily doubled over the last 2 months. Know it’s been cold but wasn’t prepared for a $200 bill.

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hesarescue t1_j5aargm wrote

$70 to $180 😮‍💨

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m0arpepper t1_j5rjr4l wrote

170 in a 100 year old attached rowhouse. Temp is between 65-68. About r38 I’m the attic with a lot of expansion foam to seal air gaps in the unfinished basement, ceiling, and wall penetrations.

16 year old 10 seer heat pump that’s properly charged and maintained. I use my ecobee to lockout my heat strips, upgraded to a demand defrost board, and monitor performance with beestat. My heat pump will maintain temp until the low teens.

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ninjetron t1_j5ygra9 wrote

$412 which just seems crazy.

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[deleted] t1_j59i81w wrote

[deleted]

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Whitney_Ashley OP t1_j59jwft wrote

This bill is the highest I have ever gotten in the 5+ years I have lived in my house. So, it's not 'it's winter'. I keep my thermostat at 68 and still got high bill.

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BlueXTC t1_j5efcwx wrote

Part of the problem can be they were estimating your usage and did an actual meter reading. It should show on your bill either way. You can also request a reread. If you had a smart meter installed this is what seems to happen. The older meters were not operating accurately in some instances.

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