Since moving into a larger home, I have been worried about what our utilities were going to be. Well, after receiving our gas bill last week and our electric bill over the weekend, it’s safe to say we will be cutting back immensely this month.
Our gas bill was $167, our electric bill was $196 and our water bill was $48.
Let’s break it down…
January was a cold month here in NC, especially for us considering we are from AZ. We decided to put our thermostat at 70 degrees and adjust as needed depending on that first bill. This may surprise some of you, but I’m actually OK with the $167 gas bill. John and I decided if it was more than $200, we would turn it down but since it’s $167, we’re keeping it at 70 degrees. I know I’m a wimp…but I’m FREEZING even though to most people 70 is probably warm. I definitely plan on lowering the thermostat next winter once we’ve adjusted a bit to the colder climate. In comparison, our electric bill in AZ over the summer months was $250-$300 keeping it 80-81 degrees in a 1700 sq ft house. It’s all relative…
Now let’s talk about the water bill. At $48, we’re happy with that. We don’t use water excessively and $48 isn’t that much, so moving on.
The electric bill is what shocked us the most. Honestly, we expected $80 or less. How in the world did we use $196 of electricity?!?! We turn off the lights when we’re not in the room, the heater is run by gas, we don’t watch much television…I didn’t get it. After looking closely at the bill, I saw there was a $25 activation fee and the bill was for 40 days instead of 30. If you subtract those expenses, the actual “usage” was more along the lines of $125. Not great, but that’s something I can work with.
How we plan on saving on utilities
I expect to see a significantly lower bill in February in regards to our electricity usage. Here’s what we plan on doing:
Using the dryer minimally. We purchased our washer and dryer off of Craigslist for cheap. The washer works great…the dryer, not so much. It takes 80-90 minutes to dry clothes with that thing. I do laundry pretty regularly and never thought much of it until seeing that bill. So, from now on we are going to hang our clothes in the garage to dry and then “fluff” them for 10 minutes or so to get rid of the wrinkles (if needed). We’re also cutting back on doing laundry every day or every two days to once or twice a week. I’m 99% certain the high bill was due to our inefficient dryer.
Unplugging electronics not in use. Did you know that electronic devices that are plugged in use energy, even if they’re not on? It’s not much, but little things do add up. Think about things around your house that are plugged in but not being used – your cell phone charger, the coffee pot, the television, the DVD player, lamps, the computer, etc. This month, we’re being more aware of what’s plugged in and not on and making the effort to unplug the item.
Using lights minimally. While I don’t leave lights on if I’m not in the room, I do rely too much on lamps and lights rather than natural sunlight. Instead of having the kitchen and family room lights on while I work, I’m opening the blinds and relying on the sun!
Taking shorter showers and less baths. I LOVE baths, but in an effort to save money I’m limiting my baths to once per week. I’m also going to take shorter showers instead of standing under the hot water for 15 minutes in an effort to warm up.
Other ways to cut back on utilities
Turn the thermostat down a degree or two. We’re not doing this, but if your gas bill is high this is the easiest way to lower it.
Don’t pre-rinse your dishes
Turn the water heater down. Lower it to 120 degrees – you’ll still have hot water but you’ll save a few bucks a month.
Purchase energy-efficient appliances
Use cold water for your laundry. Save the hot water for the heavily-soiled clothes.
Only wash clothes that truly need washing
Use energy-efficient light bulbs
Dress warmly
Switch to low-flow shower heads to use less water
I’ll be reporting back in a month with an update on our bills. Hopefully, our strategies will pay off…or else I may be lowering our thermostat. What tips do you have to save money on utilities? I’d love to know!!
photo credit: Flickr via Brendan Wood
Christina @ Embracing Simple says
atHaha as someone raised in the North, I would definitely consider 70 to be warm for winter. But it goes both ways – we visited family near Vegas a few years ago in early June and they had their AC set at 80….I literally thought I was going to die from a heat stroke. Lol!
Something we do to try to save a bit of money is to close the vents in rooms we don’t use constantly so the hot air isn’t being wasted on an unused space. So for us that is part of our basement and then my office when I’m not using it.
We also turn the thermostat down 2-3 degrees at night because we don’t need it as warm when we are all bundled up under the covers.
Ashley Brooks says
atHanging clothes to dry is SUCH a great way to save! If I do need to use the dryer, I set it for a timed dry instead of using it’s preset “normal” dry. I’m not sure how it determines when clothes are dry, but by checking the clothes myself, I discovered the “normal” setting runs the dyer up to 30 minutes past when clothes are actually dry!
My other favorite is turning off the heated dry on the dishwasher. I run the dishwasher when we go to bed, so they have all night to air dry. If I need to wipe water off some things when I unload it in the morning, it’s not a big deal. Turning down the thermostat at night or when no one is home is another good idea!
Sarah Brooks says
atGood tips on the dryer, thanks!! I’m thinking by hanging our clothes we will save SO much. I would check our clothes after an hour of being in the dryer and they STILL wouldn’t be dry. Such a waste!!
Jayleen @ How Do The Jones Do It says
atGoodness! 70 seems so cold to me. We keep our thermostat at 74 in winter and summer. Of course, our weather is pretty mild here so that is doable. We do have it set to 70 at night.
I tend to go through phases where I’ll go around unplugging everything. It would be helpful if I could get the rest of the family on board though. We are pretty good about turning the lights off when not in use. I think I’ll talk to the boy about flipping the switch on the wonder bar when he’s done gaming!
Sarah Brooks says
atYes! I’m curious to see the difference it will make in unplugging items not in use. I would LOVE the house to be at 74!!! In AZ I was able to keep it at 78 in the winter and 80-82 in the summer. Heating bills in AZ were never high, so I never worried about that (it was the AC bill that killed us, haha!).
Chonce says
atI tried to keep our electric bill at $80 this month too, but it ended up being $178! It was super cold last month in the midwest but I still don’t think that number is okay. Since the heat is apart of our electric bill I’m definitely looking for a way to cut back by turning the thermostat down when no one is home and getting my son to sleep without so much light in his room (he’s a scaredy cat). We try to use the natural light to light the house during the day and refrain from turning lights on until we absolutely have to, which is around 5 pm. Unplugging appliances and dressing warmly will also help. Thanks for the tips!
Sarah Brooks says
atYes!! Dressing warmly makes a big difference! Do you use your dryer a lot? I’m 99% certain that’s why our bill was so high. This month, we’re cutting WAY back on laundry (every day or every other day to once a week!) and hanging our clothes to dry instead of relying on the dryer. Hoping it makes a big difference!
Jason B says
atI’ve been unplugging my appliances for the last year and a half. My electric bill averaged $48 the previous 12 months. I will take that anytime.
Sarah Brooks says
atWow!! $48?! That’s awesome!! Definitely giving the unplugging appliances thing a try! Thanks!
Emily @ Simple Cheap Mom says
atFor electricity, I’d say focus on stuff that heats or cools. Do you have an extra fridge/freezer? If the fan on your furnace on all the time? Is your oven always on? Are any electronics that are plugged in hot to the touch? Do you have a PVR/Gaming System/TV that is always on?
Electricity use shouldn’t depend on the size of your house, but on how much you use. I thought being in a modest home would mean modest electricity bills until I kept getting $125-$140 bills and I realized that it all came down to our usage, not our house. Our bills are down near $50-$60 now.
Sarah Brooks says
atWow!! That’s a huge difference! I’m hoping to get our bill down to the $80 range, no more. I will say I probably left on too many lights this past month, so now I’m relying on the sunlight more. We also do have random gadgets that are plugged in all the time, so we’re unplugging those when not in use. We’re also doing a LOT less laundry. I usually did laundry every day or at the very least, every other day. Now, we’re trying to cut back to once per week and hanging our clothes to dry!
Ramona says
atReally looking forward to your updates. Our utility bills are still pretty OK so far, but we do need to consider some ways to cut back on the unnecessary spending ourselves.
Sarah Brooks says
atThanks for the comment! Hoping I have a positive update next month, haha!
Kathy says
atWe are building a larger home and I am definitely thinking about the higher utility bills. We will be doing super-insulation in the walls and attics, purchasing energy efficient appliances and low-flow toilets. We are also getting a tankless water heater which I am told is much more energy efficient. It will be a first for us and definitely a leap of faith. One way to save water I learned as a child and while many (most) people are turned off by this, it works. Don’t flush the toilet every time you use it. During a time of water conservation in our town, one recommendation was “if it don’t float, don’t flush.” Flush frequently enough that toilet paper doesn’t plug it up, especially in low flow toilets. Otherwise, every other use saves water.
Sarah Brooks says
atGreat idea!! I do this occasionally (not flush) but my husband is actually grossed out by that, so if he’s home I always flush, haha. Good luck with your new home!! Sounds so fun to build!!!
Elroy says
atWe keep our house @ 65 and our gas/electric was $350 last month. C’est la vie. I am thinking about upgrading our upstairs furnace and both AC units this summer. Maybe […]
Sarah Brooks says
atOh wow!! That’s a really high bill and you already keep the house really cold, so I don’t think there’s anything you can do. Maybe upgrading would be the way to go!!
Mrs. Frugalwoods says
atIt’s always such an adventure figuring out utilities, etc in a new house! I’m a big fan of hanging clothes to dry as well. I’ve found that they dry overnight hanging in our basement, which works for me.
In terms of our bills, we keep them low by setting our thermostat low (62 during the day and 58 at night). We have such cold winters here that we’d be paying through the nose otherwise. Do you set yours lower at night or when you’re not home? We’ve found that to be a great way to save a bit more. Good luck with the next month :)!
Sarah Brooks says
atThanks for the comment, Mrs. Frugalwoods!! I admire you guys so much!! Hopefully next winter when we’re more acclimated we can turn the heat down, but for now I am so cold even at 70 🙁 I think our house is also poorly insulated…because even my husband, who is ALWAYS hot, is freezing in here. We don’t turn it down at night because of the little ones and we’re home during the day. It looks like it warms up in NC in the middle of March, so hopefully these high bills will be ending soon!!
Tarynkay says
atWe are in NC as well. We spent $137 on electric and $35 on gas last month. We do have gas heat. We keep it on 68 during the day and 65 at night. We turn it down to 50 if we are going to be away all day. How is your insulation situation? We live in a house built in 1950, and when we added insulation to the attic, that helped our heating bills a lot. We would like to insulate the walls and floor as well. Our oven is gas as well. We also have newer windows that the previous homeowners installed, that makes a big difference.
We also have an ancient dryer (from the 1970s) it takes 140 minutes to dry a load of clothes. In warmer months, I have hung everything to dry on the line outside, this saves us about $20/month. I also unplug everything as a child safety measure, but this has not saved any money at all. We have LED lights in the kitchen and compact flourescents everywhere else, and we do not leave them on.
Sarah Brooks says
at$35?!?! That’s incredible!!! I’m not sure how well the house in insulated actually. It’s a rental and was built about 10-15 years ago. I think the main problem is the size (3000 sq ft) and tall ceilings. We are definitely learning a lot about whether or not we want to own a larger home. It’s definitely more expensive than something smaller and if our utility bills continue to be outrageous, I’m sure we will opt for a more affordable, smaller home when we go to buy one.
Tarynkay says
atWe replaced the whole HVAC system a few years ago. It was 40 years old when we replaced it. It is a heat pump, so that means that it uses both gas and electric. Before replacing our system, we spent about $300 a month keeping the heat on 65 in the day and 60 at night.
We do keep it warmer now because of our frequently naked three year old, though I have had days where I just keep turning it down until he puts his clothes back on.
Jan says
atIt is going to be tough to lower those bills a whole lot with you having two little children who are home most days while you work from home. You don’t have the option of dialing the heat back to 60 degrees in this situation. You obviously can make some small changes that will impact your bills but if you do the math and look at your daily costs for the gas and electric, I don’t think either of your bills was out of line.
Sarah Brooks says
atThanks for being real!! I agree – I have two kids and I’m home all day, so it’s not like I can turn it down to 65 or something. The kids need to stay warm and it’s my job to make sure they are! Plus, it’d be harder for me to work if I’m freezing!!
Brad says
atThe bills are very high.
We are a family of three and live in 850 sf condo.
We only pay $30 electricity only.
Gas and water are included in $280 a month association fee.