The verdict is in - kinda...
By reinydawn
@reinydawn (11642)
United States
January 11, 2009 7:37am CST
Last month we had to replace our heating unit so we went with a more energy efficient one instead of peicing together parts for the old one. As luck would have it, the heating unit was replaced the day after they read our electric meter so we could really tell what the difference was. So, yesterday we get our electric bill and it was almost exactly the same dollar amount as the month before. Now, the month before we were using our baseboard heaters which suck up a TON of electricity. It was a bit colder in December, so I've really got to compare the usage from month to month as well as from year to year to see if it's really saving us money.
When they put the new heating unit in they also installed the type of thermostat that you can schedule so we are not heating up an empty house. I had left it set on what they put it on - 70 when we're home and 62 when we're at work and sleeping. I change that also to 68 while we're home and 60 when we're at work, but I left it at 62 for when we're sleeping. I'm going to see if that will make a difference. So far, the temperature hasn't bothered us being 2 degrees lower while we're home - we wear warm clothes so we should be ok.
2 people like this
3 responses
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
12 Jan 09
What a disappointment that the electricity was the same. Are you on one of those average program where they give you the same amount for thee months?
Ours has been down the last two months. I keep our heater at 65 during the day when we are home and at 50 when we are asleep or at not home. I will tell you I have been cold at 65 it seems more so this year then last year. My hands have hurt the worst in the cold. My knuckles have swollen and turned reddened I wonder if I have arthritis in my hands. My hands really swell now that I have been knitting.
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11642)
• United States
13 Jan 09
Nah, we don't have any kind of averagig thing with our bill, or the budget billing where it's always the same based on the prior years usage. I still need to check the actual usage against the same time last year.
We did adjust the temp down some but it got way too cold, so it's back up again, but it's between where it was and where we changed it too. It's been really cold this month so we'll have to see what happens for the next bill.
1 person likes this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
14 Jan 09
We get a 20% rebate on our March's bill if we use less natural gas for January and February per PG&E. I have been trying but it is hard at times. I am like you I have been so cold and do have seem to get warm here lately. I am not the only one my friends say the same thing also.
1 person likes this
@reinydawn (11642)
• United States
14 Jan 09
I had only adjusted it down 2 degrees, but we were FREEZING!!! I was ready to put gloves on and my husband was going to put a coat on. I'm all for saving money, but that was rediculous, so we bumped it up 1 degree and it's actually not too bad now. We'll have to see if 1 degree makes a difference on the bill...
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
14 Jan 09
I have never been able to understand the entire billing system for electricity. We switched all of our light bulbs to energy efficient ones. We bought LED lights for the Christmas tree and had it on less this year. Our bill for December was sky high. We knew it was going to go up, but we weren't prepared for how much it did. The heating tapes for the water pipes weren't turned on until January so we can't blame the increase on that either. The only thing I can think of is that we use an electric bed warmer to warm the bed at night. But, we turn if off when we go to bed. ~Sigh~ They get you coming or going.
@reinydawn (11642)
• United States
14 Jan 09
We have switched all our light bulbs too. It was explained to us though, that the new heating unit would cut our "HEAT" bill down, but it's not like we'd see a drastic change in our "TOTAL" bill. There are more things we can do, like turn the computers off during the day, unplug all the electronics with timers on them... But that really seems so small that I don't know that it would make a difference - plus, it would be time consuming... Who knows? Sometimes I think they just slap a number on the bill and send it to us...
@suzzy3 (8341)
•
12 Jan 09
It sounds like you have made a good choice with your heating ,we had gas central heating put in about thirteen years ago and it was the best thing we ever had as our heating bill dropped immediately,before that we had an electric water heater and a gas fire in front room with electric heater on top of stairs which kept us warm enough.With the combination boiler we heat or water instantly and central heating,I suppose it is out of date by todays standard but our bills are quite managable.We had double glazing fitted three years ago and our heating bills have tumbled again ,we had secondary glazing before and that was good at keeping us warm.The radiator we have can be adjusted so each room is the right temperature for who ever in is there,My sons room is always warm so his is turned down to half,the bottom of stair is high as thats where the front door is.and so on.When I am at home on my own I turn it right down or even off as doing the house work and putting another jumper on is fine with me.It is possible to save a bit,our bills come in with last months usage and this quarter last year so you can tell what it is in proportion to keep track which is a good idea.
@reinydawn (11642)
• United States
13 Jan 09
We're still working on getting everything up-to-date in this house. Most of the appliances are about 30 years old! Once we can replace the refridgerator and the washer/dryer I think we'll have everything under control.
This month is really cold so far, so I'm getting anxious to see what the bill looks like again. We adjusted the temp down a bit so hopefully that will help!
