A week or so ago I wrote about how I was thinking to go to the dark side and painting our front room dark.
Like charcoal/black/super dark navy.
I've been pinning inspiration which you can see HERE.
We've gone into a several paint stores, talked to friends, looked for inspiration and gathered our top ten paint choices.
So last Saturday we grabbed our list, got everyone loaded in the car to go get some samples and we decided to stop and get the mail on the way out.
And guess what had be delivered.
The electric bill.
Otherwise known as...
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And this is what I saw when I opened the envelope
Holy freaking cow.
This is our first summer in our house and here in AZ even keeping your home at 80 degrees (which we do) is a full time (and apparently expensive) job.
So.
We're putting off the dark walls until our electric bill is a little less jaw dropping.
Seriously.
Sorry to hear that! How efficient is the unit? You can try insulation and caulk, but most of the cost is due to the AC unit itself. We had our house professionally weatherized, and it's saved us $1-2/day, which is significant, but not really that much when the bill is hundreds and hundreds. A new unit, a dream of ours, will increase those savings substantially!
ReplyDeleteWe got new units when we moved into the house in November, so they should be efficient. We should look at our windows and the caulking though, that's a great idea. :)
DeleteI can relate, just moved away from Phoenix, and I must say I don't miss those bills. Hang in there, your almost through. I love the dark wall options, can't wait to see what you decide. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteSo far the bills haven't been too bad, especially in the winter up until May/June. Even those months weren't horrible at all, but July was SO HOT...ugh. :)
Deleteoh no!!!! do they have a budget plan you can sign up for?
ReplyDeleteThey do and we looked into it when we bought the house, but for most of the year we use way less electricity than the other houses like ours that they base the price off of. So we actually have been paying less then the budgeted plan, up until this month. But July is one of the hottest months in AZ so we might just have to suck it up. (Sarcastic smile inserted here. :))
DeleteHoly cow! When we lived in STV, our bill never got over $300 and we slept with it at like...76! We weren't home during the day a lot, but kept it at 83 usually. But cooled it way down at night. Maybe your AC unit needs a tune up? That really stinks. No bueno...
ReplyDeleteLast month our bill was $275 and we sleep with it at 76 too, but I think it jumped so much because last month I was running vans and lowering the AC to 78 in the afternoon so that the boys could nap better. That probably hiked the bill because it was durning peak hours. Napping children vs. super high bill...tough question. ;)
DeleteWow, that stinks. But dark walls in fall/winter will be nice too. :)
ReplyDeleteHahaha thanks for the optimistic point of view Carrie. :)
DeleteI would check with your electric company on what peak hours are. Then try to use absolutely as little as possible during peak. No laundry, dishwasher, cooking, TV, etc. Our peak hours are 2-7p and we try hard to minimize our use. Last year, in the 3 months they tracked it for us, we saved over $450. And be sure to get your AC unit serviced at the beginning of every season. Stay cool!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea. :) Our bill was $275 and we sleep with it at 76, but I think it jumped so much because last month I was running fans and lowering the AC to 78 in the afternoon so that the boys could nap better. That probably hiked the bill because it was durning peak hours. Napping children vs. super high bill...tough question. ;)
DeleteYikes. That's all.
ReplyDeleteBeen there. I had a $550 gas bill for heating arrive the week after Christmas when we moved into our home. I went on the budget plan and it helped tremendously. Peak hours helps, too. Try to do laundry in very early morning hours. Wash dishes by hand, we do. Saves on the power to run the dishwasher.
ReplyDeleteBummer! You'll have to live vicariously through Cassie in her new dark space;-)
ReplyDeleteI got a phone bill for $2790.00 a couple of weeks ago...I cried!! Luckily the company were lovely to deal with and cut it back to $200. I honestly don't know what I would have done!
wow! Thats a nightmare. You have LOTS of sun there, consider solar panels. Here in New England we have solar thermal on our house for hot water (saves of so much dough!) and are getting solar (for electricity) and they will cover over 85% of our electric bill!!! You would save a HUGE amount of money :)
ReplyDeleteMAJOR bummer! Major. But, maybe this will give you the time to pic THE perfect shade...and then you won't have to repaint in a year...which really will save money, right?
ReplyDeleteOuch! That's like a thunderstorm's worth of rain on all of your plans...
ReplyDeleteOuch.
ReplyDeleteI am under construction and until recently have had hole in my ceilings where the pot lights have finally been installed. I had horrendous bills. Makes yours look silly.
BG&E here in MD has a Power Savers program that cycles your systems off and on during peak usage on the hottest days. It earns me money (against the bill) every time.
I also happen to have 32 solar panels and a water system. On sunny days, all year 'round, my meter runs backwards. I'm a fanatic about turning everything off, motion sensors all over the place (closets, garage, laundry and bathrooms being the most effective), cold water laundry, enough dish/silverware to only run the DW once a month or so, etc.
I also have a solar water system so I use no electricity heating water. That would be your first, most effective investment. The largest electrical draw for a family of 4 is hot water.
Check online for solar incentives from your state. I got $13000 back on my solar electric, and $5000 back on my water in 2009. If you take a HE loan, that interest is also deductable. I'm the 1st registered & licensed residential solar power plant in MD and selling my RECs back to the state gets me anywhere from $1500 to $2k a year in cash.
It's a huge out of pocket, but I am grateful every day we did this after we had a house fire. I pay about $7.00 in July, and maybe $250 in cold months. My house pays me to live there -- and with power bill averaging? My bills are very managable now. Oh - and putting in the lights, vs. the holes in the ceiling!
I highly recommend looking into it so you can paint. 'Cause I want to see what you come up with!!!
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