gas: $170
electric: $90

Outside of Pittsburgh PA
2400 sq ft and COLD here!

gas: $47.36

elec: $28.85

Kansas

2800 sq ft

I keep the basement vents open in the winter and close them in the summer.

stargazzer, 76 bucks for gas and electric for a month!!!!!
WOW.....Either you're the most energy efficient household, or you have 1 lightbulb and a wood buring fireplace ;)

My last gas bill I just paid (for Dec) was $160 and Electric was $39. Up 50% from Nov, which was cold too but not like the last month.

It would also be valuable to know the time frame and conditions (warmer/colder than usual) since comparing November to December as you can see has quite a difference.

Minnesota, where the winters are cold and women are colder; men are tough enough to fry bacon without a shirt on and all the mosquitoes are bigger than average...

stargazer - to what do you attribute your low utility bills?
Also, basement or crawl space vents and why shut them in summer, open in winter? Wouldn't that make cold floors? My brother lives in kansas and has his electric heat at 55-58 degrees and his electric bill was over 150 for smaller home.

end of December; electric (847 kwh)104.78; gas (143) 188.76
2000 sq ft in NW Tenn.

For one thing I have a new home and they are always suppose to be more efficient. Another thing is that i has south facing patio door and living room window. I do not close the blinds like most of my neighbors do, I let that wonderful sun in. As a matter of fact I just took a short nap in that wonderful sunny spot. I close the vents in the basement because it is very cool down without the A/C venting down there. In the winter I open the vents to warm it and because the furnace is more effcient with vents open.

Okay, I thought you meant exterior vents; therefore the question about crawl space or basement. Don't know why my mind couldn't conceive the idea of heat and a/c vents!! LOL

I also allow the southern sun in on warm days during the colder months. And draw blinds on hot summer days.

Thanks.

Few rural folks have gas.

Furnace oil people called about two months ago saying that their charts showed it time for an oil delivery to me (first since late last winter) ... did I want one (they'd delivered a half-load here, a couple of years ago).

I hadn't started the furnace at that time - didn't till about 2/3 way through Nov.

I told them not to bother - I'd call them (the tank was 3/8 full at the time). Filled the tank just at end of Dec. - I paid the $660. bill the other day.

I'd wondered about having a fill just before summer, thinking that prices might be higher, come fall. Glad that I didn't. Actually, I think that it was higher when I told them to hold off.

Power runs around a hundred a month, less in summer. Landlord pays about a quarter of it, relating to what we assume that he uses in the shop.

Even though it's cold (6 degrees below outside, 8 above in back porch, tonight; much lower, considering wind-chill) I'm keeping the temp. here at about 60 (started a heater in the kitchen, where I'm doing some desk-work).

There's a little power used to run the water pump for washing, flushing, and I haul the drinking and cooking water, as well was contaminated by uncle's cattle. He drank it, and when his wife died about six yearsago and I spent a couple of months here with him, I did, as well ... without any problem. But a couple of years later, after he died and I spent time here, the water had failed tests prior to sale of the farm and smelled and another friend suggested that I not drink it.

I live within a couple of miles of a municipal garbage dump, as well.

ole joyful

Cali, I am fortunate to be able to leave my blinds open in the summer time because the sun is higher in the sky. My roof also has a overhang. When we bought the home before this we had a west patio doors and a large window. We covered the deck with 1X2 lattice strips and that helped shade the patio doors. If my husband saw light coming in he wanted to close the blinds, but I suggested he put his hand on the glass and if it wasn't hot leave the blinds open. we had a lovely landscped back yard and pond, it was fun to sit and watch the birds and squirrels.

Just had this discussion with the neighbors last night. All houses are 2,000-2,200 sq. ft. We are in Michigan in a lake effect snow zone. (We have over 2 ft of snow on the ground right now!) Anyway, for gas and electric the range for the block for December was $285-$500+. We were in the $350 range, but won't sit around the house freezing.

Actually around MN many if not most rural folks have gas... (go ahead, I gave you the opening!). Often cheaper than oil, almost always cheaper than electricity or steam. Very common for cabin folks to use propane too.

I've been very pleased at the results of zone heating my home that I extended this year. I keep the living area now at 67° to 72° and the rest of the house much cooler. I haven't checked but guessing by the bills, I'm paying no more and possibly less than keeping the entire house at 62°+/-. I've always closed off unneeded rooms but this, and even last year I expanded it a bit more and did more closing off with quilts. Still allows easy access for me and for the critters and I think it looks ok.

We're getting a break this week and returning to near normal temps and above normal to a point, but by the end of the week will be back to the cold stuff.

Oh, now a buddy of mine is the frugal winner. Puts us all to shame. He keeps his house at about 52° and has a gas budget of $27.00! (not a typo) Sad situation actually. His wife died a few years ago, after a long expensive illness. She earned far more than he and he doesn't have the income to do a lot. He's doing home-schooling to get a better job at work, while working, doing odd jobs as he can, was in a bad car accident last year... but keeps a good outlook on life. Skinny little guy that bundles up and makes do as best he can. Nice guy. Deserves better. I still cringe at $27 gas budget!

Total $268. Gas $205.(154therm) Elec. $62. (454kwh)
Upstate NY 1668sf colonial

Around here there is a delivery charge of $20+ whether you use gas or not! Learned that selling a completely empty house with nothing turned on during the summer!

Our bills are so convoluted. Delivery and Supply are billed separately and at different rates for first 3 therms, etc. Do your bills look like this? I hate it.

COPIED FROM CURRENT BILL: (this is just the gas part, elec is worse--supply and delivery on different parts of bill)

Natural Gas Delivery Charges
Natural gas used (ccf) 153
Energy content factor x 1.022000
Natural gas used (therm) 156.4
Customer charge 14.38
Bill issuance charge 0.62
Included in customer charge 3.0 therm @ 0.00 0.00
Delivery charge for next 97.0 therm @ 0.17417 16.89
Delivery charge for next 56.4 therm @ 0.16241 9.16
Weather adjustment -12.3 therm @ 0.16178862 -1.99
SBC charge 156.4 therm @ 0.0038 0.59
Subtotal Natural Gas Delivery $39.65
Natural Gas Supply Charges
Supply charge - November 46.0 therm @ 0.930671 42.81
Supply charge - December 110.4 therm @ 1.05854 116.86
Merchant funct chg - November 46.0 therm @ 0.038857 1.79
Merchant funct chg - December 110.4 therm @ 0.039409 4.35
Subtotal Natural Gas Supply $165.81

My recent elec was $117.00 but I'm in a average bill plan so it only goes up or down a couple of dollrs a month

My gas bill was $120.48 for this month usually it is around $22
but it has been extremely cold this time of year and the house is heated by gas as is my hot water. I checked back a couple of years and it has been around this high each year at this time

I sure am glad I'mnot living up north NE Texas is close enough for me even though I was born and raised in Chicago.

1600 square feet in frigid Minnesota. December, a very cold month, came in at $195.00--$26.00 electric and the rest gas heat. I live in an early 1900's home which is poorly insulated and had lots of leaky windows, but I'm lucky to live on the second floor sandwiched between two other condo flats. It really keeps it warm in here. I keep the daytime temperature to just tolerable 64 and night to 54.

$73.80
$16.63 gas
$52.72 electric
$4.45 other charges
2000 sq ft. San Diego, CA
We also have a wood stove we use for most of our heat and burn wood that is acquired for free.

What timing to answer this question. I was hit with these bills on Saturday - I'm still crying.

Gas bill at home $335

Gas bill at our apartment house $524, paid by tenants when rented. we now only have one of the four rented so we will have cover 75% of this bill

Gas bill at our business $258

I haven't seen the electric bills yet and frankly don't want to. However I know they won't be as bad as the gas.

We are in MI where we have had below zero temps for the last couple of weeks each night with day time highs not going above or even near freezing. I suppose next month will be just as bad.

We have programmable thermostats that keep the house and office cool during the day and while sleeping. Our vacant apartments are set as low as the themostat will allow which is 45 degrees. Also at home we supplement our gas boiler with a woodstove that we keep fired up at all times when we are home. Nights, mornings and all weekend. Our dryer, hot water heater and stove are also gas.

Makes me want to wear wet clothes, take cold showers and quit cooking!!

Location: Chicago
House: 1200 sq foot 2 story brick
Gas: Nicor Jan bill $139
Electric: ComEd Jan bill $36

Keep the thermostat at night at 65 degrees, daytime 68. All lights (what few there are) have 10 watt energy saver bulbs. We only run one table lamp in the front room & one overhead light in kid's room at night. The rest of the electricity consumption comes from primarily the tv set & fridge (although it's new & has a good energystar rating)

They are 2 biggest energy hogs I've been told. Not much I can do about the fridge but the tv could be shut off more.

Comparing your energy bill to your neighbor's bill is like comparing apples to oranges. Be aware that the items that consume the most energy are the items that generate a temperature, like space heaters, water heaters, air conditioners, furnace, etc.

I pulled a good one last week. When our weather was 15 below, I closed the heat vents and the doors to the extra bedrooms. I forgot each room has a cold air return.

Electric bill for my small home: $182! Very low temps this winter, my heat pump can't keep my house warm so the thermostat has been set pretty high, 72, sometimes my kids turn it up even higher.

I'm digging out the plastic for the windows and later this year I may see about putting in blown insulation in the outer walls and under the roof. Don't know what the problem is but it's ice cold all the time in the ends of the house, the back bedrooms and the livingroom.

Most recent bills (central Kansas 1372 sq. ft., 2-1/2-year old home):

Gas - $96.24
Electricity - $118.60

Temperatures have varied from lows -8°F, with unseasonably cold weather, followed by some really nice days.

This is approx. half what the neighbors are paying for similar households. Our gas use was nearly 1/2 what we used a year ago, and that includes the use of a new gas fireplace for occasional supplement heat in the main area of the house. The two Infrared Sun Cloud Heaters are paying for themselves. They are our primary source for heat unless the temperatures get in the teens, or lower.

-Grainlady

291.41 electric only. We have a fuel adjustment of 135.86, so total 427.27 for a 2400 sq.ft. 90 yr old home. And that's with our fireplace constantly burning wood.
SC Kansas

Our latest was $595 for electric & gas for 2600sf, but it was an estimated bill as we only get our meters read every other month here. Next month with an actual read, we should be much lower. We live near Binghamton, NY.