Lowest July Electric Bill!

[N]

Im sure others out there have me beat, but this is my lowest electric bill for the month of july out of the last 3!

I never thought I would be so happy about an electric bill. 81.63 for 679kwh.

That is almost a third of last julys and a quarter of two julys ago. We've had much cooler temps and much much more judicious use of ac. Historically july is our highest use month... So hopefully that holds true.

How Low did you Go?

[Mrs3F]

I had to go back and check mine to compare.  801 kwh @ $148.  I'm sure I could be doing more to limit electric usage - but I'm more surprised by the variation in cost.  Your electricity is an average of $.07 per kwh cheaper than mine.  I'm in NJ.  What gives?

[Jamesqf]

$40.96 for 291 kWh.  Slight improvement over the previous July's $41.68 for 298 kWh.  ~1300 sq ft house in northern Nevada, also one of the hottest Julys on record, but good insulation means I don't use (or really need) A/C.

PS: Cooking & hot water are electric.

[msilenus]

$0.

Solar for the win.

[Cecil]

I get billed bi-monthly, but I paid $105.45 for 1421kWh for June and July combined.

Still haven't figured out why so much electricity for a 2 bedroom condo. I'm not running my electric heaters and I don't have AC. Fridge? Deep freeze? Computers?

[Kriegsspiel]

Huh, usually they tell me how many kW I used but they didn't this month... bill was $40.88.

[zinnie]

My last one was $31.30. Can't seem to find the kWh at the moment.

Summer is our cheap time though, no a/c needed around here!

[N]

Cecil,
It has happened before in our condo building, that the meters were mis-labeled, and owners were getting the wrong bill. Worth checking out!

July is historically our highest use month, because of the a/c. For the past 6 months Ive gotten it to under 50$ for average 350kwh.

[Kriegsspiel]

My last one was $31.30. Can't seem to find the kWh at the moment.

Summer is our cheap time though, no a/c needed around here!

Californians don't count.

[zinnie]

My last one was $31.30. Can't seem to find the kWh at the moment.

Summer is our cheap time though, no a/c needed around here!

Californians don't count.

:)

We're a mess in the winter, though--using heat when it's 55 degrees out because it's "so cold!"

[dorothyc]

My last one was $31.30. Can't seem to find the kWh at the moment.

Summer is our cheap time though, no a/c needed around here!

Californians don't count.

:)

We're a mess in the winter, though--using heat when it's 55 degrees out because it's "so cold!"

:( Californian, but paying an arm and a leg this time of year for a/c - San Fernando Valley, temps typically 80's to 100F or more. We use the a/c as little as possible, put fans in the windows in the evening and set the thermostat to 78F when it is on, but we live in a poorly insulated wood frame/drywall house that doesn't stay cool very well.

[dorothyc]

Just got my bill - they bill every two months, so with the a/c of the last two months we used a total of 2358 kWh, average of 1179 kWh per month at an average cost of 17c a kilowatt hour. Because the electric company do a tiered billing schedule in the summer, we are going around the house this weekend to do an energy audit, and see if there are things we can switch off to save some vampire power, and stay within the lower rate.

I have already found out that the plasma tv is a big culprit for phantom draw, but we replaced a lot of can lights with LED's in the last couple of months, and we were down 11% over the previous year's equivalent period. We are a family of 5 adults in a 1700 sq foot single family residence.

[livetogive]

Ours is consistently $20-25 USD for all energy :P





What I'm neglecting to tell you however is we are total wasteful wendy's when it comes to electronics and consumption, but we also don't use heat or even have A/C.  Just open/close windows when needed.  Also when your space is <1,000 square feet you can usually heat it by cooking dinner :D

[BuildingFrugalHabits]

I'd move to America for the cheaper costs in living but to be honest... Your food system is just deadly.

True but there are workarounds for this like avoiding processed food, buying organic and/or from local farmers markets. I find it amazing that so many people do put up with garbage food but that's another thread entirely. 

July power bill = 0 kWh (solar). 

[sununderwood]

82 kWh -- $13.99 -- no solar!

2 people in first floor apartment of large house, No A/C, used fan 3-4 times the whole summer, great grandma level of frugality and nagging when it comes to using lights, and I don't pay for washer and dryer electricity which is downstairs. We managed via putting sheets in the freezer, opening windows, and good old fashioned acclimation. Also use almost no electronics in house except for stove, refrigerator, carbon monoxide detector, iron, and phone chargers on a regular basis. Occasionally a 19" tv, vacuum, laptop charger, toaster oven, keyboard piano, aaaand that's all I can think of!

Granted, I live in Montana so summers are not humid and never hit 100 degrees, but... I also keep my one and only wall heater set at 52 in the winter ;) Utilities are my strong suit. Bring on the discomfort, make me a warrior.

[BuildingFrugalHabits]

82 kWh -- $13.99 -- no solar!

You sir are a badass!  I salute you.

[teen persuasion]

82 kWh -- $13.99 -- no solar!

You sir are a badass!  I salute you.

And I'm jealous - even at 0 kWh, our bill would be at $17.00 just for the base fee.  Plus taxes, of course.

[BC_Goldman]

I think my electric last month was 137 kWh. Only used AC twice for a couple hours since I was supposed to have guests coming over.

Turned off the water heater partway through July and it looks like I'm tracking to use less than 100 kWh this month. Cold showers are pretty energizing after the initial 5-10 seconds of gasping. Biggest energy suck is my fridge which I calculate to be about 40 per month. Water heater was probably more than the fridge but no simple way to calculate it.

[Skydog]

Last July: $268.64 (gasp... ran the AC 24/7)
This July: $61.94 (ran the AC 1 or 2 times)

[icefr]

Averaged 11.65 kWh/day on my July bill. That came out to about $51 for a bit over 2 months of usage. I've been on a great downward trend with this! :D

[Peanut Butter]

$35.19 for 291 kwh - my bills go from mid-month to mid-month. I've just started turning off my computer and router at the power strip when I'm asleep and when I'm at work. We'll see what that does for the next bill. I'm in a ~400 ft^2 upstairs apartment. It gets hot during the day, but I work nights so I just sleep through it. I also sometimes put a towel soaked in cold water over a box fan and have that blowing on me during the day, or soak my shirt in cold water before I go to bed.

[Zaga]

Yeah, we will never get to the levels of so many of you guys with our house.  (And selling isn't going to happen, DH grew up in this house)

We use an average of 50 kWh per day, that's been the 12 month rolling average over the past couple of years.  Also, our monthly average is right at $200, also for the past few years.

That's in a house with:
*a well pump
*everything electric, no other utilities come out this far
*high summer humidity
*2500 sq feet, plus full basement that needs 2 dehumidifiers all summer
*a geothermal furnace and a/c - this is the most awesome thing ever, btw, but not free to run
*new windows and insulation in all walls and attic

Seriously, the humidity around here is terrible.  Just went to visit my mothers house a few weeks ago and there was mold growing all over the inside of her windows.  That's what you get for letting your house get too hot/humid over just one summer.  Needless to say my brothers and I fixed the problem, the humidity in her house is now at a reasonable level and the mold is cleaned up.

[EmEmEm]

$43.45 total bill for gas (6 therms) & electric (262 kWh). We don't have a/c, so that helps. Would be nice on the hot days though.

[DocCyane]

August bill
369 kWh
$48.19
Los Angeles
900 sq ft apartment
2 people

Previous three years were 560, 545 and 451. Hotter weather.

[BC_Goldman]

Just got my August utility bill today: $23.65 for 0 therms of gas (3rd month in a row) and 87 kWh (a new personal best managed in part by having the hot water heater turned off all month).

[VasyaPupkin]

Our August bill is for 540KWh for a 1600sf house in upstate NY's hot and humid weather which makes it hard to not run AC and basement dehumidifier.
Other months we hover around 300-400KWh.