My APARTMENTS Electric Bill was $400!! Advice??

[seashoreCM]

(for those eavesdropping)

Do you have an all-electric water heater? That together with a leak in the hot water plumbing (or in the heater) will eat up a lot of electricity.

Turn off the shutoff valve above the water heater and also flip off the circuit breaker, and verify using a hot faucet that the water flow has stopped. Turn it back on only when you need to use hot water.

Just flipping off the breaker for the water heater will not solve this problem because the leak will cause the tank to become filled with cold water and next time you need hot water it will take an hour to heat the tankful after you flip the breaker back on.

The water heater heat should not be on or enabled when the water supply is shut off because the water heater will self destruct if it kicks on without the tank full of water.

 

[LovesTimone]

If you are renting, it is there responsibility to take care of the unit... Push for a new one.... and keep on it - be professional put everything in writing, email... If you get no response from the local manager, write/email the corporate offices/ and call. Being younger and new to this type of situation, they might just think that they can push you around. Ask your neighbors what are they paying... then if everyone is in the same boat, then you really have a case, have them write/ email to...

You could buy a couple of cheap ceiling fans and put up - you can pick them up for way under 50.00 bucks,then only using when you are in that room, limit cooking turning on all the burners and especially the oven will heat up the rooms.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Wow.....$400 is too much for that unit. Are you running the fan on the AC all the time? Changing filters? I would call the local news station and talk to their consumer affairs people if the landlord does not do something. Also, buy some room darkening curtains to keep the sun out.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

If the person is not satisfied with their bill, I hope they got it reduced 10 years ago when actual condition existed!

 

[powellrj]

The OP was last seen 12/2015. I don't think they are going to respond.

 

[StacyStrong]

HOW DO YOU GUYS SURVIVE WITH AC SET AT 78??

I am shook. I feel miserable if it's over 73-74 and prefer it set at 72.

Oh. This is old. Sorry.

 

[gottalovepluto]

ZOMBIE THREAD FOLKS!!!!!!

 

[aml3679]

Start looking for a new place to live. We live in Florida where our AC is running full tilt at least 9 months out of the year and we pay on average $250 a month or less.

 

[seashoreCM]

Not a zombie thread, folks! Rather one of eight featured threads probably chosen at random and then listed at the bottom of a current forum page.

 

[afan]

Not a zombie thread, folks! Rather one of eight featured threads probably chosen at random and then listed at the bottom of a current forum page.

Actually it is a zombie thread since it's from 2008. A lot of the featured threads are old and shouldn't be there but there's something that will pick out these old threads.

The thread is a zombie and we'll never find out what happened, it needs to be left alone so it will fall to at least the 2nd page.

 

[Young Fire]

I know im 100 years late but i feel your pain,
ive been going through this for two years now and im soooo tired of it.
I moved from my NYC 2017 with my wife a daughter "for our daughter" our first place was in carmel ny 2 bedroom apt no a.c but electric heat and our bills were very cheap about $80 dollars every two months "beautiful", we didn't like the area and the rent wasn't any different from NYC, so we moved once our daughter finished 2nd grade highland ny by poughkeepsie.
We got our first bill for $450 from central hudson for one month i was just soo confused i called to see if there was a mistake and the said its bc i have electric heat foh that's bs but there seems nth i can do i im on their so called budget billing $320 a month. I don't know what we can do about this but its really ridiculous

 

[nordkin]

I know im 100 years late but i feel your pain,
ive been going through this for two years now and im soooo tired of it.
I moved from my NYC 2017 with my wife a daughter "for our daughter" our first place was in carmel ny 2 bedroom apt no a.c but electric heat and our bills were very cheap about $80 dollars every two months "beautiful", we didn't like the area and the rent wasn't any different from NYC, so we moved once our daughter finished 2nd grade highland ny by poughkeepsie.
We got our first bill for $450 from central hudson for one month i was just soo confused i called to see if there was a mistake and the said its bc i have electric heat foh that's bs but there seems nth i can do i im on their so called budget billing $320 a month. I don't know what we can do about this but its really ridiculous

Sounds like your first place was the one with incorrect billing. Electric heat is the most expensive heat, especially if it is electric baseboard.

 

[RamblingMad]

What temperature do you set it to?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I realize this is old, but just in case someone is searching for the same thing...

We live in the Northeast and our monthly bills are high anyway. But one time I noticed they were higher than usual, and I didn't know why. Until our fridge started running warm and I had to have a repair person out. He pulled a box out of my freezer that was causing the door not to shut all the way, and apparently, because of that, something was cycling continuously inside the appliance trying to keep the temperature up. He took the box out, held it up, and said, "This box has been costing you a lot of money!", lol.

So my advice is, along with all the other good suggestions, make sure your fridge and freezer doors close correctly and that the seals are good. Also make sure you don't have a bread bag or something else up against the vent, which blocks air flow, and clean under the fridge from time to time to get the dust out.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Sorry....I didn't realize how old this post was.

 

[BeachLife]

HOW DO YOU GUYS SURVIVE WITH AC SET AT 78??
I am shook. I feel miserable if it's over 73-74 and prefer it set at 72.

It's not the heat, rather it's the humidity which determines human comfort. It's currently 79F in here...BUT 38% humidity with the dehumidifier cranking away. Get the humidity under control and temperature doesn't matter as much. On the other hand, if humidity's high, you're going to have to crank the AC waaay down to feel comfortable. Unfortunately, many hotels in the Orlando area are very humid. A couple of the newer Marriott properties do have dehumidifiers and it makes a huge difference in comfort.

 

[Alicenwonderment]

I know this is a zombie thread but the whole time I was like they are lucky their electric was done by apartment units. I lived in VA a while back in a 4th floor apt. I was very careful with heat and air in my studio apt. I would turn off heat until I got home etc. I got my first bill and called. I was told it was done by taking an average for each floor is it really didn't matter if I kept the heat off.