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My electric bill is higher than my dad's - why?
My Dad and I each have 3 BR brick ranches in Michigan. His is 1000sq-ft, mine 1200sq-ft.
We both run whole house a/c. My Dad is anemic and so likes it hotter - he keeps his house at 76 and some days forgets to run the a/c at all. I keep mine at 72. I have a broken fridge -- the temp control broke so the whole thing is a freezer. I have no basement door and hot air rises. I have a dog door which has a vinyl flap. My Dad's bill was $76, mine $195 KWH used 1357 both readings actual. Does something above account for this large difference or are there other factors I may not have considered? Thx. P.S. My Dad is a senior (do seniors get breaks from utility companies?)
5 Answers
- Karen LLv 710 years agoFavorite Answer
Your fridge is probably using more power than it should. The dog door will allow a lot of cold air in. No basement door? That probably doesn't help your heat bill. You use a/c more than he does, you might keep the house cooler in winter but your house is 20% larger. Does he have double paned windows and you don't? Do you wash laundry in hot water? Do you take 20 minute showers and he takes 5 minute ones? Do you leave stuff on all over the house while he shuts things off when he's not using them? You didn't say what his kWh usage was, but there are many things that can add quite a bit to an electric bill. Seniors don't get breaks on their utility bills where I live but they might in Michigan.
- jean ann jLv 710 years ago
Keeping the temp control above 75 keeps the bill down. Yours run more at 72.
Your dad does not always turn his on.
Your dad is getting a discount.
- mermelizLv 710 years ago
Seniors get breaks through different programs. Low income folks get similar breaks, but one has to apply for them! We get a tremendous break for allowing the electric company to put a remote shut off unit onto our home AC unit to allow them to turn it off during a high peak usage day. (We have a little window unit for cooling if they turn off our big house unit).
Call your electric company or go to their website and look for deals that you may qualify for.
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Example: I live in a 1800 sq ft. home in a senior community in Southern California. My highest electric bill this year was for $55 in the month of July. This August bill was $34. My brother lives in a regular family community in a smaller home. He does not participate in the remote cut off program. His highest bill this year was $350 +/-
So the programs the power company offers do save one tons of money!
- Anonymous10 years ago
It's the air conditioning.
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