Dear TWW,

Last summer our electric bill was more than $400 multiple times. I'm fairly sure the reason is because my roommates run the a/c constantly, as in set the thermostat to "on" instead of "auto". Sometimes they will actually set it on "auto", but set it to something below 68.

The situation has already started up again these past few days. I really don't feel like paying $100 a month just for electric. What should I do?

5/3/2008 9:28:59 AM

Tell them if they feel like running the air constantly thats fine but they need to pickup a bigger share if thats the case. Find out what a 'reasonable' amount would be for summertime in the place you live and tell them you are willing to pay your share of that.

5/3/2008 9:31:45 AM

youwould

Seriously, yall must have terrible insulation too. Do you keep your windows open in the apt?

5/3/2008 9:36:13 AM

attn:

the switch you're talking about controls the fan. the fan is fine to keep on, it won't use up much energy.

the switch that controls the a/c is the one that says "heat/off/cool."

68 is a little ridiculous though.

5/3/2008 9:39:43 AM

I had one summer where we had a bill that was $350. I live in a house that the insulation is pretty poor, a lot of windows that aren't that efficient, so it sucked. Also there's a hot tub that's extremely inefficient. It works great and I love it, but we're talking $100/mo just to keep running. The basin needs to be re-insulated with proper stuff.

5/3/2008 9:41:03 AM

^^ that's good to know...about the fan thing. Yeah, our insulation really does suck. It's a house and the downstairs and upstairs have separate a/c units. Last night we opened the windows upstairs and took advantage of the great weather, but the people downstairs didn't, and just ran the a/c.

[Edited on May 3, 2008 at 9:42 AM. Reason : a]

5/3/2008 9:41:57 AM

^5 thats what I had to do with one of my roommates. Who pays the power bill? If you don't this can work to your advantage as you can just say "I'm not paying that much." If you have to, turn your vent off or down in your room. The cold air will still come in but you can say "I'm turning my vent off because I don't want to pay for this."

How big is your place? I had a 4br house last year and our power bill was 150-200 and we kept our A/C around 73-74.


[Edited on May 3, 2008 at 9:43 AM. Reason : ]

5/3/2008 9:42:16 AM

Your roommates sounds like douchebags.

5/3/2008 9:54:48 AM

Quote :

"Last night we opened the windows upstairs and took advantage of the great weather, but the people downstairs didn't, and just ran the a/c."

That sounds like a constructive solution.

5/3/2008 9:58:07 AM

I've considered when screening roommates to tell them that i pay a maximum for each utility that I know is a good average for 3 people, and if it goes higher than that, then I won't pay.

Like electric, I'd just say I don't pay more than $60, whatever is left over you have to take care of. Usually our bill is around 180, so that's a proper third. If the bill goes to 200 or better, than they pick up the extra 20. If the bill is 150, then I just pay $50.

I've never actually tried this, but have considered it.

5/3/2008 10:05:54 AM

5/3/2008 10:33:47 AM

I know the feeling.

I just had to turn off the AC in my apartment.

IT'S 70 FUCKING DEGREES OUTSIDE, OPEN A FUCKING WINDOW AND TURN ON A FAN. WHY THE FUCK IS THE AC ON (SET AT 70) WHEN IT'S 70 FUCKING DEGREES OUTSIDE??????????????

5/3/2008 11:40:58 AM

Before I even consider someone as a roommate I warn them that I keep it 68 in the winter, 78 in the summer and if they don't like that they can expect to pay the difference. Once I did have a roommate that'd keep bumping it down to 74 and I didn't charge, but if it was going to be for more than a year I would have.

Surprisingly most people are okay with that. They'd rather have a fan on in their room or a small space heater in the bathroom in the winter than deal with a roommate that messes with the thermostat and expects them to pay for it.

5/3/2008 11:56:37 AM

obviously if the apartment was getting hotter than 70 then the ac would not turn on, however your apartment absorbs heat that the other apartments surrounding it give off. when its 70 degrees outside i can open my windows and my apartment will stay around 80

[Edited on May 3, 2008 at 12:03 PM. Reason : .]

5/3/2008 12:01:09 PM

Glad I'm not poor anymore and can live in a comfy 72 degress all the time. I remember sweating my balls off during the summer in Raleigh when I was too cheap to run AC all the time.

5/3/2008 12:39:09 PM

^ yeah, I keep it at 68-70 all year long. I'm usually sweating pretty good if in a place that the temp is set to 75 or higher.

5/3/2008 1:14:15 PM

i hate 2-story houses with 1 thermostat

5/3/2008 1:33:17 PM

mine usually stays around 72 all year long

5/3/2008 1:45:01 PM

Mine was $400 a couple months ago.... I put in a new heat pump&a/c unit.... this month, $67

I don't think I count in this convo, though....

5/3/2008 8:19:43 PM

I can relate. Our utilities always average 300. Last month it was 200 which was crazy surprise but now the A/C is back on and it's gonna be crazy expensive again.

5/3/2008 8:30:27 PM

i would murder you all

the price of being comfortable is worth it...

although i left mine at 65 or less all summer and $164 was the highest I ever got in a month

5/3/2008 8:43:52 PM

I hope you had all the windows open today. It was perfect.

5/3/2008 9:42:47 PM

i wouldnt say perfect, i had my windows open and it got up to 82...i was sweating my ass off

5/3/2008 9:46:10 PM

We have some shade in our yard so we don't get the scalding heat from the street...it was perfect IMBY

5/3/2008 10:07:00 PM

the AC should always be set at no more than 70. i prefer 65.

stop being a jew.

5/4/2008 11:35:44 AM

Quote :

"I've considered when screening roommates to tell them that i pay a maximum for each utility that I know is a good average for 3 people, and if it goes higher than that, then I won't pay. Like electric, I'd just say I don't pay more than $60, whatever is left over you have to take care of. Usually our bill is around 180, so that's a proper third. If the bill goes to 200 or better, than they pick up the extra 20. If the bill is 150, then I just pay $50. I've never actually tried this, but have considered it. "

So how would you go about proving that they used the electricity that caused the bill to go up. I would never agree to something like that. It basically gives you a free pass to use extra electricity on someone else's tab. I'm not saying you would deliberately do that, but that payment system sets it up to happen.

5/4/2008 12:22:47 PM

^ I'm glad i'm not the only person who thought that idea was a bit ridiculous.

5/4/2008 12:58:08 PM

Quote :

"i would murder you all the price of being comfortable is worth it... although i left mine at 65 or less all summer and $164 was the highest I ever got in a month"

Same here. New construction FTW! Besides, isn't 65 degrees the optimal temperature to get a good nights sleep? I'd get new roommates if you like it hot and they all like it cool.

5/4/2008 1:21:26 PM

^^,^ agreed.

its the same as lewoods or whatever saying she makes a roommate "pay the difference". how the hell do you know what the difference is? I keep the settings on my thermostat nearly identical year round and my bills fluctuate a lot.

[Edited on May 4, 2008 at 1:33 PM. Reason : ]

5/4/2008 1:33:45 PM

I would have been ok with paying the difference actually.. I had a super shitty living situation (as far as AC/Heat is concerned) the last two years of school. One of my roommates "like to be just barely sweating"..summer and winter

I think he takes retard to a new level

5/4/2008 1:47:11 PM

I had the windows open all around the house last night and this morning (since I was the only one there). I get back to my place about an hour ago and the air is on at 65...and he didn't close the windows.

Did I mention this is the same roommate who will yell at me if I leave one crumb on the stove?

5/4/2008 5:15:01 PM

Quote :

"get new roommates"

5/4/2008 5:16:44 PM

^ I'm all for moving out. How can I get out of a lease? Do I need to find a replacement?

5/4/2008 5:21:04 PM

Yeah, most likely.

5/4/2008 5:25:22 PM

$400 christ!

My electric bill is usually highest in the winter btw 50-80 total . I can't tolerate my room below 70. So the thermostat will range btw 69-72.

Summer i don't have much issues with "warmness" and used to leave it at around 78. Toward the end of last summer and probably going into this summer i'm going to start turning it down to 76 at nigth b.c i discovered i slept better this way.

5/4/2008 5:33:09 PM

yea 400 dollars is ridiculous. im guessing they have a pretty big house or poor insulation? i live in sc and its definitely hotter here than anywhere i lived in NC and my summer electric bills are like 30-40 bucks in a 1200 sqft apt keeping the Tstat at 70.

[Edited on May 4, 2008 at 5:46 PM. Reason : ]

5/4/2008 5:37:29 PM

the house I'm moving into has woods in the back and a ton of trees keeping the house in the shade most of the day. In the place I have now, it's pretty much direct sunlight all the time. On days when it's 70 outside, my place gets up to about 80 or so if I dont turn on the AC, but at the new place it stays about 65 or so all the time, even when it was really hot. I'm hoping this means there wont be a large power bill for an AC-dependent guy like myself.

5/4/2008 6:23:41 PM

Haha. I live in a 1200 sq. ft. house by myself, and I am trying to see how low I can get my bill. So far the record is like $25.00, and that includes this ridiculous yard lamp charge. I got all CFL bulbs and plug all electronics into a surge suppressor which I turn off when not in use to eliminate standby power draw. Works great. Turn water heater down to reasonable temperature.

5/4/2008 8:46:05 PM

Quote :

"Glad I'm not poor anymore and can live in a comfy 72 degress all the time. I remember sweating my balls off during the summer in Raleigh when I was too cheap to run AC all the time. "

5/4/2008 9:30:24 PM

Quote :

"I just had to turn off the AC in my apartment. IT'S 70 FUCKING DEGREES OUTSIDE, OPEN A FUCKING WINDOW AND TURN ON A FAN. WHY THE FUCK IS THE AC ON (SET AT 70) WHEN IT'S 70 FUCKING DEGREES OUTSIDE??????????????"

While if there's no other reason then yes thats stupid. However a lot of ppl in the spring are allergic to pollen and dont' want it coming inside the house. Not to mention nobody wants that yellow shit all over everything inside.

5/4/2008 9:49:10 PM

^ yeah, my roomie likes to try and save money that way, but then I wake up all sniffly and congested

plus 70 degrees out and humid is far different from 70 degrees A/C inside

5/4/2008 9:54:09 PM

^ i don't know about everywhere else, but the pollen here seems to have settled for the most part

5/4/2008 9:57:13 PM

^ http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/allergies/weather/27617?from=allergy_hotspot_tab_tree&type=tree

it's possible to be allergic to more than pollen, anyhow

5/4/2008 10:28:30 PM

Something is wrong with your house. I have done pretty much everything you said before and never broke $260.

5/4/2008 10:48:32 PM

Yeah at my old place we ran the shit constantly and it never got over 150. New roommate and I decided to keep it on 74-75 and the bills are way lower. I can't understand how some of you keep it at 65 or below (your bills must be outragious).

Is the power bill in your name? If not you don't have to pay a dime, yes this will cause problems with your roommates but 400 dollars is nuts.

[Edited on May 4, 2008 at 10:58 PM. Reason : .]

5/4/2008 10:52:50 PM

yeah 65 is a bit low...although i cant sleep when its above 74

5/4/2008 10:54:01 PM

each degree raises your bill 10%

5/4/2008 11:02:39 PM

What do you people that have the thermostat set to 65 in the summer have it set to in the winter?

The only thing that drove me nuts were the people that had to have the place like an icebox in the summer just to cover themselves with a few comforters/blankets while they were inside.

5/5/2008 10:23:48 AM

Quote :

"Your roommates sounds like douchebags. "

5/5/2008 10:26:18 AM

^^

I usually keep mine around 69-70. I don't actually keep it 65 all the time in the summer. I just drop it down to that right before bedtime.

5/5/2008 10:27:41 AM