Utillities poll

[jimhcom]

I am curious as to what Utillities (Gas, Electric, Water) cost in different areas of the country. As bills often change with seasons try to give the average.

[LovesLife]

I am from IA. The reason ours runs so high as we have an older furnace and AC. We are heating and cooling approx. 3300 sq ft. I am expecting it do drop when the new units are installed later this summer.

[kz]

We're in central Wisconsin in a 2300 sq ft. 2-story with full basement. Our gas & electric bill runs us $118 per month. We are approx. $100-125 less than all our neighbors because we watch our usage like hawks.

When it came time to replace appliances we went with the most efficient ones we could afford. (and justify) Each time I noticed our bill drop by a few dollars. We also are on a "time of usage" plan and do our baking, laundry, cleaning during off-peak hrs. We save, on avg, $15 per month. And from Jun-Sept we are on a "shed credit" plan where the electric company can shut our air conditioner off for 2-4 hrs twice a month. We save $8 a month by allowing them to do this.

In winter we burn lots of free firewood (from friend's 66 acres) to heat our home. And we added tons of insulation in the attic a few yrs ago with the help of our son. Hey, every little bit helps.

In the long run I figure we've saved over $15,000 since we built the house 19 yrs ago.

Water is free...we're on a well. Sewer runs us $15 a month.

[jimhcom]

We are in the hills about 30 miles east of San Diego. Our Electric runs about $200, Water about $100

[REWahoo]

South Central Texas, ~2,700 sf, all-electric, well and aerobic septic. Bills average $190 per month.

REW

$175/mo average last year for a large drafty old victorian in New England. *$60 electricity and $25 water/sewer. *However, I use 1000 gallons of oil per year for heat and hot water. *Last year I managed to lock in at $1.09/gallon. *This year I am under no illusion so will probably end up close to $300/mo.

[maddythebeagle]

I am also in wisconsin and have access to free wood to burn to supplement with propane. Probably will burn more wood this year, but their is a cost of cutting, stacking, cleaning the chimney, and putting in the wood stove, I enjoy it. I figure in the 150-200 range. Also in rural area with onsite sewer and well.

1750 sf remodeled 100 year old home with full basement rebuilt under it, new windows, siding, blown-in insulation in older part. 90 dollar avg. electric (includes well and large garden and tree watering in summer). If went on all lp would burn 3-4 500 gallon tanks a year. Use 2 window air conditions and dehumidifer in basement. Most summer isnt too hot.

also got lp prebuy last year at 1.09/gallon. Expect to be much higher this year. Used to be 0.69 a few years back.

150-200 per month on avg.

[Martha]

Four unit 105 year old building. $280 month water and gas. $50 average electric. Expect higher gas next year. Northern Minnesota.

[Sheryl]

drafty old 1500 sf. house in Pacific Northwest (no airconditioning)

Electric: "Budget payment" $32/mo year round
Gas: averaged over last year: $67/mo.
Water/Sewer combined $52/mo.

Puts me $1 over the $150 mark.

[JPatrick]

2800 SF in central Texas. All electric w/ heat pump.
Electric for 2004 average $160. High $249/ low $103
Water for house, huge yard and large pool averages $63.
Sewer around $15 .
Glad you didn't ask about real estate taxes.

[uncledrz]

upper midwest

gas and electric for home 2300 sq ft, two story is 145 a month. well insulated.

gas and electric for 1900 sq ft office, also two story, when upper floor is used is over 250, not well insulated. *

water (and sewer) for both runs about 50-75 a quarter.

uncledrz

[laurence]

Live in San Diego, utilities were nothing before baby was born and we installed a Jacuzzi. A/C is never turned on etc. But now the washing machine and dishwasher are on full time, and I think the Jacuzzi costs me almost $50 alone.

[KB]

Electric, gas, water and sewer 190.00 a month averaged over the year.

1670 square foot home with extra exterior wall insulation and a whole house fan.

I know I can get the electricity and gas lower if I try.

[Nords]

No gas, no heat, no A/C. *No fireplace either, but six ceiling fans as needed and two solar-powered attic exhaust fans. *Radiant foil insulation (to keep the heat OUT) in both attics, on the back of the garage door, and in two walls that've been opened for renovations.

Electricity has been running about $55/month since the PV array went up. *It's been generating about 140 KWhr/month (compared to HECO's 16 cents/KWhr).

Water/sewer (a combined bill) runs about $75/month in the summer (when we run the sprinklers more often) and ~$55/mo in the rainy winters. *Oahu's sewer infrastructure is rotting out and the EPA is all over the utility so our monthly rates are about to go up by $15.

Property taxes (for the new FY) just went up to $2570/year.

[maddythebeagle]

hey nords, point me where you bought the solar powered attic fans. You like them? vs. electric. I am looking to buy. I probably also need 2.

[LOL!]

Houston TX, 3000 sq ft home, for last 12 months electricity averages $100 a month, gas averages $50 a month, water $35

[Eagle43]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Property taxes (for the new FY) just went up to $2570/year.

Now I am frosted. You taxes are less than mine, and you live in paradise. Hmmm. I always wanted to live in Hawaii. Texas property taxes are outrageous. Got to vote for Kinky....

[unclemick]

$1750 -2400/yr - all electric including water/septic for 1450 sq ft - moderately insulated - $545 prop taxes - up from 146 as recently as two years ago.

The plywood floor 12 foot above Lake Ponchartrain is uninsulated - one of these days.

On 12 month rolling computer smoothed bill - so I can pick out the last 12 months cost used to calculate the damped number.

P.S. This year looks on track to hit the $2400 end - or higher - either I'm getting older or this be one of the hotter summers - A/C being the tall pole # wise in dollars.

[Lancelot]

Electric $15; water $3.50 (never use up the minimum)

Bangkok, Thailand

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddythebeagle hey nords, point me where you bought the solar powered attic fans. You like them? vs. electric. I am looking to buy. I probably also need 2.

We bought them from Skylights of Hawaii in Nov 2000 but there are several brands available today. Our attics are relatively small-- each only about 30'x20'-- and we have one 850 cfm model in each. I think each fan was about $400 plus another hundred or so for installation. If you're comfortable cutting a hole in your roof and screwing in the fan's vinyl skirt, that's the installation. Since the fan is powered by the PV panel above it there's no connections and it's free whenever the sun is shining. Of course 850 cfm is a max capacity and the actual performance depends on the sunshine. So if you need a higher airflow you'll want to go with a conventional electric whole-house fan.

The 12" fans are connected to DC motors (about 3" diameter and 4" length) powered by the solar cells. The bearings are sealed so there's no lubrication. You can clean the panels when you're on the roof but even that's not necessary.

I wouldn't go for cheaper passive vents. A couple other voids in our house have passive vents (basically venturi nozzles activated by the blowing tradewinds) and I'm ready to trade them both in for solar fans.

Keep in mind that our attics are also insulated by reflective foil designed to keep the heat OUT. The foil knocks the attic temp down from ~135 degrees down to ~110 and the fan knocks it down another 10-20 degrees.

The biggest improvement was in our two-story cathedral-ceiling livingroom. The fan draws through a hole cut in the stairwell ceiling up a plastic duct (through the 2nd story attic over the stairwell) and cools the entire livingroom by at least 15 degrees. Even with that, we're still covering the livingroom roof with as many photovoltaic panels as we can so that we can keep the roof cool. The solar fans can take the heat out, but it's better to keep it from getting through in the first place.