I have taken to closing up,the house and trning the AC and everyhting else off during the hottest part of the afternoon then going to the gym or the mall. Let them pay to keep me cool.

I thought my $70 bill was high

Thanks for reminding me of my nightmare....

It began with an older  2 story house, ceiling heat, window air conditioners, lots of large single pane windows, and original batt insulation. With all that ...winter electric bill rarely went beyond $125 and summer electric hovered around $50-60 dollars.

Fast forward to our renovation plans: " Hey, lets get a heat pump" ...and the fun begins.

So we ask around, pick the one that seemed to have the best reputation for service, warranty and longevity...their slogan is " Nothing Runs Like A _____" (rhymes with "PAIN") coincidence?
Had extra insulation blown in during install too

During the summer when it was installed it ran fine, winter came and we notice heating bills are going up...$150, $175...service co. says unit is running fine, they just have to add 1-2 lbs of refrigerent every once in a while....(what the hell do I know, I don't work with HVAC). I chalk the higher bills up to leaky windows, poor insulation.

2nd summer: new roof w/ ridge & eave vents, all new energy efficient double pane windows, new siding w/ panel insulation underneath (R-1..but hey , every little bit helps), new water heater, insulated doors and seals.
When cold weather hits...electric bill goes to $300...WTF? Service Co. comes out , I'm steamin', they say there's a leak in the system. They pressure test and dye test but can't find shit.

Next month ....$350....I'm inventing new cuss words by now. I tell'em they better fix it pronto or I'll wrap a chain around the damn thing and drag it to the end of the driveway where they can pick it up..and I meant it.

Turns out the unit had a bad circuit board and was running on defrost full time....Plus after 2nd pressure and UV dye test , they found a pinhole leak in the inside coil...a factory defect. Thats why they had to add 6 more lbs of refrigerant on the last visit, and why the outside unit looked like one giant icecube....

Finally fixed, so far ..so good. Electric bill finally back down to $50-100 range.

If my meter starts spinnin' like a frizbee again...then they can change their slogan to " Nothing DRAGS like a ______"

My past two electric bills were $331.21 and $332.48.  The thermostat is set at 75 all day, and I use a window unit in my bedroom, since the upper level of the house isn't cool enough for the good zzzzzs.  

I have 2 roof fans that I leave running 24/7.  If it gets down into the 60s at night I have a whole house fan that works really well.  Unfortunately around here at night these days, it's pushing 80 half the time.

I got the same bills last year, more or less, when I tried setting the thermostat on a program that bumped it up/down during the day.  That really doesn't work for AC very well.  

My house is 60 years old, and I'm the blown in stuff (like I have in the attic) has settled.  

It's even worse in the winter.  $300 + gas bills, with the thermosat at 58 all day, and only bumped up to 68 for about 5 hours a day. Gas SUCKS these days...it's quadrupled in price in the last 5 years.

There are about 4 months a year that I get a break...April May, then Oct, Nov.    

It's one of the main reasons I'm bailing on this area...the mix of escalating house payment, heavy real estate taxes, and the utility bills, I can't afford to live here anymore.  

Quoted: Thanks for reminding me of my nightmare.... So we ask around, pick the one that seemed to have the best reputation for service, warranty and longevity...their slogan is " Nothing Runs Like A _____" (rhymes with "PAIN") coincidence? Had extra insulation blown in during install too During the summer when it was installed it ran fine, winter came and we notice heating bills are going up...$150, $175...service co. says unit is running fine, they just have to add 1-2 lbs of refrigerent every once in a while....(what the hell do I know, I don't work with HVAC). I chalk the higher bills up to leaky windows, poor insulation.

The AC I bought to upgrade my old one also rhymes with "PAIN", in fact it is a Payne.  And it has been a pain in the ass.  Every year I end up having to put anywhere from $65.00 to $150.00 in it to get it to work right.  

Quoted: It ran constantly during the day, didn't ever get the house below 85 degrees...the AC a lot more than I think it should run during the day HVAC guys love to intentionally sale undersized units so they'll be back soon to charge you more money. Definitely buy more bags of insulation and dump them in the ceiling.  That helps.  After you do that, you can buy the rolls of insulation and lay them down perpendicular to the joists. Also, hows the ventilation in the attic?  My house dropped a good 5 degrees after I added two exhaust fans in the attic. how the hell do I get more into the walls without tearing the hell out of them? I've drilled 1" holes in the 2x4's at the top of the walls then stuffed insulation into a large funnel to fill the walls.  It's tedious, but it works.  If I have to do it again, I'll try to rig-up something with a leaf blower or a shop-vac to make the job easier.z

Go to Lowes, buy the bagged insulation, rent an insulation blower for the weekend, mark the spaces between the studs at the top of the interior walls (from your living room, kitchen, etc), drill the appropriate sized holes there, and blow the stuff in.  Patch with fiberglass tape, drywall mud, and paint when finished.  My brother in law did this to his house that was built in the 1950s - without any insulation in the walls - after freezing through a Michigan winter and paying 300 dollar a month gas bills because his furnace ran continuously from November through March.

Quoted: my bill is $250 this month and my highest bill to date img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/twonami/img103.jpg

Dude- get the saver switch from Excel- save you 15%

I just got a new HVAC put in yesterday. I'm gonna puke if it;s that high next month!

GR

July bill:  $123.29

Usage:  1,528 KwH

Not bad for a 2400 S/F ranch.  We are all electric, so our $300 electric bills come in the winter.  

Mine was more than double from last month. SUCKS!

Quoted: Quoted: my bill is $250 this month and my highest bill to date img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/twonami/img103.jpg Dude- get the saver switch from Excel- save you 15%

I have a switch saverinstalled in 99 or 00 I believe

200 bucks for me.  I need to buy some more insulation.

Quoted: July bill:  $123.29 Usage:  1,528 KwH Not bad for a 2400 S/F ranch.  We are all electric, so our $300 electric bills come in the winter.

are you buying the electricity from a utility company that makes their own power? you might want to check.........the utility company that supplies me, makes their own electricity, so by going all electric, I buy at the wholesale  rate.