[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

We have a humidstat on our thermostat. We leave all ceiling fans on when we're gone for the summer.
The air conditioning doesn't come on unless it's high humidity.
I don't have SECO bills with me, but I think it's 35/$40 for hydro each summer month.

I just now read this post after I posted about the same exact device! LOL.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by vintageogauge

When we bought our home the tech. Told us when leaving for an extended period to set the temp at 82 and the humidity at 55. I'm assuming at this poin that it will stay dry while we are gone. I don't think I would trust leaving all the fans on in case one of them would malfunction.

As a seasonal resident for 7 years (we are full time now), we were instructed to leave all ceiling fans on low. Our fans stayed on for 9 months straight when we were gone. Never had a problem.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by John_W

You didn't give any details, size of home, masonry or stick built, age of home, do you run the pool filter all the time, electric company? Our last bill was the highest we've ever had and it was $91.96 and we were here the whole time. It's a 2BR 2BA masonry CYV that is six years old with SECO. This is the cheapest electric we've ever had in Florida or anywhere. When we had a pool a few years ago the pool filter added $1 a day to our bill, but we felt the $30 a month was worth it for keep the pool clean and the chlorine just right. What is your thermostat set at? Ours is 83 and the home is very cool. Do you leave your thermostat turned low when you're not even home?

We keep our thermostat at 76 all the time when we are home. We leave it at that temperature when we go out because in this intense Florida heat, we are afraid the A/C will have a difficult time catching up to cool the house down to the comfortable (for us) 76 degrees.

[John_W]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

We keep our thermostat at 76 all the time when we are home. We leave it at that temperature when we go out because in this intense Florida heat, we are afraid the A/C will have a difficult time catching up to cool the house down to the comfortable (for us) 76 degrees.

That's a big part of your high electric bill. To my wife and me, we would freeze at 76 degrees, I would experiment with something warmer, at least try 80 degrees and leave it there home and away. Also ceiling fans can be your friends, hot water heater can be set at 120 degrees if not already. Keep curtains, blinds, shutters, whatever on the side facing the sun closed. We have plantation shutters on all our windows, although not on our 3 sliding glass doors, which only have vertical blinds. We have a custom made 14' retractable sun shade on the lanai facing the setting sun from RK Shades, it looks like this but is dark brown color. Our average electric bill is between $76 and $86, we did buy a 75" TV so I think that's one reason our bill went up somewhat to $91.

[Toymeister]

Here are some measured facts:

A hot water heater set at 140 uses 4.9 KWH per day actualy experienced here in TV, or $.56. It is on an average of 8 minutes and 32 seconds for a household of 2. If you are after increased efficiency add reflective insulation to shave 4-7% off of that.

On the the the low cost ceiling fan myth:
A standard Villages grade interior 52" ceiling fan set on low 24/7 for a month draws 14.4 KWH or $1.66 each. Chances are you have several fans. While less than two bucks isn't expensive, as others have noted it is not helping humidity.

[Odysseus]

First off, 78 degrees is way too cold to set the thermostat for when you are away. I live here year around and keep my house at 78 and the A/C kicks in quite a few times during the day. Set thermostat to 82 or 84. Also, don't leave the fan on. It only moves air around, it doesn't cool anything.

[JSR22]

We keep it at 74 24x7 and we don't feel cold. We do not keep the fans on. We received our SECO bill today for 166 and that includes our pool running 8 hours a day and a split running AC on the lanai about 4 hours a day. IN NJ for the same size home without a poll it would have been 500 this time of the year.

[Ross]

Set thermostat around 84 when you are away for days at a time. Turn off fans when not at home. 21 years in the Villages