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I got our electric bill and I was in total shock! Last month it was $248. I don't know what we are doing to make our electric bill so high. Our heat is electric and I keep it on 75 during the day and maybe 78 at night. We are in an upstairs apartment. We have 1 TV. I use the oven every night for an hour to bake a potato. I use the dishwasher 1-2 times a day depending. But I have a feeling it's the heat that's causing our bill to be so high. I have it set it on 70 which still feels a bit cold but we can't afford $300 for electric every month. Do you all think $300 sounds right for such a small space?
Is this thread a joke?
First of all, if you have electric heat and you keep the temp at 75 & 78, you're luck that your bill isn't higher than it is. Heating with electricity is very expensive.
Also, if you don't have your windows closed and sealed, are are losing heat anyplace else, that will cause a serious spike in your bill.
The first thing to do is turn your heat down. We keep our house at 68 degrees in the winter. That's a tad cool, but only when you're sitting still and aren't covered. We heat our 4,000 sq ft house for just over $100 per month (that's budget plan, not month by month).
Oops I forgot I posted this here. Now to address some issues. This might sound ridiculous but I set the temperature higher at night because my daughter is almost 2 and can't keep a blanket on her so I'm afraid she'll get cold. This also might sound ridiculous but I have low body fat so I feel cold more easily than say a person with more fat on their body. I have a washer and dryer in my apartment but I only use it maybe once a week. As far as the oven goes, good idea about the potatoes. They will not taste as good but it's not worth the extra money. As far as the thermostat goes, I turned it down to 70, I turned it off when we aren't there, I turned it off some days because it was warm outside, and my bill this month was $242, so I think the main culprits are the oven and the dishwasher. So this month I will cook a weeks worth of potatoes at once and wash more dishes by hand and see what happens.
And to the person who said I was anorexic because I only eat 1 potato...I eat 2500-3000 calories per day but thanks for your concern!
Oh yeah and I have to add that in the span of about 2 weeks here in TX, it was literally snowing one day and then a few days later it was 70 degrees outside.
Oops I forgot I posted this here. Now to address some issues. This might sound ridiculous but I set the temperature higher at night because my daughter is almost 2 and can't keep a blanket on her so I'm afraid she'll get cold. This also might sound ridiculous but I have low body fat so I feel cold more easily than say a person with more fat on their body. I have a washer and dryer in my apartment but I only use it maybe once a week. As far as the oven goes, good idea about the potatoes. They will not taste as good but it's not worth the extra money. As far as the thermostat goes, I turned it down to 70, I turned it off when we aren't there, I turned it off some days because it was warm outside, and my bill this month was $242, so I think the main culprits are the oven and the dishwasher.
No, it's not. It's your heater that you don't want to give up.
You should put more clothes on if you're cold, and put your daughter in a sleep sack when she goes to bed.
Your electric bill will not go down significantly by using the oven and the dishwasher once a week.
I'm sorry you didn't get the answers you wanted to hear, but you're fooling yourself.
Buy an electric blanket to sleep under, then you can turn off your heat at night. I have a 500sqft one bedroom cottage, and I'm extremely cold blooded. I heat the living room with a space heater, but turn it off when I go to bed, and I have an electric blanket. I only use the space heater in the bedroom if I have to get up very early in the morning, and then only have it on for a few minutes. I don't have a dishwasher, my dishes are washed by hand, and also don't have a washer and dryer, I go to the laundromat.
My gas/electric bill runs about $50 in the winter, and $25 in the summer. Last winter I ran both space heaters, and my bill was over $100. I rarely use my oven, I cook on a George Foreman grill, toaster oven and microwave.
I got our electric bill and I was in total shock! Last month it was $248. I don't know what we are doing to make our electric bill so high. Our heat is electric and I keep it on 75 during the day and maybe 78 at night. We are in an upstairs apartment. We have 1 TV. I use the oven every night for an hour to bake a potato. I use the dishwasher 1-2 times a day depending. But I have a feeling it's the heat that's causing our bill to be so high. I have it set it on 70 which still feels a bit cold but we can't afford $300 for electric every month. Do you all think $300 sounds right for such a small space?
My gas bill, (heat) for a 3400+ sqr foot home plus 1700+ basement is 270ish due to the cold weather lately.
I keep my house at 62 during the day when no one is here and 71 for the rest of the time.
1) You can microwave a baked potato.
2) WEAR MORE CLOTHES and turn the heat WAYYYYY down.
If u get a real chill....do a quick workout. I will do a quick couple sets of curls in the AM and suddenly 62 is quite comfy.
Ya I decided to just turn the heat off for this month because it doesn't usually come on too often if I set it below 70. It's annoying to wear sweatshirts and socks but I can deal with it. If this doesn't bring the bill down I'll have to re-evaluate. I'll update when I get my next bill.
I wear sweats, sweatshirts and socks to sleep in. If I'm not going anywhere I don't bother to change my clothes. Your oven, dishwasher and heater are the cause of your large bill. Forget the dishwasher, wash your dishes by hand - it won't kill you. Use the microwave to bake potatoes, and turn your heater off when you go to sleep and go out. When you're home, keep it turned down.
Otherwise, you'll keep getting large bills.
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