People struggle to pay heating bills in sub-zero temperatures

[Bunnykid68]

Mine was lower than I was expecting. Now I am wondering if they did an estimate because my schedule reading time was during that cold snap. I could be hurting with next months bill

 

[Leadeye]

Geothermal furnace still has yet to come on here, still have a good supply of dry split wood although I'm using it up quickly. Going to be a busy summer replenishing the pile.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Geothermal furnace still has yet to come on here, still have a good supply of dry split wood although I'm using it up quickly. Going to be a busy summer replenishing the pile.

Our furnace hadn't kicked on at all until my wood supply got low. When we were down to about a week's worth, we shut it down and turned the furnace on last week. I really thought I had enough wood to get me deep into February, and maybe would have if not for the cold cold. I have a lot of kerosene saved up, so now I'm burning my kerosene heater and it keeps the house tolerable. I also plan to be spending much quality time with my chain saw and the splitting maul next summer.

 

[1775usmarine]

One thing that helps at our house is closing the vents in the spare bedroom and keeping the door to that room closed. Also, the patio doors in back are not well-insulated at all. I tacked up an old comforter over them and it helps a lot.

A small hint that helps a little? Immediately after using the oven or dishwasher, I leave them open to let the heat escape into the kitchen.

I'm sure if my wife comes to the meet and eat in Feb you two would kick it off great. She does the same things you do. Our NIPSCO was 255 our highest yet. She likes to keep the temp in between 65 and 68 degrees.

 

[88GT]

$450? Really? Does she live in a 5,000 sq ft home with half the windows open and heated by a 1960's furnace? I'm in Indianapolis as well, my thermostat is set to 70, and my gas bill is always under $120 except the February bill, which is always under $180. Natural gas prices have gone down thanks to fracking. I pay less now than I did in 2006.

It doesn't take much. Simply replacing the wooden windows from my 1920s double on one side more than halved the gas bill, all else being equal. And unless you can say that last part, it's almost pointless to compare utility bills.

 

[jon5212]

I'm in a ~1900 sq ft two story on a crawl space that's all electric. I will never buy a house again that is all electric. The highest bill I've seen so far is about 190 though so the poster earlier who has 2500 sq ft in a new house paying $400 a month doesn't add up... My house is 30 years old and definitely doesn't have the best insulation...

 

[richardraw316]

Before I moved to my current location, I rented an old crappy house. It leaked heat like the Windows were stuck open. I got a gas bill of $400 one month. So I called the gas company and they came out to check my outside meter and found that it was leaking. They fixed the leak and then next month sent me a bill for 800. I hated the gas company for a long time because of that. I spent the rest of the winter heating the entire house with space heaters cause I could not pay that Bill that they said I owed. my electric bill jumped to 350 still cheaper than 800.

 

[jd4320t]

So, she was already behind before this month? Would that have been the bill for November? Looks like she just has trouble paying bills. Does the thermostat need to be at 72?

 

[JBI812]

Take your total electric bill and divide it by the number of Kwh's you used...How does that compare to $0.13/Kwh? That's what I pay. It's going to be brutal.

I don't have the spread sheet in front of me but I've kept records since 1995 and the average is somewhere around $0.07 ?KWH. Last months usage was about 600 kws more than the same period last year. I elected not to use average billing because I enjoy having a few extra bucks in the summer time. The usage curve started going up early this year and usually starts to bend downward in March. Then air condition season starts. I must admit that I have lousy windows but I can buy lots of electricity with what it cost to replace-em.

 

[Joe G]

Looks like she just has trouble paying bills. Does the thermostat need to be at 72?

For sure. Another example of the entitlement mentality.

2.5 years ago I was laid off for the first time ever. We had just sold our house and were planning on renting while we built the new one. With an unknown future we found an old farmhouse outside of town that was VERY reasonable to rent and was large enough to fit most of our stuff in. Problem was it was almost 100 years old and had very little insulation and an old/inefficient propane furnace. The upstairs bedroom the wife and I were in had NO insulation - I swear it got down to 50 degrees at night!

You know what we did? We lived within our means. We turned down the temp (usually around 64-65) and put on more clothes and/or a blanket. I'd be embarrassed to be quoted on TV and the internet saying I couldn't afford my heat bill, only to say/show that you keep it on 72 degrees.

Want to save money? Turn down the heat.

"Turn down your thermostat to 68 degrees. For every degree you lower your heat in the 60-degree to 70-degree range, you'll save up to 5 percent on heating costs. Wear warm clothing like a sweater and set your thermostat to 68 degrees or lower during the day and evening, health permitting. Set the thermostat back to 55 degrees or off at night or when leaving home for an extended time, saving 5-20 percent of your heating costs (heat pumps should only be set back 2 degrees to prevent unneeded use of backup strip heating)."

Winter Time Energy Saving Tips

 

[Fred78]

A friend just had his LP tank filled yesterday it was down to 5% $4.80 a gallon and the distributor says it will probably go to $6.00 by March. He had been on a waiting list for fuel over a week. He had a fuel contract so much for that.