The comment thread on electric bills has sparked a question. How much is my average electrical bill in the summer and just how much did my frugal endeavors help us decrease our bill? I took a look at our 36 month history and this is the actual breakdown for how much electricity we used.
| 6/27/2007 | 978 | $72.46 |
| 5/29/2007 | 888 | $66.90 |
| 4/27/2007 | 804 | $61.86 |
| 3/29/2007 | 1043 | $76.66 |
| 2/27/2007 | 1051 | $77.16 |
| 1/30/2007 | 1248 | $89.11 |
| 12/27/2006 | 1252 | $88.87 |
| 11/21/2006 | 837 | $63.42 |
| 10/24/2006 | 839 | $63.56 |
| 9/27/2006 | 1198 | $85.55 |
| 8/25/2006 | 1282 | $90.71 |
| 7/26/2006 | 1043 | $76.06 |
| 6/28/2006 | 885 | $66.37 |
| 5/30/2006 | 894 | $66.93 |
| 4/27/2006 | 681 | $53.91 |
| 3/28/2006 | 841 | $64.06 |
| 2/27/2006 | 798 | $61.40 |
| 1/27/2006 | 824 | $62.93 |
| 12/28/2005 | 740 | $57.46 |
| 11/28/2005 | 864 | $65.06 |
| 10/24/2005 | 700 | $55.00 |
| 9/28/2005 | 1240 | $87.64 |
| 8/26/2005 | 1292 | $90.80 |
| 7/28/2005 | 1415 | $98.37 |
| 6/27/2005 | 1112 | $79.89 |
| 5/31/2005 | 728 | $56.49 |
| 4/27/2005 | 707 | $55.17 |
| 3/29/2005 | 755 | $57.55 |
| 2/28/2005 | 745 | $56.94 |
| 1/27/2005 | 1004 | $72.58 |
| 12/28/2004 | 1116 | $79.34 |
| 11/23/2004 | 809 | $60.84 |
| 10/25/2004 | 765 | $58.18 |
| 9/28/2004 | 1239 | $86.74 |
| 8/26/2004 | 950 | $69.33 |
| 7/29/2004 | 1247 | $87.35 |
You can see how much our electric bill has gone up and down these past three years. I can’t really put my finger on one single thing that we did to he
lp our decreases, but I believe a number of things we did have helped contribute towards our lowered electric bills.
1. We got a new air conditioner. When we bought this house, it had a beast of an air conditioner. The air conditioner was the original to the house and our house was built in 1967. The energy it took to run it cost us extra money. The new air conditioner is much more energy efficient so it has helped our electric bills greatly.
2. We got a programmable thermostat. Unfortunately, I am home almost all of the time so there are no real set days where no one is around. It does help to program times in when we really need the cool air (when we are up and around in the house) and to be able to turn it off or down (when we are sleeping).
3. We do not use the dryer in the summer. This is a new rule this summer, but it is working well so far. It isn’t just to help with the electric bill though. It is also a secret getaway for me. I can go outside and away from everyone with an excuse that I *have* to do everyone’s laundry. No one can argue with that and it has become a great place to brainstorm new ideas for our site.
4. We open our windows when we can. We actually found screens to all of the windows in our shed, that we didn’t even know we had! We put all of our screens in and have been opening more windows to allow that cool night air in. I am not fond of our loud birds in the morning, but it is worth it to keep our bills down.
5. We are gradually making the transition toward the CFL bulbs. I have been researching prices on these and have found the best deal at our warehouse store. If you don’t have a warehouse store, look for the larger packages, as they tend to offer more savings, versus the single bulbs. When a light bulb needs replacing, we have been replacing them with the new CFL bulbs instead.
One of our contributors towards our bills being higher has definitely been the impact of the rising gas costs. If you take a look at the majority of bills now, compared to the years past, you will see a jump in your fuel surcharge. It costs the companies more to provide these services, and that has translated into higher gas prices. This, lucky for me, translates into higher bills.
As you can see, I am an open book when it comes to my bills. I think it helps me to reflect more on ways that I can improve this category and it also helps hold me accountable towards making these bills lower.
Have you ever taken a look at your electrical history? It is a fun way to see how you can make a positive impact towards lowering your bills.
Related Readings:
Saving on Utilities
The Benefits of Line Drying Your Clothes
Winterizing Your Home
How to Construct an Airing Rack
Amy….thank your for sharing. I think a programable thermostat is one of the best investments for your home. I firmly believe anyone will recoup the cost in a short period of time. Ellie
[Reply]
Thanks for the post. I assume your water bill is not lumped in with electric as it is in some places?
[Reply]
No, this is just our electric. We have a well.
I hope this helps explain everything!
[Reply]
Hey Amy! Thanks for sharing your bills and energy saving ideas. How big is your house? Our bill fluctuates between $120 and $220 a month. We’ve put in energy efficient appliances and a new AC unit. It’s brought our bill down, but still it seems SO high. I have to admit the dryer and dishwasher is prob a big contributor. I’m trying to figure out what is “reasonable” for us. I know that using the appliances is a cost of me working outside the home, but argh!
Anyway, thanks for sharing.. it inspires me to start making little changes and see if it helps.
Sheila
[Reply]
I am happy to share! Our home is actually a quad house (we have three levels and an unfinished basement) and it is approximately 1,800 square feet (not including the basement).
With your dishwasher, maybe just allowing the dishes to air dry rather than running the dryer cycle might help cut that down.
I should also mention that I do live in Indiana. Everyone has different climates to contend with too, and that can make a huge difference in the bills.
Keep em coming!
[Reply]
Thanks for sharing Amy! I’m assuming you have a gas bill though and are not total electric?
We are total electric. Have a 2200 sq. ft. home, built in 2002. Oue bills have run from $60 to the highest being $203.23 in March, this includes $8.46 a month for outdoor lighting. We had a cold snap in March, the one that wiped out our fruit crop.
You are so blessed to have well water. No bill there other than electric for the pump. Just assuming.
We keep our air on 73-75 during the day and 76 or 77 at night.
Cannot open windows as the boys and hubby have allergies and they are really bad year round. We’ve been so dry latelt, that it would be way too dusty anyhow.
Aren’t screens a wonderful thing though? I would not consider doing without ours. What a cool blessing to find them in your shed!
[Reply]
Sorry, I meant to add that the $203.23 bill was for 2,239 kWh of power.
[Reply]
Yes, we are not totally electric. We have gas heating. Our bill averages about the same as our electric. I will see if I can get those records to show too. I don’t mind sharing anything that I can and it makes for great discussions!
Opening windows, line drying clothing, and bringing the outdoors in is a new thing for me. My dad and I had very bad allergies and we couldn’t do things like that. I outgrew my allergies though and now I am enjoying things like that since they weren’t an option before.
I keep our thermostat between 74-75 during the day and in the evening, we usually turn the air off and just open the windows.
Thanks so much for sharing, Marva!
[Reply]
Way to go Amy! And I am so with you for number three. The clothes line is a retreat!
[Reply]
Hi Amy, The topic of energy savings is near and dear to my heart. I found that the best way to find out how your actions impact electricity usage is to actually read your meter on a daily basis. This is not hard to do, and you can google search for how to do it. It’s fun, and it’s addictive, at least for me
My kids love to make a game with me out of stopping the meter from running for a few minutes. If your meter is the style with the revolving dial, you can play this game and notice just how difficult it is to get the dial to completely stop. You’ll find that appliances that have electric displays will keep the dial moving. You’ll see how much the computer pushes that dial forward, and the dvd player when it’s not even being used.
Click my name for one of my little posts about saving electricity.
Oh, and a GREAT resource for ways to save is
http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/
[Reply]