[advp007]

Just got my February bill. $107! More than three times usual bill. Anyone else?

[davefin]

Mine was consistent with last year bill.

[advp007]

Oops! I meant TECO bill.

[billlaur]

lil higher due to having heat on..not to worry

[427dave]

Mine was $101 quite a bit higher. However January was cold and your furnace ran a lot more. Also it depends what you set your thermostat to keep warm.

[villagetinker]

Our SECO bill was about 25% higher, and I noticed the aux heat was on the HVAC system. Since I had never noticed this before I had the system checked, all was fine but I found out this happens occasionally during longer than usual cold spells.

[SIRE1]

My SECO bill was extremely high (3 x normal) this month. I called SECO and asked about this, and at first they said it was probably due to the cold January. I explained we have gas heat (TECO) and so the furnace fan probably was running as much as the AC in the summer, and this bill was 3 times either of those. They said they would have someone come out and check the meter. Got a call this morning and they indicated that there had, in fact, been an error and they were adjusting the January charge to what it should have been. So, if you don't think the bill is correct, contact them and ask for assistance. It worked for me.

[rustyp]

Originally Posted by SIRE1

My SECO bill was extremely high (3 x normal) this month. I called SECO and asked about this, and at first they said it was probably due to the cold January. I explained we have gas heat (TECO) and so the furnace fan probably was running as much as the AC in the summer, and this bill was 3 times either of those. They said they would have someone come out and check the meter. Got a call this morning and they indicated that there had, in fact, been an error and they were adjusting the January charge to what it should have been. So, if you don't think the bill is correct, contact them and ask for assistance. It worked for me.

Was this an estimated bill or a meter read ?

[Toymeister]

Our SECO bill was 100.69 for 2000 Sq. Ft stucco designer. 867.6 KwH. Average temp was 72 degrees, Heat strips did come on for an average of two minutes or less. That is reflected in the detail below.

Details of last month's bill:

40.6% was the heat pump
11.8% was the water heater
10.5 was "always on' devices
7.8% was the dryer and heat strips combined
3.9% fridge
Less than 1% each:

Ice maker
Dishwasher
Washing machine
Fluorescent lights in laundry room and garage
Microwave
Stove
Oven
Iron
Toaster
Garbage disposal

20.5% was other devices not specifically identified

Last year's bill without the heat pump and heat strips only was 113.50 for 979 KWH. My take away is heat strips alone are expensive

[justjim]

The Villages had a hard freeze and lower temps than normal in January for the first time in Several years. It is no surprise that our gas and/or electric bill would be significantly higher.

[biker1]

A heatpump will periodically go into defrost mode to melt the ice buildup on the condenser coil as the temperature approaches and drops below freezing. When this happens, the heating strips will come on (because it is now running as an AC and you don't want to feel cold air from the ducts). Defrost mode lasts a few minutes.

Originally Posted by Toymeister

Our SECO bill was 100.69 for 2000 Sq. Ft stucco designer. 867.6 KwH. Average temp was 72 degrees, Heat strips did come on for an average of two minutes or less. That is reflected in the detail below.

Details of last month's bill:

40.6% was the heat pump
11.8% was the water heater
10.5 was "always on' devices
7.8% was the dryer and heat strips combined
3.9% fridge
Less than 1% each:

Ice maker
Dishwasher
Washing machine
Fluorescent lights in laundry room and garage
Microwave
Stove
Oven
Iron
Toaster
Garbage disposal

20.5% was other devices not specifically identified

Last year's bill without the heat pump and heat strips only was 113.50 for 979 KWH. My take away is heat strips alone are expensive

[jojo]

We have gas heat and our TECO bill was about 2.5 times that of last January. We have our thermostat set on 76 and it ran quite a bit. Our electric bill was the same as the previous January.

[Amb3rTastic]

Shoot. I wish my Electric bill was $107. Mine was almost $200, this month.

I'm desperate to get new windows installed!

[jimmemac]

How did you get the percentages?? That would be very interesting to know?

[PaulDenise]

For heat pumps, when it gets too cold outside, the heat pump can't "pump" heat so it uses heat strips for electrical resistance heat backup. These stay on as long as necessary to heat the house. You can tell they are on because the heat from the ducts is warmer than usual and there may be an electrical heat smell. The thermostat will say that the backup heat is on.

Per heating unit, this costs 4 times more electricity/ money than heat from the heat pump system.