electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

I am trying to budget or at least to better understand how much it costs to pay bills when owning a house. right now we pay in a rental for a bit over 1000 sq feet ~$85 for electricity and nothing for gas so want to know how much more we will be spending once we buy a house.

Can you plz share how much u spend on electrical and heating and how much sq footage u have?

TIA

electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

I have balanced billing for both:

Electric - Just went up to $149/mo.
Oil - $125/mo.

We have about 1500 sq. feet but the heat is only 1 zone for about 1000 sq. feet. My lower level is on electric heat.

Re: electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

I know you are just trying to get a general idea, but it can really vary a lot beyond square footage.

For example - It would matter if the house has oil fueled heat or gas fueled heat to estimate heating costs. Oil will be more expensive. The age of the heating system would be a factor, too - if a house has a new heating system, it should be more efficient and less costly than an older system. Age of the windows of a house, as well as insulation would also come into play. Also, a house with multiple zones will probably have lower heating bills (rather than a house with one zone heat, where you need to heat the whole house no matter where you are in it). And if people are home all day versus being out at school/work, they will probably keep the house warmer all day v. keeping the heat turned down lower and raising it when you get home. And there's also the personal preference of how warm you like the house!

With electric, it could vary a lot based on what a house has in it that runs on electric (a house with a natural gas line may run things like the dryer, stove, and hot water heater on gas v. electric). But if you have CAC, or a pool or hot tub, or tons of electronic equipment that is on all the time, the bill would be higher than someone who doesn't have these things. A lot of people do balanced billing to avoid a bill hike in the summer for things like CAC.

I am sure people will be happy to share what they pay, to give you an idea, but I think if it's a concern, you can always ask people about their utility costs (and even ask to see bills) when you are considering a certain house. That's probably the most accurate way.

But you should plan on paying several hundred dollars a month for electric and heat (regardless of the type!). Crazy, but true!

Re: electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

Posted by Century 21 Dallow - Christine Braun

I know you are just trying to get a general idea, but it can really vary a lot beyond square footage.

For example - It would matter if the house has oil fueled heat or gas fueled heat to estimate heating costs. Oil will be more expensive. The age of the heating system would be a factor, too - if a house has a new heating system, it should be more efficient and less costly than an older system. Age of the windows of a house, as well as insulation would also come into play. Also, a house with multiple zones will probably have lower heating bills (rather than a house with one zone heat, where you need to heat the whole house no matter where you are in it). And if people are home all day versus being out at school/work, they will probably keep the house warmer all day v. keeping the heat turned down lower and raising it when you get home. And there's also the personal preference of how warm you like the house!

With electric, it could vary a lot based on what a house has in it that runs on electric (a house with a natural gas line may run things like the dryer, stove, and hot water heater on gas v. electric). But if you have CAC, or a pool or hot tub, or tons of electronic equipment that is on all the time, the bill would be higher than someone who doesn't have these things. A lot of people do balanced billing to avoid a bill hike in the summer for things like CAC.

I am sure people will be happy to share what they pay, to give you an idea, but I think if it's a concern, you can always ask people about their utility costs (and even ask to see bills) when you are considering a certain house. That's probably the most accurate way.

But you should plan on paying several hundred dollars a month for electric and heat (regardless of the type!). Crazy, but true!

electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

I have only been in my house for about 5 months and it is about 1200 sq feet. I have two zones with gas heat which has ranged from 120-220/month and electric has ranged from 80-180/month. I know that we could be paying less but DH leaves lights on ALL the time and I like my heat at 72 when it's cold out.

Re: electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

I have a 1600 sq foot cape (Footage does not include full basement with living area, workshop and laundry room).

We have 3 zones for heat (1 per floor and 1 in the basement) with an oil burner. We set the zones so that the basement is always at 50, between 7am and 8pm our main floor is set to 65 and upstairs is set to 50. From 8pm to 7am the upstairs is at 60 and the main floor is at 50. I do oil (COD) and filled February 2012 for around $800. I didn’t have to fill again until this year (February 2013) and it was around $700. We also have efficiency shower heads with lather buttons to save water and heat. We also recently bricked up our fireplace and re insulated the living room, kitchen and attic crawl space. We replaced most of our windows as well.

I pay about $125 per month for electric. My husband is nutty with electric and almost everything is unplugged unless it Is in use (computers, phones and televisions excepted). We have motion lights that turn off automatically on the stairs and in the laundry room and work shop because I always forget to turn them off. We use only energy efficient bulbs for most lighting fixtures.

Message edited 4/10/2013 1:05:57 PM.

Re: electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

Re: electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

Posted by starr

Posted by rojerono

I have a 1600 sq foot cape (Footage does not include full basement with living area, workshop and laundry room).

We have 3 zones for heat (1 per floor and 1 in the basement) with an oil burner. We set the zones so that the basement is always at 50, between 7am and 8pm our main floor is set to 65 and upstairs is set to 50. From 8pm to 7am the upstairs is at 60 and the main floor is at 50. I do oil (COD) and filled February 2012 for around $800. I didn’t have to fill again until this year (February 2013) and it was around $700. We also have efficiency shower heads with lather buttons to save water and heat. We also recently bricked up our fireplace and re insulated the living room, kitchen and attic crawl space. We replaced most of our windows as well.

I pay about $125 per month for electric. My husband is nutty with electric and almost everything is unplugged unless it Is in use (computers, phones and televisions excepted). We have motion lights that turn off automatically on the stairs and in the laundry room and work shop because I always forget to turn them off. We use only energy efficient bulbs for most lighting fixtures.

thanks very helpful description. we definitely thinking one of the most important things is to make sure insulation and windows are all up to date when we move in

thanks everyone for your replies, was absolutely helpful. I didnt even know about zones before.

Re: electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

Posted by rojerono

Posted by starr

Posted by rojerono

I have a 1600 sq foot cape (Footage does not include full basement with living area, workshop and laundry room).

We have 3 zones for heat (1 per floor and 1 in the basement) with an oil burner. We set the zones so that the basement is always at 50, between 7am and 8pm our main floor is set to 65 and upstairs is set to 50. From 8pm to 7am the upstairs is at 60 and the main floor is at 50. I do oil (COD) and filled February 2012 for around $800. I didn’t have to fill again until this year (February 2013) and it was around $700. We also have efficiency shower heads with lather buttons to save water and heat. We also recently bricked up our fireplace and re insulated the living room, kitchen and attic crawl space. We replaced most of our windows as well.

I pay about $125 per month for electric. My husband is nutty with electric and almost everything is unplugged unless it Is in use (computers, phones and televisions excepted). We have motion lights that turn off automatically on the stairs and in the laundry room and work shop because I always forget to turn them off. We use only energy efficient bulbs for most lighting fixtures.

thanks very helpful description. we definitely thinking one of the most important things is to make sure insulation and windows are all up to date when we move in

thanks everyone for your replies, was absolutely helpful. I didnt even know about zones before.

Not all homes have zoned heating/cooling.. but you can usually get it if you don't have it.

Message edited 4/10/2013 2:10:04 PM.

Re: electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

Posted by starr

Posted by rojerono

Posted by starr

Posted by rojerono

I have a 1600 sq foot cape (Footage does not include full basement with living area, workshop and laundry room).

We have 3 zones for heat (1 per floor and 1 in the basement) with an oil burner. We set the zones so that the basement is always at 50, between 7am and 8pm our main floor is set to 65 and upstairs is set to 50. From 8pm to 7am the upstairs is at 60 and the main floor is at 50. I do oil (COD) and filled February 2012 for around $800. I didn’t have to fill again until this year (February 2013) and it was around $700. We also have efficiency shower heads with lather buttons to save water and heat. We also recently bricked up our fireplace and re insulated the living room, kitchen and attic crawl space. We replaced most of our windows as well.

I pay about $125 per month for electric. My husband is nutty with electric and almost everything is unplugged unless it Is in use (computers, phones and televisions excepted). We have motion lights that turn off automatically on the stairs and in the laundry room and work shop because I always forget to turn them off. We use only energy efficient bulbs for most lighting fixtures.

thanks very helpful description. we definitely thinking one of the most important things is to make sure insulation and windows are all up to date when we move in

thanks everyone for your replies, was absolutely helpful. I didnt even know about zones before.

Not all homes have zoned heating/cooling.. but you can usually get it if you don't have it.

how do I even find out whether the house I am viewing has that? the listing usually doesnt say

electrical and heating (gas/oil) bill

wow Christine that is awesome info. tnx so much! I will show this to my DH so he knows what to look for as I am completely useless

and once again, tnx everyone again for sharing ur info/bills