SECO Bill
 

I am new here, only one month. Just got SECO bill and it is 151.00 for one month!!! Is this average? Seems high to me. If I may ask, what is the average bill others are receiving. We have a CYV, just 2 of us living here. Thermostat set at 73. Just need some advice. Thanks. :)

Thermostats set at 78 in day and maybe 77 at night, ours runs $120-140 during the summer for an Iris about 1965 square feet. Heatpump

73 is really low and will cost quite a bit more to cool..

If u keep ur temp. Down that low in the summer it will be even more expensive. Our normal bills with the temp set between 76-78 runs $130-$150. We have a 3 bedroom CYV. We lived in AZ for 30 years and the electric bill in the summer was $250-$300 a month with temp set no lower than 78. For us it is cheaper here.

Try changing it gradually
 

You do get used to the higher temp settings. We keep ours at 78 daytime and 76 at night, use ceiling fans most of the time. Had the east and south exposure windows tinted with window film. That helped a lot also. We used to constantly change the daytime back to 76 when we were in the house as we felt too warm, but don't anymore, or rarely.

I know several people who keep their a/c set at 80 - that I can't handle yet.

But, coming soon are several months (usually) of no a/c and no heat needed, at least if you are allergy-free.

Take a close look at your bill, my first bill included about $70 in one time new customer charges.

We have a 2-1/2 year old masonry 2BR CYV and our last SECO bill was $92, all summer they averaged in the $90's. The highest bill we ever had was about $110 during our first year of 2011. However, we set the A/C temperature on 83 and at night 82, any lower than that and it's too cold for us. We also use our ceiling fans. I thought that was rather warm so I brought in a separate thermometer to compare and it read exactly the same, 83 degrees. I guess were just use to it.

When I go in friends CYV's they feel like a refrigerator to me. 73 seems awfully low, maybe try 78. When we first moved here we would set ours at 79, then a couple of months later we went to 80 and then 81 and now we sometimes even set ours to 84. We haven't tried to make it too warm, we're just setting it to what's comfortable for us.

We keep ours on 79.

We have a 1500 sq ft house. I set a daily schedule on the thermostat. It is 77 from 6 am until 5 pm. It then drops to 76 from 5 pm to 10 pm. From 10 pm to 6 am it is 74 as I need it cool at night. Our monthly bill is 102.0

I remember back in the 70's our electric bill being $350 a month in our new house. We could barely afford it. In Ohio our heating oil ran about $200 a month plus another $65 a month for electric. When we came here and our bills in the winter average $120 total and in the summer the $150 we were thrilled. I guess it's all in what you are used to paying.

I thought Seco Bill was one of those Paul Bunyan American folklore stories.

We keep our house around 80...such good insulation our house stays cool. During AC weather we run about 120.00, off season only about 30-40.00 Corpus Christie house about 1400 sq ft.

We keep our designer house at 72 and gradually increase as it gets cooler at night and all the lights on at night for the cozy look and our bill was only $209 this month!!

Remember, while air conditioning does cost $$ to run, take a look at other items using electricity. Is your fridge efficient, got computers and TV and cable boxes on?
I think the temps we keep our houses at initially reflects where we came from. My sister visits from New England and she finds my house warm. Temp is kept at 77 during the day, sometimes 76, and at night, 76 degrees. My last SECO bill was $175. Have a Lantana built in 2006. We also have a spa and the filter runs a few hours each day.

This, plus your first bill includes a membership fee, I forget how much the fee is.

5 degree in savings will result in approximately 5 % reduction in cost.
Be comfortable but be wise to use your ceiling fans, set back thermostats
and close your blinds to keep the sun from overheating your house.

Also look at reducing the heat in your garage. garage door vents help as well as attic fans (solar does work with out more energy outlay).

Keep in mind it's October and temp are still in 80's the cooling season (obviously) is longer here than most of the country.

We keep ours at 79. Visitors coming into 73 degree A/C would be thinking "why didn't I bring a coat?". Brrrrrrrrr. Not friendly.

Another thing not mentioned is the humidity setting

73 at a higher humidity may feel warmer than 78 at a lower humidity level.

Check to see what your humidity % is set it, that can have a significant cost factor.

The national average is 30-60%, most find that 50% is comfortable the lower the setting the higher the cost for the AC to pull the humidity out.

We keep ours at 79 too. Feels cool and very comfortable and the house keeps the cool. It is well insulated.

We have a Lantana and pay on average $220. We have a thermostat with a humidity control. The thermostat is then activated by either the temperature setting or humidity or both. We keep our temp at 78 and humidity 50% We have two refrig, After viewing what some are pay for electric we probably need to be more conscious of turning lights off as we leave a room and the TV also.

I am now on a conservation kick

We keep our cyv (cement) at 78 and last bill was $161. We thought that was about average.

We have a Wisteria with a pool and pond motors, just under $100, temp at 78 humidity at 50%

Rubicon: Lights and TV don't matter that much. It's the fridges that eat up electricity

Thermostat set at 73 degrees! Thyroid problem?

jblum: Thank you...Need to take a closer look at that issue

73 is very cool. We keep ours on 77 during the day and 76 at night.
We don't live in our house yet (keep a/c on 81 when not there) and
our bill runs around $100 for a designer (2,600 sq.ft.).
(the most we are up in T.V. so far is maybe 10 days/month).

Don't forget the electric dryer!

In New York, our electric bills ran $400.00 june, july and august. $300 for May and September. The rest of the year we paid about $100 for electric and $75.00 for gas. Here we keep our thermostat on 76 during the day and 71 at night because of my night sweats. Our bill ranges from $130 - $150. We have a cottage. We are thrilled!!!! Depends on what you are used to. Oh yes, my friends freeze in my house!!!!

We have a designer and keep the therm set to 80 degrees. At night we run the ceiling fan on low and sleep with a sheet over us. I budgeted $150 a month for electricity and have never gotten even close to that. Our August bill was $135 the highest it has ever been but then August was a very HOT month.