Quote:
Originally Posted by justjr27
i just got me bill today and it was outragous 415 dollars for a month which has me freaky out b/c my house is only a 2 bedroom. All I had Running was 3 1000 watt lights at 12/12 and 1 1000 watt light at 20/4 and two 5,000 btu a/c's at the same time as the lights.
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I calculated the lights and A/C using 20 cents/kw-hr (on the high side, FL rates seem to be between 10-15 cents) and came up with $300 for 31 days ($225 if you use 15 cents). Less than that actually as I do not think the A/C units are running at all times. How much power are those A/C units drawing (500W seems to be average for 5000 BTU A/C units)? Honestly though, what exactly did you expect running that kind of power consumption in lights and A/C?
I too laughed when you nonchalantly said, "All I had running was 4 1kW lights"...seriously though, you probably should have calculated your electricity cost prior to purchasing all of that just to be sure it wouldn't have an abnormal effect on your electricity bill or at the very least give you any nasty surprises like you just got.
How much was your average bill prior to the added amenities? If you are doubling your regular consumption on a regular basis you may have a problem. Summer is here and with it higher temps...just tell them you've been running the A/C a lot to combat the weather, maybe had a bunch of out-of-state friends/family who aren't used to the heat for an extended period of time?
Swapping the 1kW's out for 600 watters will save you about $60/month at most assuming 15 cents per kw-hr...still a decent chunk of money though, that's almost 15% of your bill. Changing your 20/4 schedule to 18/6 could save you up to another $10. Not to mention with the reduced wattage lighting and hours you'll be using the A/C less...you might be able to drop your bill close to 20% just by doing the above
