Electric usage, feedback please.

**sutyak** · 03-17-2011, 09:25 PM

OK I've only been in PA for two weeks now and I need to compare my electric usage to somebody else with a full-electric household.
I've always used gas in WV for most everything.
Our usage was 1,464 kwh for 10 days for a bill of $165!
That's keeping the house at 70 degrees and an average daily temp of 39 degrees.
A $500/month electric bill was not what I was expecting for a 3-bedroom house.
Thoughts please?

**mustang50lx** · 03-17-2011, 09:32 PM

Ours is 400 to 500 in the winter with a 3 bedroom house.

**sutyak** · 03-17-2011, 09:36 PM

Wow that's nuts.
In WV a 3-bedroom house with gas cost $175/month gas AND electric bills (budgeted gas). Gas would max out around $225 though if not budgeted.

For those keeping track, that's a 54% jump in utility costs moving from WV to PA.

**08snake** · 03-17-2011, 09:47 PM

I only pay 160 combo of gas and electric but I only have a 2 bedroom house.

**thedak** · 03-17-2011, 10:06 PM

Keeping a house at 70 degrees is nuts.

Turn the heat down.

**sutyak** · 03-17-2011, 10:43 PM

Originally Posted by LS3GTO

Keeping a house at 70 degrees is nuts.

Turn the heat down.

Apparently it is in PA.

**mustang50lx** · 03-17-2011, 11:54 PM

We set out t-stat on 66. We have had gas and oil in the past. Gas is the way to go, but it's not avalible on my street.

**cwh19** · 03-18-2011, 12:03 AM

Whenever we kept our house at 68 last winter, my gas bill was around 400 for January and February. My house is now at 60 in the winter and my bill was around 200 for the past 2 months. Having the house colder was definitely worth it.

**Mark Aubele** · 03-18-2011, 12:37 AM

Yeah, 70 is crazy. Keep ours at around 66, when I was single my house was like 55.

**John4cam** · 03-18-2011, 07:31 AM

What all is gas, and what is electric in your home? My decent sized split entry with addition, and 4 beds puts me around $115-$140 per month for electric.

**speedracer** · 03-18-2011, 07:43 AM

http://energybible.com/solar_energy/...-by-state.html

**sutyak** · 03-19-2011, 11:02 AM

Thanks everyone.
It's a full electric house. There are two identical electric furnaces siamesed together.
I should say the temperature was not actually set at 70 degrees at the thermostats (yes two) but rather that's what the actual house temperature read on a separate digital thermometer.
I cranked the heat down, but it's also been warmer outside too.
Usage went way down.

I DO have an option by my landlord to install a heat pump and central air (obviously not for free).
I'd like to also hear some heat pump comparisons if anyone has that info.
I'm figuring these twin heaters consume around 30,000kw. I'd love to know the power consumption of a heat pump to compare.

speedracer thanks for that link. PA is certainly higher than WV but wow there are some states out there that are just outlandish.
Come on nuclear power. I think I have to say that now since I work for Westinghouse.

**speedracer** · 03-19-2011, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by sporadic

Thanks everyone.
It's a full electric house. There are two identical electric furnaces siamesed together.
I should say the temperature was not actually set at 70 degrees at the thermostats (yes two) but rather that's what the actual house temperature read on a separate digital thermometer.
I cranked the heat down, but it's also been warmer outside too.
Usage went way down.

I DO have an option by my landlord to install a heat pump and central air (obviously not for free).
I'd like to also hear some heat pump comparisons if anyone has that info.
I'm figuring these twin heaters consume around 30,000kw. I'd love to know the power consumption of a heat pump to compare.

speedracer thanks for that link. PA is certainly higher than WV but wow there are some states out there that are just outlandish.
Come on nuclear power. I think I have to say that now since I work for Westinghouse.

Coal is better for the enviroment should there ever be an earthquake ;) I say this beacuse its true and keeps me employed :)

I just looked at my bill and my usage rate here is $6.85

**sutyak** · 03-19-2011, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by speedracer

Coal is better for the enviroment should there ever be an earthquake ;) I say this beacuse its true and keeps me employed :)

I just looked at my bill and my usage rate here is $6.85

Yeah I grew up in a coal-mining family, so now working for a nuclear-centric company is ironic.
The whole Japan nuclear incident is a discussion way beyond this thread.

**sutyak** · 03-20-2011, 11:31 AM

OK the electric furnace was definitely the issue. A few days of keeping the heat turned down AND it being warmer outside has significantly dropped the usage.
When it was so warm on Friday the kwh usage was only 31 vs a high of 167.
I'm just going to have to get used to keeping the temperature in the house a few degrees cooler.

I'd still love to know how much a heat pump would save me next winter, if anything.