Friday, 23 January 2009

  • Advice needed.

    So, we were out of town for two weeks and used our heater for 5 days over the past month (used sleeping bags instead to sleep and let our apartment get down into the 50's) and our energy bill is over $90. While we were gone, we had everything unplugged but our refrigerator.
    We live in an apartment complex, so we can't go doing remodeling or anything to get our energy expenditures down. Is there something I'm missing that would save energy for us? I just have a hard time understanding how on earth we used that much. I hear my friends flipping out over their $50 energy bill and how high it is, and it just doesn't make sense to me that we would have all of this trouble with it. Anyway, if you've been visited by the energy fairy and gained some powerful insight, please pass it along! :)

Comments (4)

  • I have no advice other than what you already mentioned. it might be the wiring for the apartment and how old it is. for example, we live in a duplex, and we have to budget $200 a MONTH for the electric/water bill. no advice, but maybe that will make things a little easier to accept.
  • Howdy! I noticed that you stopped by the Campfire earlier, and I wanted to drop in and let you know that it was great to see you there, and you're welcome back anytime!

    Cowboy
  • Just returning the favor. Good luck.
  • Are your windows well-insulated? If not, you can buy window insulation kits for a few dollars. (You basically tape plastic around your windowsill, heat the plastic with a hair dryer, and then, voila, you have an extra layer of air insulating your window. I don't know how helpful it might be, but we did that at the last place we lived. You also might consider an insulation blanket for your water heater, especially if it's more than 7 or 8 years old. It would cost around $20 at Lowes. And, again, I'm not sure how much you'd save.

    Do your friends (the ones with the insanely cheap electricity bills) have the same provider that you do? If not, that might explain it. It's unfair, but power costs vary widely.

    My wife and I did the cold house thing for a while. We had a kerosene heater (while some electricity is required, the main expense is the fuel), and our bill was still around $100. If you add the cost of the kerosene, I suppose we were paying at least $150 a month. (We live in western NC, by the way. Of course, weather plays an important role.)
  • Choose Identity

  • Give eProps (?)

  • Post a Comment

  • Say it with Minis! (?)

  • New! You can now edit your comments for 15 minutes after submitting.

Who recommended?

Who gave the eProps?

2 eProps from: