Utility Expenses

[River Wood]

I'm curious to know what people are paying around the country for some of their basic utilities. Share what you care to.

Propane here.....$295.00/month..that is a fixed budget year round.

Electric.......varies greatly.....lows during the summer of $75.00 to $275.00 in the winter per month

I guess those are the two I am more curious about.

 

[jayne]

One thing we'll have to be careful about is to make sure we're not comparing costs without noting how varied our climates are as well. I live in western Washington where the climate is relatively mild, with temperatures in the winter rarely below the 20's at night and cool enough in the summer to not need air conditioning. That is a whole 'nother world from your Minnesota. And I know this for a fact because my husband and I deliberately moved to this climate in 1993 from northern Wisconsin! Yikes! I would not want to live like that again!!

That being said, our highest electric bill this winter was $160 for a month. That is the highest I have ever seen, but we had a fairly harsh winter here. The rest of the winter they were about $100 a month, and in the summer they usually run about $45 a month. Our house is entirely electric. I would like to have a back up heat source like a wood stove, but we can't figure out where to put it in our relatively small (1400 square foot) house. It is a manufactured home and we paid extra for the "Super Good Cents" package that made it as energy efficient as possible. We do also have electricity to our pumphouse, shop/garage, chicken coop, and barn, but that's for lights only.

The other thing that makes comparison tricky is that electricity costs here are relatively fairly inexpensive because we make a lot of it here to sell elsewhere on the west coast.

I am curious to follow this thread and see what others have to say. Thanks for starting it.

Jayne

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

I hear you Jayne! I live in northern Wisconsin. Our electric bill on the avg. in the winter months is $400 to $500. but we are completely electric. We do have 2 wood burning fireplaces that help in winter as well. In summer when we have the air running it usually is around $350 to 400. (but if we dont need it it does get shut down!) There is only the two of us in our home, which is a 1,700 sq ft ranch..so its not really that big. We keep the heat set at about 60, but with the fireplaces going it usually hits about 65 to 70. Cant help you with propane. When we compared the cost of our other house which has oil for heat, a woodstove and a fireplace.. (my son and his family now live there, and right on our farm) there electric bills have been hitting around $350. for JUST electric! The part that really gets me, is we have 3 homes on our farm, but each one gets hit with a extra $25.00 fee...just for reading the meters..which they do right from the office! That extra $25.00 off the bill, sure would help, along with all the other misc.

 

[River Wood]

Very true Jayne!

 

[minie812]

Our heat is propane and we spent about 600.00 this past winter with our tank still 1/3 full. Our house is electric on everything else and averaged about 125.00 per mth this winter. We use our fireplace alot in the winter since I am home to help with stoking the wood. No water bill as we have a well. It has been a fairly mild winter except for last weeks ice storm and we went without power for 3 days

so not to bad for the two of us and the barn. Our home is 1600 sq ft

 

[Bess Kelly]

I'm in a far milder climate than you guys, THANKFULLY!!!! But, while my useage has only gone up about 15% , the cost has increased over 35% !!! I was amazed at the $370-450 winter bills and began looking at the comparison from last year.

Also did not use the propane stove this year, which accounted for a portion of the useage increase. The cost of the propane was unreal, like gasoline! So, I didn't fill up and elected to use the central heat pump for all.

But, I can tell you this -- heat pumps are wonderful for the AC and not so wonderful for the actual heat, if you use electric. The water to air units are far more cost efficient to run but my well had to go 500', thus the total electric. Our winters are not extreme. I just like a "toasty" house (I'm old & cold).

Considering the purchase of a couple quartz heaters (like EdenPure or Sunheat) -- Anyone used those and what results? A friend has one and says very warm, less electric than other style space heaters for her own use. Just considering the electric use vice the propane costs. Have a lovely cast iron "fake wood" stove that works wonderfully......just not into $300 a month for propane!! Perhaps the cost will go down and I will be thrilled.

 

[Cathy_H]

We are outside of Lousiville Kentucky. Our all electric home annual average is about $140 per month. This includes heating a 100 gallon water trough and 3 buckets. We have a Trane heat pump. I do open the blinds, drapes & front door to reap the benefits of the suns heat during the winter time though

(like EdenPure or Sunheat) -- Anyone used those and what results?

A consignment owner here has two of these heating her business. She likes them........................ I bought an oil filled radiator to keep near Lee's chair in the winter time since he is so cold natured. It cost $40 versus the EdenPure at $400 - thats a lot of useage to make up the difference in price (occasional use only).

 

[vvf]

Considering the purchase of a couple quartz heaters (like EdenPure or Sunheat) -- Anyone used those and what results? A friend has one and says very warm, less electric than other style space heaters for her own use. Just considering the electric use vice the propane costs. Have a lovely cast iron "fake wood" stove that works wonderfully......just not into $300 a month for propane!! Perhaps the cost will go down and I will be thrilled.

We use propane for our heat. I bought a EdenPure heater this past winter. Paid $400 for it... the salesman bragged how great it was.

And it is a good heater, it is a nice warm heat... But our electric bill skyrocketed.

Our electric bill usually runs around $150 to $175 in the winter.... With the EdenPure our bill was $360., after a couple bills like that, I shut the EdenPure off.

 

[rockin r]

We live in SW Oklahoma. Our house has Natural Gas for heat and water heater, and electric for the AC/everything else. Our bills run for the winter...Gas average 140.00 month and Electric 60.00. Then in the summer...Gas 17.00 month and Electric with the AC running from 4pm to 4am (on a timer) 160.00 month...It is just Art and I, and our house is 1595 sf. 500-600 a month YIKES!!!!! There would be no heat or AC running in this house!!!

 

[Pepipony]

I am in central TX. Hubby is a TX boy and likes the house warm in winter, and cold in summer. I am a Yankee so I like it cold in winter and a good 5degrees warmer than he likes, in summer. We are on complete electric, except for our wood fireplace. Months with no heat/a/c we run about $50. Aug and Feb are usually our highest months at about $200.

 

[Sonya]

I am in mid Michigan (lower pennisula), my house is 1200 sq ft. My propane averages througout the year to be about $150 a month and my electric around $75...that is in an average throughout the year. Once I fill my propane tank in April I usually do not have to have it filled again until Nov./Dec. but after that I may have to have it filled every 5-6 weeks. Our heat is propane, our oven and our hot water tank...everything else is electric. We keep our heat on 66-68. In the summer we put the a/c on 72...we like it cold. It is only the two of us so that plays into the factor of how much electric we use. We do also have a 1200 sq ft pole barn that has a furnace. My husband turns that on in the winter maybe twice a month for the day while he is doing something out there. Plus in the summer we are gone 3 days out of the week at our place up north, we do leave the a/c on but we turn it up to mid 70's and since the doors aren't open/close I'm sure it's not kicking on much and lights are only the automatic outdoor ones while we are gone and a couple night lights in the house.

We have well and septic so no utility there except the electric to run the pump.

 

[Marty]

We pay $700. a year for propane total

Our light bill is about $150 a month. "Somebody" is blaming it on the barn lights.........

 

[River Wood]

We pay $700. a year for propane total
Our light bill is about $150 a month. "Somebody" is blaming it on the barn lights.........

In a year?

I need to move south...putting new windows in my house would probably help

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

Wow Marty, If that is all you are paying in a year...I'm thinking we should move to Tenn. as well.

"someone" use to blame me" for the electricity usage as well, because of the barn...ummm, nope..dont think so, we use to have dairy cows, had the pipeline running twice a day, and the bulk tank running all day, plus the barn cleaner once or twice a day. Now, all I have is the lights...same barn, its the way our electricity bill is skyrocketing!

We have a EdenPure, it sounded like a great little money saver when we bought it, but it pulls so much wattage when in use, its not worth it. Our killowatts just about doubled in the two weeks we used it..so, so much for that!

We have a well and septic system as well, so no bills there, except to have it pumped out once every other year, and that is usually around $150.00. Our house is well insulated, (son did it..he owned a insulation business) and we have new energy efficient windows, put in just 1 year ago.. The part that irks me, is our electric company is SUPPOSE to be owned by the members..but yet if we just lived one tiny little town over we would be able to hook up to a different one (WPS)..and our bills would be half or less then what we are paying. I dont understand it!

 

[Bess Kelly]

Well, thanks for the input on the quartz heaters

Guess I will put the cost of those into propane, instead. The propane fluctuates, so will have to keep the cost in mind and get set up for the year when it's lowest. There is an obvious offset in the electric use being less for the central system. And I only have the "high" bills for Dec-Feb....more heat needed and also 6 or 7 heated water tubs

which are worth every penny!!

As always --- the forum knows! --- appreciate the share.

Now, if we could just get the cross-country price of supply for electric DOWN......

killer.

 

[River Wood]

Paul Harvey advertised that the EdenPure quartz heater cuts your bill in HALF....guess he was WRONG.

 

[Marty]

Come south. I could fix you guys up with a great mini farm in a heartbeat. Everyone is moving up here I swear my community has more than trippled in the past ten years,. all people from up north or Florida.

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

Connie, He wasnt wrong...

the EdenPure does cut your bill in half, if your heating with propane, oil or anything but electricity. But, what it saves in fuel costs it is doubling up in kilowatts for electricity. Its a nice compact unit, and does heat good.. and it stays nice and cool so no one can get burned..but dang...the electricity it uses is something else!